Friday, October 24, 2014 — DT 27503

This entry was posted on 2014-10-26 but backdated to maintain sequence.

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27503
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, May 30, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27503]
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 got into trouble by directing my attention to the wrong ideal of manly beauty at 6d which meant that 13a became impossible to solve. I also discovered that I had ordered up far too little wine at 29a. I also called for electronic assistance on three other clues — none of which, in hindsight, should have required it.

Observant solvers — among whom I am not numbered — will have noticed that the puzzle is a pangram. I only discovered this fact from reading the comments at Big Dave's site. A pangram is a puzzle whose solution includes at least one instance of every letter of the alphabet.

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   A hundred animals devouring odd // items of food (8)

Rum^[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

A crumpet^[5] is a thick, flat, savoury cake with a soft, porous texture, made from a yeast mixture cooked on a griddle and eaten toasted and buttered.

5a   Friend trapped in Asian country -- /where/ this was used destructively (6)

Although NAM could be clued by merely "Asian country", it is much more precisely denoted by "Asian country -- where [the solution to the clue] was used destructively". Under this latter interpretation, the entire clue would constitute the wordplay. That would make this a semi-all-in-one clue in which the entire clue is the wordplay and a portion of the clue serves as the definition. In accordance with the system of nomenclature employed by my fellow blogger scchua, I presume that this might be known as a definition intertwined with wordplay (DIWW).

Nam^[5] is an informal name for Vietnam in the context of the Vietnam War.

Napalm^[5] is a highly flammable sticky jelly used in incendiary bombs and flame-throwers, consisting of petrol [gasoline] thickened with special soaps. [It was used extensively — and with devastating effect — during the Vietnam War.]

9a   Member of teenage group changing style // with diffidence (8)

In Britain in the early 1960s. the term mod^[5] was applied to a young person of a subculture characterized by a smart stylish appearance, the riding of motor scooters, and a liking for soul music. During this same period, the term rocker^[5] [mentioned by Deep Threat in his review] was applied to a young person belonging to a subculture characterized by leather clothing, riding motorcycles, and a liking for rock music.

10a   Relation /needing/ a bit of money to cross America (6)

12a   One insect's nipped ten // goats (6)

An ibex^[5] is a wild mountain goat with long, thick ridged horns and a beard, found in parts of central Asia and in Ethiopia.

13a   Rebuke // sounded in Midlands university's accommodation (8)

Having an incorrect solution at 6d — together with never having heard of the British university — severely handicapped my efforts on this clue.

Keele University^[7], officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university located about 3 miles (4.8 km) from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England.

Students attending this university might live — or study or dine — in a "Keele hall".

The M6 motorway^[7] [mentioned by Deep Threat in his review] is the longest motorway [controlled-access multi-lane divided highway] in the United Kingdom and one of the busiest. It runs from a junction of the M1^[7] (a north-south motorway in England connecting London to Leeds) near Rugby almost as far north as the Scottish border. Keele services^[7] is a motorway service station, between junctions 15 and 16 of the M6 motorway near Keele in England.

15a   Thus little woman needs vessel /for/ short stay (7)

Little Women^[7] is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—detailing their passage from childhood to womanhood, and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters.

16a   God /gets/ place of the Egyptians overthrown (4)

In Greek mythology, Zeus^[5] was the supreme god, the son of Cronus (whom he dethroned) and Rhea, and husband of Hera. Zeus was the protector and ruler of humankind, the dispenser of good and evil, and the god of weather and atmospheric phenomena (such as rain and thunder).

The Isthmus of Suez^[5] is an isthmus between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, connecting Egypt and Africa to the Sinai peninsula and Asia. The port of Suez lies in the south. The isthmus is traversed by the Suez Canal.

20a   Cheat /and/ criminal getting caught out -- /put in/ bird (4)

This is a highly unusual clue — a double definition with wordplay. Each definition is connected to the wordplay by its own link.

Rook is a type of bird as well as a verb meaning to cheat (someone). The wordplay is [C]ROOK (criminal) with (getting) C (caught) deleted (out).

The rook^[5] is a gregarious Eurasian crow (Corvus frugilegus) with black plumage and a bare face, nesting in colonies in treetops.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] denotes caught (by).

In the surface reading, bird denotes prison — bird^[10] being British slang for prison or a term in prison (especially in the phrase do bird; shortened from birdlime, rhyming slang for time).

21a   When to resign? Hard /for/ a PM (7)

H^[5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

Herbert Henry Asquith^[5], 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (1852–1928) was a British Liberal statesman, Prime Minister 1908–16.

25a   Island /that could give/ us energy supply (8)

As an anagram indicator, supply is an adverb meaning 'in a supple manner'.

Guernsey^[5] is an island in the English Channel, to the north-west of Jersey; population 65,900 (est. 2009); capital, St Peter Port. It is the second-largest of the Channel Islands.

26a   One losing heart, dejected inside, // recently (2,4)

28a   Awful // crack gathering dust (6)

In a chiefly British usage, dust^[3,4,11] means ashes or household refuse.

