Saturday, January 31, 2015 — Bringing up the Rear

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon is a pleasant jog through the park and shouldn't raise much of a sweat. However, you may be a bit taken aback by what you see there.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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 █ - yet to be solved

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue
	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   Coyly clever // curve (4)

ARCH — double definition

3a   Collections /of/ marbles enthralling Gregory (10)

AG(GREG)ATES — AGATES (marbles) containing (enthralling) GREG (nickname for Gregory)

An agate^[3] is a playing marble made of agate or a glass imitation of it.

9a   Free // woodland creatures, about 54 (7)

DE(LIV)ER — DEER (woodland creatures) containing (about) LIV ([Roman numeral for] 54)

11a   Scent /of/ one pine product inside another (7)

CO(LOG)NE — LOG (one pine product) contained in (inside) CONE (another [pine product])

12a   Violinist Isaac/’s/ back (5)

STERN — double definition

Isaac Stern^[5] (1920–2001) was a US violinist; born in Russia. He made his New York debut in 1937 at Town Hall. In 1956, he was the first American to perform in Russia after World War II, and he was invited to China in 1979. He served as president of Carnegie Hall from 1960.

13a   Cater at dances /with/ serving table on wheels (3,4)

{TEA CART}* — anagram (dances) of CATER AT

15a   Cooked // poor seabird (7)

BRAISED* — anagram (poor) of SEABIRD

16a   Red // spy in Massachusetts (7)

M(AGENT)A — AGENT (spy) contained in (in) MA ([US Postal Service abbreviation^[7] for] Massachusetts)

18a   Dull crowd returned // shell (7)

{BOM|BARD}< — reversal (returned) of {DRAB (dull) + MOB (crowd)}

21a   Group collecting plant for flavouring // frozen treat (7)

S(HERB)ET — SET (group) containing (collecting) HERB (plant for flavouring)

23a   Playwright G.B. born // member of a tribe (7)

SHAW|NEE — SHAW (playwright G.B.; George Bernard Shaw^[7]) + NEE (born)

The Shawnee^[5] are an American Indian people living formerly in the eastern US and now chiefly in Oklahoma.

25a   Cast // finished speaking (5)

THREW~ — sounds like (speaking) THROUGH (finished)

27a   Glaring // at a piece of nut in bacon sandwich (7)

BL(AT|A|N)T — {AT (†) + A (†) + N (piece [first letter] of Nut) contained in (in) BLT (bacon sandwich; Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato [sandwich])

28a   Section of seats holding stray // dog (7)

T(ERR)IER — TIER (section of seats) containing (holding) ERR (stray)

29a   Changing reins, enact // temporary state (10)

TRANSIENCE* — anagram (changing) of REINS ENACT

30a   Message still includes // periods (4)

_AGE|S_ — hidden in (includes) messAGE Still

Down

1d   Total consists of Swedish group outside a // city in Ethiopia (5,5)

ADD|IS AB(A)BA — ADD (total) + IS (†) + ABBA (Swedish group) containing (outside) A (†)

Abba^[5] is a Swedish pop group which became popular in the 1970s with catchy, well-crafted songs such as ‘Waterloo’ (1974) and ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’ (1977).

Addis Ababa^[5] (also Adis Abeba) is the capital of Ethiopia, situated at an altitude of about 2,440 m (8,000 ft); population 3,101,000 (est. 2007).

2d   Calcium-coated tree /in/ volcano’s crater (7)

C(ALDER)A — ALDER (tree) contained in (coated) CA ([symbol for the chemical element] calcium)

4d   Spun // awful tragedy (7)

GYRATED* — anagram (awful) of TRAGEDY

5d   Get back // miracle plastic (7)

RECLAIM* — anagram (plastic) of MIRACLE

6d   Olympic prize linked to a // predecessor of Yitzhak (5)

GOLD|A — GOLD (Olympic prize) + (linked to) A (†)

Golda Meir was the immediate predecessor of Yitzhak Rabin as Prime Minister of Israel. However, she was also a predecessor of Yitzhak Shamir.

Yitzhak Rabin^[5] (1922–1995) was an Israeli statesman and military leader, Prime Minister 1974-7 and 1992-5. In 1993 he negotiated a PLO-Israeli peace accord with Yasser Arafat, for which he shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Arafat and Shimon Peres. He was assassinated by a Jewish extremist.

Yitzhak Shamir^[5] (1915–2012) was a Polish-born Israeli statesman, Prime Minister 1983-4 and 1986–92; Polish name Yitzhak Jazernicki. Under his leadership Israel did not retaliate when attacked by Iraqi missiles during the Gulf War, thereby possibly averting an escalation of the conflict.

Golda Meir^[5] (1898–1978) was an Israeli stateswoman, Prime Minister 1969–74; born Goldie Mabovich. Born in Ukraine, she emigrated to the US in 1907 and in 1921 to Palestine. Following Israel’s independence she served in ministerial posts from 1949 to 1966 before being elected Prime Minister.

7d   Heard giant // get closer (7)

TIGHTEN~ — sounds like (heard) TITAN (giant)

In Greek mythology, the Titans^[7] were a primeval race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky), that ruled during the legendary Golden Age. They were immortal giants of incredible strength and were also the first pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses.

8d   Crockpot dish // gets moist when flipped (4)

STEW< — reversal (when flipped) of WETS (gets moist)

10d   Redgrave the actress // saves an alien (7)

VANESSA* — anagram (alien) of SAVES AN

Vanessa Redgrave^[7] is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.

14d   Scattered mother’s raw // food for some birds (10)

EARTHWORMS* — anagram (scattered) of MOTHERS RAW

17d   Better // kitchen implement catching last bit of juice (7)

GR(E)ATER — GRATER (kitchen implement) containing (catching) E (last bit [final letter] of juicE)

19d   A skin blemish covered by Mom/’s/ makeup (7)

MA(SCAR)A — {A (†) + SCAR (skin blemish)} contained in (covered by) MA (Mom)

20d   Tied ten flies around // eating area (7)

DINETTE* — anagram (flies around) of TIED TEN

21d   Doubter // pickets cast (7)

SKEPTIC* — anagram (cast) of PICKETS

22d   Nightclub magnate // doing dog imitations (7)

BAR|KING — BAR (nightclub) + KING (magnate)

24d   Gather /in/ the morning by rear (5)

AM|ASS — AM (in the morning) + (by) ASS (rear)

Methought this a bit edgy for Cox and Rathvon!

26d   Neighbour/’s/ brass horn brought back (4)

ABUT< — reversal (brought back) of TUBA (brass horn)

Epilogue

The title of today's blog was inspired by 24a.

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

Friday, January 30, 2015 — DT 27575

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27575
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, August 22, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27575]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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

Like a hurricane, I think that this puzzle gained strength during its journey across the Atlantic. I certainly found that it put up a far more vigorous challenge than the two star effort which Deep Threat reports in his review.

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   Sailor // left with a legacy from sword fight? (6)

Lascar^[5] is a dated term for a sailor from India or SE Asia ⇒ the manning of British ships by lascar crews.

5a   Corresponding /from/ river location after work (8)

The Po^[7] is a river that arises in the Cottian Alps and flows eastward across northern Italy entering the Adriatic Sea through a delta near Venice.

In music, Op.^[5] (also op.) is an abbreviation meaning opus (work). It is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication.

9a   Bigheads // say nothing -- aims can look dubious (10)

In Britain, a bighead^[4] is a conceited person while in the US and Canada bighead^[3,4,11] means conceit or egotism.

10a   Lose weight // within judicious limits (4)

11a   Enduring // children endlessly -- that's the head man (8)

12a   /What is/ written /is/ restricted (6)

I had no trouble solving the clue. However, on close examination, the parsing seemed to be a bit baffling. I can only conclude that the phrase "what is" is part of a split link phrase, which we can see more clearly if we normalize the clue structure:

• 12a   Restricted /is what is/ written (6)

13a   River almost /makes you/ sentimental (4)

Here "makes you" is a link phrase and is interpreted in the sense of "produces the result for you (the solver)".

