Tuesday, September 24, 2013 — DT 27210

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27210
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, June 21, 2013
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27210]
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

As is usually the case with Giovanni's puzzles, it took a while to get started. However, once a foothold was established, I was able to progress quite expeditiously.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Dairy product from goat? (6)

4a   Conservative moves to a higher plane in desperate situations (6)

8a   Caesar possibly twitching, as he was with Cleopatra (8)

Roman dictator Julius Caesar^[7] became involved with an Egyptian civil war between the child pharaoh, Ptolemy XII, and his sister, wife, and co-regent queen, Cleopatra. Siding with Cleopatra. he defeated the pharaoh's forces at the Battle of the Nile in 47 BC and installed Cleopatra as ruler. Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated their victory with a triumphal procession on the Nile in the spring of 47 BC. The royal barge was accompanied by 400 additional ships, and Caesar was introduced to the luxurious lifestyle of the Egyptian pharaohs.

Caesar and Cleopatra never married, as Roman law recognized marriages only between two Roman citizens. Caesar continued his relationship with Cleopatra throughout his last marriage, which lasted fourteen years – in Roman eyes, this did not constitute adultery – and may have fathered a son called Caesarion. Cleopatra visited Rome on more than one occasion, residing in Caesar's villa just outside Rome across the Tiber.

10a   Stuff that [is] slushy and fruity from British star down under? (6)

Like Libellule, I suspect that there is a typo in the clue — which I have take the liberty of correcting.

Pom^[5] is Australian and New Zealand slang, often derogatory, for a British person.

11a   Protective covering is missing from a finch (4)

12a   Subsequently dealt with awful threat -- free! (10)

13a   Medical specialist ungenerous or nasty (12)

16a   Old pop group  that will often get drunk late at night! (3,9)

Hot Chocolate^[7] is a British pop band popular during the 1970s and 1980s.

20a   Deadliest man initially trained in this part of the world? (6,4)

21a   Fairy  one's sometimes seen sliding over ice (4)

Puck^[5] is another name for Robin Goodfellow^[5], a mischievous sprite or goblin believed, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, to haunt the English countryside. Puck^[7] is likely most familiar to many as a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

22a   Extra announcement that would have disappointed the ugly sisters (2-4)

"Extra announcement" refers to an umpire declaring 'no-ball'. In cricket, a no-ball^[5] is an unlawfully delivered ball, counting one as an extra to the batting side if not otherwise scored from ⇒ we also bowled far too many no-balls and wides.

An extra^[5] is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited to the batting side rather than to a batsman. A wide^[5] (also called wide ball) is a ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side.

23a   Various characters in rep, loyal in performance (4-4)

24a   Article is written by head of monastery: 'A form of belief' (6)

I notice that this is one of those rare occasions where quotation marks have survived the trip across the Atlantic.

25a   Food served in part of hospital stank, not half! (6)

I sometimes wonder if the only functioning area of the Crosswordland Hospital is the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[2]) department. 

Down

1d   Tiny stream and little river featured in short publication (8)

2d   The two at opposite ends that will never meet  famous author? (5)

The Ballad of East and West^[7] is a poem by English writer Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936) which was first published in 1889. When quoted out of context — as it often is — the first line takes on a much different meaning than Kipling intended:

Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,

Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,

When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!

Mark Twain^[5] (1835 – 1910) was an American novelist and humorist; pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), give a vivid evocation of Mississippi frontier life.

3d   Groups of buildings in eastern countries? (7)

In the UK, an estate^[4] is a large area of property development, especially of new houses or (trading estate) of factories.

5d   Full service in gym following Religious Education (7)

In racket sports, a let^[5] is a circumstance under which a service is nullified and has to be taken again, especially (in tennis) when the ball clips the top of the net and falls within bounds ⇒ he was obstructed and asked for a let.

PE^[5] is the abbreviation for physical education (or Phys Ed, as it would likely be called by most school kids).

According to Wikipedia, "In secular usage, religious education^[7] (abbreviation RE^[5]) is the teaching of a particular religion (although in England the term religious instruction would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with religious education referring to teaching about religions in general [as a school subject]) and its varied aspects — its beliefs, doctrines, rituals, customs, rites, and personal roles." 

6d   Sort of match that could make fan smile -- gripping one (9)

7d   Small bag with a cold explosive hidden in street (6)

9d   Reduce atmospheric pollution  to try and reduce tension (5,3,3)

14d   It's awfully dry with heater? Get some moisture back in (9)

15d   Farm animals given help, we hear, in form of defence against invaders (8)

17d   More than one young choirboy quivers, wanting to avoid Mass (7)

A treble^[5] is a boy (or girl) with a high-pitched singing voice ⇒ we had sung together as trebles in the choir.

18d   Language of tribe including a word for 'thanks' (7)

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

Catalan^[5] is a Romance language closely related to Castilian Spanish and Provençal, widely spoken in Catalonia (where it has official status alongside Castilian Spanish) and in Andorra, the Balearic Islands, and parts of southern France. It has about 6 million speakers in all.

19d   Animal not in sty? Put it away (3,3)

21d   Musician's publication that is read out in Australia? (5)

The Australian pronunciation of "paper" would sound like the British pronunciation of "piper". Of course, neither would sound much like the North American pronunciation of either word.

Both the Brits and Aussies would employ a 'soft' R rather than the 'hard' R that North Americans use. Thus, the Australian pronunciation of "paper" would sound something like PIE-PAH as would the British pronunciation of "piper".

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