Thursday, August 7, 2014 — DT 27445

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27445
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, March 24, 2014
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27445]
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

I will admit that this puzzle was not a strenuous exercise for me, but Miffypops does not appear to have even broken a sweat with his one star difficulty rating. As always, though, Rufus has given as a bit of fun.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

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 may be seen at the courts, practising (10)

Barristers and solicitors^[7] are two classes of lawyer. However, the distinction between them varies in different jurisdictions around the world. The following attempt to differentiate the two classes is likely highly oversimplified.

The UK has a split legal profession in which barristers and solicitors have separate and distinct roles. Solicitors are attorneys which means they can act in the place of their client for legal purposes. However, a solicitor is not a member of the bar and therefore [generally (see below)] cannot speak on behalf of a client in court. A barrister is not an attorney and is usually forbidden, either by law or professional rules or both, from "conducting" litigation. This means that while the barrister speaks on the client's behalf in court, he or she can do so only when instructed by a solicitor or certain other qualified professional clients, such as patent agents.

However, the foregoing would appear to be not entirely correct. Collins English Dictionary defines a solicitor^[10], in Britain, as a lawyer who advises clients on matters of law, draws up legal documents, prepares cases for barristers, etc, and who may represent clients in certain courts and a barrister^[10] (also called barrister-at-law), in England [not Britain], as a lawyer who has been called to the bar and is qualified to plead in the higher courts.

In the US and Canada (with the exception of Quebec), there is generally no legal or regulatory distinction between a barrister and a solicitor - with any qualified lawyer being entitled to practice in either field. In the US, most lawyers call themselves attorneys while in Canada, lawyers will adopt different titles depending on the type of legal practice on which they choose to concentrate (barrister, solicitor, or barrister and solicitor).

9a   Growl when shaver is returned with middle part missing (4)

10a   A single? Mid off is not clear (10)

In cricket, mid-off^[5] denotes a fielder, or fielding position, on the off side closest to the bowler. Despite the slight difference in spelling, I suspect that the surface reading is intended to be a cricket reference.

The off^[5] (also known as off side) is the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) towards which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The other half of the field is known as either the leg^[5] (also called leg side) or on (also called on side).

11a   Shade of nun seen round a religious establishment (6)

I have discovered that when surface readings seem bizarre to me, it is often because the setter has employed an unusual meaning for a common word — one with which I am not familiar.

In the surface reading, shade^[5] is used in a literary sense meaning a ghost ⇒ the ghost is the shade of Lucy Walters, first mistress of Charles II.

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

12a   Fancy a Lennon song (7)

"Imagine"^[7] is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon (1940–1980). The best-selling single of his solo career, its lyrics encourage the listener to imagine a world at peace without the barriers of borders or the divisiveness of religions and nationalities, and to consider the possibility that the focus of humanity should be living a life unattached to material possessions.

15a   It receives indication a doctor is required (7)

Bleeper^[5] is a British term equivalent to the North American term beeper^[5], an informal name for a pager^[5].

16a   Declares a piece of poetry interminably (5)

17a   Experts in digitally recorded evidence (4)

Dab^[10] is another name for dab hand^[10], an informal British term for a person who is particularly skilled at something or, in other words, an expert ⇒ a dab hand at chess.

Dab^[5,10] (often plural) is British slang for fingerprint ⇒ the catalogue is being dusted for your dabs.

Miffypops' mention of "last weeks 28ac" is a reference to a clue in DT 27439, the puzzle that appeared in the UK one week prior to this puzzle:

• [DT 27439] 28a   Only a personal impression but admissible as evidence (11)

18a   Cover for American gangster (4)

Hood^[5] is an informal, chiefly North American term for a gangster or similar violent criminal ⇒ I been beaten up by hoods [the term originated as an abbreviation of hoodlum].

19a   Work to make some dough (5)

21a   Birds I hide in ship (7)

The bird that we saw this past Thursday returns with a number of friends.

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.

As is virtually inevitable in Crosswordland, we will travel on a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[10].

