Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 — DT 28551

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28551
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, October 6, 2017
Setter
Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28551]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Deep Threat
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

Giovanni has maintained the elevated pace of workout established yesterday by RayT.

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   It may mean junk ends up as junk! (9)

A junk[5] is a flat-bottomed sailing vessel of a kind typical of China and the East Indies, with a prominent stem and lugsails.

9a   Something not what it seems? // This person's about to get very cross (6)

"this person's" = IM (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 combining "this person" with the verb "to be" producing "this person's" (a contraction of "this person is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").

hide explanation

10a   Lights by promontory /shown in/ picture (9)

Behind the Picture
Deep Threat illustrates his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog with View on the Stour near Dedham (1822) by English Romantic painter John Constable[7] (1776–1837). Born in Suffolk in eastern England, Constable is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home — now known as "Constable Country".

11a   Hunter/'s/ drink -- not the first (6)

12a   Composer /in/ Swiss city with beer mug (9)

Bern is an alternative spelling of Berne[5], the capital of Switzerland since 1848.

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat describes Bern as [t]he Swiss city famous for its bear pits.
The Bärengraben[7], or Bear Pit, is a tourist attraction in Bern. It is a bear pit, or enclosure housing bears, situated at the eastern edge of the old city of Bern. The Bärengraben is a Swiss heritage site of national significance, and is of particular significance in Bern because the bear is a symbol of both the city and surrounding canton, and is featured in their coat of arms.



Although Deep Threat focuses on one famous composer, there is also a second one of that name.

Leonard Bernstein[5] (1918–1990) was a US composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a conductor with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra 1945–48 and 1957–69. Notable works: The Age of Anxiety (symphony, 1947–49), West Side Story (musical, 1957), and music for the movie On the Waterfront (1954).

Elmer Bernstein*[7] (1922–2004) was an American composer and conductor who is best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions. His most popular works include the scores to The Magnificent Seven, The Ten Commandments, The Great Escape, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ghostbusters, The Black Cauldron, Airplane!, The Rookies, Cape Fear, Animal House, and The Age of Innocence. He won an Oscar for his score to Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).

* He was not related to the celebrated composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein; but the two men were friends. Within the world of professional music, they were distinguished from each other by the use of the nicknames Bernstein West (Elmer) and Bernstein East (Leonard). They pronounced their last names differently; Elmer pronounced his (BERN-steen), and Leonard's was (BERN-stine).

13a   Article penned by a foreign Socialist /is/ not perused (6)

"a foreign" = UN, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article in French, Italian and Spanish (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un[8].

 In Italian, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un[8].

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un[8].

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17a   Edmund falling over /in/ pit (3)

Ned[7] is an English given name and variant of Ed*, sometimes short for Edward, Edmund, Edgar, or Edwin.

* "Ned" may have risen from generations of children hearing "mine Ed" as "my Ned" (an example of a process linguists call rebracketing).

19a   Criticise a revolutionary /for/ grand manner (7)

"revolutionary" = CHE (show explanation )

Che Guevara[7] (1928–1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.

hide explanation

20a   Someone who sees what you can see (7)

In its first instance, see[10] is used in the sense of to to ascertain or find out (a fact).

21a   Black bird rolls over /in/ this bundle (3)

Daw[5] is another term for jackdaw[5], a small grey-headed crow that typically nests in tall buildings and chimneys, noted for its inquisitiveness.

23a   Saint /in/ ruin needing money (6)

Tin[5] is a dated informal British term for money ⇒ Kim’s only in it for the tin.

Saint Martin of Tours[5] (316 or 336 – 397) was Bishop of Tours, whose shrine in France became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Behind the Picture

Saint Martin is best known for the account of his using his military sword* to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter (depicted in the illustration in Deep Threat's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog).

* Conscripted as a soldier into the Roman army, he found the duty incompatible with the Christian faith he had adopted and became an early conscientious objector.

