Wednesday, December 2, 2015 — DT 27837

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27837
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, June 25, 2015
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27837]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Kath
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

It is easy to recognize the setter of today's puzzle — RayT has left his fingerprints all over it. There is the customary mention of the Queen as well as a number of other clues which Kath enumerates in the intro to her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. RayT seems to be in a particularly amourous mode today. There is a lot of necking, petting, and snogging going on — although, as we see from 12a and 14a, our Romeo is not able to see things through to a satisfying conclusion.

I thought that three stars for difficulty awarded by Kath is bang on but a great number of those commenting on Big Dave's site appear to feel that the puzzle deserves more.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (&lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

7a   A pitch then a strike turning /in/ curve (8)

9a   Start to seem worried /and/ anxious (6)

10a   Neck /and/ part of cheek is snogged (4)

Scratching the Surface
Snog[5] is an informal British term meaning to kiss and cuddle amorously ⇒ (i) the pair were snogging on the sofa; (ii) he snogged my girl at a party.

11a   Put off by revolting material /in/ set (10)

12a   Flop, // failing in amorous situation could occur initially ... (6)

14a   ... guys agree, /it's/ in the mind (8)

15a   Role's to agitate circling new // recruits (6)

17a   Snooze hiding one's // face (6)

20a   Bury // and United almost clashing (8)

Scratching the Surface

Bury[7] [pronounced berry — although not by the locals according to Gazza in a review on Big Dave's blog] is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It is the home of the Bury Football Club[7], an association football [soccer] team that plays in League One (the third tier in the English football league system). Manchester United Football Club[7] (often referred to simply as United) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

22a   Sign of stomach upset -- // doctor in practice needed? (6)

"doctor" = MB (show explanation )

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree. 

hide explanation

Rule^[10] is used in the sense of a customary form or procedure; in other words, a regular course of action ⇒ he made a morning swim his rule.

23a   Greek leader in Europe perhaps /produces/ division (10)

Scratching the Surface
The surface reading of this clue would have been very timely in June when it was published in the Daily Telegraph. At that time, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was in negotiations with officials from the European Stability Mechanism for a third economic bailout for Greece — with an agreement being reached on July 12, 2015.[7]

24a   Saucy // redhead held in caress (4)

"redhead" = R (show explanation )

Here we encounter a common cryptic crossword device, in which the word "redhead" is used to clue R, the initial letter (head) of Red.

hide explanation

25a   Humble // of French chap to embrace sweetheart (6)

"of French" = DE (show explanation )

In French, de^[8] is a preposition meaning 'of'' or 'from'.

hide explanation

Chap^[5] is a [well-travelled] informal British term for a man or a boy ⇒ he sounded like a nice, caring sort of chap. 

"sweetheart" = E (show explanation )

Here we encounter a common cryptic crossword device, in which the word "sweetheart" is used to clue E, the middle letter (heart) of swEet.

hide explanation

26a   Excellent // Eighties singer covering Queen live opening (8)

Sting^[7] (born Gordon Sumner) is an English musician who, prior to starting his solo career, was the lead singer and bassist of the rock band The Police^[7].

"Queen" = ER (show explanation )

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

hide explanation

Down

1d   Naval // force set up before current era (8)

In physics, I^[5] is the symbol for electric current.

2d   Fish // sailor lifted on ship (4)

"sailor" = AB (show explanation )

In the Royal Navy, according to Oxford Dictionaries, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman^[10] (also called able-bodied seaman) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.

hide explanation

"ship" = SS (show explanation )

In Crosswordland, a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[5] ⇒ the SS Canberra.

hide explanation

3d   For the audience, which people perform // magic? (6)

Hoodoo^[5] is another name for voodoo or witchcraft.

4d   Slowest ran gently, some /being/ split up (8)

5d   Is in trauma being treated /in/ hospital (10)

Sanitarium^[10] is the US spelling for sanatorium. [Horrors, cue howls of British outrage!]

6d   Cancel // physical, taking exercise (6)

PE^[5] is the abbreviation for physical education [or Phys Ed, as it was known in my school days]. 

8d   Fall for Brad Pitt? (6)

Brad Pitt^[7] is an American actor and film producer. Thus what is fall for him would be autumn to a Brit.

Delving Deeper

According to Oxford Dictionaries, fall[5] (also Fall) is the North American term for autumn while Collins English Dictionary characterizes fall[10] as a mainly US term for autumn. The word fall[7] actually came to North America from England. Before the 16th century, harvest was the term usually used to refer to the season, as is common in other West Germanic languages to this day (cf. Dutch herfst and German Herbst). However, as more people gradually moved from working the land to living in towns (especially those who could read and write, the only people whose use of language we now know), the word harvest lost its reference to the time of year and came to refer only to the actual activity of reaping, and autumn, as well as fall, began to replace it as a reference to the season. The term fall came to denote the season in 16th century England. During the 17th century, English emigration to the British colonies in North America was at its peak, and the new settlers took the English language with them. While the term fall gradually became obsolete in Britain, it became the more common term in North America. Notwithstanding the foregoing, I would think that in Canada the terms fall and autumn are used interchangeably and with roughly equal frequency.

13d   Run inside Gents, bursting -- afterwards, // rally (10)

"run" = R (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

In cricket, a run^[5] is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other circumstances.

hide explanation 

Scratching the Surface
The gents[5] is an informal British term for a men's public toilet.

16d   Study // line drawing? (8)

Study^[10] is used in the sense of the act or process of studying ⇒ a study group.

18d   Learn to let loose, with time, /becoming/ indulgent (8)

19d   Attacks // England overcome by defeats (6)

21d   Beak's employing old // means of execution (6)

What did she say?
In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath says This beak is a snout rather than a teacher or a magistrate .... Beak[2] is dated British slang for a headmaster, judge or magistrate.

22d   Cur/'s/ resistance to meet animal (6)

In physics, the symbol R^[5] is used to represent electrical resistance.

Rotter^[5] is a informal, dated, chiefly British term for a cruel, mean, or unkind person ?Rosemary had decided that all men were rotters.

24d   Male supports mate, /giving/ hand (4)

In Britain, mate^[5] is:

1. an informal term for a friend or companion ⇒ my best mate Steve; or
2. a friendly form of address between men or boys ⇒ ‘See you then, mate.’.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon