Friday, May 31, 2013 — DT 27126

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27126
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, March 15, 2013
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27126]
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

I was patting myself on the back for having completed this puzzle — to which Gazza awarded three stars for difficulty — without resorting to help from my electronic assistants. My celebration ended when I discovered that I had an error at 18a.

For the next couple of weeks, I will be travelling. I have prepared abbreviated postings for the puzzles that are slated to appear during my absence — assuming that the National Post does not deviate from its recent publication pattern. Service should return to normal around mid-June.

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   High positions for Sun-follower politicians (12)

9a   Attend, being exhausted (4)

10a   Bloggers en masse? Only half seem grown up, sadly (9)

12a   Pieces of music being performed in practice sessions (6)

In cricket, a net^[10] is (1) a a pitch surrounded by netting, used for practice or (2) a practice session in a net.

13a   Finish in German city that's more fashionable (8)

Trier^[7] is a city on the River Mosel in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany; population 103,500 (est. 2006). Established by a Germanic tribe, the Treveri, circa 400 BC, Trier is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It was a powerful archbishopric from 815 until the 18th century, but fell into decline after the French occupation in 1797.

15a   Launches fantastic reductions (10)

16a   It's better avoided by one who doesn't want alcohol (4)

18a   Atmosphere by far side of the river (4)

Mistakenly having thought that the definition might be "atmosphere", I inserted AURA as the solution.

The River Aire^[7] is a major river in Yorkshire, England, 71 miles (114 km) in length. The river, which flows through Leeds, is a tributary of the River Ouse.

20a   Underwater explorers sink at sea -- several (4-6)

23a   Like many a noble type's greeting, conveyed audibly (4-4)

High-born^[5] is an adjective meaning having noble parents ⇒ a high-born Portuguese family.

24a   Celebrate having left spouse finally, becoming this? (6)

26a   Work's ending at four -- with story going round that's gossipy (9)

27a   I lose hope with couple leaving -- a fateful day! (4)

As Gazza points out, this puzzle appeared in The Daily Telegraph on this fateful day.

28a   Central beach could offer total freedom (5,7)

Down

2d   Helping to keep old books moving around (8)

In Crosswordland, the word "books" is a clear indication of either the Old Testament (abbreviation OT^[5]) or the New Testament (abbreviation NT^[5]). Today, Giovanni leaves no doubt as to which one is intended.

3d   What gives fellow energy? Certainly in the case of Samson! (4)

4d   A port that could be Salerno (3,7)

Gazza calls this type of clue a "reverse anagram". From my background in mathematics and engineering, I prefer the term "inverse anagram" (analogous to such terms as 'inverse transform' and 'inverse hyperbolic function'). Nevertheless, whatever one chooses to call it, Gazza gives a very clear and concise explanation of how it works in his review.

5d   Things heard in church making gran so screwed up (6)

6d   I complete story about Saint to be used in worship (7)

7d   What will give you wonderful lawns? These folk will offer information (12)

In the UK, grass^[5] is used informally as a noun to mean a police informer and as a verb meaning to inform the police of someone’s criminal activities or plans ⇒ someone had grassed on the thieves. This expression may derive from rhyming slang (grasshopper = copper). It would seem to naturally follow that a supergrass^[5] is a police informer who implicates a large number of people ⇒ both turned supergrass and were the main prosecution witnesses.

8d   Bit of food that has fish served up after gym (6)

Gym class might also be known as Phys Ed (abbreviation PE^[5]).

11d   I can't hit a pet -- somehow that would be hostile (12)

14d   'Kill, burn!', he explodes in battle (6,4)

Bunker Hill^[5] was the first pitched battle (1775) of the War of American Independence (actually fought on Breed’s Hill near Boston, Massachusetts). Although the British won, the good performance of the untrained Americans gave considerable impetus to the Revolution.

17d   I am at home getting stuck into bowl in sink (8)

19d   Soldier to pull up, having got back outside (7)

21d   Little bird to nibble, full of endless joy (6)

22d   Fiery sailor needs to take it easy (6)

In the Royal Navy, able seaman (abbreviation AB)^[5], is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

25d   Report of prominent Lib Dem being cut down (4)

This is a homophone clue, where the solution (HEWN) sounds like the name of a disgraced politician [no, not one of ours!].

The reference is to former British politician Chris Huhne^[7] who was a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament from 5 May 2005 until 5 February 2013. He was appointed Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in the coalition government following the 2010 general election.

In February 2012, Huhne resigned from the Cabinet when he was charged with perverting the course of justice over a 2003 speeding case. He vigorously and publicly denied the charge until the trial began on 4 February 2013, when he changed his plea to guilty and announced he would stand down as an MP and leave the Privy Council, which he promptly did. He was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, as was his former wife Vicky Pryce for the same offence, on 11 March 2013 [four days before the appearance of this puzzle in The Daily Telegraph]. Huhne and his ex-wife were released on 13 May 2013, having both served two months of their eight-month sentences, both are subject to Electronic tagging [electronic monitoring]. Huhne must stay in his home between 7 pm and 7 am. [Thus Huhne and his ex-wife served their entire prison sentences during the interval between the publication of this puzzle in the UK and its appearance in Canada.].

Huhne had twice stood unsuccessfully for election as leader of the Liberal Democrats. In the 2006 leadership race he came second to Sir Menzies Campbell and in 2007 he narrowly lost to Nick Clegg.

The Liberal Democrats^[7] (Lib Dems^[5]) are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. Following the 2010 general election, in which no party achieved an overall majority, the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with the Conservatives, with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister and other Liberal Democrats taking up ministerial positions.

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

Thursday, May 30, 2013 — DT 27125

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27125
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, March 14, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27125]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
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

After a couple of days of inactivity, my electronic assistants were called upon today. I also noted that today's offering has probably the fewest clues (26) that one is likely to encounter in a 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.

Across

7a   Hearing and seeing red piano going (7)

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.

8a   Restaurant's big cheese hotel disposed of (6,1)

10a   Our panic developed about company's wealth (10)

11a   Swear experiencing initial temperature change is hassle (4)

I must confess that I failed to detect that the clue was referring to a temperature scale. The only explanation that I could come up with was that we were expected to change C (cold) to F (froid; cold in French).

12a   A redneck's vacuous articles about South American (8)

14a   No case for Lib Dems crushing Independent in the same place (6)

The Liberal Democrats^[7] (Lib Dems^[5]) are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. Following the 2010 general election, in which no party achieved an overall majority, the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with the Conservatives, with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister and other Liberal Democrats taking up ministerial positions.

An independent^[5] is a political candidate not belonging to or supported by a political party.

15a   Hackneyed standards for hi-fi buffs? (11)

A double definition with the latter one being cryptic.

19a   Cross between love and longing welcoming good atmosphere (6)

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

20a   Pretty as bananas hanging on a wall? (8)

22a   Something old-fashioned in review of 'Brighton Rock' (4)

Do Canadian trade regulations forbid the importation of quotation marks? Once again, they fail to appear in the National Post — and this is only the first of three such instances in today's puzzle.

Brighton Rock^[7] is a novel by English writer Graham Greene (1904 – 1991), published in 1938, and twice brought to the screen — first in 1947 and again in 2010. The novel is a murder thriller set in 1930s Brighton, an English seaside resort. The title is a reference to a confectionery traditionally sold at such places, used as a metaphor for human character.

Rock^[7] is a type of hard stick-shaped boiled sugar confectionery [not to be confused with rock candy^[7]] most usually flavoured with peppermint or spearmint. It is commonly sold at tourist (usually seaside) resorts in the United Kingdom.

"Brighton Rock"^[7] is also a 1974 song by English rock band Queen on the album Sheer Heart Attack. The title is something of a pun: Brighton rock is a long, cylindrical sugar candy traditional to that seaside resort. The term was also iconic in UK pop culture as the title of a dark Graham Greene thriller/noir novel later adapted into a successful film starring Richard Attenborough as a teenage sociopath.

23a   One who can tell a new code has been broken – it's about time (10)

25a   Mark 'Waterloo Sunset' group losing head taking drug (7)

Another set of missing quotation marks. "Waterloo Sunset"^[7] is a song by British rock band The Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album Something Else by The Kinks. The record reached number 2 on the British charts in mid 1967 (it failed to dislodge the Tremeloes' "Silence Is Golden" from the number 1 position). It was also a top 10 hit in Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe. In North America, although "Waterloo Sunset" was released as a single it was not a hit, as it completely failed to chart. As a result, while "Waterloo Sunset" is well-known amongst Kinks fans and anglophile music fans, it is not necessarily a song widely known to the general public in the US or Canada — which, no doubt, explains my lack of familiarity with the song.

26a   Claim to express contentment about Post Office sorting centre (7)

Down

1d   Attempt to enter into part with lines getting excessive zeal (7)

2d   Stagger round the bend on the way back (4)

3d   Performs tricky ascent (6)

4d   State goodwill may bring disaster (8)

5d   Overindulge one's head in pedantry (10)

Usually found in place names, ness^[5] means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

6d   Spots infection (7)

Big Dave saw this as a double definition consisting of "two rather similar definitions". I, on the other hand, had supposed it to be a cryptic definition.

9d   Amazed  how the dentist likes me! (4-7)

In a bit of a role reversal, Big Dave labelled this "a not-very-cryptic definition", while I thought it was a double definition (admittedly with the latter one being cryptic).

13d   On stage in a cast giving needle (10)

16d   Nonsensical banter about second staged protest (4-1-3)

Rent-a-mob^[10] is a pejorative British term for a group of people who are considered to always be protesting in a seemingly irrational manner, as if simply hired from a rental service for the purpose of protesting.

17d   Lay out old money (7)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

18d   'Time' certain to show deletion (7)

Yet another instance of missing quotation marks. Almost certainly, the surface reading is intended to be a reference to the American newsmagazine — a point that may easily be lost without the quotation marks.

21d   Antipathy under pressure is something Lance Armstrong became familiar with (6)

I think it is obvious that Big Dave intended to write "down clue" rather than "across clue" in his explanation of this clue.

Big Dave also suggests that Lance Armstrong is "not a very good choice of “definition by example” considering subsequent events". Personally, I thought the clue was rather apropos given that odium^[5] is defined as general or widespread hatred or disgust incurred by someone as a result of their actions.

24d   Literally a mistake (4)

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

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 — DT 27124

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27124
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27124]
Big Dave's Review Written By scchua
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

Having completed this puzzle after a bit of a battle but without help from my electronic aids, I was feeling rather smug — until I saw a single star for difficulty at the top of scchua's review. As I was to discover upon further reading, he actually rated it as being 1.5 stars. That made me feel marginally less inadequate.

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   Loads of horse stuff found in empty stables (6)

5a   Book vulnerable defender (8)

Softback^[10] is a British term for a book that would be known as a soft cover or paperback in North America.

9a   Sailor's knots? (8,5)

10a   Cowboy loves to chase uncooperative horse (8)

Buckeroo^[3] is a variant spelling of buckaroo.

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

11a   Bone's diameter to be halved (6)

12a   Iron Lady's hat (6)

Fe^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element iron. The nickname "Iron Lady" was given to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher^[7] on the basis of her strict conservative policies, hard line against trade unions and tough rhetoric in opposition to the Soviet Union.

An almost identical clue appeared in DT  26692 [The Daily Telegraph: 2011-10-25; National Post: 2012-01-12]:

• 6d   Iron Lady’s felt hat? (6)

14a   Frantic, but awfully refined, clasping the last letter (8)

16a   Bewildered prisoner joined (8)

19a   Attack silence after working game (6)

Rugby union (RU)^[5] is a form of rugby played in teams of fifteen — in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen.

21a   Decorative work endlessly baffled company (6)

23a   Packing fun gifts for dispatch (8)

25a   What might link two lines of kids on speed! (9,4)

In Britain, a line of schoolchildren walking in pairs is known as a crocodile^[5] and a sprung metal clip with long, serrated jaws, used attached to an electric cable for making a temporary connection to a battery or other component is called a crocodile clip^[5]. In North America, the latter is referred to as an alligator clip^[5].

26a   Areas barred for young drama writers? (8)

27a   Scoff in effort to get peace agreement (6)

Down

2d   Crown worn by brother? (7)

3d   Caught attractive man getting a large portion (5)

4d   Mistakes covering radio broadcast -- I deleted entries for services perhaps (4,5)

Slip road^[5] is a British term for a road entering or leaving a dual carriageway^[5] [a road with a dividing strip between the traffic in opposite directions and usually two or more lanes in each direction] or motorway^[5] [a dual-carriageway road designed for fast traffic, with relatively few places for joining or leaving]. In North America, a slip road connecting to another road would be called an on-ramp^[6] (entrance ramp) or off-ramp^[5] (exit ramp). I suppose that the configuration illustrated by scchua in his review, in which there is no change in grade involved, might simply be called a service exit.

5d   She has no heart -- a rising tide means fish (3,4)

Sea wolf^[5] is another name for wolf fish^[5], a large long-bodied marine fish (of which there are several genera and species, including the edible Anarhichas lupus) with a long-based dorsal fin and sharp doglike teeth, which lives in deep waters of the northern hemisphere.

6d   Father grabs large bird bone (5)

7d   What might shift a sleeping elephant? (9)

8d   Habit formed by such drama? (7)

13d   Soil regularly found on plant affecting the nose (9)

15d   Pay united workers in new motel (9)

17d   Work on note and state of sight (7)

In music, Op. (also op.)^[5] is an abbreviation meaning opus (work). It is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication.

18d   Sack attractive girl finishing early and feel absence (7)

20d   Star's patch of tropical beach? (7)

22d   Gas found in Australia once carbon is extracted? (5)

Oz^[4] is a slang term for Australia. According to Collins English Dictionary, this is an Australian expression — but, I would think, the term is well-known around the world.

24d   Not genuine, and not quite safely transported (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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 — DT 27123

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27123
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27123]
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

It took me a while to get rolling today, but in the end I was able to avoid calling out my electronic reinforcements.

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   Flee, pocketing diamonds after a mischievous adventure (8)

5a   Army chaplain having no right on board in a suit (6)

In Crosswordland, the phrase "on board" can usually be counted on to be either a reference to a chessboard or a voyage aboard a steamship (abbreviation SS^[5]).

10a   Doctor bored with antisocial drug (8,7)

11a   Member must have pluck to suggest a practical joke (3-4)

Leg-pull^[3,4,11] is an informal term for a practical joke or mild deception. Collins English Dictionary characterises this expression as British — but it is found in the American dictionaries as well.

12a   Unknown number fired from outside, non-stop (7)

In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

13a   Disastrous failure by the enemy to find explosive device (4,4)

In cryptic crosswords, we often find that time is the enemy, expressed by Irish poet William Butler Yeats as "The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time" meaning that innocence and beauty are each subject to the ravages of time.

15a   Condescend to draw missing son (5)

18a   Permit inexperienced leader to leave (5)

20a   Sense agreement amongst rowing crew (8)

The Boat Race (mentioned by Deep Threat in his review) is an annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom. It usually takes place on the last Saturday of March or the first Saturday of April.

23a   Designer  calendar? (7)

25a   Deliver TV without charge (3,4)

26a   Suffer in silence if bedridden? (4,2,5,4)

27a   Gen we circulated about a cultural trend (3,3)

Gen^[5] is British slang for information ⇒ you’ve got more gen on him than we have.

28a   Hears a CD prepared for party game (8)

... now all we need is a charade type clue that produces ANAGRAMS as its solution.

Down

1d   Make possible arrest breaking Helen's heart (6)

2d   Barbecue -- reduced cost to get on stream (9)

3d   Appropriate for parish priest in France (7)

In France, a parish priest is called a curé^[4].

4d   Bore encountered in train, invariably (5)

6d   Suppose injured rep needs nurse (7)

7d   River in NI county in flood (5)

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. Down^[5] is one of the Six Counties of Northern Ireland, since 1973 an administrative district; chief town, Downpatrick.

8d   Extra little earner, perhaps, for food store during function (8)

9d   Get together because second badge must be shortened (8)

14d   Reject past convention (8)

16d   Is golf club entertaining that female novelist? (9)

Christopher Isherwood^[5] (1904 – 1986) was a British-born American novelist whose notable works include Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935) and Goodbye to Berlin (1939; filmed as Cabaret, 1972).

17d   Monk artist's introduced (8)

Grigori Rasputin^[7] (1869 – 1916) was a Russian mystic and advisor to the Romanovs, the Russian Imperial family.

19d   Up, appealing (7)

21d   A whole number teeing off close to marker (7)

22d   Wrath perhaps after tax put up in sport (6)

24d   Cock-eyed query we raised (5)

25d   Smart wife is interrupting mum (5)

According to The Chambers Dictionary, mum^[1] can be used as an interjection meaning not a word.

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

Monday, May 27, 2013 — DT 27122

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27122
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, March 11, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27122]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
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

The planets have aligned and we get to enjoy a "Monday" puzzle from Rufus on a Monday.

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   Shattering?  Correct! (10,3)

As the bloggers on Big Dave's site often provide hints to solutions rather than full-fledged explanations, it is sometimes difficult to know exactly what they had in mind. I find such to be the case with Libellule's discussion of this clue. I believe he may be suggesting that if one were to perform an anagram operation (with "correct" serving as the anagram indicator) with the input (fodder) being SHATTERING and the output being STRAIGHTEN, then one might say that in performing the operation that they started with SHATTERING and got STRAIGHTEN OUT. The solution is certainly more than a simple anagram (correct) of SHATTERING.

I have taken a bit of a different approach to explain the clue. I see the definition as being "correct" (as a verb) with  the solution being STRAIGHTEN OUT. The wordplay is an inverse anagram (indicated by the question mark) of SHATTERING which is also STRAIGHTEN OUT. In an inverse anagram, the solution consists of the anagram fodder (STRAIGHTEN, in this case) and anagram indicator (OUT, in this case) that would produce the result found in the clue (i.e., SHATTERING).

10a   Leaps in, surprising the dog (7)

11a   Put out in unusual transport (7)

12a   In fine fettle, yet initially unsure (4)

13a   A biology class (5)

14a   Have some sense, charge pounds (4)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

17a   Married in a fit of lunacy? That's slander (7)

18a   Trite adage, but it has a cutting edge (7)

19a   I call round on pressing business (7)

22a   Reduce the numbers allowed to go in deep when swimming (7)

24a   Head put off awkward argument (4)

25a   Fast  living (5)

The quick^[5] (as a noun) is an archaic term meaning those who are living ⇒ the quick and the dead.

26a   Fit  source of water for consumption (4)

29a   Feline that earns a detailed description? (4,3)

A Manx cat^[5] is a cat of a breed having no tail or an extremely short one.

30a   Refrain from giving sailor dirty look (7)

In the Royal Navy, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

31a   Virus leads to a development of lameness producing complaint (6,7)

Down

2d   Crying, having finally got reprimand (7)

3d   Song with a tune that's uplifting (4)

4d   A showplace for paintings largely restored (7)

5d   Having finished a boring job? (7)

6d   Pinches  drinks (4)

7d   Loan sharks supply drug addicts around the city (7)

Ur^[5] is an ancient Sumerian city that formerly existed on the Euphrates, in southern Iraq. It was one of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, dating from the 4th millennium BC, and reached its zenith in the late 3rd millennium BC.

8d   The proverbial labour saver (1,6,2,4)

9d   Don's touching sympathy (6,7)

I am not familiar with the expression fellow feeling, and — having worked it out from the wordplay — supposed it to be a Briticism. However, a quick glance at some American dictionaries would appear to refute that supposition. Fellow feeling^[5] is sympathy and fellowship existing between people based on shared experiences or feelings ⇒ (i) a common culture could help unite the classes and promote fellow feeling; (ii) he had a shy manner which evoked a fellow feeling in me.

At Oxford and Cambridge universities, a fellow^[10] is a member of the governing body of a college who is usually a member of the teaching staff. A don^[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.

15d   Chess ploy's no good -- it shows limits (5)

16d   Room  that gives a better view? (5)

20d   Transgression produces resentment (7)

21d   Excess weight? It's his danger (7)

This is a semi all-in-one clue in which the entire clue provides the definition and the first portion constitutes the wordplay. My fellow blogger scchua would say that this is a WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.

22d   Get cleared in order to follow the Customs Officer's advice (7)

23d   Raise tax held in European shelter (7)

VAT^[5] (value added tax) is a tax on the amount by which the value of an article has been increased at each stage of its production or distribution. This system of taxation is used in Europe, where it is known as the VAT (or, more fully, the EU VAT) and in Canada, where it is called the GST (Goods and Services Tax) or, in provinces where the federal and provincial sales tax systems have been integrated, the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax). This system of taxation is not currently used in the United States.^[7]

27d   Put up rainwear in a swindle (4)

Mackintosh^[5] (also macintosh) is a British name for a full-length waterproof coat. Since this item of apparel was named after Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, it does seem rather strange to observe that all the dictionaries that I consulted list it under mackintosh (with macintosh as an alternate spelling).^[2,3,4,5,10]  However, this incongruity does not seem to extend to the shortened form which is mac^[5] (also mack).

28d   Oxford rowing crew is encored (4)

The Isis^[7] is the name given to the part of the River Thames above Iffley Lock which flows through the city of Oxford, England. The name is especially used in the context of rowing at the University of Oxford. The name Isis is also used for the second rowing crew of Oxford University Boat Club, who race against the second crew of the Cambridge University Boat Club, Goldie, before the annual Boat Race on the Thames in London.

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

Saturday, May 25, 2013 — Metric Leads

Introduction

I found today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon — featuring a quartet of metric prefixes^[7] — to be one of their easiest offerings in quite some time.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   MEGALOPOLIS* — anagram (redesigned) of A SIMPLE LOGO

Mega- is the metric prefix for a million.

9a   GUNSHOT* — anagram (mistakenly) of STUN HOG

10a   GAR(N)ISH — N (Nation's leader; first letter [leader] of Nation) contained in (gets into) GARISH (tacky)

11a   TUR(I)N — TURN (take a new direction) containing (around) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

12a   DE(C)ATH|L|ON — {DEATH (passing) + L ([Roman numeral for] 50) + ON (running)} containing (with ... taken in) C ([Roman numeral for] 100)

Deca- is the metric prefix for ten.

13a   D(ECO)RUM — ECO (author Umberto; Italian author Umberto Eco^[7]) contained in (wearing) DRUM (barrel)

14a   LATER|AL — LATER (afterward) + AL (Capone; American mobster Al Capone^[7])

16a   LE(T INT)O — LEO (Tolstoy; Russian writer Leo Tolstoy^[7]) containing (full of) TINT (colour)

... the phrase "okay for entering" meaning "give permission to enter".

19a   ME(A)NDER — A ([indefinite] article) contained in (picked up by) MENDER (tinker)

21a   CENTIPEDE* — anagram (wriggling) of TEN-PIECED

Centi- is the metric prefix for one hundredth.

23a   TRAM|P — P (past; grammatical tense) following (behind) TRAM (cable car)

25a   C(AT|A)LAN — CLAN (family) containing (gathering) {AT (†) + A (Barcelona's terminal; last [terminal] letter of BarcelonA)

26a   TORCHES* — anagram (novel) of HECTORS

27a   _MIC|ROMAN|AGE_ — hidden in (in) acadeMIC ROMAN AGEda

Micro- is the metric prefix for one millionth.

Down

1d   MIGHT — double definition; "power" & "will, perhaps"

2d   _GEN|ERIC_ — hidden in (in) CopenhaGEN ERICsson

3d   LO(HE)NG|R|IN — {LONG (extended) + R (run; baseball — or cricket — term) + IN (popular)} containing (with ... inside) HE (that guy)

Lohengrin^[7] is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by German composer Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883), first performed in 1850.

4d   {POTS|DAM}< — reversal (brought back) of {MAD (nutty) + STOP (station)}

5d   LO(GI)CAL — GI ([American] soldier) contained in (infiltrating) LOCAL (neighbourhood; as an adjective)

6d   ST|RUT — RUT (track) following (at end of) ST (street)

7d   P(ILL)AR — ILL (poorly) contained in (put in) PAR (average)

8d   C|HANDLER — C (cold) + HANDLER (agent)

Raymond Chandler^[7] (1888 – 1959) was an American writer of detective fiction.

13d   DELICACY* — anagram (disturbed) of DICE CLAY

Andrew Dice Clay^[7] (born Andrew Clay Silverstein) is an American comedian and actor.

15d   TRATTORIA* — anagram (busted) of TRAITOR AT

17d   TEN(E)TS — TENTS (camps; as a verb) containing (holding) E (Eastern)

18d   OCEANIC* — anagram (distributed) of COCAINE

19d   MAESTRO* — anagram (new) of A METROS

Metro^[5] means an underground railway system in a city, especially Paris [or Montréal].

20d   DRA(CH)MA — DRAMA (play) containing CH (church)

Drachma^[5] could mean either (1) a former monetary unit of Greece, notionally equal to 100 lepta, replaced in 2002 by the euro or (2) a silver coin of ancient Greece.

22d   I|SLAM — I (†) + SLAM (insult)

24d   PASTE~ — sounds like (in the ear) PACED (went back and forth)

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