The Tweed^[5] is a river which rises in the Southern Uplands of Scotland and flows generally eastwards, crossing into northeastern England and entering the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed. For part of its lower course it forms the border between Scotland and England.

Twee^[5] is a British term meaning excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental ⇒ although the film’s a bit twee, it’s watchable.

15a   Hoopla? // A reasonable object of ridicule (4,4)

In Britain, hoopla^[5] is a game in which rings are thrown from behind a line in an attempt to encircle one of several prizes. I discover that the sense in which I am familiar with this term is a chiefly North American usage in which hoopla^[5] means unnecessary fuss surrounding something ⇒ I really didn’t know what the hoopla was all about.

Before investigating the meaning of "hoopla", I had supposed that "object of ridicule" was the definition as in Having fired the opening salvo, Larry set himself up as fair game for the rest of the evening. That is, Larry made himself a target of ridicule when he made a crack about one of his companions.

However, as Deep Threat points out in his review, the wordplay is FAIR (reasonable) + GAME (a[n] ... object of ridicule).

Make (a) game of^[5] is an archaic expression meaning to mock or taunt. Come to think of it, this sense of "game" is likely also what we see in the expression "fair game". In my example above, Larry having taunted someone else, becomes the object of taunts himself.

18a   Couple admitting love at // sporting event (4,4)

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.

The Boat Race^[7] is an annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights on the River Thames in London, England. It usually takes place on the last weekend of March or the first weekend of April.

19a   Spots // knight lying in a church (4)

N^[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

21a   Small creature given grub // moaned (6)

23a   Orchestra // according to some sounding wrong, less authentic? (8)

In what well may be a British usage, a sinfonia^[5] is a small symphony orchestra ⇒ the City of London Sinfonia.

The wordplay is sounds like (sounding) {SIN (wrong) + PHONIER (less authentic; when pronounced with a non-rhotic accent)}.

The word "phonier", when pronounced in a non-rhotic^[5] accent ("phoni-uh"), sounds like "fonia".

Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.

25a   Appear /in/ bishop's office before Mass (4)

A see^[10] is the diocese of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral or procathedral is situated.
In physics, the symbol m^[5] is used to represent mass.

26a   Person from Scotland /or/ Wales aging terribly (10)

A Glaswegian^[5] is a native of Glasgow, Scotland.

And who might that be?
Rab C. Nesbitt[7] [whose picture illustrates Deep Threat's review] is a Scottish Comedy which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice.

27a   Barrier around lake or // foreign city (8)

Florence^[5] is a city in west central Italy, the capital of Tuscany, on the River Arno; population 365,659 (2008). Florence was a leading centre of the Italian Renaissance from the 14th to the 16th century, especially under the rule of the Medici family during the 15th century.

28a   Managed amount of money said /to be/ extortionate charge (6)

Down

2d   Sin /is/ risk when daughter is out of sight (5)

In theology, the seven deadly sins^[10] are the sins of pride, covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and sloth.

3d   Part // company with politician, one leading national organisation (9)

In Britain, the National Trust^[5] (abbreviation NT) is a trust for the preservation of places of historic interest or natural beauty in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, founded in 1895 and supported by endowment and private subscription. The National Trust for Scotland^[7], a separate organization, was founded in 1931.

4d   /It's/ rotten, // what leading detective did (6)

The inverted structure of the clue pushes the link word to the front. If expressed in a normal structure, the clue would read:

• 4d   What leading detective did /is/ rotten (6)

The Criminal Investigation Department (seemingly better known by its abbreviation CID^[2]) is the detective branch of a British police force. 

Therefore the leading detective would be the person who "ran CID". 

5d   Partially fruitless condition /evident in/ old territory? (6,4,5)

Orange Free State^[5] was an area and former province in central South Africa, situated to the north of the Orange River. An area inhabited by Bantu-speaking farmers, it was first settled by Boers after the Great Trek. It became a province of the Union of South Africa in 1910 and in 1994 became one of the new provinces of South Africa. It was named Free State in 1995.

6d   Job with power to help, // upfront expense having been met (4-4)

In physics, P^[10] is a symbol used to represent power (among other things).

Does anyone else think that it is ironic that post-paid means that the cost off mailing a letter has been prepaid?

7d   Woman /given/ conflicting directions for crossing America (5)

And who might that be?

Susan Boyle[7] [who Deep Threat has selected to illustrate this clue] is a Scottish singer who came to international attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. Boyle's initial appearance on the talent show fired public imagination when her modest stage introduction left the studio audience, viewers and judges alike unprepared for the power and expression of her mezzo-soprano voice. Before she had finished the song's opening phrase a standing ovation for Boyle had erupted. Her performance triggered an international media and Internet response. Her first album was released in November 2009 and debuted as the number one best-selling album on charts around the globe.

8d   Native // unsettled by mean Brits (9)

14d   Like loaf of bread /as/ starters, main course and pudding? (9)

The only thing preventing me from marking this as a double definition is the fact that the numeration would have to be (5,4) for the second part to be a definition.

Wholemeal^[10] is the British term for whole-wheat^[10].

Starter^[5] is a chiefly British term [according to Oxford Dictionaries Online, but certainly a term that is not entirely foreign to Canada] meaning the first course of a meal.

Whereas in North America, the term pudding^[5] denotes specifically a dessert with a soft or creamy consistency, in Britain the term pudding^[5] refers to either (1) [seemingly any] cooked sweet dish served after the main course of a meal or (2) the dessert course of a meal ⇒ what’s for pudding?.

16d   Beautiful musical instrument // somewhere in Wales (9)

Glamorgan^[10] (or Glamorganshire) is a former county of southeastern Wales that was divided into West Glamorgan, Mid Glamorgan, and South Glamorgan in 1974.

17d   King maybe on horse, one turning up in woollen jacket (8)

A cardigan can be a jacket as well as a sweater. A cardigan^[3,4,11] is a knitted garment, such as a sweater or jacket, that opens down the full length of the front.

20d   Solution // offered by politicians we ridicule (6)

22d   Father chewing bird/'s/ bone (5)

24d   Princess given little house /in/ mountainous part of America (5)

Princess Ida^[7] (full name Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant) is a comic opera with music and libretto by the English team of Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and Sir W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) respectively.

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

Thursday, January 29, 2015 — DT 27574

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27574
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 21, 2014
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27574]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Kath
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

RayT certainly seems to be in a relaxed mood today. He leads us through a very gentle workout and even gives Her Majesty the day off. The review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog is written by Kath who is once again flying solo. She usually appears as the alley cat half of the archy and mehitabel blogging duo.

In today's puzzle, RayT appears to have set out to give us a comprehensive course on how to select particular letters from words — either for inclusion or exclusion.

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   Clinical // test I panic about (10)

6a   Genuine // regret following Tory leader (4)

"Tory leader" indicates the leader (initial letter) of Tory. This is merely the first of many examples in today's puzzle illustrating a diversity of ways to select a particular letter or letters from a word.

9a   Not a fairy-tale maiden /in/ kingdom (5)

In cricket, a maiden^[5], also known as a maiden over, (abbreviation M)^[5] is an over in which no runs are scored. An over^[5] (abbreviation O^[5] [remember this, it will come in handy soon]) is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

10a   Shocking // former sweetheart, guy embraces redhead (9)

In the second and third examples of selecting letters, the setter employs two variations on a not uncommon cryptic crossword construct, in which the word "sweetheart" is used to clue E, the middle letter (heart) of swEet and the word "redhead" is used to clue R, the initial letter (head) of Red.

12a   Good man with a bird /showing/ vigour (7)

Mina^[2] is a seemingly rare alternative spelling of myna (also mynah) any of various large, southeast Asian birds of the starling family, some of which can be taught to imitate human speech. Among the several dictionaries that I consult on a regular basis, this spelling is found only in The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary^[11] in addition to the cited entry from Chambers 21st Century Dictionary.

13a   Thick // fog around daybreak (5)

In instance number 4, the setter uses the word "daybreak" to clue D, the initial letter (break) of Day. There may be a touch of cryptic licence involved here as "break"^[1] in daybreak actually means to come into view or appear suddenly which the setter appears to equate to start.

