Tuesday, December 2, 2014 — DT 27532

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27532
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, July 3, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27532]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By archy and mehitabel
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

This was a gentle workout. Now off to the gym for a some more vigorous exercise.

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   What's blocking // criminal courts I bet around five? (11)

I would slightly modify the explanation given on Big Dave's blog to read "An anagram (criminal) of COURTS I BET around the Roman numeral for five".

Here, the definition might seem to be suggesting that the solution is a noun ("What is blocking"; or, in other words, 'something that is blocking').

However, as the solution is an adjective, we must look for another way of interpreting the definition. I would conclude that one must read the question "What is blocking?" in the sense of "How might one describe the act of blocking? "

9a   Crossing river is low northern // ass (5)

10a   How indiscriminate tourist might pack /for/ whatever happens (2,3,4)

11a   Wine /from/ second retailer running short (7)

Mo^[5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal, chiefly British term for a short period of time ⇒ hang on a mo!.

Moselle^[5] (also Mosel) is a light medium-dry white wine produced in the valley of the River Moselle. The Mosel^[5] (also Moselle) is a river of western Europe, which rises in the Vosges mountains of northeastern France and flows 550 km (346 miles) north-east through Luxembourg and Germany to meet the Rhine at Koblenz.

12a   Find in diary new expression -- // describing far-sighted policy? (4-4)

14a   Retired father and mother, say? /That's/ obvious (8)

15a   Eject // some mischievous teenagers (4)

17a   In the morning, if in work, /will get/ raise (7)

19a   Eastern place of pride -- /and/ place of innocence (4)

Eden^[5] (also Garden of Eden) is the place where Adam and Eve lived in the biblical account of the Creation, from which they were expelled for disobediently eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge [thereby losing their innocence]. The term Eden has come to mean a place or state of great happiness; an unspoilt paradise ⇒ the lost Eden of his childhood.

20a   Tory minister with number boarding posh car, // one having authority (8)

The monogram RR appears on the grill of a Rolls Royce automobile.

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.

21a   Dickensian character engaged in plain // dogsbody's work (8)

Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty^[5] (commonly known as Barnaby Rudge) is a historical novel by British writer Charles Dickens (1812–1870).

Dogsbody^[5] is an informal British term for a person who is given menial tasks to do, especially a junior in an office ⇒ I got myself a job as typist and general dogsbody on a small magazine.

23a   Facing action? (2,5)

The cryptic aspect of this clue is that the setter expects us to initially think of a battlefield — rather than a courtroom.

25a   Team is run in order /to get/ medical substance (9)

26a   Ball /or/ shot that's within limits of game (5)

27a   Dub dry wine unusually good /for/ celebratory occasion (4,7)

Ruby wedding^[5] is a British term for the fortieth anniversary of a wedding.

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

Down

2d   Outlaw getting brief delight /in/ instrument (5)

3d   Dram consumed nearly // in a short time? (7)

The question mark indicates that the solution is an example of a time that could be in the near future.

Nigh^[5] is an archaic or literary term meaning near ⇒ (i) [as an adjective] the end is nigh ; (ii) [as an adverb] they drew nigh unto the city.

4d   Subservient type // caught in a French roadside lodge heading north (5,3)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.^[2,10] or c^[5] denotes caught or caught by.

In French, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un^[8].

Uncle Tom^[5] is a derogatory, chiefly North American term for a black man considered to be excessively obedient or servile to whites [from the name of the hero of American novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)].

5d   News story, // 'Sex appeal and the writer', getting sent up (4)

"It"^[7] is a term that has come to mean sex appeal - although, in its earliest manifestation, it seems that the term pertained more to personality than to glamorous looks. Although the term had been used as early as 1904 by Rudyard Kipling, it was popularized  in the 1927 film It starring Clara Bow (who became known as the It Girl).

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

6d   Diplomat /having/ attention broken by girl close to embassy (8)

7d   Degenerated to elderly // drunk ... (9)

Trolleyed^[5] (also trollied) is an informal British term meaning extremely drunk ⇒ they decided to get really trolleyed to celebrate.

8d   ... curate with tiny rum, number having been consumed /in/ doubt (11)

A curate^[5] is a member of the clergy engaged as assistant to a vicar, rector, or parish priest.

Rum^[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

12d   Premier // cricketer Clive getting control of flight? (5,6)

Outside of Australia and Canada, the term Premier^[5] refers to a Prime Minister of other head of government. In Australia and Canada, a Premier is the chief minister of a government of a state or province.

Clive Lloyd^[5] is a former West Indies cricketer. One of the most successful Test captains of all time, he captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the dominant Test-playing nation. He played for his home nation of Guyana in West Indies domestic cricket, and for Lancashire (he was made captain in 1981) in England. [A Test match is an international match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries.]

The autopilot of an aircraft is traditionally called "George", purportedly after one of the key contributors to its development, George DeBeeson, a pilot/inventor, who patented an "Automatic Airplane Control" autopilot in 1931. (read more)

Julie Hagerty and Leslie Nielsen in the cockpit.

The autopilot "Otto" is on the left.

I had some difficulty putting an identity to the puffed up pilot pictured in the review by archy and mehitabel, A Google search on the image only brought up hits related to a Tweet from a US Airways customer relations officer to a female complainant very graphically illustrating what she should do with her complaints regarding poor airline service. However, once I finally had a chance to read through the comments at Big Dave's site, I discovered that the image is from the 1980 American film Airplane!^[7], a parody of the disaster film genre. By the way, in the film the autopilot is named Otto — not George.

David Lloyd George^[5], 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (1863–1945) was a British Liberal statesman, Prime Minister 1916–22. As Chancellor of the Exchequer (1908–15), he introduced old-age pensions (1908) and national insurance (1911). His coalition government was threatened by economic problems and trouble in Ireland, and he resigned when the Conservatives withdrew their support in 1922.

13d   Duck /and/ farm animal mainly raised on fat (7)

In their review, archy and mehitabel illustrate this clue with a picture of Number 4468 Mallard^[7], a London and North Eastern Railway steam locomotive built in 1938. It is historically significant as the holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives.

If you are at a loss as to which farm animal is called for, have a look at the solution to 24d.

16d   Preserving // South Africa's big cat with tax coming in (9)

In their review, archy and mehitabel comment "Not 100% sure that this works. We have a verb as definition but a noun as the answer." In reality, the definition is a gerund^[5], a verb form which functions as a noun.

17d   In the East End, very narrow river // passenger-carrier (8)

The East End^[5] is the part of London, England east of the City of London^[5] [not to be confused with the city of London] as far as the River Lea, including the Docklands.

A cockney^[5] is a native of East London [specifically the East End], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow^[7] church). Cockney is also the name of the dialect or accent typical of cockneys, which is characterised by dropping the H from the beginning of words and the use of rhyming slang^[5].

Thus, the phrase "in the East End" is telling us to drop the H from the beginning of a word that means "very narrow" — a word which is often used to describe cracks appearing in the vehicle that is the solution to the clue.

18d   Ornament // at home kept in shape (8)

19d   Intellectual, // say, taken with German capital (7)

In this instance, the setter uses G^[10] as the abbreviation for German.

22d   Decadent end to reign /in/ French city (5)

Rouen^[5] is a port on the River Seine in northwestern France, capital of Haute-Normandie; population 110,276 (2006). Rouen was in English possession from the time of the Norman Conquest until captured by the French in 1204, and again 1419–49; in 1431 Joan of Arc was tried and burnt at the stake there [thus while the territory was under English rule!].

24d   Meat // lit with brandy (not outside) (4)

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