Monday, June 9, 2014 — DT 27402

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27402
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, February 1, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27402 - Hints]  Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27402 - Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) gnomethang (Review)
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
Notes
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

Rufus delivers a fairly typical puzzle today. My performance was affected by a spell of absent-mindedness, reading gnomethang's review on Big Dave's blog before taking another look at a clue that I had flagged for closer scrutiny.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

1a   Pests concealed in recess mostly (6)

4a   People photographing fish (8)

9a   Cook's instruction ready to embrace Eastern cuisine's starter (6)

In the surface reading, starter^[5] would seem to be used as a chiefly British term [but most certainly one not entirely foreign to Canada] meaning the first course of a meal.

10a   Troublemaker a soldier has to turn endlessly back (8)

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war. Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

11a   Piece following article on hot part of Aga saga (3,6)

To solve this clue, one must "lift and separate" (a bit of crosswordese adopted from Playtex brassiere advertisements). It refers to the fact that, in parsing the clue, the phrase "Aga saga" must be split into its component parts with the first word being part of the wordplay and the second word constituting the definition.

Aga cooker

An Aga saga is a type of popular British novel, set in middle England and populated by the middle classes of the sort that typically own Aga cookers. Agas are kitchen ranges, often very large and expensive, that are seen as epitomizing the prosperous and cosy middle-class English country lifestyle. [read more on Aga saga^[7]].

Note that a range is defined a differently in Britain than it is in North America. In North America, a range may use any type of fuel (wood, coal, oil, gas, electricity, etc.). However, in Britain, a range^[4] is specifically a large stove with burners and one or more ovens, usually heated by solid fuel (such as wood or coal). A cooking device that does not use solid fuel (for example, one using gas or electricity) is known in the UK as a cooker^[5].

Notwithstanding the distinction between "range" and "cooker" made in the preceding definitions, I note that the definition of "Aga saga" above refers to an "Aga cooker" — as does gnomethang in his review. How boring crosswords would be if the British were consistent in their use of language!

Hob^[5] is a British term for a cooking appliance, or the flat top part of a cooker, with hotplates or burners.

The Hobbit^[7] is a fantasy novel and children's book by English author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) which was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim. The book remains popular and is recognized as a classic in children's literature.Set in a time "Between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men", The Hobbit follows the quest of home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug.

13a   French girl's name? No, English one (5)

I regard the entire clue to be the definition as the latter part alone does not seem to provide sufficient information to be considered a complete definition. The initial part of the clue (the portion with the dashed underline) constitutes both wordplay as well as fleshing out the definition.

Elle^[8] is a French pronoun meaning either she (when used as a subject) or her (as an object).

14a   Getting exhausted managers a place to dry out (8,5)

As a minor variance to gnomethang's explanation, I would say that the phrase "getting exhausted" is used to clue DRAINING. While I admit that it sounds a bit awkward to my ear, it might be used as follows ⇒ As the speaker droned on, I found my enthusiasm for the subject draining.

Draining board is the British name for a drainboard^[5].

17a   Smack accompanied by slap then settle one's differences (4,3,4,2)

I also differ slightly with gnomethang's interpretation here, as I would not include the word "then" as part of the definition. I think it is likely intended to be a link word, effectively being equivalent to saying "produces the result".

Slap^[5] is an informal term for make-up, especially when applied thickly or carelessly ⇒ I put a bit of slap on my face and we were ready to go. The Chambers Dictionary defines slap^[1] as theatrical slang for stage make-up; hence, make-up generally.

21a   Caught in temptation to make riches (5)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] denotes caught (by).

23a   Knight put in good spirits engaging against old fighter (9)

Muhammad Ali^[5] is an American boxer; born Cassius Marcellus Clay. He won the world heavyweight title in 1964, 1974, and 1978, becoming the only boxer to be world champion three times.

Chevalier^[5] is a historical term for a knight [from late Middle English, denoting a horseman or mounted knight]. Today the term is applied to a member of certain orders of knighthood or of modern French orders such as the Legion of Honour.

24a   After time, European organisation gets pick-me-up from Germany (8)

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.

25a   Tight pain, variable (6)

In mathematics, a variable^[5] is a quantity which during a calculation is assumed to vary or be capable of varying in value. [In mathematical formulae, variables are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

26a   Did gas develop net trade? (8)

Gas^[3] is used in the informal sense of to talk excessively.

27a   Show on television loose material that's new (6)

Down

1d   A European levy to produce inflation? (6)

2d   South American farms in a shed I can let out (9)

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

3d   Envoy lacks ultimate qualification (7)

5d   Singer in London square hailing gent rudely (11)

I thought that this might be a reference to a a statue of Florence Nightingale found in some London square. However, that proves not to be the case.

"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"^[7] is a romantic British popular song written in 1939. Berkeley Square is a large leafy square in Mayfair, an expensive part of London. The Ritz Hotel referred to is also in Mayfair. With its sweet, wistful song the nightingale, stimulated by the street lights, can often be heard singing in cities during the night.

6d   Sage perhaps makes fuss over book (3,4)

7d   Praise old group given a boost (5)

8d   Sing to a duke in comfortable surroundings (8)

12d   Monk well read in Latin keeps order at home (11)

Although I got the wordplay from gnomethang's review, that was in part due to my own carelessness. As the wordplay was not immediately evident to me, I had marked the clue to return to later to examine more fully — then neglected to do so.

Bene is a Latin word meaning well, as in the phrase nota bene^[5] (note well).

A Benedictine^[5] is a monk or nun of a Christian religious order following the rule of St Benedict and established circa 540.

15d   Piece of kit I can reorder with electronics company around (9)

The Chambers Dictionary defines kit^[1] as meaning — among other things — equipment.

Apple Inc.^[7] is an American multinational corporation that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, online services, and personal computers.

16d   With the team depleted, Kent lose badly (8)

As indicated by the word "with", the solution is an adjective (or, more precisely, a noun used as a modifier).

Skeleton^[10] (used as a modifier) means reduced to a minimum. Collins English Dictionary characterises this usage as US & Canadian.

Kent^[7] is a county in southeast (SE) England. The surface reading may be a reference to Kent County Cricket Club^[7], one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure.

18d   Chemical giving one very good mood (7)

The key to solving this clue is recognizing that the phrase "very good" is a postpositive modifier of the word "one" rather than a prepositive modifier of the the word "mood".

19d   Giving investiture initially in ruined castle (7)

20d   Writer Charles perhaps taken in by trick (6)

Ray Charles^[5] (1930–2004) was an American pianist and singer; born Ray Charles Robinson. Totally blind from the age of 6, he drew on blues, jazz, and country music for songs such as ‘What’d I Say‘ (1959) and ’Georgia On My Mind' (1960).

22d   Outer surface about to corrode (5)

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