Wednesday, January 1, 2014 — DT 27285

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27285
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27285]
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

Four letter words were my undoing today. Perhaps I should have sought help from the foul-mouthed woman at 1d.

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   Go and get chef's special -- about time! (5)

4a   Beauty queen kidnapped by youth with tag on (8)

Collins English Dictionary defines a beauty queen^[10] as an attractive young woman, especially one who has won a beauty contest. In this clue, I would say that the setter intends us to interpret the term in the former (more general) sense, rather than in the latter (more specific) sense. A belle^[10] is (1) a beautiful girl or woman or (2) the most attractive or admired girl or woman at a place, function, etc. (especially in the phrase the belle of the ball).

Bathing belle^[10] (a term mentioned by Deep Threat in his review) is an old fashioned alternative form of the term bathing beauty^[10], an attractive girl in a swimming costume^[10] (a mainly British name for a bathing suit^[10] or swimsuit^[10]).  Come to think of it, bathing beauty is, itself, a term that I do not recall having encountered in many a year.

10a   Order tarts with herb filling -- that's appetising (7)

Starter^[5] is a chiefly British term [but one not entirely foreign to Canada] meaning the first course of a meal. The clue plays on the term appetizer^[5] (or appetiser), a small dish of food or a drink taken before a meal or the main course of a meal to stimulate one’s appetite.

11a   Target outbreak of mice found in a particular area (7)

12a   Moderate Tory claiming party leader was in tears (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].

13a   One's spoken in a whisper since I had Ecstasy (5)

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.

14a   Chelsea and Villa wingers fizz (4)

Here, a winger^[5] is an attacking player on the wing in soccer — although the term is also used in hockey and other sports.

Chelsea Football Club^[7] is an English professional association football [soccer] club based in Fulham, London that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

Aston Villa Football Club^[7] (also known as Villa) is an English professional association football club based in Birmingham that also plays in the Premier League.

Cava^[5] is a Spanish sparkling wine made in the same way as champagne.

17a   Lad got coffee or rum -- it brings optimism (4-4,6)

Rum^[5] is dated British slang meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

Feel-good factor^[5] is a British term meaning a widespread feeling of well-being and financial security, especially viewed as a factor in increased consumer spending.

19a   Revealing article, ought to put in bid (3-3-8)

22a   Bonus being denied run but gaining a point (4)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

23a   Violet Elizabeth's audible yearning for piece of chicken (5)

Violet Elizabeth Bott, a recurring character in the Just William series of books, is a lisping spoiled daughter of the local nouveau riche millionaire (whose companionship William reluctantly endures, to prevent her carrying out her threat "I'll thcream and thcream 'till I'm thick").

Just William^[7] is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton [pen name of English writer Richmal Crompton Lamburn (1890–1969)], and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for numerous television series, films and radio adaptations. Just William is also sometimes used as a title for the series of books as a whole, and is also the name of various television, film and radio adaptations of the books.

24a   Shop for pen (4)

The Co-operative Group^[7] is a British consumer cooperative with a diverse range of retail businesses. The organisation is widely called "The Co-op", particularly in the food division.

For the benefit of those reading Deep Threat's review, high street^[5] (in Britain) denotes the main street of a town, especially as the traditional site for most shops, banks, and other businesses ⇒ the approaching festive season boosted the high street.

27a   Father accepts pointless risk to provide spice (7)

Here, point refers to one of the cardinal points of the compass.

28a   Leave room, hearing what cheesemakers do (4,3)

29a   Poorly peer eating beef perhaps to fill up (8)

In Britain, poorly^[5] is not only used as an adverb, but also as an adjective meaning unwell ⇒ she looked poorly. Thus, a "poorly peer" is a peer who is ill.

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.

30a   Work out horror film in need of ending (5)

The online version of the clue in the UK was changed to:

• Analyse horror film in need of ending (5)

Psycho^[7] is a 1960 American suspense horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch which is loosely inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein.

Although (at the time that I solved the clue) I did not understand why "work out" would mean psych, I later discovered that one definition of psych^[3] listed in The American Heritage Dictionary is to analyze, solve, or comprehend.

Down

1d   She swears she could be sole partner (8)

A fishwife^[5] is a coarse-mannered woman who is prone to shouting ⇒ the screech of a fishwife.

2d   Tramp's sea trip abandoned (7)

3d   Chianti with odd exceptions English loathe (4)

Chianti^[5] is a dry red Italian wine produced in Tuscany.

5d   Where the hunt is unlikely to be exceeding expectations (5,2,3,4)

A hunt^[10] is the participants in or members of a party or institution organized for the pursuit of wild animals or game, especially for sport.

I seriously impeded my progress in the lower portion of the puzzle by initially entering AHEAD OF THE PACK.

6d   Undergarment is timeless yet current (4)

7d   Chatter and endlessly mull over love -- what a pain! (7)

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.

I would think that the definition must be "what a pain!" (i.e., a severe pain). Otherwise, the word "what" would seem to play no role in the clue.

8d   Share of hacienda? Chalet? Country cottage abroad? (5)

In Spanish-speaking countries or regions, a hacienda^[5] is a large estate or plantation with a dwelling house.

A chalet^[5] is a wooden house with overhanging eaves, typically found in the Swiss Alps. In Britain, the term is used for a small cabin or house used by holidaymakers, forming a unit within a holiday complex.

A dacha^[5] is a country house or cottage in Russia, typically used as a second or holiday home.

9d   Annoyed I cut tango -- it shows promise (5,4,5)

Tango^[5] is a code word representing the letter T, used in radio communication.

15d   Stone with bands a European label backed (5)

16d   Drop precious Cru Beaujolais bottles (5)

Drop^[5] is used in the sense of abandon or discontinue (a course of action or study).

In France, a cru^[5] is a vineyard or group of vineyards, especially one of recognized superior quality.

Beaujolais^[5] is a light red or (less commonly) white burgundy wine produced in the Beaujolais district of SE France.

Cru Beaujolais^[7] is the highest category of classification for wine produced in Beaujolais. Unlike Burgundy and Alsace, the phrase cru in Beaujolais refers to an entire wine producing area rather than an individual vineyard.

18d   Stumble over fringes of tapestry and church's painted panels (8)

20d   Neurotic woman in twenties? (7)

21d   Party's case for other approach giving us access (7)

22d   Appear to get Dad out of bed (3,2)

25d   Mention Kindle former wife dropped (4)

The setter deceptively capitalizes the first letter of  "kindle" to mislead us into directing our attention to the Amazon eReader.

26d   Leadership change for political party in spring (4)

With the help of my electronic assistants, I did manage to get the right answer — without understanding why.

I eventually deciphered the wordplay with the help of Deep Threat's reference to Nigel Farage^[7], the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP).

The UKIP^[7] is a Eurosceptic [opposed to European political union] right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1993. The party describes itself in its constitution as a "democratic, libertarian party" and, in July 2013, has a claimed membership of 30,000. In September 2013, UKIP held 9 of the UK's 73 seats in the European Parliament, three members in the House of Lords and one seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly, though it has never won a seat in the House of Commons.

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