Friday, April 19, 2013 — DT 27096

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27096
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, February 8, 2013
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27096]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

As usual, Giovanni serves up some satisfying fare on which to end the week.

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

8a   Examines notices either side of bridge (8)

9a   China perhaps and gold that is linked to part of Scripture (6)

 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.

10a   Bird nesting in window ledge (3)

11a   Nibbled, we hear, and said to be sort of cross (8)

In the Christian Church, a pectoral cross^[5] is a cross or crucifix worn on a long chain around the neck so that it rests on the chest, worn especially by bishops, abbots, and priests.

12a   At home, then not at home to some extent (2,1,3)

13a   Sort of good time  that rooftop prisoners have in the dark? (5,2,3,5)

On the tiles^[5] is British slang meaning having a lively night out ⇒ it won’t be the first time he’s spent a night on the tiles. In the second (cryptic) definition, "tiles" refers to roofing tiles. In fact, it would seem that the reference in the first definition is also to roofing tiles, with the phrase "a night on the tiles" being "derived from the custom among cats of having fun at night on rooftops, which in Britain are often made of tiles".

15a   An Italian poet's movement not showing any sign of hurry (7)

Dante^[5] (1265 – 1321), full name Dante Alighieri, was an Italian poet. His reputation rests chiefly on The Divine Comedy (circa 1309–20), an epic poem describing his spiritual journey through Hell and Purgatory and finally to Paradise. His love for Beatrice Portinari is described in Vita nuova (circa 1290-4).

In music, andante^[5] (as an adjective or adverb) is used as a direction meaning in a moderately slow tempo. The word is also used as a noun to denote a movement, passage, or composition marked to be performed andante.

18a   Man's man? (7)

Douglas^[5] is the capital of the Isle of Man; population 27,200 (est. 2009).

21a   Italian debt is so bad -- so will Eurozone suffer this? (15)

24a   Fate of idiot with hope half gone (6)

In Greek mythology, Clotho^[5] is one of the three Fates^[5], the three goddesses who preside over the birth and life of humans. Each person was thought of as a spindle, around which the three Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) would spin the thread of human destiny.

In Britain, a clot^[5] is a foolish or clumsy person ⇒ Watch where you’re going, you clot!.

25a   No longer performing on stage? That's tough (8)

26a   It's no good harbouring a worry constantly (3)

27a   Ornament showing mammal rolling over captured by worker (6)

Despite having correctly deciphered the structure of the clue, I drew a complete blank on the animal.

28a   Complete description of shapes lacking any angularity? (3-5)

Down

1d   This person occupying the old-fashioned province as an Arab (6)

Northern Ireland^[5] (abbreviation NI^[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the NE part of Ireland; population 1,775,000 (est. 2008); capital, Belfast. According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, Northern Ireland is the only major division of the United Kingdom to hold the status of province, with England and Scotland being considered countries, and Wales a principality.

2d   Support reduced when Right gets in with children going under (6)

In the surface reading, "Right" seemingly referring to a political faction.

3d   Novelist making rotten bachelor reform -- about time! (9,6)

Charlotte Brontë^[5] (1816 – 1855) was an English novelist who authored Jane Eyre (1847), Shirley (1849), and Villette (1853).

4d   Cut off -- one thus gets behind schedule (7)

5d   This officer in short could appear to be politically correct (6,9)

6d   Very good sailor? Not if he's doing this! (8)

Cryptic crosswords, being a work of art, are not always viewed the same by all observers.While Gazza indicates that only the latter part of this clue constitutes the definition, I am going to opt for the entire clue being a cryptic definition. I would say that this is what scchua (a fellow blogger at Big Dave's site) would refer to as WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition).

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious. In Britain, a rating^[5] is a non-commissioned sailor in the navy ⇒ the rest of the new crew was made up of naval ratings [so named from the position or rating held by a sailor, recorded on a ship's books].

7d   Secret man, I care to be devious (2,6)

14d   Tribe of Israel  to wander about (3)

In the Bible, Gad^[5] is a son of Jacob and the forebear of one of the tribes of Israel.

16d   Winding up Miss Heather (8)

In Britain, to wind someone up^[5] means to tease or irritate someone ⇒ she’s only winding me up.

Ling^[5] is the common heather (Calluna vulgaris), a purple-flowered Eurasian heath that grows abundantly on moorland and heathland.

17d   Showing sagacity, like archbishop briefly coming to cathedral (8)

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.

Desmond Tutu^[5] is a South African clergyman who was Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996.  As General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (1979–84) he became a leading voice in the struggle against apartheid. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

19d   Floral arrangement that is left up (3)

20d   Criminal -- for instance, gangster, bad at the outset (7)

Al Capone^[5] (1899 – 1947) was an American gangster, of Italian descent. He dominated organized crime in Chicago in the 1920s and was indirectly responsible for many murders, including the St Valentine’s Day Massacre.

22d   Military entertainment  that gets under the skin (6)

23d   Having to confess in front of gathering (6)

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon