Friday, December 26, 2014 — DT 27505 (Bonus Puzzle)

Prologue

This being Boxing Day in Canada, the National Post did not publish an edition today. For those readers who cannot bear to pass a day without a puzzle, here is one to keep you occupied until the National Post resumes normal service.

This is the second of the two puzzles that that the National Post skipped on October 27. I posted the first as a Bonus Puzzle on Remembrance Day.

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27505
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, June 2, 2014
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27505]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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
On Monday, October 27, 2014, the National Post leapt forward to DT 27506 thereby skipping DT 27504 (which I posted as a Bonus Puzzle on Remembrance Day, November 11, 2014) and DT 27505 (which I post as a Bonus Puzzle today).

Introduction

I was making great progress until I got stuck in the Spanish port. However, I was more than pleased with my performance given that Miffypops rated the puzzle as being worthy of three stars for difficulty.

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 (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

1a   He has to arrange terms ahead (10)

The clue is a cryptic definition with an anagram embedded in it. Although I deduced the correct solution from the cryptic definition, I failed to notice the anagram.

Headmaster^[5] is a chiefly British term for a man who is the head teacher in a school.

6a   Its music is forbidden to the listener (4)

Another cryptic definition, this time with a homophone embedded in it.

10a   Smoke /coming from/ vehicle carrying retired soldier (5)

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).

11a   The speed at which we go (5,4)

12a   Play a role in drama group, /but/ behave independently (3,1,4)

The second part of the clue is considered to be wordplay rather than a second definition as the numeration differs from that given.

13a   He enters races with a // foreign character (5)

The Tourist Trophy^[5] (abbreviation TT^[5]) is a motorcycle-racing competition held annually on roads in the Isle of Man since 1907. For many years, the Isle of Man TT^[7] was the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. The race is run in a time-trial format on public roads closed for racing. Since, in a time trial, each competitor races alone against the clock, the event could be described as a "series of races".

Theta^[5] is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet (Θ, θ).

15a   One would carry out a suspended sentence for old sailors (7)

A yardarm^[10] is either of the two tapering outer ends of a ship's yard. A yard^[10] is a cylindrical wooden or hollow metal spar, tapered at the ends, slung from a mast of a square-rigged or lateen-rigged vessel and used for suspending a sail. 

The last man hung from the yardarm in the Royal Navy was a Royal Marine executed on 13 July 1860 on the Algerine-class gunboat^[7] Leven.

17a   Failure to accept // FA rules being broken (7)

The Football Association^[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of football [soccer] in England. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

19a   New rise // just coming into effect (7)

21a   Old empire // that lacks arms and backing (7)

Read the second definition as "[a thing] that lacks arms and backing".

The Ottoman Empire^[5] was the Turkish empire, established in northern Anatolia by Osman I at the end of the 13th century and expanded by his successors to include all of Asia Minor and much of southeastern Europe. After setbacks caused by the invasion of the Mongol ruler Tamerlane in 1402, Constantinople was captured in 1453. The empire reached its zenith under Suleiman in the mid 16th century; it had greatly declined by the 19th century and collapsed after the First World War.

22a   Where the goat goes without corn? (5)

Rufus often throws in a clue or two with some rather unusual characteristics. Here he alerts us to the situation with a question mark. The word "where" indicates that the solution is the name of a place. The wordplay tells us to remove "corn" from the astronomical or astrological goat.

In astronomy, Capricorn^[10] is another name for Capricornus^[10], a faint zodiacal constellation in the southern hemisphere, lying between Sagittarius and Aquarius. The constellation (also called the Goat) is said to represent a goat with a fish’s tail^[5].

In astrology, Capricorn^[10] (also called the Goat) is the tenth sign of the zodiac, symbol ♑, having a cardinal earth classification and ruled by the planet Saturn. The sun is in this sign between about December 22 and January 19.

Capri^[5] is an island off the west coast of Italy, south of Naples.

24a   Duck /needs/ to retain its feathers (4,4)

The wordplay is KEEP (to retain) + DOWN (its feathers; the feathers of a duck).

27a   Stars of the printed word (9)

28a   One wants to be so described (5)

The real meaning is likely not the first to spring to mind. Interpret this as "One who is in want would be so described."

29a   Some will turn /to/ gin (4)

In his review, Miffypops illustrates this clue with a leg-hold trap which perplexes me, as a fairly extensive perusal of the dictionaries led me to conclude that a gin is a wire snare.

A gin^[2] (also gin trap) is a wire noose laid as a snare or trap for catching game.

30a   Tender name, perhaps (10)

This is an &lit.^[7] clue (sometimes called an all-in-one clue). The entire clue (when read one way) is the the definition, but under a different interpretation takes on the roll of wordplay — in this case, an anagram.

Down

1d   Kick /from/ a horse (4)

As a verb, hack^[5] means to kick wildly or roughly ⇒ he had to race from his line to hack the ball into the stand. As a noun, hack^[5] means (in sport) a kick or a stroke with a stick inflicted on another player.

Hack^[5] can also mean (1) a horse for ordinary riding, (2) a good-quality lightweight riding horse, especially one used in the show ring, (3) a horse let out for hire, or (4) an inferior or worn-out horse.

2d   Cigars, ale possibly /and/ port (9)

Algeciras^[5] is a ferry port and resort in southern Spain; population 115,333 (2008).

3d   Girl /gets/ married with a song (5)

In music, an aria^[5] is a long accompanied song for a solo voice, typically one in an opera or oratorio.

4d   Weapon of no use at the front? (7)

5d   He demands payment // absolutely right with gold (7)

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

Shylock^[5] is a Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, who lends money to Antonio but demands in return a pound of Antonio’s own flesh should the debt not be repaid on time. The term Shylock has come to mean a moneylender who charges extremely high rates of interest.

Exact^[10] means to force or compel (payment or performance) or to extort ⇒ to exact tribute.

Thus Shylock could be described as being an exactor, someone who exacts a high rate of return from those who borrow money from him.

7d   Routed, beat a // retreat (5)

As an anagram indicator, rout^[5] means to defeat and cause to retreat in disorder — with the emphasis on disorder.

I suppose if one stretches the definitions of retreat and abate far enough, they may just barely meet.

8d   Was unlucky in raffle, /but/ lucky in Russian roulette (4,1,5)

I think one would not be unjustified should they consider the latter part of the clue to be a second definition.

9d   How fat it might be -- /but/ does it matter? (4,2,2)

14d   Outgoing trade? (5,5)

This is another &lit. (all-in-one) clue (see comment at 30a).

16d   Earliest engineering // workshops (8)

18d   Homes were rebuilt /but/ the location's vague (9)

20d   Receives /and/ deceives (5,2)

21d   How a bishop should be, /in/ control (7)

A see^[10] is the diocese of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral or procathedral is situated.

23d   Ancient city, // favourite with artist (5)

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.

Petra^[5] is an ancient city of southwestern Asia, in present-day Jordan. The city, which lies in a hollow surrounded by cliffs, is accessible only through narrow gorges. Its extensive ruins include temples and tombs hewn from the rose-red sandstone cliffs.

25d   University teacher or // patron (5)

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

26d   Peer of the stage? (4)

Peer Gynt^[7] is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906). Written in the Bokmål form of Norwegian and loosely based on a Norwegian fairly tale, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays.

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