15a   Degradation /of/ Herod in Galilee (7)

Scratching the Surface
Herod the Great[5] (circa 74-4 BC) was a ruler of ancient Palestine who ruled 37-4 BC. According to the New Testament, Jesus was born during his reign, and he ordered the massacre of the innocents (Matt. 2:16). Galilee[5] was a northern region of ancient Palestine, west of the River Jordan, associated with the ministry of Jesus. It is now part of Israel.

17a   Ancient capital of Greece? (7)

The drachma^[5] was a a silver coin of ancient Greece. It is also the name of the former monetary unit of modern Greece, notionally equal to 100 lepta, replaced in 2002 by the euro.

19a   Sea creature // over sea expressed fantastic spout (7)

"Over" is a cricketing term. If you failed to heed my advice at 9a, you may wish to refer back there now.

21a   Lover allegedly gripping /in/ altogether (7)

22a   Starts to serve and lob volley /or/ volley (5)

In instance number 5, the setter uses "starts to" to indicate the initial letters of the five words which immediately follow.

24a   Remove // additional ends of corset (7)

In instance number 6, "ends of" indicates the initial and final letters of CorseT.

27a   Remedy sipped, say, /for/ indigestion (9)

28a   Quick // beer before restaurant emptied (5)

In instance number 7, "emptied" indicates to remove all the inner letters leaving only the two outer letters in RestauranT.

Quick^[5] (used in reference to a person’s eye or ear) means keenly perceptive or alert.

29a   Soundly construct // beams (4)

Scratching the Surface
By coincidence — or not — today's setter, Ray Terrell, uses the pseudonym Beam [beam being a synonym for ray] when setting The Toughie, another (more difficult) cryptic crossword that appears in The Daily Telegraph.

30a   Concerned // current setter's upset by editor (10)

Of course, with my electrical engineering background, my first thought was that "current" is being used to clue either I (the symbol used in physics for electrical current) or AC (alternating current). It took a while to get onto the right track.

Down

1d   Ethereal // nymph is topless (4)

Chambers Thesaurus lists nymph as a synonym for fairy.

In example number 8, "topless" is used to exclude the first letter of [F]AIRY. This construct really only works only in a down clue.

2d   Tar initially operated small harbour // ship perhaps (9)

In instance number 9, "initially" is used to clue the initial letter of Tar.

3d   Muscles to hold old lady up /for/ dance (5)

The samba^[5] is (1) a Brazilian dance of African origin or (2) a lively modern ballroom dance imitating the samba.

4d   Skinning // gutted plaice, English fish (7)

In example number 10, "gutted" is used to indicate that the inner letters of PlaicE are to be discarded.

he ling^[5] is any of a number of long-bodied edible marine fishes including various species of large East Atlantic fish related to the cod, in particular Molva molva, which is of commercial importance.

Scratching the Surface
The plaice[5] is a North Atlantic flatfish which is a commercially important food fish. The two species, a European one (Pleuronectes platessa), often found in very shallow water, and an American one (Hippoglossoides platessoides), found in deeper waters.

5d   Country /could be/ fine country without leader (7)

In instance number 11, "without leader" tells us to discard the initial letter of {[N]ICE LAND}.

7d   Dressed /in/ right old sack (5)

8d   United in level score // in the end (10)

By this point, one might easily jump to the conclusion that "score in the end" is clueing the final letter (end) of scorE. However, that would be the wrong direction to go.

In names of sports clubs, the abbreviation U^[5] stands for United.

11d   Sort of music generation holding mass // rave (7)

In physics, the symbol m^[5] is used to represent mass.

Rave^[5] is used in a sense meaning to address someone in an angry, uncontrolled way ⇒ ‘Never mind how he feels!’ Melissa raved.

14d   Think twice // about criminal ringleader outside bank (10)

In example number 12, the setter uses the word "ringleader" to clue R, the initial letter (leader) of Ring.

16d   Correct // the compiler's ramble around page (7)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the) compiler, (the) 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. Today, the setter has made the scenario slightly more complicated by combining "compiler" with the verb "to be" producing "compiler's" (contraction for "compiler is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (I am).