In Britain a dustbin^[5] (in North America, a garbage can^[5] or, less commonly, a garbage bin) is a container for household refuse, especially one kept outside and a dustman^[5] (in North America, a garbage man^[5]) is a man employed to remove household refuse from dustbins.

In North America, a garbage man might also be known as a garbage collector^[5]. I wonder if British dustmen are also called dust collectors!!!

29a   Bottle // tramp wrapped in lots of paper (8)

Obviously the solution could be nothing other than JEROBOAM. Wrong! Perhaps I might have found the correct solution if I was possessed of a greater thirst for wine.

A jeroboam^[5] is a wine bottle with a capacity four times larger than that of an ordinary bottle.

A rehoboam^[5] is a wine bottle of about six times the standard size.

In the Bible, Rehoboam^[5] was the son of Solomon, king of ancient Israel circa 930-circa 915 BC. His reign witnessed the secession of the northern tribes and their establishment of a new kingdom under Jeroboam, leaving Rehoboam as the first king of Judah (1 Kings 11-14).

30a   The countryside // turning brown by northern river (6)

The River Ure^[7] is a stream in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse.

31a   Gang -- it may go by rail /for/ criminal activity (8)

Ry^[5] is the abbreviation for railway.

Down

1d   Spice plant // makin' progress, from what we hear (6)

Cummin is an alternate spelling of cumin^[5], the aromatic seeds of a plant of the parsley family, used as a spice, especially ground and used in curry powder.

2d   International organisation suffers // things best hidden in polite society? (6)

UN^[5] is the abbreviation for United Nations.

3d   Out-of-date academic // died (6,2)

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

4d   Give away secrets // in hotel lounge (4)

6d   Good-looker/'s/ mission that was out of this world (6)

I thought that ADONIS was a pretty good solution. However, not good enough.

In Greek mythology, Adonis^[5] was a beautiful youth loved by both Aphrodite and Persephone. He was killed by a boar, but Zeus decreed that he should spend the winter of each year in the underworld with Persephone and the summer months with Aphrodite. I supposed that his winters in the underworld might constitute his "out of this world" mission. Come to think of it, spending summers with Aphrodite would be pretty awesome too.

In modern usage, an extremely handsome young man has come to be known as an Adonis ⇒ not all of us have the body of an Adonis.

In Greek mythology, Apollo^[5] was a god, son of Zeus and Leto and brother of Artemis. He is associated with music, poetic inspiration, archery, prophecy, medicine, pastoral life, and the sun.

In modern usage, apollo ^[3,4,11] has come to mean a strikingly handsome youth.

The Apollo program^[7], also known as Project Apollo, was the third human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States' civilian space agency. The program was responsible for the landing of the first humans on Earth's Moon in 1969.

7d   Twit belonging to the upper classes matured /and/ softened (8)

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable). Today it is clued by the phrase "belonging to the upper classes".

8d   Be more laid back, // stupid! (8)

11d   The group of us facing a defeat // get utterly tired (4,3)

14d   The woman secluded by trees // made a sibilant sound (7)

Woosh is an alternate spelling of whoosh^[5], a verb meaning to move quickly or suddenly with a rushing sound ⇒ a train whooshed by.

17d   Alarm /should be/ loud? Correct! (8)

Forte^[5] (abbreviation f^[5]) is a musical direction meaning (as an adjective) loud or (as an adverb) loudly.

Righten^[5] is an archaic term meaning to make (something) right, correct, or straight ⇒ thy stubborn mind will not be rightened.

18d   One gets upset during awful frost -- was it this? (8)

The pronoun "this" is standing in for the solution to the clue — but it can hardly be considered to be a definition. Even the phrase "was it this" which Deep Threat marks as being the definition seems to fall short. I would say that this may be a semi-all-in-one clue in which the entire clue constitutes the definition — the implication being that one would have gotten upset because one was not aware of the coming frost (either because it was not forecast or because one had failed to see the forecast).

19d   Town // employees north of ring road (8)

Stafford^[5] is an industrial town in central England, to the south of Stoke-on-Trent, the county town of Staffordshire; population 63,700 (est. 2009).

22d   One part of plant /or/ a second lacking oxygen (6)

23d   Pussy clawing very little men /in/ frolic (6)

The phrase "very little" is used to indicate that we need the abbreviation for 'very'.

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks^[5] (abbreviation OR^[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

24d   Becoming // wily when penning English, this writer flipped (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. Today, the setter embellishes the clue by adding a reversal (flipped).

27d   A jewel has turned up -- /it's/ enormous (4)

The word mega may be used more prevalently — and in more contexts — in the UK than in North America. Mega^[5] is an informal term which can be used either as an adjective or adverb. As the former it can mean (1) very large or huge ⇒ he has signed a mega deal to make five movies or (2) excellent ⇒ it will be a mega film, while as the latter it denotes extremely ⇒ they are mega rich.

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