Wednesday, December 3, 2014 — DT 27533

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27533
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, July 4, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27533]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave
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

I needed a bit of assistance from my electronic helpers today. However, even they let me down on 14d — although this was due, in part, to me feeding them an incorrect sequence of checking letters..

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   Irishman is admitting love, /in/ a manner of speaking (6)

Parents in Crosswordland would seem to draw from a fairly limited list when naming their offspring. Thus we find that an Irishman is either Pat or Paddy, a Scot is almost always named Ian, a German is customarily named Otto (but occasionally Hans), and girls are — more often than not — named Diana (usually shortened to Di). However, she is joined by a woman with a different name in today's puzzle.

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

5a   Sort of post /made of/ wood mum's put in (8)

9a   Designer /of/ military show presented to the Queen (8)

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of  Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

10a   Mess // in the centre of study? (6)

Midden^[2] is an archaic term for a rubbish heap or a pile of dung.

11a   Cross woman's wanting husband // to look good (3,1,4)

Here we have an appearance by a woman other than the usual one.

Cut a dash^[5] is a British term denoting to be stylish or impressive in one’s dress or behaviour ⇒ the foreign secretary wanted to cut a dash in Brussels.

Cut^[5] (said of a line) means to cross or intersect (another line) ⇒ mark the point where the line cuts the vertical axis.

12a   I'm Scot messing about /in/ TV programme (6)

13a   Most magnificent // match preceded by terrible rage (8)

A Test^[5] (short for Test match)^[5] is an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒ the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies.

15a   Way // unpretentious saint becomes invisible (4)

17a   Some racer, this! // It's sure to win! (4)

Cert^[5] is an informal British term for a racehorse strongly favoured to win a race.

19a   Assertive about not drinking alcohol, one /becomes/ badly behaved (8)

20a   Gin man briefly knocked back /making/ exit (6)

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

21a   Carry on with syndicate // betting (8)

22a   Selected for team // with other prisoners? (6)

... unless, of course, there has been a mass escape!

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage would seem to exist as well in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you..

23a   Most well set // to pass away with tears being shed all round (8)

24a   One works with lifeless arms (8)

25a   Ecclesiastical offence // by saint is unknown (6)

St Simon^[5] was an Apostle; known as Simon the Zealot. According to one tradition he preached and was martyred in Persia along with St Jude.

In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

Down

2d   A top company outside centre of Hull -- /in/ port (8)

Hull^[5] is a city and port in northeastern England, situated at the junction of the Hull and Humber Rivers; population 263,000 (est. 2009). Official name Kingston upon Hull.

Acapulco^[5] is a port and resort in southern Mexico, on the Pacific coast; population 616,384 (2005). Full name Acapulco de Juárez.

3d   Go beyond // nature and go wild (8)

4d   Work hard on article always /as/ one promoting a cause (9)

5d   Salesman hopes to sell object thus, // if you think that matters (3,4,3,5)

Double definition, with the former being cryptic.

6d   Wanting only the best // in hotel, it is thought (7)

7d   Sailor given order, losing heart, /is/ to give up (8)

In the Royal Navy, according to Oxford Dictionaries Online, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman^[10] (also called able-bodied seaman) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.

8d   Belief blokes should be housed in // family apartment? (8)

Bloke^[5] is an informal British term for a man.

In Britain, the word tenement seems not to carry the negative connotation that it does in North America. In Britain, a tenement^[4] is merely a room or flat [apartment] for rent or (also called tenement building) a large building divided into separate flats [apartments], whereas in North American, a tenement^[3,11] is generally regarded as a rundown, low-rental apartment building — often overcrowded and located in a poor section of a large city — whose facilities and maintenance barely meet minimum standards.

14d   Fish // of poor quality poet brought aboard ship (9)

Tin^[1] is sometimes used informally as an adjective to mean paltry.

Thomas Gray^[5] (1716–1771) was an English poet, best known for ‘Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard’ (1751).

In Crosswordland, a ship rarely fails to be a steamship (abbreviation SS^[5]).

15d   Average // playing of violin -- male leader, not female (8)

16d   Stop // little woman keeping a father and son pinned down (8)

Finally, the usual woman appears.

In music, a diapason^[10] is either of two stops (open and stopped diapason) usually found throughout the compass of a pipe organ that give it its characteristic tone colour.

17d   Glamour surrounds revolutionary model/'s/ movement popular with workers (8)

Chartism^[5] was a UK parliamentary reform movement of 1837–48, the principles of which were set out in a manifesto called The People’s Charter and called for universal suffrage for men, equal electoral districts, voting by secret ballot, abolition of property qualifications for MPs, and annual general elections.

18d   Verbally attacks // plump boy (6,2)

Round on^[5] means to make a sudden verbal attack on ⇒ she rounded on me angrily. Although the expression is unfamiliar to me, it is seemingly not a Briticism as it is to be found in The American Heritage Dictionary^[3].

19d   Specially designed bedroom -- // could it send you to sleep? (7)

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