Wednesday, November 26, 2014 — DT 27528

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27528
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, June 28, 2014
Setter Cephas (Peter Chamberlain)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27528 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27528 – 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

Today, I had a minor stumble on the bird at 21a. I thought of the name of the male — and even that of the female. However, the term that encompasses them both eluded me.

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   Reject // moderate volume (4,4)

5a   Easy listening with Neddy // Marsh (6)

"Neddy Marsh" appears not to be a British entertainer, but rather a name invented by the setter.

Neddy^{[2,4,5,10,11]} is (1) an informal British child’s word for a donkey or (2) an informal [almost certainly British] term for a silly person or fool.

9a   Again evaluate // score, as session is gripping (8)

10a   Meal /with/ father, splitting leftovers (6)

11a   Spurs /and/ United kept within playing limits (7)

In names of sports clubs, U^[5] stands for United ⇒ Man U [Manchester United].

Manchester United Football Club^[7] (often referred to simply as United) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club^[7] commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English professional football club located in Tottenham, London, that also plays in the Premier League.

12a   National // drink (7)

Italian^[10] is another name for Italian vermouth.

13a   What bridge-player needs to conjure a win? (3,2,6)

16a   Reaching a required standard is the responsibility of that lot going by boat (2,2,3,4)

Ark^[5] is an archaic name for a ship or boat. The best known example of the use of this term is undoubtedly Noah's ark^[5], the ship in which Noah, his family, and the animals were saved from the Flood, according to the biblical account (Genesis 6-8).

21a   Bird with green vegetable, reportedly unpleasant (7)

I know I have seen the term PEAFOWL before, but it only came to mind after being suggested by my electronic assistants. I wanted to make the solution PEACOCK, and PEAHEN even entered my mind.

The peafowl^[5] is a large crested pheasant found mainly in Asia. A peacock^[5] is a male peafowl, which has very long tail feathers with eye-like markings that can be erected and fanned out in display. A peahen^[5] is a female peafowl, which has drabber colours and a shorter tail than the male.

22a   Repairman has to go round a // winding route (7)

23a   Entertain // man shortly with drink (6)

24a   Forcing /to be/ co-operative (8)

25a   Believe Lynette is providing cover /for/ another woman (6)

The definition is "another woman", i.e., a woman other than Lynette.

26a   Repairman /takes/ chance -- I'm off (8)

Down

1d   Most of the reed /used by/ nest-builder (6)

The thrush^[5] is a small or medium-sized songbird, typically having a brown back, spotted breast, and loud song.

2d   I adore crazy // person on tour (6)

3d   Agitate // birds circling round second person over the Channel (7)

To the Brits, "a person over the [English] Channel" would signify an inhabitant of France.

In French, tu^[8] is the second person singular pronoun meaning 'you'.

4d   Where hopeful investors sink their funds? (7,4)

6d   Exposed to dry // outdoors (4,3)

7d   A valve to move slowly // if absolutely necessary (2,1,5)

At a pinch^[5] is the British counterpart to the North American expression in a pinch.

8d   Devil-worshipper // settled with saint, confusingly (8)

12d   Anger about dodgy lamb // that may catch fire (11)

14d   Old pickpocket /to make/ reduced funds (8)

Cutpurse^[5] is an archaic term for a pickpocket or thief [the word comes from the practice of stealing by cutting purses suspended from a waistband].

15d   Learner driver's introduced to unfamiliar // choke (8)

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

17d   Bus // that's parked outside supermarket? (7)

Trolley^[5] is a British term for a large metal basket or frame on wheels, used for transporting heavy or large items, such as supermarket purchases or luggage at an airport or railway station [North American: grocery cart or luggage cart respectively].

18d   Like a rascal, // crashed his van after kilometre (7)

19d   Pope coming from England /or/ one from Scotland, perhaps, under a GP? (6)

Adrian IV^[5] (circa 1100–1159), born Nicholas Breakspear, was pope 1154-9. He is the only Englishman to have held this office.

20d   Sad // soldier in farm vehicle turned up (6)

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war. Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

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