Wednesday, March 13, 2013 — DT 27065

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27065
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, January 3, 2013
Setter Shamus (Philip Marlow)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27065]
Big Dave's Review Written By Falcon
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 27062 through DT 27064 which were published in The Daily Telegraph from Monday, December 31, 2012 through Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

Introduction

I hadn't expected to see this puzzle for a few more days, but the editors of the National Post have chosen to spare us the puzzles that were published in The Daily Telegraph over the New Year's period. The feeling of déjà vu swept over me more quickly today than is sometimes the case. I recall having found the puzzle to be quite challenging the first time around, but the second time was a piece of cake.

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.

Across

1a   Spoil green food no end getting wine (7)

Marsala^[5] is a dark, sweet fortified dessert wine that resembles sherry, produced in Sicily. It is named after Marsala, a town in Sicily where it was originally made.

5a   Salvation Army taking part in unrefined campaign? (7)

9a   Thrill in Kent, say, with son entering race (9)

Kent^[5] is a county on the SE coast of England; county town, Maidstone.

10a   Linger in south coast resort by river (5)

Hove^[7] is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, which together form the city of Brighton and Hove. Hove's seafront and beach have recently become fashionable after some years of decline during the 20th Century.

11a   Painting technique in a spot restyled after one month (7)

Impasto^[5] is the process or technique of laying on paint or pigment thickly so that it stands out from a surface.

12a   Expand a green for development bordering lake (7)

13a   Troublemaker about to interrupt tale linked to currency (9)

The rand^[5] is the basic monetary unit of South Africa, equal to 100 cents.

16a   Distortion found in Dickens character (5)

Oliver Twist^[7], subtitled The Parish Boy's Progress, is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published in 1838.

17a   Extreme proclamation carried by chief at wake (5)

A fatwā^[7] in the Islamic faith is a learned opinion concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. Some people (including today's setter, it seems) use the term to mean an Islamic death sentence imposed upon a person. This is indeed one possibility among others, though it is a rare use for a fatwā. The term's correct definition is broader, since a fatwā may concern any aspect of individual life, social norms, religion, war, peace, jihad, and politics.

18a   Description left by two men (9)

21a   Cheat also featured in report by magazine (3-4)

22a   What one on bottle might ultimately do  to complete training (4,3)

In Britain, pass out^[5] can mean to complete one’s initial training in the armed forces.

25a   Win about right in small measure (5)

A grain^[5] is the smallest unit of weight in the troy and avoirdupois systems, equal to 1/5760 of a pound troy and 1/7000 of a pound avoirdupois (approximately 0.0648 gram) [originally the weight was equivalent to that of a grain of corn].

26a   Policy favoured by African politicians in devious ruse (9)

The African National Congress (ANC)^[5] is a South African political party and black nationalist organization. Having been banned by the South African government 1960–90, the ANC was victorious in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 and its leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s President.

27a   A cross supplier? (7)

28a   A German entering cathedral site in a keen way (7)

The Diocese of Ely^[5] is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in the city of Ely.

Down

1d   Master a difficult dog (7)

2d   Approach demonstrated by old railwaymen? (3-2)

The National Union of Railwaymen (NUR)^[7] was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom which came into being in 1913 through the merger of three former unions. In 1990 the NUR merged with the National Union of Seamen to form the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and ceased to exist as a separate union.

3d   Gather among team associates (5)

4d   Song about district overlooking Eastern US state (7)

5d   Tory minister in struggle (7)

6d   Stuff in a domestic setting? (9)

7d   Misfortune in vestry? Aid being organised (9)

8d   Serious organ needs home (7)

14d   Explanation of 'Drink Aware' campaign slogan? (9)

The Drink Aware^[7] campaign is an initiative by British alcoholic beverage producers and brewers to educate people about how to drink sensibly and avoid binge drinking.

15d   British teachers acquiring a Russian car to get snack? (6,3)

The National Union of Teachers (NUT)^[7] is a trade union for school teachers in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. [British schoolchildren must delight in the knowledge that their teachers are a bunch of NUTs].

Zavod imeni Likhachova^[7], more commonly called ZIL (or ZiL) is a major Russian truck and heavy equipment manufacturer, which also produced armored cars for most Soviet leaders, as well as buses, armored fighting vehicles, and aerosani (a type of propeller-driven snowmobile, running on skis). The company also produces hand-built limousines and high-end luxury sedans in extremely low quantities, primarily for the Russian government. ZIL passenger cars are priced at the equivalent of models from Maybach and Rolls-Royce, but are largely unknown outside the former Soviet Union and production rarely exceeds a dozen cars per year.

17d   Jade is chubby I suppose lacking tips for slimness (7)

18d   Principal's note followed by leader of musicians in seaside venue (7)

The American Heritage Dictionary gives re^[3,4] as the only spelling for the second tone of the diatonic scale in solfeggio. However, British dictionaries — such as Collins English Dictionary — list this as a variant spelling of ray^[4] which would appear to be the preferred spelling in the UK. This would seem to throw a whole new light on this musical syllable being described as a "drop of golden sun" by Rodgers and Hammerstein in their score for The Sound of Music (although they spelled it "re").

19d   Answer from employer finally that is encapsulating job (7)

20d   Aquatic creature nesting in banks of Liffey? A matter of chance (7)

The Liffey^[5] is a river of eastern Ireland, which flows for 80 km (50 miles) from the Wicklow Mountains to Dublin Bay. The city of Dublin is situated at its mouth.

23d   Young person's ornamental device (5)

A sprig may be either (1) a descendant or younger member of a family or social class ⇒ a sprig of the French nobility or (2) a small moulded decoration applied to a piece of pottery before firing.

24d   Person having depression? Not initially (5)

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon