Thursday, July 31, 2014 — DT 27440

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27440
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27440]
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

For the second day in succession, entering a wrong solution blocked progress and caused me to call in my electronic backups for a bit of assistance.

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   Finch is back by hide (6)

A siskin^[5] is a small songbird related to the goldfinch, with yellow and black in the plumage. Species include the North Eurasian (spruce) siskin (Carduelis spinus), with dark-streaked greenish-yellow plumage, as well as several in the New World.

4a   Reinforce argument at university (4,2)

An incorrect entry at 5d certainly added to the challenge here.

In Britain, up^[5] may mean at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ? they were up at Cambridge about the same time.

8a   Head of lyceum getting paid for knowledge (8)

In ancient Athens, the Lyceum^[10] was a school and sports ground, the site of Aristotle's discussions with his pupils. It is also the name of the Aristotelian school of philosophy.

In more modern times, the term lyceum^[10] has been used to denote (1) (chiefly in the names of buildings) a public building for concerts, lectures, etc. or (2) a cultural organization responsible for presenting concerts, lectures, etc. However, Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises both of these as archaic US usages^[5]. Lyceum is also another name for lycée^[10], a French secondary school.

10a   Couple carry on producing a type of wool (3-3)

11a   Fruit, round almost (4)

12a   Hour in steam room relaxed former Lord Chancellor (6,4)

Sir Thomas More^[5] (1478–1535) was an English scholar and statesman, Lord Chancellor 1529–32; canonized as St Thomas More. His Utopia (1516), describing an ideal city state, established him as a leading humanist of the Renaissance. He was imprisoned in 1534 after opposing Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, and beheaded for opposing the Act of Supremacy. Feast day, 22 June.

13a   Exposed cult joined by rank and file in government industries (6,6)

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks^[5] (abbreviation OR^[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

16a   MPs settle in seconds (12)

A settle^[5] is a wooden bench with a high back and arms, typically incorporating a box under the seat.

In the UK [as in Canada], a backbencher^[5] is a Member of Parliament who does not hold office in the government or opposition and who sits behind the front benches in the House of Commons.

20a   A lot to say, possibly, after end of meal and show of patriotism (5,5)

A loyal toast^[5] is a toast proposed and drunk to the sovereign of one’s country.

21a   Pace stage (4)

22a   One feeding Norwegian painter in German city (6)

Edvard Munch^[5] (1863–1944) was a Norwegian painter and engraver. He infused his subjects with an intense emotionalism, exploring the use of vivid colour and linear distortion to express feelings about life and death. Notable works: the Frieze of Life sequence, incorporating The Scream (1893).

Munich^[5] is a city in southeastern Germany, capital of Bavaria; population 1,294,600 (est. 2006).

23a   Lazy type, unfeeling, on strike repeatedly (8)

24a   Occupier of tepee penning article (6)

25a   Bad result hurt (6)

Down

1d   Make plain, using charm abroad (5,3)

2d   Runs into dregs, disorderly crowd (5)

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

3d   Being stupid, I initially doubted short Greek character in charge (7)

The abbreviation i/c^[5] (especially in military contexts) is short for in charge of ⇒ the Quartermaster General is i/c rations.

5d   Remove from other court (7)

I had written in RETRACT (which, of course, I was unable to justify). Despite having misgivings about it, it did distract me in my efforts to solve 4a.

Ct^[2] is the abbreviation for Court in street addresses — and seemingly in other contexts as well.

6d   Force to move from vault, gallons having been imbibed (9)

The abbreviation for gallon(s) is g^[10].

Frogmarch^[5] means to force (someone) to walk forward by holding and pinning their arms from behind ⇒ the cop frogmarched him down the steep stairs.

7d   Miserable attempt to support friend (6)

For those reading Gazza's comments, be aware that, in Britain, mate^[5] is an informal term (1) for a friend or companion ⇒ my best mate Steve or (2) used as a friendly form of address between men or boys ⇒ ‘See you then, mate.’.

9d   Fall in and get carried away? (2,9)

14d   Bookkeeper’s sign — managed to get hold of one (9)

In astrology, Libra^[5] is the seventh sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters at the northern autumnal equinox (about 23 September).

15d   Without payment, worker shows ability to make own decisions (4,4)

17d   Become popular draw, performing (5,2)

18d   In the minority? Very much so! (3,4)

Not half^[5] is an informal British expression meaning to an extreme degree or very much so ⇒ she didn’t half flare up! [meaning that she flared up up to an extreme degree (she was not merely "half upset" but fully upset) or, in other words, she hit the roof].

19d   Mould across vehicle, sturdily built (6)

21d   Fur is small fit (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