27a   Terrible US baddies /must be/ set free from wrong ideas (9)

28a   Veto is exercised /in/ council (6)

Soviet[5] can refer to either:
  • an elected local, district, or national council in the former Soviet Union
  • a revolutionary council of workers or peasants in Russia before 1917
29a   Carpet // material by edge and at the back (9)

Rep[5] (also repp) is a fabric with a ribbed surface, used in curtains and upholstery.



Carpet[5] is British* slang meaning to reprimand severelythe Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses.

* Although we do not use this expression in North America, we certainly use the presumably related expression to be called on the carpet[5].

30a   Blunders /made by/ English bishop at back of basilica (6)

"bishop" = RR (show explanation )

Right Reverend[5] (abbreviation RR[2]) is a title given to a bishop, especially in the Anglican Church ⇒ the Right Reverend David Jenkins, Bishop of Durham.

hide explanation

31a   See red and act violently, /bringing/ 6 (9)

The numeral "6" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 6d in its place to complete the clue. The directional indicator is customarily omitted in situations such as this where only a single clue starts in the light* that is being referenced.

* light-coloured cell in the grid

Note that although the solution to 6d is a noun, it transforms into a verb in the present clue.

Down

2d   Blissful place // in the avenue (6)

3d   Quiet editor, worker // who pays attention to good grammar? (6)

"quiet" = P (show explanation )

Piano[3,5] (abbreviation p[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

hide explanation

"worker" = ANT (show explanation )

The word "worker" and the phrase "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.

A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.

In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.

hide explanation

4d   Declaim /as/ English Conservative joining in ceremony (6)

"Conservative" = C (show explanation )

The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].

The Conservative Party[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.

* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

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5d   Bill coming up -- what is charged /is/ something fanciful (7)

6d   Is husband getting on held in serious // ignominy? (9)

7d   Leader of society wants fairness organised // without any frills (4,5)

San serif[5] (adjective) is a printing term meaning without serifs*.

* A serif[5] is a slight projection finishing off a stroke of a letter in certain typefaces.

8d   Rob /and/ Pete dread being made to look silly (9)

Depredate[5] means to steal from, typically using force; in other words, to plunder (i) many types of predators depredate bird nests; (ii) wandering flocks of pigeons depredating barley crops.

14d   Someone having agents // to sort out party mess (9)

15d   English partygoers? // They get into the groove (9)

16d   /With/ stress beginning to spread around, I had // bad things happening (9)

Deep Threat seems to have missed a letter in his solution on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. The wordplay parses as {ACCENT (stress) + S (beginning to [initial letter of] Spread)} containing (around) ID (I had; contracted as I'd).

Despite being positioned at the beginning of the clue, the word "with" is equivalent to a link word. From a cryptic perspective, the clue might be expressed as:
  • Bad things happening /with/ stress beginning to spread around I had (9)
Of course, this change would destroy the surface reading.

17d   One day rising /to find/ dampness (3)

18d   Sign of approval // in words regularly trotted out (3)

A regular sequence of letters (in this case, the even-numbered ones) from "iN wOrDs" is brought out for others to see or admire (trotted out[12]).

22d   Irritability in an east // Texas city (7)

Bile[5] is used in the sense of anger or irritability ⇒ that topic is sure to stir up plenty of bile.



Abilene[5] is a city in north central Texas, an agricultural and oil industry center.

24d   Author /with/ obstacle, not finishing (6)

Sir J. M. Barrie[5] (1860–1937) was a Scottish dramatist and novelist; full name James Matthew Barrie. Barrie’s most famous play is Peter Pan (1904), a fantasy for children about a boy who did not grow up.

25d   Drink repeatedly being knocked over /leads to/ grumble (6)

26d   Note put up: // 'We need this for cheese- making' (6)

Tenner[5] is an informal British name for a ten-pound note.



Rennet[5] is curdled milk from the stomach of an unweaned calf, containing rennin and used in curdling milk for cheese.
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

2 comments:

  1. A good puzzle well meriting 3 for difficulty. Top half went quickly and then SW but I had to consult Big Dave's blog for clues on the last 3 in the SE corner. My favourite was 1A.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I remember correctly, the SE was the area that put up the most resistance in my case as well.

      Delete

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