Thursday, June 19, 2014 — DT 27410

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27410
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, February 11, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27410]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Gazza
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

Gazza rated this puzzle "a bit trickier that what we normally get on Tuesdays [the day on which it appeared in the UK]". Nevertheless, it shouldn't overly tax most experienced solvers.

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   Conceited, like Humpty Dumpty? (9)

I initially wrote in EGGHEADED which totally stymied my efforts on 1d. Fortunately, I eventually saw the error of my ways.

6a   Monarch and family joined by Germany’s leader (4)

10a   Tragic heroine taking in a US resort (5)

Mimi is the tragic heroine of the opera La bohème^[7] by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). Mimi is also the name of the heroine of the 1996 Broadway musical Rent^[7] which is based on La bohème.

11a   Justify being very mean (9)

12a   Meet knight in Eastern bar (9)

N^[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].

14a   Order English concise dictionary (or part thereof) (5)

As Gazza points out in his review, the setter provides two sets of wordplay which are separated by the word "or". The first is E (English) + DICT (concise dictionary; an abbreviation for "dictionary"). The second indicates that the solution is hidden in the phrase (part thereof) "English concisE DICTionary". While some purists would likely argue that the word "English" is superfluous to the latter bit of wordplay, I think we can accept "English concise dictionary" as constituting a meaningful phrase — although "concise English dictionary" rings truer to my ear (but certainly would not work in the context of the clue).

15a   We, with others left imprisoned, struggle (7)

16a   Trendy girl, one of the Joneses? (7)

Diana continues to be one of — if not actually the — most popular female names in Crosswordland.

Indiana Jones^[7] is a fictional character created by American filmmaker George Lucas in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. Alongside the more widely known films and television programs, the character is also featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media — not to mention attractions at several Disney theme parks.

18a   Spear I’d thrown into river (7)

The Trent^[5] is the chief river of central England, which rises in Staffordshire and flows 275 km (170 miles) generally north-eastwards, uniting with the River Ouse 25 km (15 miles) west of Hull to form the Humber estuary.

A trident^[5] is a three-pronged spear, especially as an attribute of Poseidon [the Greek god of the sea] (Neptune [the Roman god of the sea]) or Britannia [the personification of Britain, usually depicted as a helmeted woman with shield and trident].

20a   Tree maintenance (7)

The service tree^[5] is a Eurasian tree of the rose family, closely related to the rowan. Species include
the southern European true service tree (Sorbus domestica), with compound leaves and green-brown fruits that are edible when overripe, and the wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis), with lobed leaves and brown berries.

21a   Looter overlooking a cavalryman (5)

23a   100 led conga off, and another set of steps up North? (4,5)

A clog dance^[5] is a dance performed in clogs with rhythmic beating of the feet, especially as a traditional dance in Ireland, Scotland, and the North of England.

25a   Product of fine season (9)

F^[5] is an abbreviation for fine, used in describing grades of pencil lead [a usage that Oxford characterises as British].

26a   Lively stout at last available in small bottle (5)

Stout^[5] is a kind of strong, dark beer brewed with roasted malt or barley.

28a   Monster consequently returned (4)

29a   Vest being worn by the only child in family (9)

In Britain, a vest^[5] is an undergarment worn on the upper part of the body, typically having no sleeves. The garment that North Americans call a vest is known in the UK as a waistcoat.

Singlet^[5] is a chiefly British name for a sleeveless garment worn under or instead of a shirt.

Singleton^[5] (often used as a modifier) is a child or animal born singly, rather than one of a multiple birth ⇒ singleton boys.

Down

1d   Dessert, pineapple, last from tree (5)

Pineapple^[5] is an informal name for a hand grenade. According to The Chambers Dictionary, pineapple^[1] is also an informal name for a bomb. This latter meaning is unique to Chambers among the several dictionaries that I consulted.

2d   Travel over a state in India (3)

Goa^[5] is a state on the west coast of India; capital, Panaji. Formerly a Portuguese territory, it was seized by India in 1961. It formed a Union Territory with Daman and Diu until 1987, when it was made a state.

