Friday, March 7, 2014 — DT 27334

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27334
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27334]
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 █ - 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

I found it very difficult to find a starting point in this puzzle. However, once I had established a toehold, I was able to work my way steadily through the grid and, in the end, completed the puzzle without needing to call in my electronic reinforcements.

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   Pretend hoarding gold is strange (7)

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture. In heraldry, a tincture^[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

9a   Querulous and demanding talent up for modelling (8)

10a   Allowance from crown included in dispatch (7)

11a   Feature of country walks by the walls of Broadmoor (8)

Broadmoor^[5] is a special hospital near Reading in southern England for the secure holding of patients regarded as both mentally ill and potentially dangerous. It was established in 1863.

12a   A way of working on board ship before a tasty snack (6)

Modus operandi^[5] (abbreviation MO^[5]) is the way in which something operates or works ⇒ THC has a quite precise modus operandi that taps into a specific brain function. The term is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'way of operating'.

In Crosswordland, you will find that a ship is — almost without exception — a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[10]. Thus, "on board ship" is Crosswordese for 'contained in SS'.

13a   Sorry, but left the last word with board (10)

Board^[5] is an archaic term for a table set for a meal ⇒ he looked at the banquet which was spread upon his board.

15a   Honour head of transport in charge (4)

16a   Acknowledge developing regions outside European community (9)

Achieving European Union appears to have been a three-step process.

Step 1: The European Economic Community^[5] (abbreviation EEC), an institution of the European Union, is an economic association of western European countries set up by the Treaty of Rome (1957). The original members were France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. 

Step 2: The European Community^[5] (abbreviation EC) is an economic and political association of certain European countries, incorporated since 1993 in the European Union. The European Community was formed in 1967 from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom); it comprises also the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Court of Justice. Until 1987 it was still commonly known as the EEC. The name ‘European Communities’ is still used in legal contexts where the three distinct organizations are recognized.

Step 3: The European Union^[5] (abbreviation EU) is an economic and political association of certain European countries as a unit with internal free trade and common external tariffs. The European Union was created on 1 November 1993, with the coming into force of the Maastricht Treaty. It encompasses the old European Community (EC) together with two intergovernmental ‘pillars’ for dealing with foreign affairs and with immigration and justice. The terms European Economic Community (EEC) and European Community (EC) continue to be used loosely to refer to what is now the European Union. The European Union consists of 27 member states, 16 of which use the common currency unit, the euro.

21a   Note from doctor following case of malpractice (4)

22a   Disreputable individual's defender crossing line with followers (5,5)

In sports such as soccer (known in Britain as [association] football), a back^[5] is a player who plays in a defensive position behind the forwards.

24a   Attack man-hours wasted with no degree (6)

25a   Vision certainly found in rowing crew (8)

An eight^[5] is an eight-oared rowing boat or its crew. The Boat Race^[7] [mentioned by Big Dave in his review] is an annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights on the River Thames in London.

27a   Mad Blairite with no time for an African republic (7)

A Blairite^[10] is a supporter of the modernizing policies of Tony Blair^[5], British Labour statesman who was Prime Minister 1997–2007.

28a   EEC's changes applied to fossil fuel blend (8)

See discussion of EEC at 16a.

29a   Fish cooked with gin (7)

The whiting^[5] (Merlangius merlangus) is a slender-bodied marine fish of the cod family, which lives in shallow European waters and is a commercially important food fish.

Down

2d   Exposed peer given hearing and banned (8)

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.

In the UK, Lord^[5] is a title given formally to a baron, and less formally to a marquess, earl, or viscount (prefixed to a family or territorial name) ⇒ Lord Derby.

The word "Lord", when pronounced in a non-rhotic^[5] British accent ("lo'd"), sounds like "lawed". Non-rhotic accents omit the sound /r/ in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce /r/ in all contexts.

3d   Boss's tactic adopted by engineers turning up (8)

The engineers today are not the usual Corps of Royal Engineers (RE)^[5] (the field engineering and construction corps of the British army) but the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers^[7] (REME; pronounced phonetically as "Reemee"), a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of almost every electrical and mechanical piece of equipment within the British Army from battle tanks and helicopters to dental tools and cooking equipment/utensils.

4d   Pleasing changes covering account for over-the-top pubs (3,7)

Gin palace^[10] is an old fashioned term for a gaudy drinking house.

5d   Lawyers accept direction from stand (4)

6d   Married twice in case at law conference (6)

7d   Left party in street to get a jumper (7)

The Labour Party^[5] (abbreviation Lab.^[5]) in Britain is a left-of-centre political party formed to represent the interests of ordinary working people that since the Second World War has been in power 1945–51, 1964–70, 1974-9, and 1997–2010. Arising from the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century, it replaced the Liberals as the country’s second party after the First World War.

A wallaby^[5] is an Australasian marsupial that is similar to, but smaller than, a kangaroo.

8d   Sat awkwardly with cast hidden away (7)

11d   Please stay (2,2,5)

In his review, Big Dave does not make clear that this is a double definition. The second definition should be obvious. As for the first definition, should one say "May I join you?" to someone sitting alone in a bar, they may reply "Be my guest" or simply "Please".

14d   Fix European digital coverage (4,6)

17d   Excitedly greet men coming out (8)

18d   Something left out from old assignment (8)

19d   Sailor wanting change of scene will be notable by this (7)

In the Royal Navy, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

20d   Arrived with artist bearing television equipment (7)

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

23d   Criminal fined after king is stabbed (6)

K^[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

26d   Writer's shed losing roof (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