Monday, February 3, 2014 — DT 27308

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27308
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, October 14, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27308]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Libellule
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

You certainly shouldn't find this puzzle overly taxing — just dash through it and get on with your day.

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   Separated and sure to play around (7)

5a   Terribly grieved, draw apart (7)

9a   Declares a piece of poetry endless (5)

10a   Happen  to change course (4,5)

I first entered COME ALONG which caused 8d to hang around unsolved until I sorted things out at the end. My incorrect solution fit the first definition well ("Opportunities like this don't come along very often") and was a passable (barely) match for the second ("Forget studying, come along with us to the bar!").

11a   Tyrant captures northern retreat -- it's hopeless (10)

12a   Risky transaction with a Greek character (4)

Beta^[5] is the second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β).

14a   Wide selection of actors for radio (12)

18a   This offence may mean a criminal record (7,5)

It took me a moment to realize that this is not intended to be a double definition, but rather a charade with the wordplay being ILLEGAL (criminal) + ENTRY (record).

21a   Information given by grass, perhaps (4)

22a   Completely out of gear (5,5)

Rufus is known for his sometimes "barely cryptic clues" — but this one reveals a new meaning for that phrase.

25a   Supporters now in new stand (9)

In addition to meaning in this place, here^[5] can also be used when indicating a time, point, or situation that has arrived or is happening ⇒ here is your opportunity.

26a   Filleted joint and topping for bishop (5)

27a   Aged men involved in the final stages of a board meeting? (7)

... the board being one used in a chess match.

28a   Around end of watch, escort put out lights (7)

Down

1d   Grants a minor point (6)

2d   Being apprehensive is not any use -- although it might be (6)

I would say that the anagram indicator here is one of the most involved that I have ever encountered. The wordplay is an anagram (is not ... although it might be) of ANY USE.

The words "being ... is" provide a link between the definition and the wordplay. This becomes more obvious when we rewrite the clue using a more normal sentence structure:

• Not any use — although it might be is being apprehensive (6)

The surface reading of the restructured clue is certainly less pleasing — in fact, one may well think it to be virtually meaningless. However, this example does serve to illustrate how link words or phrases may sometimes find themselves at the being of a clue, rather than in the middle.

3d   Record our time and dampen spirits (10)

4d   Competed in speed with one in highway (5)

5d   West Indian  friar (9)

"West Indian" could refer to either of two Caribbean nations. A Dominican^[5] is a native or inhabitant of the island of Dominica. A Dominican^[5] may also be a native or inhabitant of the Dominican Republic.

A Dominican^[5] is a member of the Roman Catholic order of preaching friars founded by St Dominic, or of a religious order for women founded on similar principles.

6d   Medicine bottle that's taken through Libya's capital (4)

To solve this clue, it is totally unnecessary to know that Tripoli^[5] is the capital of Libya.

7d   Greek island -- one with a colony in Africa at one time (8)

Rhodes^[5] is  a Greek island in the southeast Aegean, off the Turkish coast, the largest of the Dodecanese and the most easterly island in the Aegean; population 130,000 (est. 2004).

Rhodesia^[5] is the former name of a large territory in central southern Africa which was divided into Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). In 1963, the British colony of Southern Rhodesia adopted the name Rhodesia when the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia became the independent republic of Zambia. Rhodesia became independent Zimbabwe in 1979.

8d   Split up and set off with compass (8)

13d   Space explorer? (10)

Now this a more typical "barely cryptic clue" [see comment at 22a].

15d   Suddenly everyone's getting on simultaneously (3,2,4)

Maybe (as Libellule sees it) this is a double definition, or maybe it's a charade with the wordplay being ALL (everyone) + ('s [contraction for has] getting on] AT ONCE (simultaneously). As a charade indicator, "has getting on" is a lot of firepower to deploy as each of the three words is often seen as a charade indicator in its own right.

16d   Singers are barred in it (8)

17d   Being careless, tumbles over the coal scuttle (8)

Similar to 2d, "being" links the definition to the wordplay. Such link words or phrases usually sit between the two parts of a clue, and it would if we were to write the clue with a more normal sentence structure:

• Tumbles over the coal scuttle being careless (8)

Again, the surface reading of the restructured clue is definitely less pleasing than that of the original.

19d   Draw results in little play (6)

20d   Creatures which increase -- but don't multiply? (6)

23d   Tries making another attempt to pass (5)

Resit^[5] is a British term which, as a verb, means to take (an examination) again after failing it  ⇒ she is resitting her maths GCSE [General Certificate of Secondary Education] and, as a noun, denotes an examination that is resat ⇒ the system allows the office to timetable all resits in a single block.

24d   Yard or square measure (4)

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