Friday, February 28, 2014 — DT 27329

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27329
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, November 7, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27329]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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 fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

It is always interesting when I encounter a puzzle, such as today's, that I have already reviewed at Big Dave's Crossword Blog. Today, I recognized after only a few clues that I had seen the puzzle before. That is not always the case, as I am sometimes well into a puzzle before the light comes on. Despite recognizing that I was seeing the puzzle for a second time, it was by no means a write in. Some of the clues seemed as fresh the second time around as when I first saw them in November. As a matter of fact, today I failed to fully decipher the wordplay in 1d — just as I had failed to understand it the first time I saw it.

In my reviews here, I sometimes point out errors in or offer alternative interpretations to the reviews at Big Dave's Crossword Blog. My review of today's puzzle at Big Dave's site offers proof that no blogger is immune to making mistakes as I get to point out an error or two in my own previous review.

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   Hit! Tenor bowed (7)

5a   Small bunk's what a good soldier should be given (7)

The word tripe may perhaps carry a different connotation in the UK than in North America. The American Heritage Dictionary defines tripe^[3] as "something of no value; rubbish". It is unclear whether this refers to a worthless physical item or to nonsense (or both). Collins English Dictionary defines tripe^[4] as "something silly; rubbish" which would seem to indicate nonsense rather than a worthless physical item. Oxford Dictionaries Online is perhaps the most clear in defining tripe^[5] as "nonsense; rubbish" ⇒ you do talk tripe sometimes.

9a   As Melanie's hugging Anton's heart softens (5)

10a   Youth's twisted hooch lid, beginning to drink (9)

11a   After start of lecture he praised, worryingly, what Thatcher showed? (10)

Margaret Thatcher^[5], Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven (1925–2013) was a British Conservative stateswoman, Prime Minister 1979–90. She was the country’s first female Prime Minister, and became the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century. Her period in office was marked by an emphasis on monetarist policies, privatization of nationalized industries, and trade union legislation. She became known for her determination and her emphasis on individual responsibility and enterprise.

12a   Only a pool (4)

Unfortunately, in my review at Big Dave's site, it looks like the entire clue is underlined. That is an artifact of the WordPress software (used by Big Dave's site) which causes underlining on adjacent words to bleed together forming what appears to be a single underline beneath the two words when, in reality, each word has been underlined separately.

14a   Strange air about good and refined type of worker in the country? (12)

18a   Crate's broken down, support's in vehicles making tracks (12)

Here is a case where I definitely did make a mistake in underlining the clue in my review at Big Dave's site.

21a   Do as you're told? No -- be yourself to an extent (4)

22a   Special parking needed by lorry Raul's manoeuvring (10)

Lorry^[5] is the common British term for a truck.

Artic^[5] is an informal British term for an articulated lorry [a semi-trailer^[5] to North Americans].

25a   Enticing  long leg might be doing this (9)

It would seem that I made another error in underlining in my review at Big Dave's site by neglecting to underline the second definition.

In cricket, long leg^[5] is a fielding position far behind the batsman on the leg side or a fielder playing this position.

The leg side^[5] (also called simply the leg) is the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball. The leg side is also known as the on side (or simply the on^[5]). Naturally, the other side of the field is known as the off side^[5] (also called the off).

In cricket, an appeal^[5] is a call by a bowler or fielder on the umpire to declare a batsman out, traditionally with a shout of ‘How’s that?’ and to appeal is to make such a call.

26a   Urn thrown inside that is to harden (5)

27a   Hearing strange noises following start of stomachache (7)

28a   Ash, perhaps, wrapped around tips of stakes -- they're left for support (7)

Down

1d   Pattern cut in card left out in place of worship (6)

I had trouble with this clue the first time I saw it and no less difficulty the second time. Fortunately, I had my previous review to set me straight.

The wordplay is TEMPL[AT]E (pattern cut in card) with AT (in) deleted (left out). What I failed to notice on both occasions is that the word "in" has been used to clue AT.

Are "in" and "at" synonymous? In the following examples, I suppose that I could substitute "in" for "at" while retaining essentially the same meaning:

• it was at university that he first began to perform
• on my way to Toronto, I stopped at Kingston

2d   Discharge gun finally with a loud shot (6)

3d   Fares going up on flights? (10)

4d   Cuts or clips where cutters or clippers may be found (5)

In my review at Big Dave's site, this is another instance where the underlining idiosyncrasies of WordPress have come into play.

5d   Religious ceremony supporting leaders in small Pacific island (9)

6d   Perch on back of horse? That's what jockey did (4)

A perch is a historical unit of measure that was once used in Britain. A perch^[5] (also called a pole or a rod) is a measure of length, especially for land, equal to a quarter of a [surveyor's] chain  or 5½ yards. To further confuse matters, a perch (also known as a square perch, pole, square pole, rod, or square rod) is a measure of area, especially for land, equal to 160th of an acre or 30¼ square yards.

7d   Trailblazers -- one found in jetties (8)

8d   Rocky dude -- Sly -- boxing third of contenders straight away (8)

Sylvester "Sly" Stallone^[7] is an American actor best known for his portrayal of the characters boxer Rocky Balboa and soldier John Rambo.

13d   Hot tart cooked full of beans (10)

15d   Check headless cod (9)

Cod^[5] is an informal British term meaning not authentic or fake ⇒ a cod Mittel-European accent.

16d   Disciples finding type of energy's surrounding church (8)

A disciple^[5] is a follower or pupil of a teacher, leader, or philosopher ⇒ a disciple of Rousseau.

17d   Tries bait regularly with lures (8)

19d   Female left relative to show off (6)

20d   Artwork delivers for audience (6)

23d   Drunk's unwilling to part with money (5)

24d   Exhaust on one form of transport (4)

Are "tax" and "exhaust" synonymous? I suppose if one taxes to the limit, they are. This reminds me of a simplified income tax form that someone once proposed which would have only three lines:

• Line 1: How much did you make?
• Line 2: How much did you spend?
• Line 3: Remit the difference

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