22a   Ruined roof end in need of repair (4,3)

24a   Organiser of musical group that is on the way (6)

This person, among other duties, organises a group's gear on the stage.

27a   Team results not the main topics of conversation (4,6)

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage would seem to exist as well in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you..

28a   Cupid has painful back (4)

In Greek mythology, Eros^[5] is the god of love, son of Aphrodite [the Roman equivalent is Cupid].

I believe that the illustration in Miffypops' review is the statue of Eros^[7] atop the Shaftesbury Monument Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus, a well-known landmark in London, England. While the statue is generally believed to depict Eros, it apparently was actually intended by the sculptor to be an image of his twin brother, Anteros.

29a   Worried speculator transfers shares (7,3)

Down

2d   Song and a soaring tune (4)

In music, an aria^[5] is a long accompanied song for a solo voice, typically one in an opera or oratorio.

3d   One way of underlining decision (6)

4d   Power switch at mains (7)

In Britain, the mains^[5] is the term used for the source of public water, gas, or electricity supply through pipes or cables ⇒ (i) the camcorder can be run directly off the mains; (ii) switch off the mains supply.

5d   Prepare to put out with rising tide (4)

6d   Without speaking, communicates: 'Exceptional spades' (7)

Spades^[2]) (abbreviation S^[1]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

In bridge, this would be a definite no-no! All communication between partners must take place via the bidding — non-verbal communication is certainly not allowed.

7d   Perfect demonstration of being impervious to noise (10)

8d   Business, he thinks, should not be a matter of duty (4-6)

12d   Big banker experiments in commercial enterprises (10)

Banker is used in a whimsical cryptic crossword sense meaning a river (something that possesses banks).

The Indus^[5] is a river of southern Asia, about 2,900 km (1,800 miles) in length, flowing from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. Along its valley an early civilization flourished from circa 2600 to 1760 BC.

13d   As a diplomat he is seen in capitals (10)

HE^[2] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency^[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.

The wordplay indicates that, in reference to an ambassador, the letters "he" would be written as capitals (HE).

14d   Level betting for the first woman to get two points (5)

In the Bible, Eve^[5] is the first woman, companion of Adam and mother of Cain and Abel.

Evens^[5] is a British term meaning even money^[5], viz. odds offering an equal chance of winning or losing, with the amount won being the same as the stake ⇒ the colt was 4-6 favourite after opening at evens.

15d   Money for being raised hand-to-mouth? (5)

In one's hand (written on a piece of paper, say) the word in the wordplay would look like BRED. However, when placed in one's mouth (spoken), it would sound like BREAD. Thus, it becomes transformed in passing from hand to mouth.

19d   High after joints in wild party (5-2)

Knees-up^[5] is British slang for a lively party or gathering ⇒ we had a bit of a knees-up last night.

"Knees Up Mother Brown"^[7] is a song that became popular in English pubs in the early part of the 20th century and was particularly associated with Cockney culture. The expression "knees up" came to mean a party or a dance. The tune has been adopted by football [soccer] fans for various chants. Here it is performed by Noel Harrison and Petula Clark:

20d   Rodents carry out unusual crime (7)

A dormouse^[5] (plural dormice) is an agile mouse-like rodent with a hairy or bushy tail, found in Africa and Eurasia. Some kinds are noted for spending long periods in hibernation. While the origin of the name is unknown, it is associated with French dormir or Latin dormire 'to sleep' and mouse.

23d   Strange noises in Greek/Cypriot union (6)

Enosis^[5] denotes the political union of Cyprus and Greece, as an aim or ideal of certain Greeks and Cypriots.

25d   River that's Polish -- or German (4)

I knew it had to be either the Oder or the Eder — and I was able to guess correctly.

The Oder^[5] is a river of central Europe which rises in the mountains in the east of the Czech Republic and flows northwards through western Poland to meet the River Neisse, then continues northwards forming the northern part of the border between Poland and Germany before flowing into the Baltic Sea.

In German, oder^[8] is a conjunction meaning 'or'.

The Eder^[7] is a 177 km long river in Germany, and a tributary of the Fulda River.

26d   Be a university lover (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