Thursday, September 25, 2014 — DT 27482

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27482
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27482]
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

Although Gazza awarded this puzzle three stars for difficulty, I managed to complete it without electronic help. Of course, that may be largely attributable to the fact that I had plenty of time to work on it while not having access to my electronic assistants.

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. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Sport // jumper? (7)

The question mark at the end of the second definition could be an indication that we are looking for an example of a jumper.

5a   Sword // injured girl (7)

9a   Express/:/ 'Putin's beginning to be involved in invasion' (5)

In his review, Gazza writes "[Might this clue be an] indication that the puzzle was compiled fairly recently?". The puzzle appeared in The Daily Telegraph on May 6 of this year, at which time Russia had recently (in February and March) invaded and annexed Crimea.

Vladimir Putin^[5] is a Russian statesman, President 2000-8 and since 2012, Prime Minister 2008–2012.

The Daily Express^[7] is a daily national middle market tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom.

10a   Coach // engineers lengthen to hold third of toilets (9)

11a   Feels rude and answers back, /showing/ pride (4-6)

12a   Revolutionary // thing a horse might do (4)

Trot^[5] is an informal, chiefly derogatory term for a Trotskyist or supporter of extreme left-wing views ⇒ (i) a band of subversive Trots; (ii) he declared that the Corporation was a ‘nest of long-haired Trots’.

14a   Freedom fighter /needs/ initial boost in upheaval (12)

The setter applies a whimsical twist to the term "freedom fighter".

18a   One takes the air /in/ former farm vehicle with admirer (9,3)

An extractor fan^[10] (or extraction fan) is a fan used in kitchens, bathrooms, workshops, etc, to remove stale air or fumes.

21a   Leave out // some Merlot -- I'm often coming over (4)

Merlot^[5] is (1) a variety of black wine grape originally from the Bordeaux region of France or (2) a red wine made from the Merlot grape.

22a   Deteriorating // road -- regret repairs (10)

25a   Fine novel with story /that's/ unutterably great (9)

Ineffable^[5] means (1) too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words ⇒ the ineffable mysteries of the soul or (2) not to be uttered ⇒ the ineffable Hebrew name that gentiles write as Jehovah.

26a   Great // composition of Elgar? (5)

Sir Edward Elgar^[5] (1857–1934) was an English composer who is known particularly for the Enigma Variations (1899), the oratorio The Dream of Gerontius (1900), and for patriotic pieces such as the five Pomp and Circumstance marches (1901–30).

In his introductory remarks, Gazza alludes to Elgar being the pseudonym of British cryptic crossword setter John Henderson for Toughie crosswords in The Daily Telegraph. The Toughie, as the name indicates, is a more challenging puzzle than The Daily cryptic crossword which is carried in syndication by the National Post.

27a   Possible problem with lower // tax -- an upset around here, oddly (7)

"Lower" is a whimsical way to describe a cow, or — as Gazza says — "a creature that lows or moos".

28a   Woman embedding son/'s/ work in stone (7)

Down

1d   What she might do in front of Queen // could make us cry with embarrassment, finally (6)

2d   Gore /in/ Italy with politician linked to alcohol (6)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Italy is I^[5].

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).

The surface reading may be a reference to former US vice president Al Gore^[5].

3d   Fancy I'd be Kenyan // runner (6,4)

Runner bean^[5] is a British name for the plant (Phaseolus coccineus) also known as the scarlet runner.

According to American dictionaries the term kidney bean^[3,4,11] refers to another plant, Phaseolus vulgaris, which goes by a number of common names including French bean. On the other hand, British dictionaries say that the term can apply to any of certain bean plants having kidney-shaped seeds, especially the French bean and scarlet runner.

This difference may stem from the fact that the Brits grow scarlet runners primarily for eating while North Americans grow them almost exclusively for their flowers. 

According to Wikipedia, "In the UK, the flowers [of the scarlet runner^[7]] are often ignored, or treated as an attractive bonus to cultivating the plant for the beans, whereas in the US the scarlet runner is widely grown for its attractive flowers by people who would never think of eating it." In my experience, Canucks are closer to the Yanks than the Brits in their use of this plant.

4d   Newspaper has article on // robbery (5)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7] is a British international business newspaper [that is printed on conspicuous salmon pink newsprint].

5d   Starts to complete one's library? Reader/'s/ one who accumulates a lot (9)

6d   Turned up with a // classical item of clothing (4)

I had difficulty imagining a situation in which GOT might mean "turned" — but Gazza came up with one.

7d   A drug // shaped like a star (8)

Asteroid^[10] (as an adjective) can mean shaped like a star.

8d   Lucidity outside court? // Goodness! (8)

13d   City//'s defeat without financial backer (3,7)

I must admit that I did not fully understand where the second E came from until I read Gazza's explanation. Carefully note where I have placed the link between the definition and wordplay. As Gazza points out, the 's is interpreted as 'has' in the wordplay and is a very key element. Without it, we would almost certainly have to interpret "defeat" as a noun clueing LOSS. However, with the inclusion of the 's, the first part of the wordplay becomes "has defeat" which clues the verb LOSES.

Manchester City Football Club^[7] (often referred to simply as City) and Manchester United Football Club^[7] (often referred to simply as United) are rival English Premier League football [soccer] clubs based in Manchester, England. As you might deduce from Gazza's comment, the former sports a blue home uniform while the latter wears red.

15d   Postholder? (9)

A very concise cryptic definition.

Post^[5] is the British term for mail^[5]. I have always thought it ironic that the Royal Mail delivers the post in Britain and Canada Post delivers the mail in Canada!

16d   No limes spoilt a // pudding (8)

Semolina^[5] is (1) the hard grains left after the milling of flour, used in puddings and in pasta or (2) a pudding made of semolina. This word shows up quite regularly in British puzzles, and I have yet to see anyone admit to liking this dessert.

17d   Small missile // having a loud, grating noise (8)

The Trident II^[7] is a submarine-launched ballistic missile, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale, California, and deployed with the US and Royal Navies.

19d   Male doctor ran to // senior nursing officer (6)

Matron^[5] is a British term for the woman in charge of the nursing in a hospital (the official term is now senior nursing officer)  ⇒ she had been matron of a Belgian Hospital.

20d   Cure // an amount of extreme dysentery (6)

23d   Discharge /from/ space, we hear? (5)

Rheum^[5] is a chiefly literary term for a watery fluid that collects in or drips from the nose or eyes.

24d   At a distance/,/ service area's backed up (4)

The Royal Air Force (abbreviation RAF) is the British air force, formed in 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (founded 1912) and the Royal Naval Air Service (founded 1914).

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