Wednesday, October 1, 2014 — DT 27486

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27486
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, May 10, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27486 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27486 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (Review)
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
Notes
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

Not being up on British radio from more than fifty years ago, I needed a bit of help today! Actually, I was aware of the program but not familiar with the characters portrayed by the comedians that appeared on it.

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   Dish of seafood // an aid to growth (8)

9a   Gaol rich crooked // powerful man (8)

Gaol^[5] is an alternative British spelling of jail [in the surface reading, used as a verb].

10a   Vegetarian food // out of unopened bottles (4)

11a   Veteran using net // more certain to catch fish initially following change (6,6)

Silver surfer^[5] is an informal [likely British] term for an elderly person who is a regular or enthusiastic user of the Internet.

13a   Person drinking // to wake up in vehicle (8)

15a   Bush // expels one from a spy organisation twice (6)

Of course, you should expel one from the first CIA, not the second.

The Central Intelligence Agency^[5] (abbreviation CIA) is a federal agency in the US responsible for coordinating government intelligence activities. Established in 1947 and originally intended to operate only overseas, it has since also operated in the US.

16a   Look over // section of film (4)

Although movies are no longer distributed on reels, most of us can remember when they were.

17a   Was speechless, // taking motorway to sea (5)

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway [controlled access, multi-lane divided highway] in England connecting London to Leeds.

The Med^[5] is an informal, chiefly British name for the Mediterranean Sea.

18a   Ruth /to be/ mine before year (4)

Ruth^[5] is an archaic term denoting a feeling of pity, distress, or grief. Now usually seen only in the adjective ruthless^[5].

20a   Encouragement /to have/ run out in vehicle (6)

In cricket, the abbreviation ro^[2] stands for run out^[7], the dismissal of a batsman by hitting a wicket with the ball while the batsman is out of his ground.

21a   Chamberlain perhaps // to perform round Home Counties (8)

Neville Chamberlain^[5] (1869–1940) was a British Conservative statesman, Prime Minister 1937–40. He pursued a policy of appeasement with Germany, signing the Munich Agreement (1938), but was forced to abandon this policy following Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

The Home Counties^[5] are the counties surrounding London in southeast (SE) England, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire.

23a   Fan to rub down athlete/'s/ essentials (4,3,5)

Usain Bolt^[5] is a Jamaican sprinter. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing he won gold medals in the 100 metre and 200 metre races, setting a new world record time for each. He defended his Olympic titles in 2012, winning gold in the 100 metre and 200 metre races.

26a   The Thames in some parts // is doubled (4)

Isis^[10] is the local name for the River Thames at Oxford, England.

27a   Made step wildly in this (8)

This is a semi-&lit. (semi-all-in-one) clue, a type of clue in which the entire clue provides the definition while a portion of the clue (the part with the dashed underlining) serves as the wordplay. Compare this to the true &lit. clue found at 17d.

28a   Fashion expert // perhaps does clothes symbol (8)

The word "perhaps" indicates that "does" are examples of DEER (others being stags, fawns, etc.).

Down

2d   Forge raw ore in making this (8)

In my opinion, the structure of this clue is the same as that of 27a and I have therefore shown it  similarly as a semi-&lit. (semi-all-in-one) clue.

3d   Senior politicians /will get/ exercise having kick around on sports ground (5,2,5)

I deciphered the "on sports ground" part of the wordplay, but needed crypticsue's explanation for the remainder. The wordplay parses as {USE (exercise) contained in (having ... around) HOOF (kick)} preceding (on; in a down clue) LORDS (sports ground; Lord's).

In the UK, the House of Lords^[5] is the higher chamber of Parliament, composed of peers and bishops.

Lord's Cricket Ground^[7], generally known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is widely referred to as the "home of cricket" and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum. 

4d   Goon // associated with church briefly (6)

The Goon Show^[7] was a British radio comedy programme featuring Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers — originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960. "Mad" Dan Eccles^[7] is the name of a comedy character from the show, created and performed by Spike Milligan.

Eccles.^[10] is an abbreviation for ecclesiastic or ecclesiastical.

5d   Prune supplied energy /for/ run (4)

It would seem that crypticsue has inadvertently underlined the wrong word.

6d   Douglas perhaps sober /getting/ medical treatment (5-3)

The word "perhaps" indicates that "Douglas" is the name of one of several types of FIR.

The Douglas fir^[5] is a tall, slender conifer with soft foliage and, in mature trees, deeply fissured bark. It is widely planted as a timber tree. The tree is named after David Douglas (1798–1834), the Scottish botanist and explorer who introduced it to Europe from North America.

7d   In favour of female // academic (4)

8d   Army chap trained /as/ chemist (8)

In Britain, the term chemist^[5] can mean (1) a shop where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold, and in which toiletries and other medical goods can be purchased ⇒ antihistamine tablets are freely available in chemists or (2) a person authorized to dispense medicinal drugs.

12d   A paper surprisingly probing revolution // making fresh judgement (12)

14d   Dance /with/ business expert after game at Twickenham (5)

Rugby union^[10] (abbreviation RU^[5]) is a form of rugby football played between teams of 15 players (in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen).

Twickenham Stadium (usually known as just Twickenham or Twickers) is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest stadium in the world devoted solely to the sport of rugby union, it is the second largest stadium in the UK after Wembley Stadium and the fifth largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is the home of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), and as such primarily a venue for rugby union and hosts England's home Test matches. A Test match^[5] is an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries.

16d   Arsenic's disguised /in/ spicy spirit (8)

17d   I'm involved with venture in which leader's removed (8)

This is an  &lit.^[7] (all-in-one) clue, a type of clue in which the entire clue not only provides the definition (according to one interpretation) but also serves as the wordplay (according to a different interpretation). Compare this clue to the semi-&lit. clues found at 27a and 2d. In both types of clue, the entire clue provides the definition. However, in an &lit. clue, the entire clue serves as the wordplay, whereas in a semi-&lit. clue only a portion of the clue serves as the wordplay.

19d   Speculate /in/ article over origin (8)

In cricket, an over^[5] (abbreviation O^[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.

22d   Cloak on a small // Greek goddess (6)

In Greek mythology, Pallas^[5] (also Pallas Athene) is one of the names (of unknown meaning) of Athene^[5] (also Athena), the patron goddess of Athens, typically allegorized into a personification of wisdom.

24d   Fox catching a // despicable person (4)

Tod^[10] is a Scot and northern English dialect word for a fox.

Tod is also the name of the fox in The Fox and the Hound^[7], a 1967 novel written by American novelist Daniel P. Mannix on which the 1981 Walt Disney animated film of the same name is loosely based.

25d   Bachelor embarrassed /having/ produced children (4)

I am quite confident that "having" is not part of the definition, but is a link word. As such, have^[10] is likely used in the sense of to receive, take, or obtain — making the overall structure of the clue {[execute the] wordplay} /obtaining/ definition.

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