Wednesday, August 21, 2013 — DT 27186

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27186
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, May 24, 2013
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27186]
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

Having finished without needing to call out my electronic reinforcements, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Gazza awarded this puzzle three stars for difficulty. I think it was a case of being on the right wavelength and exercising a bit of Mary's "perservation".

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   Local official's frenzied, hiding behind tree (10)

Note that the 's is included in the definition, making the solution an adjective.

9a   Levy a charge on one road vehicle (4)

10a   Charity event offers enjoyment -- a rider's fantastic (10)

11a   Item of uniform placed on peg (6)

A puttee^[4,5] is a long strip of cloth wound spirally round the leg from ankle to knee for protection and support, especially as part of a military uniform in World War I. According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, it would be known as a leather legging in North America.

12a   Criticise neckwear and other garments (7)

15a   Something made for attaching to tube (7)

16a   Fix shrub that's been trimmed at the front (5)

17a   Worries  horses (4)

18a   Part of body that should be supple -- no hesitation (4)

19a   Active person drinking very little port (5)

Dover^[7] is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and is home of the Dover Calais ferry which runs between Dover and Calais, France. The surrounding chalk cliffs have become known as the White cliffs of Dover.

21a   Sinatra seen to be exceptional craftsman (7)

Frank Sinatra^[5] (1915 – 1998) was an American singer and actor. His many hits include ‘Night and Day’ and ‘My Way’. He won an Oscar for his role in the film From Here to Eternity (1953).

22a   Exciting quality of African party in capital city (7)

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.

24a   Lover once passionate admitting end of her urge (6)

27a   It's beyond the directors  to be honest (5-5)

28a   Lord beheaded king in play, then left (4)

If we follow the trail long enough, we will eventually get to our destination. A lord^[5] is a man of noble rank or high office; in other words, a nobleman. A nobleman^[5] is a man who belongs by rank, title, or birth to the aristocracy; in other words, a peer. A peer^[5] is a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron ⇒ hereditary peers could still dominate the proceedings of the House of Lords.

Lear^[5] was a legendary early king of Britain, the central figure in William Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear.

29a   One woman who may give others the sack? (10)

Down

2d   Vulgar look of the French after Revolution (4)

When used before a masculine, singular noun beginning with a consonant [have I overlooked any other necessary condition?], the French word meaning "of the" is du^[8].

3d   Not all feel destiny, like the one most likely to succeed? (6)

Succeed^[5] in the sense of take over a throne, office, or other position from (a predecessor).

4d   This person starting a row is more powerful (7)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, author, writer, or (as is the case today) this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used  in the clue.

Powerful^[10] in the sense of full of import or interest ⇒ a meaty discussion.

5d   Architect's name written on wood (4)

John Nash^[5] (1752 – 1835) was an English town planner and architect. He planned the layout of Regent’s Park (1811–25), Trafalgar Square (1826-circa 1835), and many other parts of London, and designed the Marble Arch.

6d   Cold parrot suffering in shelter by house (7)

7d   This manual is wrong about one man's economic theory (10)

In a similar manner to 1a, the word "about" is part of the definition, making the solution an adjective. Thomas Robert Malthus^[5] (1766–1834) was an English economist and clergyman. In An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) he argued that without the practice of ‘moral restraint’ the population tends to increase at a greater rate than its means of subsistence, resulting in the population checks of war, famine, and epidemic.

8d   Prime thing for schoolkids to be put into schedule? (5,5)

12d   Bit of verse from writer not exciting (last bits of it are poor) (10)

13d   Mister finally wears this thing possibly (10)

14d & 15d   Faithful disciple person with time could become (5,5)

Simon Peter^[5] is another name for St. Peter. St. Peter^[5] was an Apostle; born Simon. Peter (‘stone’) is the name given him by Jesus, signifying the rock on which he would establish his Church. He is regarded by Roman Catholics as the first bishop of the Church at Rome, where he is said to have been martyred in about AD 67.

15d   See 14d

19d   Bad person with heavenly body hugged by the old man (7)

20d   Big cars will get walkers avoiding street (7)

Roller^[7] is a nickname for a Rolls-Royce automobile.

23d   An artist takes in shy cat (6)

Shy^[10] is used in the informal sense of an attempt or experiment or as in the phrase have a shy at^[5] which means to try to hit something, especially with a ball or stone.

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain. 

25d   See 26d

26d & 25d   Promiscuity costing nothing, nothing (4,4)

I hope you didn't make the same mistake as I did initially by entering the words in the wrong order — note that 26d comes before 25d.

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.

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