Monday, September 22, 2014 — DT 27479

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27479
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, May 2, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27479]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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 had a great deal of difficulty with the left-hand side of this puzzle. Even though I was able to complete it with the help of my electronic assistants, I failed to totally grasp the wordplay in a couple of clues. I was therefore rather disheartened to see that Deep Threat rated the puzzle as meriting a mere two stars for difficulty.

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

7a   Company member tells stories and toes the line (8)

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).

9a   Think logically about a potential heir? (6)

10a   Firm seeking excitement? (4)

I have long been familiar with the adage (to which Deep Threat alludes in his review) that "fast women and slow horses have ruined many a man". However, although a google search reveals that many people have used this phrase or variations of it, I can find no authoritative source for the origin of the expression.

11a   Chat, spiel designed to enthral customers ultimately (5,5)

This is a &lit. (or, if you prefer, an all-in-one) clue. The entire clue — under one interpretation — serves as the definition and — under a second interpretation — provides the wordplay.

12a   Sensible, with heart of emotion concealed? (6)

This, also, is an &lit. clue. Although I didn't fully understand the clue until I saw Deep Threat's review, I disagree with the way that he has marked the definition. As I see it, the entire clue serves as the definition. Stolid^[5] is defined as calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation. I think that "sensible" is adequately covered by the 'calm, dependable' part of the definition with the remainder of the clue corresponding to 'showing little emotion or animation'. The "heart of emotion" could be seen as alluding to the fact that emotion is said to reside in the heart rather than the head.  As wordplay, we have SOLID (sensible) containing (with ... concealed) T (heart [middle letter] of emoTion).

14a   Adult participating in a pretty silly sort of celebration (3,5)

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.

15a   Insect almost caught by ape in upper area of trees (6)

17a   Row in lake between two similar points (6)

20a   Tender having lost tail, animal hides out of sight (3-5)

Think of how the word "tender" might be used by a procurement officer.

22a   The sun going down for barking animal? (6)

I would say that this is a double definition and have marked it as such.

23a   Something living in the deep, see, grabbing a man, one struggling (3,7)

24a   Painter shows one boy facing left (4)

Salvador Dalí^[5] (1904–1989) was a Spanish painter. A surrealist, he portrayed dream images with almost photographic realism against backgrounds of arid Catalan landscapes. Dalí also collaborated with Buñuel in the production of the film Un Chien andalou (1928). Notable works: The Persistence of Memory (1931).

25a   Stick of explosive embedded in central part (6)

HE^[5] is the abbreviation for high explosive.

26a   Waters flowing back trapping chaps in grounds (8)

Chap^[5] is a fairly well-travelled informal British term for a man or a boy ...

Down

1d   Wild rubbish about bloke in charge (8)

... and bloke^[5] is a far less well-travelled informal British term for a man.

While Deep Threat linked the term "romantic"to Romantism, I interpreted "wild" and "romantic" to be synonyms in the sense of impracticable.

Wild^[2] is an adjective, said of plans or hopes, etc., denoting crazy, impracticable or unrealistic.

Romantic^[2] is an adjective meaning highly impractical or imaginative, and often also foolish.

Romantism was a movement in the arts and literature which originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual. The movement is often contrasted — as does Deep Threat in his review — with Classicism. Romanticism was a reaction against the order and restraint of classicism and neoclassicism, and a rejection of the rationalism which characterized the Enlightenment. In music, the period embraces much of the 19th century, with composers including Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, and Wagner. Writers exemplifying the movement include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats; among romantic painters are such stylistically diverse artists as William Blake, J. M. W. Turner, Delacroix, and Goya.

2d   Sizzled in quarrel (4)

3d   Failed to become veiled in speech (6)

I did not see how the solution fit because I thought that I needed an adjective or verb meaning "veiled" rather than a word synonymous with the phrasal verb "to become veiled".

4d   International competition that could give a jolly group dreadful scare (4,4)

Jolly^[10] is British slang for a member of the Royal Marines (RM)^[5], a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) founded in 1664, trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances.

5d   Somewhere like London is spot ultimately for businessperson? (10)

6d   Yob outside toilet possibly revealing too much? (3-3)

Yob^[5] (back slang for boy) is an informal British term for a rude, noisy, and aggressive youth.

The British term WC^[5] is an abbreviation for water closet^[5], a dated term for a flush toilet or a room containing a flush toilet.

8d   Honour least surprising university received (6)

13d   Sort of designer -- plans cedar possibly (10)

I think that the entire clue here could reasonably be considered to form the definition, making this a semi-&lit. (semi-all-in-one) clue. While, as in an &lit. clue, the entire clue serves as the definition, only a portion of the clue (that having the dashed underline) constitutes the wordplay.

16d   Cell with plaque on lease (8)

A plate^[5] is a small, flat piece of metal or other material bearing a name or inscription and attached to a door or other object ⇒ a discreet brass plate announced William Marsden, RA.

18d   Bird in grass passing surreptitiously (8)

In the UK, grass^[5] is used informally as a noun to mean a police informer and as a verb meaning to inform the police of someone’s criminal activities or plans ⇒ someone had grassed on the thieves. This expression may derive from rhyming slang (grasshopper = copper).

19d   Watery grave from which one must escape (6)

Serous^[5] is an adjective meaning of, resembling, producing, or containing serum.

Around 16d and 19d, quite a debate ensues on Big Dave's blog over the meaning of plasma and serum. Blood plasma^[10] is the pale yellow fluid portion of the blood; blood from which red and white blood cells and platelets have been removed or, as Kath puts it, "the stuff that the white cells, red cells and platelets float around in is plasma". Blood serum^[10] is blood plasma from which the clotting factors have been removed. Mrs. B is also right, "There are no platelets in serum!". But in blood flowing through the human body, platelets — along with red cells, white cells and clotting factor — are found in serum.

This argument is like saying "There are no olives in gin". In reference to a bottle of gin, this statement would be correct. But if one were describing a martini, there are olives in gin — not to mention some vermouth.

21d   Live off money paid? Fellow may go under! (4,2)

At Oxford and Cambridge universities, a fellow^[10] is a member of the governing body of a college who is usually a member of the teaching staff.

A don^[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.

22d   How boy and girl are going to have regular meetings? (6)

24d   Mother with energy, a noble lady? (4)

Is a Dame really a noble lady? Perhaps the punctuation mark placed at the end of the clue indicates that this statement is questionable.

The nobility in Britain or Ireland (whose members are known as peers^[5]) comprises the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. Lady^[10] is a title of honour borne by various classes of women of the peerage.

In Britain, Dame^[10] is the legal title of the wife or widow of a knight or baronet, placed before her name. A baronet^[10] is a commoner who holds the lowest hereditary title of honour, ranking below a baron. In modern times, a knight is a person invested by a sovereign with a nonhereditary rank and dignity usually in recognition of personal services, achievements, etc. A British knight bears the title Sir placed before his name, as in Sir Winston Churchill.

Based on these definitions, it would appear that a Dame stands one rung below the nobility on the social ladder.

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