Thursday, October 30, 2014 — DT 27509

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27509
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, June 6, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27509]
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

Fortunately, Giovanni pitched a fairly gentle puzzle at us today. I have been struggling lately to find the time needed to get the blog out so a bit of a reprieve is much appreciated.

However, I did not pick up on the theme in the puzzle which appeared in the UK on the 70th anniversary of D-Day. In his review, Deep Threat points out the significance of some of the solutions. He indicates that "the D-Day codewords are the ones which got the then Daily Telegraph setter into trouble when they appeared in his crosswords ahead of the event".

The error at 1a threw me for a bit and I even checked on Big Dave's site to see what the correct wording of the clue should be. As it turns out, a question mark has usurped the spot that should be occupied by a hyphen.

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   Crossing heather pass odd-looking // little trees (8)

The National Post managed to replace the hyphen with a question mark which certainly made for an odd-looking clue — especially given that said question mark happened to be positioned at the end of the first line of the clue.

Ling^[5] is another name for the common heather (Calluna vulgaris), a purple-flowered Eurasian heath that grows abundantly on moorland and heathland.

5a   Bad feeling /from/ bishop leaving a cloud (6)

B^[5] is an abbreviation for bishop that is used in recording moves in chess.

9a   Boss // going about in old Rover (8)

Rover^[7] was a British automotive marque used between 1904 and 2005. It was launched as a bicycle maker called Rover Company in 1878, before manufacturing cars in 1904. From 1967 onward, ownership of the marque changed many times as the result of a series of corporate takeovers, mergers, nationalisation, and de-mergers. In April 2005, Rover branded cars ceased to be produced when the MG Rover Group became insolvent.

Operation Overlord^[7] was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day).

10a   Servant // still left attending Queen (6)

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

12a   Ephemeral // article is about to be submerged in river (9)

The Trent^[5] is the chief river of central England, which rises in Staffordshire and flows 275 km (170 miles) generally north-eastwards, uniting with the River Ouse 25 km (15 miles) west of Hull to form the Humber estuary.

13a   Vigilant // husband of Victoria, not British (5)

Prince Albert^[5] (1819–1861) was consort to Queen Victoria and prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

14a   Get rid of // mould (4)

16a   Artist /exhibiting/ pig paintings maybe by entrance to hotel (7)

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

William Hogarth^[7] (1697–1764) was an English painter and engraver. Notable works include his series of engravings on ‘modern moral subjects’, such as A Rake’s Progress (1735), which satirized the vices of both high and low life in 18th-century England.

19a   University // library offers facility for this (7)

The University of Reading^[7] is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom.

21a   Elegant // fabric concealing article (4)

24a   US city /given/ prestigious UK award — gosh! (5)

The Order of Merit^[7] (abbreviation OM^[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).

Omaha Beach^[7], commonly known as Omaha, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II.

25a   Job wasn't // quiet -- it meant I worried about it (9)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

In the Bible, Job^[5] was a man whose patience and piety were tried by undeserved misfortunes. However, in spite of his bitter lamentations, he remained confident in the goodness and justice of God. His name has come to epitomise patience ⇒ In dealing with this series of difficult circumstances, she displayed the patience of Job.

27a   Strange // old sweetheart needs love, twitching (6)

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

28a   Final words /from/ a posh minister, one entertained by soldiers (2,6)

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).

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

Au revoir^[5] is an exclamation (adopted from French) meaning goodbye until we meet again ⇒ here’s hoping it is au revoir and not goodbye.

29a   London's No. 1 home -- home given good // protection (6)

The abbreviation G^[10] for good likely relates to its use in grading school assignments or tests.

30a   Support // journalist established in China (8)

In Britain, china^[5] is an informal term for a friend (or, as the Brits would say, a mate^[5]). This comes from Cockney rhyming slang, where china is the shortened form of china plate which rhymes with 'mate'.

Down

1d   Freckled // little son being toilet-trained it seems! (6)

Another way of expressing the wordplay would be "little son is on the potty". Also, keep in mind that this is a down clue.

2d   Pair beginning to enjoy wonderful // home -- temporary one? (6)

These sort of homes don't necessarily have to be temporary, but that is likely the reason the setter has included a question mark.

3d   Passages sealed off at the top /in/ British locations, say? (5)

I think one has to think of "seal off" in the sense of 'separate from' rather than 'plug'. In a down clue, when the topmost letter of AISLES has been sealed off from the remaining letters, we are left with ISLES.

Update (2014-11-02): Physicist on Big Dave's blog provides a better explanation, "when you seal something, you take away the opening".

The British Isles^[5] are a group of islands lying off the coast of northwestern Europe, from which they are separated by the North Sea and the English Channel. They include Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, the Scilly Isles, and the Channel Islands.

4d   Maybe a jacket // fellow's hung over part of chair (7)

6d   Ruin a leg, having to run around with a // sort of pain (9)

7d   Happy about university getting pounds -- // it should bear fruit (8)

A Mulberry harbour^[7] was a portable temporary harbour developed by the British in World War II to facilitate rapid offloading of cargo onto the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy.

8d   Like many an old record /making one/ bad-tempered (8)

The link phrase "making one" should be interpreted as 'producing the result (making) [for] the solver (one)'.

According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, scratchy^[5] can be used as an adjective meaning bad-tempered or irritable ⇒ she was a little abrupt and scratchy.

11d   Four members of that university set up /in/ American state (4)

Utah Beach^[7] was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during World War II.

15d   Liveliness /of/ one maiden in a race (9)

In cricket, a maiden^[5], also known as a maiden over, (abbreviation M)^[5] is an over in which no runs are scored. An over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

17d   Living in trees /in/ hole between a river and a lake (8)

Deep Threat tells us to start with a word meaning 'make a hole'. Yes, as a verb, this word means precisely that. But as a noun, it means a 'hole' which is a far better fit to this clue.

18d   Mum to hum softly when chewing a // biscuit (8)

What the setter calls a "biscuit", I would call a cookie. The British use the term biscuit^[3,4,11] to refer to a range of foods that include those that would be called either cookies or a crackers in North America. A North American biscuit^[5] is similar to a British scone.

20d   Member of film crew // to complain endlessly (4)

21d   Writer standing on head to make fine adjustments to // heavenly body (7)

The Normandy landings (codenamed Operation Neptune^[7]) were the landing operations on 6 June 1944 (termed D-Day) of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II.

22d   The French profiteer /is/ released from prison (3,3)

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le^[8].

Tout^[5] (also ticket tout) is the British term for a scalper^[5], a person who buys up tickets for an event to resell them at a profit.

23d   Waxy stuff // coming from master, old (6)

26d   Those people taking priority over English // subject (5)

Giovanni signs off with a hint that there might be a theme in the puzzle.

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