Saturday, December 30, 2017

Saturday, December 30, 2017 — Raise a Glass ... or a Bottle (Eh!)


Introduction

In solving today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, I became stuck in a couple of snowdrifts and needed a bit of help from my electronic assistants to push me out.

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

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Falcon's Experience
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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
- yet to be solved

Legend: "*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed

"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

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 semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions — including whimsical and vague definitions — are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

5a   Make a metallic noise, /and/ hook fish (6)

J|ANGLE — J ([letter that looks like a] hook) + ANGLE (fish)

8a   Strange belief about end of summer /being/ too hot? (7)

FEB(R)ILE* — anagram (strange) of BELIEF containing (about) R (end [final letter] of summeR)

9a   Union // hurt by fad embracing independence at first (8)

MAR|R(I)AGE — MAR (hurt) + RAGE (fad) containing (embracing) I (independence at first; initial letter of Independence)

10a   In answer, favouring // protective wear (6)

A(PRO)NS — PRO (favouring) contained in (in) ANS (answer; abbrev.)

For effect, the wordplay has been phrased in an inverted construct [just as I have done in this sentence]. For solving purposes, tt helps to restate it in a normal sequence which would be "favouring in answer".

11a   Noncommittal responses // by same crackpot (6)

MAYBES* — anagram (crackpot) of BY SAME

12a   Carrying piano, injures new // shrubs (8)

JUNI(P)ERS* — anagram (new) of INJURES containing (carrying) P (piano; musical direction to play softly)

Once again the wordplay has been presented in an inverted construct.

14a   Almost persuaded // local star (3)

SOL_ — SOL[D] (persuaded) with the final letter deleted (almost)

Sol*[5] is a poetic word for the sun.

* Sol*[5] is the Roman god personifying the sun, a counterpart of the Greek god Helios.

15a   Cut short // dangerous deed (5)

STUNT — double definition; the first a verb, the second a noun

17a   Pair // involved in Hindu organization (3)

_DU|O_ — hidden in (involved in) HinDU Organization

18a   Just like Enya, need front halves only // cut in strips (8)

JU|LI|EN|NE — the initial two letters (front halves only) of JUst LIke ENya NEee

20a   For the audience, predicts // boring things (6)

AUGERS~ — sounds like (for the audience) AUGURS (predicts)

22a   Phosphorus within insulates // flower parts (6)

SE(P)ALS — P ([symbl for the chemical element] phosphorus) contained in (within) SEALS (insulates)

24a   Geometric shapes // dancing to congas (8)

OCTAGONS* — anagram (dancing) of TO CONGAS

25a   Publication // number five by jazz legend (7)

NO|V|ELLA — NO (number; abbrev.) + V ([Roman numeral for] five) + ELLA (jazz legend [Ella Fitzgerald[7]])

26a   Official order // of French First Nation tribe (6)

DE|CREE — DE (of French; French word meaning 'of') + CREE (First Nation)

Down

1d   Preserve spot next to a // Strange Brew setting (6)

CAN|AD|A — CAN (preserve [food]) + AD ([commercial] spot) + A (†)

Strange Brew[7] (also known as The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew) is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, portrayed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis.

Loosely based on elements of Shakespeare's Hamlet, most of the film was shot in Toronto, Scarborough, Kitchener, and Hamilton, Ontario. Parts were also filmed in Prince George, British Columbia. The film begins with two unemployed brothers, Bob and Doug McKenzie, placing a live mouse in a beer bottle in an attempt to blackmail the local beer store into giving them free Elsinore beer.

2d   Secure // bananas in boat (6)

OBTAIN* — anagram (bananas) of IN BOAT

3d   Rank // maker of knots (4)

TIER — double definition; both nouns

4d   A noodler turned // artist (8)

LEONARDO* — anagram (turned) of A NOODLER

Leonardo de Vinci[7] (1452–1519) was an Italian painter, scientist, and engineer. His paintings are notable for their blended colour and shading in the technique known as sfumato; they include The Virgin of the Rocks (1483–5), The Last Supper (1498), and the enigmatic Mona Lisa (1504–5). He devoted himself to a wide range of other subjects, from anatomy and biology to mechanics and hydraulics: his nineteen notebooks include studies of the human circulatory system and plans for a type of aircraft and a submarine.

6d   Soldier capturing a dirty // Italian patriot (9)

G(ARIBALD)I — GI ([American] soldier) containing (capturing) {A (†) + RIBALD (dirty)}

Giuseppe Garibaldi[5] (1807–1882) was an Italian patriot and military leader of the Risorgimento. With his volunteer force of ‘Red Shirts’ he captured Sicily and southern Italy from the Bourbons in 1860–1, thereby playing a key role in the establishment of a united kingdom of Italy.

7d   Goes by // the Spanish cathedral areas (7)

EL|APSES — EL (the Spanish; Spanish word meaning 'the') + APSES (cathedral areas)

8d   Opponent // of turning east (3)

FO<|E — reversal (turning) of OF + E (east; abbrev.)

12d   Bit of work /with/ gem slurred (5)

JOULE — sounds like (slurred) JEWEL (gem)

Joule[5] is the SI unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves one metre in the direction of action of the force, equivalent to one 3600th of a watt-hour.

13d   Edward, excited, seen in snapshot // of teachers (9)

P(ED|AGOG)IC — {ED ([diminutive of] Edward) + AGOG (excited)} contained in (seen in) PIC (snapshot)

14d   Irish-born writer swallowing gold // wine (8)

S(AU)TERNE — STERNE (Irish-born writer [Laurence Sterne[7]]) containing AU ([symbol for the chemical element] gold)

Sauterne[10] is a sweet to semi-dry Californian white wine blended from several kinds of grapes. The French wine is spelled Sauternes[10].

16d   Tried eating bagel // lightly browned (7)

T(O)ASTED — TASTED (tried) containing (eating) O ([letter that looks like a] bagel)

19d   Is only troubled // in a prying way (6)

NOSILY* — anagram (troubled) of IS ONLY

21d   Park employee // red with fury (6)

R|ANGER — R (red; abbrev. found on video connectors) + (with) ANGER (fury)

23d   A tube’s // what off-roaders use (4)

A|TV|S — A (†) + TV (tube; television) + S ('s)

24d   Love Virginia/’s/ eggs (3)

O|VA — O (love; nil score in tennis) + VA (Virginia; abbrev.)

Epilogue

The title of today's review is inspired by 16d together with 14d and 1d.
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)
[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
Signing off for today — Falcon

Friday, December 29, 2017

Friday, December 29, 2017 — DT 28539

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28539
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, September 22, 2017
Setter
Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28539]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Deep Threat
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★ Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience
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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

As is the case more often than not, the fact that this puzzle is a pangram* completely escaped my notice.

* a puzzle in which the solutions to the clues include at least one occurrence of every letter of the alphabet

In the UK, a different version of clue 16a appeared on the Telegraph Puzzles website replacing the version which appeared in the printed edition of the paper. On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Giovanni (the setter of the puzzle) explains in a response to Comment #14 why clues sometime differ on the various platforms on which a puzzle appears.

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 semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Author /has/ dreamy eye movements, taken aback by little sparrow? (8)

This clue proved to be a tour de force of deduction in that I managed to come up with the correct solution despite being unfamiliar with the British writer and not knowing the origin of the name of the French singer.

Rapid eye movement[10] (abbreviation REM) is the movement of the eyeballs under closed eyelids during paradoxical sleep*, which occurs while the sleeper is dreaming.

* Paradoxical sleep[10] is sleep that appears to be deep but that is characterized by a brain wave pattern similar to that of wakefulness, rapid eye movements, and heavier breathing.

Édith Piaf[7] (1915–1963) was a French cabaret singer, songwriter, and actress who became widely regarded as France's national chanteuse, as well as being one of France's greatest international stars. Her songs included ‘La Vie en rose’ and ‘Je ne regrette rien’.

Piaf was born Édith Giovanna Gassion. In 1935, she was discovered by nightclub owner Louis Leplée who persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness, which, combined with her height of only 142 centimetres (4 ft 8 in), inspired him to give her the nickname that would stay with her for the rest of her life and serve as her stage name, La Môme Piaf (Paris slang meaning "The Waif Sparrow" or "The Little Sparrow").

* môme[8] and piaf[8] are the French words for 'waif (kid, tyke, gamin)' and 'sparrow' respectively



George Meredith[7] (1828– 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times.



The question mark in the clue is likely an indication that we are not literally looking for a bird.

5a   British party-goer // taking more risks? (6)

The question mark denotes that "taking more risks" might indicate this quality. On the other hand, it could just show that the individual is more foolish.

9a   To attract support /is/ a problem (8)

10a   This as PM begins /to make/ changes (6)

The first part of the clue is a cryptic definition of what happens at noon. (show explanation )

At noon, AM ends and PM begins.

hide explanation

12a   Army officer comes to old American city // where people have settled (6)

13a   Petitions // regarding hunts (8)

15a   Powerfully persuasive // wife just into ninth decade (7)

When one turns eighty, they complete their eighth decade and begin their ninth.

16a   Man of paradox /seen as/ some brazen opportunist (4)

Zeno[5] (fl. 5th century BC) was a Greek philosopher. A member of the Eleatic school, he defended Parmenides' theories by formulating paradoxes which appeared to demonstrate the impossibility of motion, one of which shows that once Achilles has given a tortoise a start he can never overtake it, since each time he arrives where it was, it has already moved on.



This version of the clue was replaced on the Telegraph Puzzles website with the following:
  • Buddhist school backed by old // philosopher (4)
Zen[10] is a Japanese school of Buddhism, of 12th-century Chinese origin, teaching that contemplation of one's essential nature to the exclusion of all else is the only way of achieving pure enlightenment.

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat informs us that this school of Buddhism is sometimes linked with the art of motorcycle maintenance.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values[7] (ZAMM), by American writer and philosopher Robert M. Pirsig (1928–2017), is a book that was first published in 1974. It is a work of fictionalized autobiography, and is the first of Pirsig's texts in which he explores his Metaphysics of Quality.

The title is an apparent play on the title of the book Zen in the Art of Archery by German philosopher Eugen Herrigel (1884–1955). In its introduction, Pirsig explains that, despite its title, "it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."

20a   Unopened Hungarian wine /gets/ an endorsement (4)

Tokay[5] is a sweet aromatic wine, originally made near Tokaj in Hungary.

21a   Front of cathedral has gold -- pleasant // architectural feature (7)

"gold" = OR (show explanation )

Or[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

In heraldry, a tincture[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

hide explanation



A cornice[5] is:
  • an ornamental moulding round the wall of a room just below the ceiling
  • a horizontal moulded projection crowning a building or structure, especially the uppermost member of the entablature of an order, surmounting the frieze

25a   Poor /and/ holy, albeit dancing around (8)

Pi[5] is an informal British short form for pious.

26a   Republic/'s/ old coin (6)

Guinea[5] is a country on the west coast of Africa. Part of a feudal Fulani empire from the 16th century, Guinea was colonized by France, becoming part of French West Africa. It became an independent republic in 1958.



Historically, the guinea[5] was a former British gold coin that was first minted in 1663 from gold imported from West Africa, with a value that was later fixed at 21 shillings. It was replaced by the sovereign from 1817.

28a   A drink for you and your companions // in the vicinity (6)

29a   Embarrassed performer /gets/ one to change script (8)

30a   Settle comfortably /in/ Swiss company (6)

Nestlé S.A.[5] is a Swiss transnational food and drink company headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. Since 2014, it has been the largest food company in the world, measured by revenues and other metrics.

