Wednesday, July 30, 2014 — DT 27439

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27439
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, March 17, 2014
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27439]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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

Although not a terribly difficult puzzle, I managed to create problems for myself in the lower half of the puzzle. I knew that bread was not kept in a breadbox in the UK, but I wrongly wrote in BREAD TIN which made 27a impossible to solve (at least, without a bit of electronic assistance that enabled me to see the light). Once I had 27a in place, the solution to 25d became blatantly obvious.

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   They say Rita's humour is warped (6,3,2)

9a   A watch and a clock which can't be relied on? (3-6)

10a   Opera house presenting extract from Tosca last year (5)

Tosca^[7] is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica (1857–1919) and Giuseppe Giacosa (1847–1906). It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900.
La Scala^[5] is an opera house in Milan [Italy] built 1776-8 on the site of the church of Santa Maria della Scala.

11a   Exam refers to 'All about Eve' (1-5)

In the UK (with the exception of Scotland), A level^[5] (advanced level^[5]) is a qualification in a specific subject typically taken by school students aged 16-18, at a level above GCSE^[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).

All About Eve^[7] is a 1950 American drama film starring Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star. Anne Baxter plays Eve Harrington, an ambitious young fan who insinuates herself into Channing's life, ultimately threatening Channing's career and her personal relationships. Praised by critics at the time of its release, All About Eve was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six, including Best Picture.

12a   Retired, Edward longed to be free (8)

13a   Realise she can make an anagram (6)

Encash^[5] is a British term meaning to convert (a cheque, money order, bond, etc.) into money ⇒ after the payment of one year’s contribution you may encash your bond at any time.

15a   She is a beautiful Italian (8)

In Italian, bella^[8] is the is the feminine form of the adjective 'beautiful'.

18a   Letter left with nobleman (8)

Here "letter" is used in the sense of someone who lets a property.

A lord^[10] is a male member of the nobility, especially in Britain.

The nobility in Britain or Ireland (whose members are known as peers^[5]) comprises the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.

In the UK, the House of Lords^[5] [to which Miffypops alludes in his review] is the higher [upper] chamber of Parliament, composed of peers and bishops.

19a   Goes hunting, we hear, for birds (6)

This is a homophone clue that depends upon a British pronunciation. The word "stork" (a kind of bird), when pronounced in a non-rhotic^[5] British accent ("sto'k"), sounds like "stalk" (to hunt). Non-rhotic accents omit the sound /r/ in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce /r/ in all contexts.

21a   It pushes up water rates in a reorganisation (8)

The definition appears to call for a noun, whereas the solution is an adjective. Initially, I put this down to the common practice in Britain to use adjectives as nouns (Indian in place of Indian restaurant, estate instead of estate car [station wagon], etc.). However, a search of British dictionaries failed to find artesian listed as a noun.

23a   Material on display requires renovation (6)

26a   Musician wants a meal right away (5)

Franz von Suppé^[7] or Francesco Suppé Demelli (1819–1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas who is notable for his four dozen operettas.

27a   Skeleton service? (4,5)

28a   Only a personal impression but admissible as evidence (11)

Down

1d   Desert people engaged in fierce competition (3,4)

In North America, rat^[3] means to betray one's associates by giving information ⇒ he ratted on his best friend to the police. However, in Britain, rat can take on the additional meaning of to default (on) or abandon ⇒ he ratted on the project at the last minute.

2d   Animal's low points (5)

3d   Such a joint may be found worldwide (9)

4d   Sound cure for cant (4)

For a change, a homophone that even North Americans can appreciate.

I would suggest you ignore Miffypops comments on this clue. First, it is not a double definition; it is a homophone clue. Second, although cant^[5] can be a nautical term meaning (of a ship) to swing around, that is not the sense in which the word is used here.

Cant^[5] simply means to have or cause to have a slanting or oblique position; in other words, to tilt. Heel^[5] means to cause (a boat or ship) to lean over.

5d   Indecision shows us soft in reason (8)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

6d   She's a vessel in the drink (5)

This vessel is a ship; and, in Crosswordland, you will find that a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[10].

7d   Elderly relative gives £1,000 to graduate (7)

It would appear that American gangster slang has invaded Britain. Oxford Dictionaries Online^[5] and Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2] both characterise G (an abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars) as North American slang. However, Collins English Dictionary defines G^[10] (which it characterises as slang, mainly US) as a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds).

8d   Composer has part written up for graduate (8)

Johann Sebastian Bach^[5] (1685–1750) was a German composer. An exceptional and prolific baroque composer, he produced a massive body of work — not to mention twenty children.

14d   Silly Eton chap that has a situation in Whitehall (8)

I don't think Miffypops has underlined the entire definition. I would say that the definition is "[something] that has a situation [i.e., is situated] in Whitehall" where the word "[something]" is implied by the context of the clue.

"Eton chap" would refer to a graduate of Eton College^[7], often referred to simply as Eton, a British independent [private] school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor". It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, and is one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. [Note: In Britain, "public schools" are a special class of private school; what North Americans would call public schools seem to be referred to in Britain by terms such as state-run or state-funded schools].

Whitehall^[5] is a street in Westminster, London, in which many government offices are located. The name is commonly used as an allusive reference to the British civil service or to the British government, its offices, or its policy ⇒ critics claim that councils are being railroaded by Whitehall into approving the schemes.

The Cenotaph^[7] is a war memorial situated on Whitehall in London. It began as a temporary structure erected for a peace parade following the end of the First World War but following an outpouring of national sentiment it was replaced in 1920 by a permanent structure and designated the United Kingdom's primary national war memorial.

16d   Articles from a picnic basket one's found in the meadow (9)

17d   Money box that's opened daily in the kitchen (5,3)

Again, as in 14d, I don't feel that Miffypops has underlined the entire definition. I would say that the definition is "[something] that's opened daily in the kitchen". Bread bin^[5] is the British name for a breadbox.

18d   Co-operation as in oil refining (7)

20d   He has to wait for a job (7)

22d   It could be a bit of a shock at harvest time (5)

A sheaf^[5] (plural sheaves) is a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping.

 A shock^[5] is a group of twelve sheaves of grain placed upright and supporting each other to allow the grain to dry and ripen.

24d   Bail set before one delivers excuse (5)

25d   Twice reduced by 50% (4)

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