18d   Uneven breath each time produces // throb (9)

20d   Puts foot down about // relative (7)

21d   Power cut without resistance giving shock (7)

In physics, the symbol R^[5] is used to represent electrical resistance.

23d   Tough // lout sat by, oddly (5)

In instance number 13, the word "oddly" is used to indicate the odd numbered sequence of letters found in the preceding three words.

25d   Native American cutting top of head // quickly (5)

In example number 14, "top of" is used to indicate the initial letter (top) of Head. This is another construct that works only in a down clue.

The Apache^[5] are an American Indian people living chiefly in New Mexico and Arizona. Under the leadership of Geronimo, the Apache were the last American Indian people to be conquered by the European settlers.

26d   Office doesn't end /for/ boss (4)

A boss^[5] is a stud on the centre of a shield.

In instance number 15, "doesn't end" is used to indicate that we must discard the final letter (end) of STUD[Y].

And thus endeth today's lesson.

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

Wednesday, January 28, 2015 — DT 27573

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27573
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27573]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By scchua
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

Jay gives us a fairly gentle workout today. The last one in was 10a which was a true penny-drop moment and generated a bit of a chuckle.

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   Conflict /as/ industrial action sees king replaced by female (6)

K^[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

5a   Examines // power possessed by bugs (8)

In physics, P^[10] is a symbol used to represent power (among other things).

9a   Style of comedian facing the drop? (7,6)

I was slow to twig to the solution to this clue as I as looking for a adjective that might be applied to a comedian, such as "stand-up" comedian. However, we must interpret the clue as if it were phrased "Style of [humour displayed by] comedian ..." which results in the solution being a noun.

10a   Poor hearing? (8)

11a   One abandons caution flying // this exotic bird (6)

A toucan^[5] is any of several species of tropical American fruit-eating bird with a massive bill and typically brightly coloured plumage.

12a   Old boy returns after exercises /in/ pleasure craft (6)

PE^[5] is the abbreviation for physical education (or Phys Ed, as it was known in my school days). 

Pedalo^[5] is a British term for a small pedal-operated pleasure boat.

A Trap for the Unwary

I stumbled into the trap of thinking that "old boy" is being used — as is customarily the case — to clue OB. It took me quite a while to see the error of my ways. In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2])  is (1) a former male student of a school or college ⇒an old boy of Banbury County School or (2) a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards. It is also a chiefly British affectionate form of address to a boy or man ⇒ ‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.

14a   Endured // socialist going over state of America (8)

16a   Bad press about European motorway // building (8)

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway [controlled access, multi-lane divided highway] in England connecting London to Leeds.

19a   Hang around, // boxed in by several in Germany (6)

21a   Unfortunately, drinking rum oddly /causes/ scares (6)

23a   Newly-developed yet cheap // protection for the injured viewer (8)

... where "viewer" refers to an organ of sight.

25a   Works in progress here? (6,7)

Mobile library^[4] is the British name for a bookmobile.

26a   Relaxed after a couple of pages, // satisfied (8)

27a   What's left /by/ right of choice, say? (6)

Down

2d   This'll make you laugh -- // Moroccan dish containing camel's tail! (3,4)

Tagine^[5] (from a Moroccan Arabic word meaning 'frying pan') denotes (1) a North African stew of spiced meat and vegetables prepared by slow cooking in a shallow earthenware cooking dish with a tall, conical lid or (2) the dish used for cooking tagines.

Tag line^[4] is another name for punch line.

3d   Home rented out /for/ opening (5)

Let^[5] is a chiefly British term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i) she let the flat to a tenant; (ii) they’ve let out their house. [I would think that this is one of those British terms that is familiar enough to most North Americans that they would readily understand it even though they likely wouldn't use it.]

4d   Sitcom -- one developed /for/ faces on screen (9)

5d   Keeping to oneself /due to/ slight cut on a run (7)

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

6d   Closed around noon briefly, due to car crash (5)

Shunt^[5] is an informal British term for a motor accident, especially a collision of vehicles travelling one close behind the other ⇒ a lorry [truck] shed [spilled] its load, causing an eight-vehicle shunt.

