Wednesday, December 4, 2013 — DT 27263

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27263
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 22, 2013
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27263]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog 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

Today's puzzle from RayT is on the gentle side — both in level of difficulty and in terms of innuendo.

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   For each error the compiler's tolerant (10)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, author, writer, or 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.

However, the scenario today is a bit more complex.  The setter has combined compiler with an 's (which, in the cryptic reading, is a contraction for has), thus using the phrase "the compiler's" to clue IVE (I've).

6a   Lover's knot, it's said (4)

9a   One providing security in the main? (10)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term referring to the open ocean.

10a   Macho man's twosome's back without sweetheart (4)

Here we find another cryptic crossword staple, in which "sweetheart" is interpreted as the middle letter (heart) of swEet.

12a   Reportedly keep hidden inflatable toy (4)

I might have done better had I thought in terms of "keep oneself hidden" rather than "keep something hidden". Then again, I had not previously encountered this British name for an air mattress.

In Britain, lilo^[5] is a name for a type of inflatable mattress which is used as a bed or for floating on water. The word comes from Li-lo, a trademarked name for such a product. Brits would also know this object as an airbed^[5], whereas North Americans would call it an air mattress^[5].

13a   Shop say protecting press right to the end! (9)

15a   Former partner, abusive in tried case, forced out (8)

16a   Optimistic club chasing trophy, losing head (6)

18a   Upright corroded by time (6)

20a   Balanced and level in endless farce (8)

23a   Rising politician entrapped by one cruising (9)

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).

24a   Try seen in international event (4)

A Test (short for Test match)^[5] is an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒ the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies.

26a   Exercise question follows start of term (4)

27a   Prudent to claim foul after drop (10)

28a   Fabulous woman finished by love (4)

In the Aeneid (an epic by the Roman poet Virgil), Dido^[5] is the queen and founder of Carthage, who fell in love with the shipwrecked Aeneas and killed herself when he deserted her.

29a   Dares to be different taking hard quality paper (10)

A broadsheet^[5] (also broadsheet newspaper) is a newspaper with a large format, regarded as more serious and less sensationalist than tabloids ⇒ the tabloidization of the broadsheets.

Down

1d   Bond's exploit trailing Q's predecessor (4)

Royal Navy Commander James Bond^[7], CMG, RNVR, is a fictional character created by British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games.

Q^[7] is a fictional character in the James Bond films and film novelizations. Q (standing for Quartermaster), like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch (or later Q Division), the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service.

2d   One's down-to-earth and on a roll (7)

3d   Doctor in unit performing birth (12)

4d   Silences bands covering Queen (8)

Today, RayT shakes things up a little by introducing a different short form for Queen.

5d   It's said some discover ballet... (6)

7d   ...understanding some indecent entertainment (7)

8d   Consider too little Cruise's replacement? (10)

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, widely known as Tom Cruise^[7], is an American film actor and producer.

11d   Animals in river bank charm endlessly (12)

I initially questioned the use of "animals" in the plural. But, as Big Dave says, "the plural of this animal can be spelt the same as the singular although there are other options". Of course, there would seem to be a caveat to his statement that he has neglected to include. After checking several British and American dictionaries, I found this spelling variant only in The Chambers Dictionary.

14d   Confidential secret with dirt spread (10)

17d   Man with igloo melting in country (8)

19d   Natural nude's unveiled around ends of piano (7)

21d   Repetitive performance around stage getting prize (7)

A rosette^[5] is a rose-shaped decoration, typically made of ribbon, worn by supporters of a sports team or political party or awarded as a prize ⇒ the showjumping rosettes Samantha had accumulated.

22d   More spruce from island in stream over river (6)

25d   Sing originally, supported by jazz fan? (4)

Scat^[5] (also scat singing) is improvised jazz singing in which the voice is used in imitation of an instrument

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