Wednesday, July 9, 2014 — DT 27424

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27424
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, February 27, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27424]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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

When I first saw this puzzle in February (in the course of preparing a review on it for Big Dave's Crossword Blog), I wrote "I got off to a fast start, writing in several answers on the first scan through. However, progress quickly slowed to a crawl." Today, I believe that I got off to even a slower start. Amazingly, I failed to recognize the puzzle until I got to the two "chestnut" clues at the centre of puzzle. Even after coming to the realization that I had solved it before, I had absolutely no recollection of some of the clues. Stubbornly refusing to read my own review for hints, I ploughed on and eventually succeeded in completing it without help. Nevertheless, the puzzle did put up a stiff challenge.

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

5a   Stick or twist: dare he? (6)

8a   Appropriate indignation before father knocked back drink (8)

9a   ‘Irresistible,’ as Othello declaimed (7)

Othello^[7] is the title character in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, a tragedy by English playwright William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

Moreish^[5] is an informal British expression meaning so pleasant to eat that one wants more ⇒ a moreish aubergine dip.

10a   Sense head of Hindu class is lost for time (5)

A caste^[5] is each of the hereditary classes of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution and of social status ⇒ members of the lower castes .

11a   Autobiography’s lack of ego clever and noteworthy (9)

13a   Respectful article following one non-combatant (8)

The clue parses as CIVIL (respectful) + {AN (article) following (from the clue) I ([Roman numeral for] one)}.

14a   Sons and heirs upfront with unresolved grievances (6)

In genealogies, s^[5] is the abbreviation for son(s).

17a   Cherry or chestnut perhaps (3)

Cherry^[5] is a bright deep red colour ⇒ she pulled up the collar of her cherry wool coat.

A horse of a reddish colour might be referred to simply as a red, or more specifically as a chestnut ...

19a   Chestnut or laurel maybe (3)

... or a bay.

A chestnut^[5] is a horse of a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown colour, with a brown mane and tail.

A bay^[2] is a horse of a reddish-brown colour, usually with black mane and tail.

The bay^[5] (also known as laurel^[5], bay tree, bay laurel, or sweet bay) is an evergreen Mediterranean shrub (Laurus nobilis) with deep green leaves and purple berries. Its aromatic leaves are used in cookery and were formerly used to make triumphal crowns for victors.

20a   Rook circling Scottish chimney piece (6)

Lum^[5] is a Scottish and Northern English word meaning chimney.

23a   Writer is tense after test (8)

In grammar, t.^[10] is the abbreviation for tense.

26a   What about Icke’s broadcast? Most odd (9)

David Icke^[7] is an English writer, public speaker and former professional footballer [soccer player]. He promotes conspiracy theories about global politics and has written extensively about them.

Icke was a BBC television sports presenter [announcer or commentator] and spokesman for the Green Party, when in 1990 a psychic told him that he was a healer who had been placed on Earth for a purpose, and that the spirit world was going to pass messages to him. In March 1991 he held a press conference to announce that he was a "Son of the Godhead" – a phrase he said later the media had misunderstood. He said that a subsequent appearance on BBC's Wogan changed his life, turning him from a respected household name into someone who was laughed at whenever he appeared in public.

He nevertheless continued to develop his ideas, and in four books published over seven years – The Robots' Rebellion (1994), And the Truth Shall Set You Free (1995), The Biggest Secret (1999), and Children of the Matrix (2001) – set out a worldview that combined New-Age spiritualism with a denunciation of totalitarian trends in the modern world. At the heart of his theories lies the idea that a secret group of reptilian humanoids called the Babylonian Brotherhood controls humanity, and that many prominent figures are reptilian.

28a   Bedroom philanderer’s source of sex appeal (5)

29a   Plain speaking from sweet woman wanting husband and getting left (7)

Sweet Charity^[7] is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria. However, where Fellini's black-and-white Italian film concerns the romantic ups-and-downs of an ever-hopeful prostitute, in the musical the central character is a dancer-for-hire at a Times Square dance hall. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1966, where it was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, and also ran in the West End [London] as well as having revivals and international productions.

The musical was adapted for the screen in 1969 with Shirley MacLaine as Charity and John McMartin recreating his Broadway role as Oscar Lindquist. Bob Fosse directed and choreographed this film.

30a   Musician’s shortcoming on record is evident in tangos (8)

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

Flautist^[5] is the British name for a flutist^[5]. This spelling, introduced in the mid 19th century (superseding 17th-century flutist in British English use), comes from Italian flautista, from flauto 'flute'.

31a   Lament verge I hit (6)

I can't say that I understand the use of "hit" as an anagram indicator. One meaning of hit^[5] is to propel or cause to move by striking. However, that action does not necessarily transform the object that has been hit into something else. After hitting a golf ball, it is still a golf ball.

Down

1d   Approach start going round turn (6)

2d   Thinking dear former wife is leaving (7)

3d   Sack the French branch without warning (4,5)

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

One must interpret the wordplay as if it were phrased "sack the French [having] branch without"which parses as FIRE (sack) + {LA (the French; French word meaning "the") having ARM (branch) surrounding it (without)}.

4d   Adult leaving anaemic kinky film (6)

The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate^[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate.

5d   First-class try cut short a rising defence (8)

A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

6d   Hollow greeting by Mrs Sharples, legendary source of laughter (5)

Ena Sharples^[7] is one of the original characters from the British soap opera Coronation Street, appearing in the series for 20 years between 1960 and 1980. She was the caretaker of the mission hall, and spent much of her time criticising the activities of the street's other inhabitants. One of the main characters during the 1960s, she was featured less regularly in the 1970s due to the declining health of actress Violet Carson who played the part, and was written out in 1980.

7d   Decided 17 Across holds answer (8)

12d   Consequence of Pernod taken regularly (3)

Pernod^[5] (trademark) is an aniseed-flavoured aperitif.

15d   Wrong to get excited, it’s said, in place of worship (9)

16d   Explorer is menace to motorists, right? (8)

A pothole^[5] is a deep natural underground cave formed by the erosion of rock, especially by the action of water. Naturally, a potholer is someone who explores such formations.

18d   Novice’s eel nets cast around island (8)

21d   Quite or very well (3)

Quite^[5] (also quite so) is a term used to express agreement with or understanding of a remark or statement ⇒ ‘I don’t want to talk about that now.’ ‘Quite’.

Very well^[5] (or dated very good) is a term used to express agreement or consent ⇒ (i) oh very well then, come in; (ii) very well, you may join me; (iii) very good, sir, will that be all?.

22d   Trouble behind goal with header finally going in — it flies in! (7)

Ail^[5] is an archaic [albeit one that I am quite familiar with] term meaning to trouble or afflict (someone) in mind or body ⇒ exercise is good for whatever ails one.

24d   Some toast a blessing for fast (6)

25d   Island’s temperature a winner with this writer (6)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

Tahiti^[5] is an island in the central South Pacific, one of the Society Islands, forming part of French Polynesia; population 178,173 (2007); capital, Papeete. One of the largest islands in the South Pacific, it was claimed for France in 1768 and declared a French colony in 1880.

27d   Warning about relief initially being cut (5)

The exclamation cave^[5] is dated British school slang meaning "look out!" (from Latin, imperative of cavere 'beware').

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