Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Tuesday, July 4, 2017 — DT 28409

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28409
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, April 24, 2017
Setter
Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28409]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Miffypops
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

Rufus puts us through a very gentle workout today.

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

1a   Capital /in/ account to get new car (5)

Accra[5] is the capital of Ghana, a port on the Gulf of Guinea; population 1,970,400 (est. 2005).

4a   They're no good by all accounts (3,5)

8a   Len, a Tory, goes out // in florid style (8)

9a   Large town following legend/'s/ wisdom (8)

11a   I'm standing by for each one left /and/ put in jeopardy (7)

13a   A drink knocked over runs quickly /and/ dries up (9)

15a   Requirement for sewer // near land the deed dealt with (6,3,6)

18a   Remained a single /and/ not disturbed (4,5)

21a   Mourn // eccentric old peer (7)

22a   Light entertainment // to repeat all over the place (8)

24a   One involved with erratic // standards (8)

25a   Outfit with energy grabbing silver /in/ equestrian discipline (8)

The symbol for the chemical element silver is Ag[5] from Latin argentum.

26a   Water lily // collection going to America (5)

Lotus[2] is the name of several species of water lily.
  • a species of water lily sacred to the ancient Egyptians and often depicted in Egyptian art
  • either of two species of water lily belonging to a separate genus, widely cultivated as ornamental plants, one native to Asia, with pink flowers and traditionally associated with Buddhism and Hinduism, and the other native to southern USA, with yellow flowers
The lotus of Greek mythology was not a water lily but the fruit of the jujube shrub, used by the ancient Greeks to make bread and wine, consumption of which was thought to produce a state of blissful and dreamy forgetfulness.

Down

1d   Native // graduate returns to meet first form (10)

2d   Prison breaks contained by church // scheme (8)

"church" = CE (show explanation )

The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

hide explanation

3d   Nevertheless, // not to be satisfied with just part? (5,3)

4d   They will be themselves (4)

5d   Leave // the City with clammy weather about (6)

"the City" = EC (show explanation )

In the clue, the setter uses "the City" to stand for for the EC postcode* which serves the City of London. The EC (Eastern Central) postcode area[7] (also known as the London EC postcode area) is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. It includes almost all of the City of London as well as parts of several other London boroughs.

* postcode being the British counterpart of the Canadian postal code or American zip code

The City of London[7] (not to be confused with the city of London) 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 of London 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.

The City of London 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

6d   Pacific location // in which one may be found sunbathing (6)

Bikini[5] is an atoll in the Marshall Islands, in the western Pacific, used by the US between 1946 and 1958 as a site for testing nuclear weapons.

The item of swimwear was named after Bikini, where an atom bomb was exploded in 1946 (because of the supposed ‘explosive’ effect created by the garment).

7d   Dispatch // snow vehicle, we hear (4)

10d   Shorter // game's interrupted in these days (8)

12d   Attack // lazy fellow (8)

14d   Riding breeches? No, but riders do use them (10)

Bags[5] is a dated British term for loose-fitting trousers ⇒ a pair of flannel bags.

16d   All being well, it should be empty (8)

17d   Unusual car route /for/ one in Brussels (8)

Brussels[5] (the capital of Belgium) is also considered the de facto capital of the European Union[7], having a long history of hosting the institutions of the European Union within its European Quarter. The EU has no official capital, and no plans to declare one, but Brussels hosts the official seats of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and European Council, as well as a seat (officially the second seat but de facto the most important one) of the European Parliament.

Just as Washington and London are used as metonyms for the US and UK respectively, Brussels serves as a metonym for the EU.

Eurocrat[5] is an informal — and chiefly derogatory — term for a bureaucrat in the administration of the European Union.

19d   Intense // dancing rife before getting caught with Ecstasy? (6)

"caught" = C (show explanation )

In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.[2,10] or c[5] denotes caught (by).

hide explanation

"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

20d   They represent us –- // amen! (6)

22d   Married with ring –- // outstanding (4)

23d   Problem // that teacher's hidden (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

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