Monday, January 27, 2014 — DT 27303

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27303
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27303]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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 █ - solved but without being able to fully parse the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

A pleasant enough exercise today. I managed to complete it without calling in my electronic reinforcements — although the German auto was a long time in finding a parking spot.

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

7a   Called for action about guy, duke, ... (8)

A duke^[5] (abbreviation D.^[10]) is a male holding the highest hereditary title in the British and certain other peerages.

9a   ... nobleman dividing New York almost (6)

An earl^[5] is a British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquess.

The nobility in Britain or Ireland (whose members are known as peers^[5]) comprises the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.

10a   Ring up about second musical work (4)

In music, an opus^[5] is a separate composition or set of compositions.

11a   Watch a pet unravelling ribbon (6,4)

12a   Shopkeeper sounds more repulsive (6)

14a   Carmen's friend in car (8)

Mercédès is a companion of the title character in the opera Carmen^[7] by French composer Georges Bizet (1838–1875).

Mercedes-Benz^[7] is a German automobile manufacturer, a multinational division of the German manufacturer Daimler AG. In informal usage, the name is frequently shortened to Mercedes.

15a   Departs a centre on English river (6)

In travel timetables, d^[5] is an abbreviation for departs.

The nub^[5] is the crux or central point of a matter ⇒ the nub of the problem lies elsewhere.

The Danube^[5] is a river which rises in the Black Forest in southwest Germany and flows about 2,850 km (1,770 miles) into the Black Sea. It is the second-longest river in Europe after the Volga; the cities of Vienna, Budapest, and Belgrade are situated on it.

17a   Clergyman in vicious circle (6)

20a   Produce dope, Ecstasy, and speed (8)

Gen^[5] is British slang for information ⇒ you’ve got more gen on him than we have.

E^[5] is an abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy or a tablet of Ecstasy ⇒ (i) people have died after taking E; (ii) being busted with three Es can lead to stiff penalties.

22a   Quietly he interrupts young relative (6)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

23a   Dalesman, perhaps making stupid error then about name (10)

A Dalesman^[5] is an inhabitant of the Yorkshire Dales in northern England.

24a   Device used in a casino in Oxford, say (4)

25a   Fuel left out for fire (6)

26a   I hang around and look 'with it' before start of rally (8)

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

Down

1d   Anger 3 moderated (8)

The numeral 3 is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 3(d) in its place to complete the clue.

2d   Prince of Wales and son bringing one to portrait painter (4)

Although one's first reaction might be to suppose that the phrase "bringing one to" is indicating the insertion of an "I" or possibly an "A", that is not the case. Rather it is acting as a link between the wordplay and the definition, indicating that if one carries out the prescribed wordplay, one would arrive at (or would be brought to) the correct solution.

Prince Hal is a name by which Henry, the Prince of Wales (the future King Henry V) is known in the plays Henry IV, Part 1^[7] and Henry IV, Part 2^[7] written by English poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

Frans Hals^[5] (circa 1580–1666) was a Dutch portrait and genre painter. He endowed his portraits with vitality, departing from conventional portraiture with works such as The Banquet of the Officers of the St George Militia Company (1616) and The Laughing Cavalier (1624).

3d   Newspaper chief travelled up to cover it (6)

4d   Entire triangle at sea (8)

5d   Unnerve some coming over in old banger (10)

6d   Last in science, failing to pass (6)

8d   Leave suddenly, as banks of 15 affected (6)

Another cross reference indicator makes an appearance [see comment for 1d].

In his review, Deep Threat illustrates the clue with a picture of English comedian and novelist Julian Clary^[7]. Openly gay, Clary began appearing on television in the mid 1980s and became known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style.

13d   Like onion rings? Agree with Little Richard, reportedly (10)

Little Richard^[7] is the stage name of American recording artist, songwriter, and musician Richard Penniman. His biography at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opens with these words:

He claims to be “the architect of rock and roll,” and history would seem to bear out Little Richard’s boast. More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as “Tutti Frutti”, “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll.

Of course, all of this is a bit of misdirection and really has nothing to do with the nub of the clue.

16d   Duo hired band (8)

18d   Native American protagonist living mostly under cover, initially (8)

A Cherokee^[5] is a member of an American Indian people formerly inhabiting much of the southern US, now living on reservations in Oklahoma and North Carolina.

19d   Fresh in tavern, always (6)

21d   Satisfying? Fairly (6)

In the second definition, enough^[5] is an adverb (which is used postpositively) ⇒ he seems nice enough.

22d   Iranian heading off mysteriously for a magical land (6)

The Chronicles of Narnia^[7], a series of seven high fantasy novels, is a classic of children's literature written by British author C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) between 1949 and 1954. Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world.

24d   Troublesome situation ineffectual types raised (4)

In Britain, wet^[5] is an informal term meaning, as an adjective, (1) showing a lack of forcefulness or strength of character; feeble ⇒ they thought the cadets were a bit wet or (2) Conservative with liberal tendencies, especially as regarded by right-wing Conservatives ⇒ they came across as the most liberal or wet members of the government. As a noun, it means (1) a person lacking forcefulness or strength of character ⇒there are sorts who look like gangsters and sorts who look like wets or (2) a Conservative with liberal tendencies ⇒the wets favoured a change in economic policy. The use of the term wet^[7] in British politics apparently began during the term in office of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher^[7]. 

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