Tuesday, April 2, 2013 — DT 27081

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27081
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27081]
Big Dave's 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Much like a brick wall, I built this from the bottom up. I just couldn't top it off without assistance from my electronic helpers.

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   Able to see clearly live show's heading for disaster? (12)

I was able to see the solution clearly — once I had amassed a sufficient number of checking letters.

9a   Hot movie creator revealing arrogance (7)

10a   Harry's dead spoilt (7)

I find this clue to be rather weak, spoiled by the fact that harry, ravage and spoil all mean virtually the same thing. Harry^[1] means to plunder; to ravage; to destroy; to harass. Ravage^[1] means to lay waste; to destroy; to pillage. Spoil^[1], whose past tense and past participle may be either spoiled or (only in the sense of damage) spoilt, can mean to plunder; to despoil; to strip; to deprive; to corrupt; to destroy, end (Shakespeare).

Presumably, the setter intends ravaged^[10] to be an adjective meaning 'that has suffered extensive damage'. However, as this is merely the past participle of the verb ravage used as an adjective, the clue amounts to little more than adding a D (dead) to the present tense of a verb to get the past tense of that verb.

11a   TV  channel? (4)

Although it may not appear so, Deep Threat and I have actually underlined the definitions in the clue in an identical manner. I have learned through the reviews that I have posted to Big Dave's site that, unless one takes exceptional mitigating measures, the WordPress blogging software used by Big Dave will cause separate instances of underlining under two adjacent words to "bleed" together making it appear to be a single instance of underlining encompassing the two words.

12a   Neck, lip or elsewhere (5)

I would think that this could be viewed as a triple definition, three body parts that — as Deep Threat points out — "are also examples of informal words for insolence".

13a   Some louche rock'n'roll idol (4)

The solution is hidden in the clue, but so is American singer Cher — who I spotted first. Of course, that choice hampered my efforts in the northeast corner for some considerable period of time.

Louche^[5] is an adjective denoting disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way ⇒ the louche world of the theatre.

16a   Arm below the wrist? (7)

Here, I will vary from Deep Threat's indication of the definition. I would say that the entire clue constitutes a cryptic definition.

17a   Idly pet mongrel without enthusiasm (7)

18a   No more pot? This looks serious (7)

Remember, one must sometimes insert — or remove — punctuation. In this clue, one must interpret the definition as "this look's serious" (this look is serious).

21a   Compile unusually hostile argument (7)

23a   Criticise  swimmer (4)

24a   Picture that is cover for colour supplement (5)

25a   Killer or cuddly ape foremost? (4)

28a   See 7 Down

29a   Japanese dish with mash is served up across India (7)

India^[5] is a code word representing the letter I, used in radio communication.

30a   Backlash from grim visitor wanting a pillow with different filling (12)

Down

1d   French line in whisky (7)

I never thought of American whiskey (besides, Americans would hardly spell it without an "e" [a rare instance where an American spelling has more letters than a British spelling]).

Bourbon^[5] is the surname of a branch of the royal family of France. The Bourbons ruled France from 1589, when Henry IV succeeded to the throne, until the monarchy was overthrown in 1848, and reached the peak of their power under Louis XIV in the late 17th century. Members of this family have also been kings of Spain (1700–1931 and since 1975).

2d   Dump in men's refuge? (4)

In Britain, shed^[5] means to accidentally allow (something) to fall off or spill ⇒ a lorry [truck] shed its load of steel bars. 

3d   Clear the new site of clay (7)

The solution is an adjective, so the definition could either be "clay" (a noun used as a modifier; clay pot) as Deep Threat indicates or "of clay" as I am showing it to be.

4d   Wrong keeping troops in distress (7)

5d   No end of witches gathering in cavern (4)

A cove^[5], as used here, is a narrow cavern formed in the sides of cliffs, mountains, etc, usually by erosion.

6d   Boffin with scrambled brain? (7)

Boffin^[5] is British slang for (1) a person engaged in scientific or technical research ⇒ the boffins at the Telecommunications Research Establishment or (2) a person with knowledge or a skill considered to be complex or arcane ⇒ a computer boffin.

7d and 28 Across   The very thing that's needed -- complete rest? (4,3,6,7)

A double definition, the second being an example (indicated by the question mark) of advice from a physician.

8d   Icy, sardonic -- it could get personal (13)

14d   With mouth wide open a cavity's visible finally (5)

15d   Flour is spelled differently (5)

Spelt^[5] is an old kind of wheat (Triticum spelta) with bearded ears and spikelets that each contain two narrow grains, not widely grown but favoured as a health food.

As Deep Threat points out, the solution is actually a variety of wheat (or, according to Chambers, a "grain which was once widely cultivated throughout Europe, but which has now largely been superseded by wheat, which it is related to"^[2]) rather than a synonym for flour. As I solved the puzzle, I casually assumed that spelt (meaning flour) could be yet another instance (typical of British English) where an adjective (spelt flour) gets turned into a noun (spelt) — in the same way that an estate car (station wagon) becomes an estate. However, a search through a number of dictionaries failed to uncover any evidence of this usage.

19d   Contract for amateur game (7)

20d   Alternative comedian lacking energy and rambling (7)

21d   Pressure's on wild guess about a legendary creature (7)

In Greek mythology, Pegasus^[7] is a winged divine horse that was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits. His rider, however, falls off his back trying to reach Mount Olympus. Zeus transformed him into the constellation Pegasus and placed him up in the sky.

22d   Finish off tamarind paste that's out of this world (7)

Again we have a choice of definitions. Deep Threat chooses to view the solution as an adjective defined by "out of this world". Just to be contrary, I have shown it as a noun clued by "that's out of this world". The latter construction may seem a bit more awkward than the former, but it is one that I have frequently encountered in puzzles.

26d   East Berlin oddly in the forefront for cheese (4)

27d   Bubbly and endlessly on the go (4)

Asti^[7] (formerly known as Asti Spumante) is a sparkling white Italian wine that is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.

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