Tuesday, November 12, 2013 — DT 27245

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27245
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 1, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27245]
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

It took a while to establish a foothold in today's puzzle, but I eventually managed to do so in the southeast quadrant. From there, I was able to work in a counterclockwise direction around the grid.

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   Present probably was oddly wide, outside paper being crumpled (7)

This is one of those clues where there is an implicit element to the definition which must be interpreted as being "present probably was [this]".

5a   Made out tit, unfortunately, being swallowed by another bird (7)

A tit^{[Britannica Concise Encyclopedia]} is any of several songbirds closely related to the chickadee, including the great tit (Parus major), found in Europe, North Africa, and Asia and the tufted titmouse (Parus bicolor), native to North America. These birds are called either "chickadees" or "titmice" in North America, and just "tits" in the rest of the English-speaking world.^[7] 

Make out is used in the sense of a doctor writing a prescription.

As a side note, make out^[5] meaning to engage in sexual activity is apparently a North American usage ⇒ (i) teenagers were making out on the couch; (ii) Ernie was making out with Berenice.

9a   Concerned with reaching last of reds, snooker player uses these to make recoveries (7)

This clue initially appeared on The Daily Telegraph website — and presumably was also printed in the newspaper — as;

• Concerned with first bit of chalk, snooker player uses these spares (7)

The clue was revised both on the website — and, remarkably — in the syndicated version of the puzzle. As discussed on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the clue as originally worded was rather problematic.

10a   Take out former lover, getting caught in Italian restaurant (7)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] denotes caught (by).

Trat^[1] [which I was only able to find in The Chambers Dictionary] is a short form for trattoria^[2], a restaurant, especially an informal one that serves Italian food. 

11a   What Lady Godiva was on, bare -- shock spread (9)

Lady Godiva^[5] (d.1080) was an English noblewoman, wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. According to a 13th-century legend, she agreed to her husband’s proposition that he would reduce unpopular taxes only if she rode naked on horseback through the marketplace of Coventry. According to later versions of the story, all the townspeople refrained from watching, except for peeping Tom, who was struck blind as a punishment.

12a   Point both ways (5)

With this type of clue, it is hard to know what to underline. Technically, I would say that the clue is a cryptic definition — and, thus, the entire clue should be underlined. However, I have followed the lead of Big Dave and underlined only a single word (which is likely more helpful to readers).

The clue is cryptically indicating that the solution is a palindrome meaning to point or direct attention to.

13a   Joanna's wine almost filled by adult (5)

Joanna^[10] is Cockney rhyming slang for a piano.

Pinot^[5] denotes (1) any of several varieties of wine grape, especially the chief varieties Pinot Noir, a black grape, and Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, white grapes or (2) a wine made from Pinot grapes.

The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate^[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate.

15a   Call Cassius in revolt that's driven us out of Rome? (9)

Gaius Cassius^[5] (d.42 BC) was a Roman general; full name Gaius Cassius Longinus. He was one of the leaders of the conspiracy in 44 BC to assassinate Julius Caesar.

17a   Mushrooms in furrows (9)

19a   Plant's small advantage (5)

22a   Smallest break in sentence  , in fact? (5)

I would say that this is a double definition, with the second definition being a definition by example (or, maybe, a definition by instance!).

23a   Fast food grub her ma cooked (9)

25a   Upset as bride makes booby, perhaps (7)

26a   Fisherman's catch? Throw rest out (7)

27a   Regret holding European money for entourage (7)

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

28a   Figure beginning to diet -- one with a little weight (7)

Down

1d   Argument about vessel's treasure (7)

2d   Country -- not a large country (7)

3d   Rest feet, by the sound of it (5)

4d   Separates Germany and Italy's viewpoints (9)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Germany is D^[5] [from German Deutschland].

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Italy is I^[5].

5d   Crew at sea on King's badly damaged ship (5)

K^[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

6d   Between exams? No time for hobbies (9)

7d   Tuned car -- Tiff's transport (7)

I would say that traffic^[5] is used in the sense of the transportation [or transport] of goods or passengers ⇒ the increased use of railways for goods traffic.

8d   Native from old city in former African province (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.

Natal^[5] is a former province of South Africa, situated on the east coast. Having been a Boer republic and then a British colony, Natal acquired internal self-government in 1893 and became a province of the Union of South Africa in 1910. It was renamed KwaZulu-Natal in 1994. The name comes from Latin Terra Natalis 'land of the day of birth', a name given by Vasco da Gama in 1497, because he sighted the entrance to what is now Durban harbour on Christmas Day.

14d   Talk about exercises in action (9)

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

16d   Came together and strolled around Sussex regularly (9)

Sussex^[5] is a former county of southern England. It was divided in 1974 into the counties of East Sussex and West Sussex.

17d   It should cut one's fare (7)

18d   Act together to frame MP's brief (7)

In many Commonwealth countries (including Britain and Canada), a member of the House of Commons or similar legislative body is known as a Member of Parliament^[10] (or MP^[5] for short).

20d   At night it's easy to spot and follow celebrity (7)

The Dog Star^[5] is another name for the star Sirius.

21d   A red mixed with spirit -- it pulsates in one's head (7)

23d   Something perhaps in garden shed gets trapped (5)

Somewhat like 1a, there is an implicit piece to this clue as well — but this time it's found in the wordplay rather than the definition. We must interpret the wordplay as "[something] shed gets trapped" or, more verbosely, "something that the phrase 'shed gets' has trapped". Please note that the implied word "something" should not be confused with the word "something" that appears explicitly in the definition.

24d   In darkness, Cuban dance queen moves (5)

R^[5] is the abbreviation for Regina or Rex (Latin for queen or king, respectively).

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