Monday, July 8, 2013 — DT 27152

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27152
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, April 15, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27152]
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
Notes This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, July 6, 2013 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

The planets have once again aligned and the "Monday" puzzle from Rufus actually appears in Canada on a Monday. I completed this puzzle in three sittings. On the first attempt, I solved about two thirds of the clues. On the second, I solved the remaining clues with the exception of 13d. On the third assault, I finally realized that I had entered the wrong partner of the homophone pair at 17d. With that problem resolved, I drove across the finish line.

As a final note, the National Post is now operating on its summer publication schedule in which no print edition of the paper is produced on Monday. Monday's puzzle is to be found on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday edition of the paper.

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   Daughter is found out (10)

9a   I return to a matter of little weight (4)

10a   Snack for a boxer? (3,7)

For the benefit of those reading Libellule's review, Bonio^[7] is a popular brand of dog biscuit sold in the United Kingdom.

11a   Left in play (6)

12a   Row about stray dog (7)

15a   Well-built  dam (7)

16a   Sort of sober attire for a judge (5)

17a   This monk recited part of the rosary (4)

I initially thought that the definition was "part of the rosary" which made solving 13d more of a challenge than it should have been.

18a   Note I have to deliver (4)

19a   Eastern gale spoiled a good golf score (5)

21a   Sphere of vision (7)

22a   Throttle left out -- that's odd! (7)

24a   Sarah's upset hound (6)

27a   Assume responsibility and accept payment (4,6)

28a   Little money by end of holiday (4)

Tin^[5] is dated British slang for money ⇒ Kim’s only in it for the tin.

29a   Beauty appears without wrinkles (10)

Down

2d   The first person to study a work of art (4)

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing)  ⇒ the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

3d   Work hard for the party (6)

The British Labour Party^[5] is a left-of-centre political party which arose from the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century and replaced the Liberals as the country’s second party after the First World War.

4d   Take commission away from  bank employee (7)

5d   Trip to an ancient city (4)

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.

6d   Hates editor's volte-face over trials (7)

7d   Satisfied, I raise no argument (10)

8d   It's bad luck if you prefer Brie (4,6)

Hard cheese^[5] is an informal British expression used to express sympathy over a petty matter (jolly hard cheese, better luck next time!).

Brie^[5] is a kind of soft, mild, creamy cheese with a firm white skin that is named after Brie in northern France, where it was originally made.

Someone who prefers soft cheeses (such as Brie) would be out of luck at a reception at which only hard cheeses (such as Cheddar) were being served.

12d   Set meal and free bed at hotel (5,1'4)

13d   A fishy diversion (3,7)

My initial error in the homophone clue at 17a held me up for a long time here. I expended a not inconsiderable amount of effort trying to find a British name for a fish ladder that might fit. Fortunately, I did eventually discover my mistake.

14d   Turn up to deposit gold sovereign? (5)

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.

15d   Shuts up  animals (5)

19d   Its lace makes an undergarment essential (7)

20d   I teach new student to be morally correct (7)

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

23d   Get at a can on the outside (6)

25d   Pass lightly over a point on a Kipling character (4)

Kim^[7] is the title character of a 1901 novel of the same name written by Nobel Prize-winning English author Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936).

26d   Bird droppings? (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