Monday, May 25, 2020 — DT 29192 (Published Saturday, May 23, 2020)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29192
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, October 26, 2019
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29192 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29192 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Tilsit (Hints) crypticsue (Review)
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
Notes
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review. This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, May 23, 2020 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

I was gobsmacked to see crypticsue's assessment of this puzzle. I don't believe that I have ever seen such a negative rating — or a difficulty rating surpassing four stars. As I managed to complete the puzzle without outside assistance, I am feeling pretty proud of myself — or, as the Brits would say, chuffed. And although I found the puzzle difficult, I did rather enjoy it.

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.

Markup Conventions
"//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present "/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present	"solid underline" - precise definition "dotted underline" - cryptic definition "dashed underline" - wordplay "double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a	Wild cat is stalking cobra, writhing /and/ tumbling (10)

Take Your Pick

On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Tilsit places the anagram of CAT IS "after" the anagram of COBRA while crypticsue has it "round". However, both approaches yield the same result. My initial thought was that Tilsit's explanation (following) better suits the indicator "stalking" than does crypticsue's version (circling). However, on further reflection, I do believe that lions stalking their prey may very well circle them. So given the predator mentioned in the clue, her approach may even be the more appropriate one.

6a	Men seeking stable // parts of moat, grit falling unevenly (4)

In Christianity, the Magi^[2] (plural of magus) were the three^* wise men or astrologers from the east who brought gifts to the infant Jesus, guided by a star. Also called the Three Kings and the Three Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12).

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^* or possibly more (show more )

Matthew is the only one of the four canonical gospels to mention the Magi^[7]. Matthew reports that they came "from the east" to worship the "king of the Jews". The gospel never mentions the number of Magi, but most western Christian denominations have traditionally assumed them to have been three in number, based on the statement that they brought three gifts. In Eastern Christianity, especially the Syriac churches, the Magi often number twelve.

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9a	Motorway with illuminations, westbound excellent /for/ emergency service? (7)

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway^* in England connecting London to Leeds.

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^* Motorway^[2,5] (abbreviation M^[5]) is a British, Australian, and New Zealand term for a dual-carriageway road [divided highway] designed for fast-moving traffic, especially one with three lanes per carriageway [direction of travel] and limited access and exit points [controlled access].

"excellent " = AI [ship classification (A1)]

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.

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A militia^[5] is a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency.

What did he say?

In his hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Tilsit describes the solution as the name given to an emergency force seen abroad. It seems that the term militia has not seen much use in the UK in the last century or so, although a few vestiges do remain[7]: Militias existed prior to the 20th century. In the first decade of the 20th century, the 'militias' were renamed 'reserves'. The reserves were placed in "suspended animation" in 1924 and disbanded in 1953. In 1939, a limited form of conscription was introduced. The term militia was applied to these conscripts in an effort to make the idea more acceptable to the British public. The declaration of war on 3 September entailed implementation of full conscription, superseding the militia, never to be revived. Three units of the British Army still maintain their militia designation: the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers, the Jersey Field Squadron (The Royal Militia Island of Jersey), and the Royal Alderney Militia. Finally, the Atholl Highlanders are a ceremonial infantry militia maintained by the Duke of Atholl—they are the only legal private army in Europe.

10a	Boozer in almost entirely prime // colours (7)

Scratching the Surface
In British English, boozer[5] is not only an informal term for a person who drinks large quantities of alcohol but also an informal term for a pub or bar. Thus, while the term is used in the former sense in the cryptic reading of the clue, Brits will likely see it in the latter sense in the surface reading.

12a	Rash /of/ surplus plastic noticed around northern France (4-9)

"France " = F [IVR code]

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for France is F^[5].

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French Licence Plate
(The IVR code is on the left below the EU flag emblem)

14a	Dog following return of the Queen/'s/ hawk (6)

"the Queen " = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth]

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.

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15a	And what have you from Rome? (2,6)

17a	Journalist showing behind while notice /is/ given (8)

19a	Weep /as/ son rejected the wine in Provence (6)

"son " = S [genealogy]

In genealogies, s^[5] is the abbreviation for son(s) ⇒ m 1991; one s one d^*.

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^* married in 1991; one son and one daughter.

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Provence^[5] is a former province of southeastern France, on the Mediterranean coast east of the Rhône. It is now part of the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. (show more )

Settled by the Greeks in the 6th century BC, the area around Marseilles became, in the 1st century BC, part of the Roman colony of Gaul. It was united with France in 1481.

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The French word for wine is vin^[8]. As it is masculine, "the wine" is le vin.

22a	A good deal securer /using/ local net search about retiring (7-6)

Local^[5] is an informal British term for a pub convenient to a person’s home ⇒ a pint in the local.

