Monday, July 28, 2014 — DT 27432 (Bonus Puzzle)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27432
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, March 8, 2014
Setter Cephas (Peter Chamberlain)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27432 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27432 - Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (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
The National Post skipped this puzzle which — under its regular publication schedule — would have appeared on Monday, July 21, 2014. 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

For those who are suffering from CCWS (Cryptic Crossword Withdrawal Syndrome), I present your Monday fix — namely, the puzzle that the National Post skipped one week ago.

During July and August, the National Post does not publish an edition on Monday. In years past, a Monday Diversions page has sometimes been printed in either a preceding or subsequent edition of the paper. However, that practice appears to have been discontinued. In order to afford readers the opportunity to tackle the puzzles that the National Post has skipped, throughout the summer I will be posting (with a one week delay) the puzzles that would normally have appeared on Monday.

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   Round we had -- and hadn't paid (4)

3a   Very useful, home price covering rebuilt lab (10)

8a   Mockery made of tryst Eva organised (8)

9a   Awkward ridge gets left in waistbelt (6)

A waistbelt^[10] is [what else] a belt encircling the waist.

10a   Two Spanish articles following pop as a local speciality (6)

The word "local" is interpreted in the context of Spanish.

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

In Spanish, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

11a   Green buggy? (4,4)

13a   Train rodents to roll over after French bread (8)

The bread is spendable rather than edible.

The euro^[5] is the single European currency, which replaced the national currencies of France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Luxembourg, Austria, Finland, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands in 2002. Seventeen member states of the European Union now use the euro.

Eurostar^[5] (trademark) is the high-speed passenger rail service that links London with various European cities via the Channel Tunnel.

14a   Wrote from prison: 'Study's gone west' (6)

Pen as a synonym for prison appears to be a shortened form of penitentiary, even though penitentiary is characterised as a North American term by Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2], Collins English Dictionary^[10] and  Oxford Dictionaries Online^[5].

16a   Young woman's mother the French brought back (6)

In French, the plural form of the definite article is les^[10].

19a   Unbecoming to be in drag, if getting a makeover (5,3)

When I worked out what seemed to be the only possible arrangement of the letters in this anagram, I could scarcely bring myself to believe that such a term existed — but one must never underestimate the Brits.

Infra dig^[5] is an informal, chiefly British term meaning beneath one or demeaning ⇒ she regarded playing for the Pony Club as deeply infra dig. The term is an abbreviation of Latin infra dignitatem 'beneath (one's) dignity'.

21a   Journalist's taken back intended hostile challenge (8)

22a   Journey cut short through irrelevancies (6)

23a   I sped round lake to drive away (6)

24a   Many-sided but with no sides? (3-5)

25a   Fry often gets tipsy around the Queen -- sheer impudence! (10)

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

26a   Monster not on trail (4)

Down

1d   Fully extended providing picnic? (9)

2d   Satanist's lived riotously -- wish proper reforming's to come (5-10)

I would say that one is meant to interpret the phrase "to come" as "to follow" emphasizing that the latter anagram follows the former one.

3d   Second of this month (7)

Instant^[5] is a dated expression once used in business letters. It is a postpositive adjective meaning of the current month ⇒ your letter of the 6th instant.

4d   Envoy, a German taking part as tourist (7)

5d   Cricketer and members going over feature (3,4)

In cricket, leg slip^[5] is (1) a fielding position just behind the batsman on the leg side or (2) a fielder at leg slip.

Leg^[5] (also known as leg side) 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 ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg.

6d   Final cardiogram disguised bloomer (7,8)

Tagetes erecta^[7], the Mexican marigold, also called Aztec marigold, is a species of the genus Tagetes native to Mexico and Central America. Despite its being native to the Americas, it is often called African marigold.

7d   Wield cross held in upturned palm perhaps (5)

12d   Grain port (3)

Rye^[5] is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. In medieval times, however, as an important member of the Cinque Ports confederation, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel and almost entirely surrounded by the sea.

15d   No-holds-barred cannibalism? (3-3-3)

17d   Pronounce as an alternative to wonder (3)

The phrase "an alternative to" is supposedly equivalent to "or", although I cannot think of a single instance where I could directly substitute one for the other.

This is one of those British homophones that does not travel well. The word "or", when pronounced in a non-rhotic^[5] British accent, sounds like "awe". Non-rhotic accents omit the sound /r/ in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce /r/ in all contexts.

18d   Fat left a stain finally on jazzy lino (7)

19d   Learned not to start or repeat (7)

20d   Footballers agree with a deadly final ending? (7)

The Football Association^[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of football [soccer] in England. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

21d   Setter perhaps needs clue at the end to cover up dead duck (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