31a   Products from sewers (8)

Down

1d   Famous family /producing/ two-thirds of pharmaceutical products (6)

Medici[5] (also de' Medici) is the name of a powerful Italian family of bankers and merchants whose members effectively ruled Florence for much of the 15th century and from 1569 were grand dukes of Tuscany. Cosimo and Lorenzo de’ Medici were notable rulers and patrons of the arts in Florence; the family also provided four popes (including Leo X) and two queens of France (Catherine de’ Medici and Marie de Médicis).

2d   Drug smuggled into meeting? // That surprises me! (6)

Ecstasy = "E" (show explanation )

E[5] is an abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy* or a tablet of Ecstasy ⇒ (i) people have died after taking E; (ii) being busted with three Es can lead to stiff penalties.

* Ecstasy[5] is an illegal amphetamine-based synthetic drug with euphoric effects, originally produced as an appetite suppressant. Also called MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine).

hide explanation

While one might infer the the question mark signals that an example of a drug is needed, its might merely be included to enhance the surface reading of the clue. The exclamation mark indicates that he the solution is, in fact, an exclamation.

3d   Exposed, /being/ removed from bed? (8)

The cryptic nature of the second definition is flagged by the question mark.

4d   Food parcel // that a company wraps (4)

6d   Strengthen // little dog after appearance of aggressive male beast? (4,2)

7d   One hiding in front building // disappeared (8)

8d   Group of stores is to retail // electrical component (8)

A resistor[5] is a device having resistance to the passage of an electric current.

11d   In Paris the first person with smart // ridicule? (7)

Je[8] is a French pronoun meaning 'I'.

The question may indicate that jesting could — but does not necessarily — constitute ridicule.

14d   One French city with soldiers leaving // base (7)

My deductive skills failed me here even though one might think that this would be an easier solve than 1a. Although I had identified the correct soldiers, for some reason I became hung up on the bizarre notion that the French city must begin with the letters "Ag...". However, it took merely a gentle nudge from my electronic assistants to set me back on the right track.

Grenoble[7] is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. It was the site of the 1968 Winter Olympic Games.

"soldiers" = OR (show explanation )

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks[5] (abbreviation OR[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

hide explanation

17d   Grumble // when evening service is cut short, penning article (8)

Compline[5] is a service of evening prayers forming part of the Divine Office of the Western Christian Church, traditionally said (or chanted) before retiring for the night.

18d   Warring groups maybe /in/ loud battles (8)

"loud" = F (show explanation )

Forte[5] (abbreviation f[5]) is a musical direction meaning (as an adjective) loud or (as an adverb) loudly.

hide explanation

The word "maybe" is included in the definition as factions may — or may not — be "warring groups". They may merely be groups holding different points of view without feeling the need to resort to physical violence to impose those views on others.

19d   Resident /giving/ muddled account about parking (8)

"parking" = P

22d   Sensual // dipper's bottom visible in waterway (6)

This, I thought, is a clue worthy of RayT.

Scratching the Surface
The dipper[5] is a short-tailed songbird related to the wrens, frequenting fast-flowing streams and able to swim, dive, and walk under water to feed.

23d   Bit /of/ a lift (6)

A snatch[5] is a fragment of song or talk picking up snatches of conversation.



In weightlifting, snatch[5] denotes the the rapid raising of a weight from the floor to above the head in one movement.

24d   Mum needing doctor when /in/ Indian city (6)

Madras[5] is the former name (until 1995) for Chennai[5], a seaport on the eastern coast of India and capital of the state of Tamil Nadu.

27d   Modern message // that is extracted from the Bible? (4)

A text[5] is a passage from the Bible or other religious work, especially when used as the subject of a sermon.
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)
[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
Signing off for today — Falcon

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Thursday, December 28, 2017 — DT 28538

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28538
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28538]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Falcon
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★ Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience
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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

I think I might have struggled more with this puzzle the second time around than I did on my initial solve back in September when reviewing in for Big Dave's Crossword Blog. I certainly found it no easier than I did then. In fact, I was well into the puzzle before it dawned on me that this was a rerun.

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 semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Postman's endless list /on/ round (6)

Postman Pat[5] is a British stop-motion animated children's television series that has aired in the UK since 1981. The show, aimed at pre-school children, concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale.

4a   Flag, // out of lust and ardour (8)

9a   Beginning to seem bothered? (6)

This is an all-in-one clue in which the entire clue is both wordplay and definition.

10a   Substitutes // with obligations to secure record (8)

"record" = EP (show explanation )

EP[10] (abbreviation for extended-play) is one of the formats in which music is sold, usually comprising four or five tracks.

hide explanation

12a   Style, // say, wearing English cut (8)

13a   Speechless that trendy's admitted to // flash (6)

15a   Terrible ham promises to // change (13)

18a   Revolting to-do in France about European // Union (13)

22a   This compiler's practically impenetrable? // Not true! (6)

"this compiler's" = MY (show explanation )

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

Today, the setter has made the scenario slightly more complicated by using "this compiler's" in a possessive sense thereby requiring it to be replaced by a possessive pronoun.

hide explanation

24a   Absolute // 'catch' allowed sweetheart to embrace male (8)

26a   This dish /is/ wrong, I will answer (8)

27a   It's vital to check explosive // fuse (6)

HE[5] is the abbreviation for high explosive.

28a   Left // endorsed again? (8)

29a   One having punt // improved (6)

Punt[2,3,4,5,10,11] is a chiefly British term which (as a verb) means:
  • (verb) to gamble or bet, especially against the bank (as in roulette and some card games such as faro) or on horses or other sporting events
  • (noun) such a gamble or bet

Down

1d   Badger // exterminator gutlessly follows nuisance (6)

2d   Reputation bound to rise about small // shopkeeper (9)

Tradesman[10,11] is a chiefly British term meaning a man engaged in trade, especially a retail dealer; in other words, a shopkeeper.

3d   Emote too much /giving/ account in public (7)

5d   Terribly winsome, excessively endearing, just for starters (4)

Another all-in-one clue in which the entire clue is both wordplay and definition.

Twee[5] is a British term meaning excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental ⇒ although the film’s a bit twee, it’s watchable.

6d   Feed // rhinos digested, eating stripped cud (7)

7d   Nice farewell? (5)

This clue is a cryptic definition.

Nice[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy.

Adieu[5] (from French: 'goodbye' or 'farewell') is a chiefly literary term that means:
  • (exclamation) goodbye
  • (noun) a goodbye ⇒ he whispered a fond adieu .

8d   Husband is persevering holding /in/ spread (8)

11d   Holidaymaker under canvas finally /getting/ to frolic (7)

Holidaymaker[5] is a British term for a person on holiday [vacation] away from home.

Here and There
The British use the word holiday(s) where North Americans might say vacation[5]. Holiday[5,10] (often holidays) is a chiefly British term for a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation (i) I spent my summer holidays on a farm; (ii) Fred was on holiday in Spain.

According to the British dictionaries, the usual US and Canadian term for such a break is vacation. However, I am accustomed to hearing the two terms used almost interchangeably — in much the same manner that we use fall and autumn interchangeably. This may not be the case in all parts of Canada, but I grew up in the Maritimes and have lived in Eastern Ontario for most of my life, both areas where British influence is particularly strong.

In Britain, the word vacation[5] has a very specific meaning, a fixed holiday period between terms in universities and law courts ⇒ the Easter vacation. In North America, such a period might be called a break[7].

14d   Duplicity /of/ crooked senator (7)

16d   Most fervent // following and support (9)

17d   Sword // wound around one hand, cut (8)

A scimitar[5] is a short sword with a curved blade that broadens towards the point, used originally in Eastern countries.

19d   Leaving // former wife single can start to grate (7)

20d   Pick up // mischievous child on prowl (7)

21d   Incredibly remote // object seen in space (6)

23d   Times oddly covering Queen // titles (5)

"Queen" = ER, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth (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— from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

hide explanation

In the solution, term[5] is used as a verb meaning to give a descriptive name to or call by a specified term ⇒ he has been termed the father of modern theology.

Scratching the Surface
The Times[7] is a British daily national newspaper based in London. The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a division of News UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian-born American publisher and media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

25d   Run away /from/ sound of insect (4)
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)
[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
Signing off for today — Falcon

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Wednesday, December 27, 2017 — DT 28537

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28537
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28537]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
2Kiwis
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

Today's offering from Jay goes easy on difficulty but does not scrimp on enjoyment.

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 semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Donor/'s/ complaint about new player (10)

6a   Responsibility, // having advantage but losing the lead (4)

9a   Feel concern about victory appearing in court // division (5-2)

Carve-up[5] (noun) is an informal British expression denoting a ruthless division of something into separate areas or parts the carve-up of the brewing industry by vested interests.

10a   Inflammatory // European rationale (7)

12a   Nobody let off Labour // association (3,3,7)

Old boy network[5] (also old boys' network) denotes an informal system through which men are thought to use their positions of influence to help others who went to the same school or university as they did, or who share a similar social background ⇒ many managers were chosen by the old boy network.

I am familiar with the latter version but not the former.

In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2])  is:
  • a former male student of a school or college ⇒an old boy of Banbury County School; or
  • a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒ the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards.
It is interesting that although the term "old boy" is not used in North America, we do use the expression "old boys' network".

Scratching the Surface
The capitalization of the word "Labour" would indicate that the surface reading alludes to the Labour Party[5], a British left-of-centre political party formed to represent the interests of ordinary working people that since the Second World War has been in power 1945–51, 1964–70, 1974-9, and 1997–2010. Arising from the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century, it replaced the Liberals as the country’s second party after the First World War.

14a   Quiet footballers in company /providing/ breeding ground for schools (4,4)

The Football Association[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of football [soccer] in England. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

15a   Frozen? It helps to cover // top (6)

17a   Listen in // rage, lost, crossing central London district (6)

The West End[5] is the entertainment and shopping area of London to the west of the City*. The boundaries of the West End coincide closely with those of the W1 postcode area[7] [postcode being the British counterpart of the Canadian postal code or American zip code].

* Note that the City[5] is short for the City of London[5] (not to be confused with the city of London). (show explanation ) Both the West End and the City of London would be considered to be within central London.


The City of London[7] is a city and ceremonial county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the conurbation has since grown far beyond the City's borders. The City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. It is one of two districts of London to hold city status, the other being the adjacent City of Westminster.

It is widely referred to simply as the City (often written as just "City" and differentiated from the phrase "the city of London" by capitalising "City") and is also colloquially known as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (2.90 km2), in area. Both of these terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. This is analogous to the use of the terms Wall Street and Bay Street to refer to the financial institutions located in New York and Toronto respectively.

hide explanation

What did they say?
In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis describe the area in question as the London district that takes in Mayfair and Soho.
Mayfair[5] is a fashionable and wealthy district in the West End of London, originally the site of a fair held annually in May in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Soho*[7] is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable transformation. It now is predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues.

* The name Soho[5] dates to the mid 17th century and probably derives from the old word soho, used as a hunting cry: the area was a royal park in Tudor times.



Earwig[5] is an informal British term meaning to eavesdrop on a conversation ⇒ he looked behind him to see if anyone was earwigging.

19a   Heart, perhaps, is initially eager /and/ direct (8)

21a   Successful run /of/ king after life (metaphorically) in turbulent water (7,6)

"king" = K (show explanation )

K[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

hide explanation

In cricket, innings[5] (plural same or informally inningses) can denote any of:
  • each of two or four divisions of a game during which one side has a turn at batting ⇒ the highlight of the Surrey innings
  • a player’s turn at batting ⇒ he had played his greatest innings
  • the score achieved during a player’s turn at batting ⇒ a solid innings of 78 by Marsh.
In the first sense, the term innings (spelled with an 's') would correspond somewhat to an inning (spelled without an 's') in baseball while the second sense would be roughly equivalent to an at bat in baseball.

Metaphorically, an innings[5] is a period during which a person or group is active or effective Brewer stepped up to the commission and had his innings too.

24a   Income /generated by/ engineers replacing start of tree-lined road (7)

"engineers" = RE (show explanation )

The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

hide explanation

25a   Ruin fun and stagger, /showing/ force out of habit (7)

A habit[5] is a long, loose garment worn by a member of a religious order ⇒ nuns in long brown habits, black veils, and sandals.

Unfrock[5] is another term for defrock[5] meaning to deprive (a person in holy orders) of ecclesiastical status (i) he had left his diocese one step ahead of a move to defrock him; (ii) a defrocked French Catholic priest.

26a   Type // like this vacuous recruit (4)

So[2] means in that [or this] state or condition [i.e., ‛like that’ or ‛like this’(i) promised to be faithful, and has remained so; (ii) She told him ‛I am single, and I plan to remain so.’.

27a   Popular item of underwear intended, reportedly, /for/ capital (10)

In Britain, a vest[5] is an undergarment worn on the upper part of the body, typically having no sleeves. The garment that North Americans (as well as Australians) call a vest is known in the UK as a waistcoat.

Down

1d   Have a punt on // other side (4)

Punt[2,3,4,5,10,11] is a chiefly British term which (as a verb) means to gamble or bet, especially against the bank (as in roulette and some card games such as faro), or on horses or other sporting events and (as a noun) denotes such a gamble or bet.

Back[5] (verb) is used in the sense of to bet money on (a person or animal) winning a race or contest ⇒ he backed the horse at 33–1.

2d   Contracts // speeded up arguments (7)

3d   Criminal soon vilified by female/'s/ spatial perception (5,2,6)

4d   Furniture item // requiring copper lead on a rod, possibly (8)

"copper" = CU (show explanation )

The symbol for the chemical element copper is Cu[5] (from late Latin cuprum).

hide explanation

"lead" = PB (show explanation )

The symbol for the chemical element lead is Pb[5] (from Latin plumbum).

hide explanation

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, lead[5] could possibly be taken in the British sense of  a wire that conveys electric current from a source to an appliance, or that connects two points of a circuit together.

5d   Evenly poached -- ain't // much water (5)

7d   Robin circulates around first-class // capital (7)

"first-class" = AI (show explanation )

A1[4][5] or A-one[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

hide explanation



Nairobi[5] is the capital of Kenya. It is situated on the central Kenyan plateau at an altitude of 1,680 m (5,500 ft).

8d   He nicks your stuff // if he's taken amiss (5,5)

Nick[5] is an informal British term meaning to steal ⇒ she nicked fivers from the till.

11d   Apparently // where hands must work round the clock ... (2,3,4,2,2)

On the face of it[5] is a phrase meaning without knowing all of the relevant facts or apparently on the face of it, these improvements look to be insignificant.

On the face of it the ellipses may look significant. However, they serve merely to enhance the surface reading (one is expected to read the two clues together as a single statement) and they play no role whatsoever in the cryptic reading of the clues.

13d   ... then, // behind parts of hospital (10)

16d   Stick out // rubbish hoarded by strait-laced type (8)

Rubbish*[3,4,11] is used in the sense of foolish words or speech; in other words, nonsense.* }

* Oxford Dictionaries considers the word rubbish[5] (in all senses) to be chiefly British — despite it not being characterized as such by American dictionaries.

Rot[3,4,11] is used in the sense of pointless talk or nonsense.

18d   Summarised // article pinched by hobo (3,4)

From a British perspective, hobo[5] is a North American term for a tramp*[5] or vagrant**[5].

* a person who travels from place to place on foot in search of work or as a vagrant or beggar
** a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging

A rover[5] is a person who spends their time wandering.

20d   Annoying // a few, supporting church with no roof (7)

Kirk[5] is a Scottish and Northern English term for a church.

22d   Harvest // acres within valley (5)

A.[10] is the abbreviation for acre(s) or acreage.

A glen[5] is a narrow valley, especially in Scotland or Ireland.

23d   Go around with no end of paper /for/ sketch (4)
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)
[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
Signing off for today — Falcon