24a	Quintet sit rabbiting about incorporating // singer? (7)

Scratching the Surface

Rabbit[5] is an informal British term meaning (noun) a conversation ⇒ we had quite a heated rabbit about it (verb) to talk at length, especially about trivial matters ⇒ stop rabbiting on, will you, and go to bed! The term rabbit (meaning talk) comes from Cockney rhyming slang "rabbit and pork". In Cockney rhyming slang, the slang word (in this case, "rabbit") is obtained by replacing a word (in this case, "talk") by a phrase with which it rhymes (in this case, "rabbit and pork") and then dropping the rhyming word (in this case, "pork"*) from the phrase. Through this process, "talk" becomes "rabbit". * The word "pork" , when pronounced in a non-rhotic accent (show explanation ) typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially southeastern England), more or less rhymes with "talk" . Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English. hide

25a	Best // essence of citrus, small amount (7)

Best^[5] is used as a verb meaning to outwit or get the better of (someone)^* ⇒ she refused to allow herself to be bested.

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^* Ironically, in this sense best is a synonym of worst^[5], a verb meaning to get the better of or defeat ⇒ this was not the time for a deep discussion—she was tired and she would be worsted.

26a	Get away with late arrival for hospital // somewhere in London (4)

"hospital " = H [symbol used on street signs]

H is a symbol for 'hospital' used on street signs.

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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.

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Origin: 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.

Not to be confused with ...
SoHo[5] is an area of Manhattan, New York City. Origin: SoHo is an abbreviation that derives from SOuth of HOuston Street.

27a	British disarmed revolts, including one // person holding up train (10)

Down

1d	Handy to be associated with this force? (4)

2d	Prevent // rugby hooligan touring Spain (4,3)

"rugby " = RU [rugby union]

Rugby union^[10] (abbreviation RU^[5]) is a form of rugby football played between teams of 15 players (in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen).

Rugby union^[7] is the national sport in New Zealand, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Madagascar.

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"Spain " = E [IVR code]

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Spain is E^*[5] (from Spanish España).

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Spanish Licence Plate Format
(The IVR code is on the left below the EU flag emblem)

3d	Smashing things /made from/ flour mix using metric weights (9-4)

4d	Dream /to be/ 25 with a piercing, instead of old and posh (6)

The numeral "25" is a cross reference indicator to clue 25a (show more ).

To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light^* identified by the cross reference indicator.

The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.

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^* light-coloured cell in the grid

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"old " = O [linguistics]

In linguistics, O^[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i) OFr [Old French]; (ii) OE [Old English].

However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.

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"posh " = U [upper class]

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners.

The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).

In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable). 

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5d	Cases /found in/ taxi this person catches (8)

"this person " = I

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, (the or this) speaker, (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.

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7d	Husband permitted to wear tucked in jumper? (7)

"husband " = H [genealogy]

The abbreviation for husband is h^[1,2] or h.^{[3,4,10,11,12]} or H^[12] or H.^[4,10,11,12]) [although no context is provided, it may well come from the field of genealogy].

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8d	Voracious, /taking/ a bite of reel bait as nibbling's on the rise (10)

11d	NY-based organisation shortly /becoming/ French one? (6,7)

13d	Second-rate highway outlaws seizing English // food (5,5)

The American term for broad bean^[14] is apparently fava bean. I'm afraid that I am unfamiliar with either term.

16d	Northern resident // declared showers overpriced (8)

The reindeer^[10] is a large deer, Rangifer tarandus, having large branched antlers in the male and female and inhabiting the arctic regions of Greenland, Europe, and Asia. It also occurs in North America, where it is known as a caribou^*.

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^* I must say that it came as quite a surprise when I first discovered that reindeer and caribou were one and the same animal!

18d	Top of singles 100 chart, composed // score (7)

20d	Home extension // also gripped by unruly rave (7)

21d	Qualified // in a tie too, presumably (6)

I've marked the latter part of this clue as a cryptic definition, although I am not particularly enamoured with that choice. I arrived there essentially through a process of elimination. It is not cryptic elaboration on the definition as it has nothing to do with that sense of the solution. Thus, it must either be wordplay (which it is not) or a second definition.

I conclude that the solver must interpret the latter part of the clue to mean "Dressed in this manner, one is also likely wearing a tie". I guess we could give the name "implicit definition" to this type of clue. The definition itself is not actually stated but must be inferred from the cryptic elaboration.

23d	Daughter supports that woman's // family of 16? (4)

One could also parse the clue as:

• Daughter supports that woman/'s/ family of 16? (4)

In the first case, 'her' is a possessive adjective or, in the argot of modern grammar, a determiner^*; in the second case, it is a personal pronoun.

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^* a term that seems to have been invented since I studied grammar many decades ago

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 Advanced 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)
^[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon