Thursday, July 24, 2014 — DT 27435

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27435
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27435]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By scchua
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 must say that I thoroughly enjoyed today's puzzle from Jay.

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   Spike drink given to one politician (6)

In many Commonwealth countries (including Britain and Canada), a member of the House of Commons or similar legislative body is known as a Member of Parliament^[10] (or MP^[5] for short).

5a   Approaches after work, dismissing fine for disputes (8)

9a   Dishonesty from keen doctors? (5,8)

Sharp practice^[10] is an old-fashioned term meaning dishonest or unscrupulous behaviour in business.

10a   Cut charge by £1? (8)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

11a   A good hotel welcomed by supporter from an Asian country (6)

The abbreviation G^[10] for good likely relates to its use in grading school assignments or tests.

 Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.

12a   Irishman wearing a coat? (6)

I would have to say that most of the Irishmen whom I encounter in Crosswordland seem to be named Pat.

14a   Don't say a word -- liquid silver dries up (8)

16a   Tramps across the west of Ireland for papers (8)

In Britain, dosser^[5] is an informal and derogatory term for a tramp or someone who 'sleeps rough'^[5] — a British expression meaning to sleep in uncomfortable conditions, typically out of doors ⇒ "he spent the night sleeping rough on the streets".

19a   Criminal offence on quiet man of the church (6)

A parson^[5,10] is a parish priest in the Church of England, formerly applied only to those who held ecclesiastical benefices — that is, a rector or vicar. A benefice^[5] is a permanent Church appointment, typically that of a rector or vicar, for which property and income are provided in respect of pastoral duties.

21a   Date with title holder is a depressing experience (6)

This "title holder" is not the winner of a sports championship but, rather, someone with property to their name.

23a   Sweet from Italy carried by public transport is acceptable (8)

Sweet^[5] is a British term for a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; in other words, a pudding or dessert. 

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Italy is I^[5]. 

Tram^[5] is the British term for streetcar^[5].

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words denoting upper class such as posh or superior — or, as today, acceptable.

The illustrations in scchua's review show a tiramisu dessert in the hands of the owner of Alimento Fine Food Emporium (King Street West in Toronto — and apparently now closed); Mexican actress Salma Hayek dining in Rome (by the way, she ate a cup of strawberries and virtually ignored the tiramisu), and director Oliver Stone apparently mesmerized by Salma Hayek's ample cleavage. It would seem that scchua is suggesting that eating tiramisu results in ... (well, I'm sure you can imagine where this is leading).

25a   A banking term for reputation and class (8,5)

Standing order^[5] is a British term for an instruction to a bank by an account holder to make regular fixed payments to a particular person or organization.

26a   One needs to be reminded in the morning in case working (8)

27a   Deeply affected, let out a scream (6)

Down

2d   How mother hides a sign of injury? (7)

This is a semi-all-in-one clue. The entire clue is the the definition, while the portion marked with a dashed underline — but with a different interpretation — also serves as the wordplay.

About the only injury that the solution might conceal is a damaged eyelash.

3d   Conscious of a revolutionary green source of energy (5)

4d   Walk along the seafront -- and see lap dancing (9)

In his review, scchua illustrates the clue with a shot of Miley Cyrus on the Ellen Degeneres show. Here is the entire segment:

5d   Kew, for example, gets women to replace head keepers (7)

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens^[5], is a major botanical institution located at Kew, in London, England.

6d   Capital -- and credit -- squeezed by an accountant (5)

The abbreviation CA^[5] for Chartered Accountant  is used in Scotland — and was formerly employed in Canada. However, as of January 2013, Canadian CA's have adopted the CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) designation. In England and Wales, the designatory letters are ACA or FCA while in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) the acronym CAI is used.^[7]

Accra^[5] is the capital of Ghana, a port on the Gulf of Guinea; population 1,970,400 (est. 2005).

In his review, scchua illustrates this clue with pictures of Erica Yayra Nego^[7] who won the Miss Universe title in 2011 representing Ghana. However, scchua is mistaken when he says that Accra is her hometown. It seems that Miss Nego — who is of Ghanaian, German and Persian ancestry — was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the good old USA.

7d   Reviewing home rule mainly supporting leave (5,4)

8d   I weep audibly and go face-to-face (7)

13d   Unable to feel popular, as tense, worryingly (9)

15d   Vacant role for each right-winger is a sort of theatre (9)

A Tory^[4] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain [or Canada]. Historically, a Tory was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679-80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

17d   Animal giving sailor problem after work (7)

Ordinary seaman (abbreviation OS)^[5] is the lowest rank of sailor in the Royal Navy, below able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]).

 In music, Op.^[5] (also op.) is an abbreviation meaning opus (work). It is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication.

An opossum^[5] is an American marsupial which has a naked prehensile tail and hind feet with an opposable thumb.

18d   A saint converted Charlie? Like Hell! (7)

Charlie^[5] is a code word representing the letter C, used in radio communication.

20d   Notice rising smell and do one's duty (7)

22d   Broadcast without finishing one's lines (5)

24d   Mine misses home with son up for a decoration (5)

The decorated Olympians featured in scchua's review are American swimmer Mark Spitz^[7] (seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich) and Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice^[7] (three gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing).

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