Wednesday, October 8, 2014 — DT 27491

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27491
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, May 16, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27491]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By pommers
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

It may not be evident from the solid blue bar above, but I found this puzzle to be far more challenging than pommers reports was his experience. Although I did eventually complete the puzzle without external assistance, it was done over several sessions of solving and took an inordinately long period of time.

In his review, pommers reveals "I dislike Spooner clues more than the reverse anagrams in the previous clue so I’ve just docked an enjoyment star". I, on the other hand, rather enjoy both of these types of clue, so — had I been rating the puzzle — it would have certainly received at least three stars for enjoyment.

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   Joker Georgia makes two appearances /in/ town down under (5,5)

The US Postal Service abbreviation for the state of Georgia^[7] is GA.

Wagga Wagga^[7] (informally called Wagga) is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of 46,913 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, and is an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia. It is located midway between the two largest cities in Australia, Sydney and Melbourne.

I got Walla Walla stuck in my brain and even though I "knew" (or thought I did) that this city was in the United States rather than Australia, I couldn't seem to to get past it. As I was to discover, there is more than one community named Walla Walla in this world.

Walla Walla^[7] is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population of Walla Walla and its suburbs is similar to that of Wagga Wagga — about 45,000 (2010 census). Walla Walla is in the southeastern region of Washington, approximately four hours by car from Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, and thirteen miles north of the Oregon border.

The other Walla Walla^[7] is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It is situated about 130 kilometres (81 mi) south of Wagga Wagga. Walla Walla had a population of 581 people in 2006 and has the largest Lutheran church in New South Wales.

6a   Writer or his son // wrong not to finish (4)

Sir Kingsley Amis^[5] (1922–1995) is an English novelist. He achieved popular success with his first novel Lucky Jim (1954); his later novels include The Old Devils (Booker Prize, 1986) and The Folks that Live on the Hill (1990).

Martin Amis^[5] is an English novelist, son of Kingsley Amis. Notable works: The Rachel Papers (1973), Money (1984), and Time’s Arrow (1991).

9a   In county one has nasty lout leading // delegation (10)

In his review, pommers struggles to explain the wordplay. It is easier to explain if one adds the pause that is implicit in the wordplay to obtain "In county, one has nasty lout leading" which can be further simplified by getting rid of the inverted sentence structure, producing "one has nasty lout leading in county". This parses as {I ([Roman numeral for] one) following (has ... leading) an anagram (nasty) of LOUT} contained in (in) DEVON (county). Even after "simplifying" the wordplay, it is still a bit convoluted.

Devon^[5] (also called Devonshire) is a county of southwestern England; county town, Exeter.

10a   Champagne substitute // used in toasting? (4)

Asti^[7] (formerly known as Asti Spumante) is a sparkling white Italian wine that is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.

12a   Little fellow // is about to meet politician -- hour for engagement (6)

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).

13a   Reject // that could give indication of worth (5,3)

This is an inverse wordplay clue — specifically an inverse anagram. The solution to the clue consists of an anagram indicator and its fodder (the letters on which the anagram indicator operate), with the result of the anagram operation being found in the clue itself.

The solution to the clue is THROW OUT (reject) which could also be used as wordplay for (that could give indication of) an anagram (out) of THROW giving the result WORTH that is found in the clue itself.

15a   Irritating folk play modern music for Spooner /--/ a hindrance to creative work (7,5)

A spoonerism^[5] is a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures. It is named after the Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), an English scholar who reputedly made such errors in speaking.

Blighter^[5] is an informal British term for a person who is regarded with contempt, irritation, or pity ⇒ you little blighter!

18a   A terraced inn, done up /and/ given a new lease of life (12)

21a   Advice to person with bad bruise /is/ temporarily withheld (3,2,3)

22a   Environment /of/ one place miles further west (6)

Similar to what we saw in 9a, this is another clue where one must mentally insert a pause in the wordplay "one place, miles further west".