3d   Form quite unpredictable — better ignoring first and last (9)

4d   Fan of French election beginning to expound (7)

In French, de^[8]is a preposition meaning of'.

5d   Study a king on two Roman coins (7)

I would say that one could equally well determine the definition to be "Roman coins" with the word "two" in the wordplay clueing the Roman numeral for two.

Rex^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

As alluded to by Gazza in his review, in the British currency system used prior to Decimal Day^[5] (February 15, 1971 [the date on which Britain converted to a decimal currency system]), a penny was equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound (and was abbreviated d, for denarius).

7d   Fancy one tribe embracing sorcerers (11)

A magus^[5] (plural magi) is a sorcerer.

8d   Dog in tea garden, barking (5,4)

As an anagram indicator, barking^[5] is used in an informal British sense meaning completely mad or demented ⇒ (i) we are all a bit barking; (ii) has she gone completely barking mad?.

9d   Clobber eagle, primarily a bird of prey (4)

Clobber^[5] is British slang for clothing, personal belongings, or equipment ⇒ I found all his clobber in the locker.

Kit is an informal British term for clothes, especially in the expression get one's kit off^[5], meaning to take off all one's clothes.

13d   Clubs limit delay in game (6,2,3)

C^[1] is the abbreviation for clubs, a suit in a deck of cards.

Chemin de fer^[5] (French, literally 'railway') is a card game which is a variety of baccarat.

15d   ‘Battle’ almost describes potty game (5,4)

This turns out to be rather timely clue as yesterday was the 199th anniversary of the battle to which it refers.

Quotation marks are often used in DT puzzles to indicate the name of a play, opera, film, or song. However, I could find no particularly noteworthy work entitled 'Battle'^[7]. Moreover, given that quotation marks used in such situations rarely appear in the puzzles as published in the National Post, I have long suspected that they are added by the editors at The Daily Telegraph after the puzzle has been sent to syndication. Therefore, I would conclude that the quotation marks in this clue are merely meant to provide emphasis to the word "battle".

The Battle of Waterloo^[5] was a battle fought on 18 June 1815 near the village of Waterloo (in what is now Belgium), in which Napoleon’s army was defeated by the British (under the Duke of Wellington) and Prussians. The allied pursuit caused Napoleon’s army to disintegrate entirely, ending his bid to return to power.

In Britain, po^[5] is an informal name for a chamber pot.

The use of the word "describe" as a containment indicator is a common cryptic crossword convention. This device relies on describe^[3] being used in the sense of to trace the form or outline of ⇒ describe a circle with a compass. Thus, in today's clue, we have WATERLO ('battle' almost; Battle of Waterloo) containing (describing) PO (potty) with the rationale for the wordplay being that the container (WATERLO) forms an outline around the contained entity (PO) in a similar manner to the circumference of a circle forming an outline around the circular area contained within it.  

17d   Two daughters are inside with wicked reckless type (4-5)

19d   Diplomacy is to embrace Conservative strategy (7)

I expect that those with a military background may argue that strategy and tactics are rather different things.

20d   Oriental commander holding butt of assault weapon (7)

A shogun^[5] was a hereditary commander-in-chief in feudal Japan. Because of the military power concentrated in his hands and the consequent weakness of the nominal head of state (the mikado or emperor), the shogun was generally the real ruler of the country until feudalism was abolished in 1867.

22d   Ready to complain once head of government’s left (4)

24d   Welsh name, see, keeping maiden name (5)

A see^[10] is the diocese of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral or procathedral is situated.

The Diocese of Ely^[5] is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in the city of Ely.

In cricket, a maiden^[5], also known as a maiden over, (abbreviation M)^[5] is an over in which no runs are scored. An over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

Emlyn is a Welsh name which probably comes from the name of the ancient region of Emlyn^[7] in Wales, its name meaning "around the valley". 

27d   Young child visiting grotto, toddler (3)

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