While the abbreviation m^[2,5,10] can stand for either mile or miles, a strict reading of the dictionaries would suggest that the abbreviation mi^[11] (or mi.^[10,11]) can only stand for mile. However, if we assume that mi can also be the abbreviation for miles (Walla Walla is situated 81 mi south of Wagga Wagga), then the clue could also have been phrased: 

• 22a   Environment /of/ place miles further west (6)

The wordplay in the original clue parses as:

• M (miles) preceding (further west; to the left of) {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + LIEU (place)}

while that in the modified clue would parse as:

• MI (miles) preceding (further west; to the left of) LIEU (place)

24a   Revolting // row (4)

25a   I am silent, nodding ultimately? Wrong /--/ alert! (4,6)

The dictionaries define time signal^[2] as a signal, especially one broadcast on the radio, which gives the exact time of day. However, I suspect that the setter may well have intended it to refer to the announcement of time^[5] which, in Britain, is the moment at which the opening hours of a pub end ⇒ the landlord called time.

26a   Fruit // lover? (4)

27a   Hopeless // northern haunt in the grip of tyrant (10)

Down

1d   End of meadow that is // most spread out (6)

The Latin term id est^[10] is usually seen in its shortened form i.e.

2d   Control // Tory minister has got over our navy (6)

The puzzle originally appeared in Britain, so "our navy" refers to the Royal Navy^[5] (abbreviation RN) which is the British navy.

Michael Gove^[7] is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP). At the time that this puzzle was published in the UK, he held the post of Secretary of State for Education in the British cabinet. On 15 July 2014, he was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle and moved to the post of chief whip of the Conservative Party. This was alleged by some to be a demotion, although Prime Minister David Cameron denied this was the case.

3d   Comprehensive /with/ everyone touchy-feely? (3-9)

4d   Car // valuation regularly offered (4)

5d   Like source of energy /making/ the gal more frisky (10)

7d   Pole, old fellow /perceived of as/ a big beast (8)

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.

8d   Mushroom // mum and I swallow around lunchtime? (8)

The shiitake^[5] (also shitake or shiitake mushroom) is an edible mushroom (Lentinus edodes) which grows on fallen timber, cultivated in Japan and China.

I have noticed that lunchtime in Crosswordland is typically late by my standards. However, pommers (who lives in Spain) comments "In Spain lunchtime is around 2 to 3pm so this clue don’t work for me!".

11d   Effect of drunkenness // that could make Ned oblivious (6,6)

In some circumstances, the phrase "that could make" might be simply a link phrase between the definition and wordplay. However, in this clue it functions as an anagram indicator.

14d   Doing things to keep off drink, artist // appealing to others (10)

Teetotal^[5] (abbreviation TT^[5]) means choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol ⇒ a teetotal lifestyle. The term is an emphatic extension of total, apparently first used by Richard Turner, a worker from Preston [England], in a speech (1833) urging total abstinence from all alcohol, rather than mere abstinence from spirits, as advocated by some early temperance reformers.

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

16d   Quiet agent a Communist // tooled up for assignment? (8)

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.

17d   Individual /with/ record time raking in cash (8)

Tin^[5] is a dated informal British term for money ⇒ Kim’s only in it for the tin.

19d   Mousy female/'s/ attire revealing thighs, we hear (6)

Minnie Mouse^[7] is a funny animal cartoon character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney. She was first drawn by Iwerks in 1928, as was Mickey Mouse. The comic strip story "The Gleam" (published January 19–May 2, 1942) first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse; this full name is seldom used.

The comic strip story "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers" (published September 22–December 26, 1930) introduced her father Marcus Mouse and her unnamed mother, both farmers. The same story featured photographs of Minnie's uncle Milton Mouse with his family and her grandparents Marshal Mouse and Matilda Mouse. Her best known relatives, however, remain her uncle Mortimer Mouse and her twin nieces, Millie and Melody Mouse, though most often a single niece, Melody, appears. In many appearances, Minnie is presented as the girlfriend of Mickey Mouse, a close friend of Daisy Duck, and usually a friend to Clarabelle Cow.

20d   Fish // that's hairy and ridiculous-looking? (6)

A mullet^[5] is any of various chiefly marine fish that are widely caught for food.

A mullet^[2] is also a style of haircut which The Chambers Dictionary cheekily defines as a hairstyle that is short at the front, long at the back, and ridiculous all round. The word perhaps comes from the English dialect term mullethead, meaning a fool.

23d   Drug // helps to give them power (4)

The phrase "helps to give" has the sense of "forms part of".

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