7d   Reduction in planning of one oil // delivery (9)

8d   Paved area /in/ row of houses (7)

In Britain, pave^[5] means to cover (a piece of ground) with flat stones or bricks — not asphalt..

Terrace^[5] is a British term for (1) a row of houses built in one block in a uniform style ⇒ an attractive Regency terrace or (2) an individual house in a terrace ⇒ modern furniture looks out of place in your Victorian terrace.

13d   Pleasing // new barmaid left without newspaper (9)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7] is a British international business newspaper [that is printed on conspicuous salmon pink newsprint].

15d   Flexible // label designed to be worn by man (9)

17d   Turn and clean // fish that's been pickled (7)

A rollmop^[4] (from German Rollmops, from rollen to roll + Mops pug dog) is a herring fillet rolled, usually around onion slices, and pickled in spiced vinegar.

18d   Son fine -- journalist // filled with pride (7)

20d   Unprotected gent in front of vault // put in code (7)

22d   Opportunities for buying cheap // beer on board ship? (5)

In Crosswordland, you will find that a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[10]. Thus "on board ship" is code for 'contained in SS'.

24d   Order to stop // a container with a cargo of sulphur (5)

The symbol for the chemical element sulphur is S^[5].

Avast^[5] is a nautical exclamation directing (someone) to stop or cease ⇒ a sailor is expected to keep hauling until the mate hollers ‘Avast!.

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

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 — DT 27572

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27572
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27572]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Gazza
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 puzzle shouldn't keep you from getting to those items below it on your "to do" list.

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   Carpeting put round a fine flat originally /showing/ workmen's resource? (11)

Carpet^[5] is British slang meaning to reprimand severely ⇒ the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses.

F^[5] is an abbreviation for fine, as used in describing grades of pencil lead [a usage that Oxford Dictionaries Online surprisingly characterizes as British].

Scratching the Surface
Flat[5] is a chiefly British term for what would be called an apartment[5] in North America.

9a   One barmaid, Beth's thrown out // hippy (5,2,3,4)

11a   Top entertainer hosts // sporting competition (4)

Canadian athletes have been competing at one of these currently underway in Australia. Unfortunately, Eugenie's run came to an end today against Maria Sharapova but Milos is still in the fray.

12a   Endless temptation I had /that's/ sensational (5)

13a   Excitement /in/ place housing those with conviction? (4)

Stir^[5] is an informal term for prison [on both sides of the Atlantic] ⇒ I’ve spent twenty-eight years in stir.

16a   Copper plate initially placed by executives /in/ storage area (8)

The symbol for the chemical element copper is Cu^[5] (from late Latin cuprum).

17a   Fellow left with rush in East End /producing/ commotion (6)

F^[2] is the abbreviation for Fellow (of a society, etc). For instance, it is found in professional designations such as FRAIC (Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada).

The East End^[5] is the part of London [England] east of the City [see box] as far as the River Lea, including the Docklands. Natives of the East End, known as cockneys^[5], speak a dialect characterised by dropping the H from the beginning of words and the use of rhyming slang^[5]. 

Thus, in the East End, the word "hurry" (rush) would be pronounced "'urry".

Just to clarify ...

... the City[5] is short for the City of London[5] (not to be confused with the city of London). The City of London[7] is a city and ceremonial county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the conurbation has since grown far beyond the City's borders. The City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. It is one of two districts of London to hold city status, the other being the adjacent City of Westminster. It is widely referred to simply as the City (often written as just "City" and differentiated from the phrase "the city of London" by capitalising "City").

19a   Reproduce prints /of/ sporting decider? (3-3)

The solution is also encountered in an electoral context — perhaps even more often than in a sporting context.

20a   Look briefly at a chop that's cooked — /and/ soup (8)

Gazpacho^[5] is a cold Spanish soup made from tomatoes, peppers, and other salad vegetables.

22a   What medicine is supposed to do, we hear, /is found in/ list (4)

23a   Blue // week in terrible year (5)

24a   Detect // feature on snooker table (4)

In billiards and snooker, the term spot^[5] denotes any one one of several small black dots on a table that mark where a ball is to be placed.

27a   Pub expert -- /and/ provider of services? (5,9)

I am confident that the first part of this clue could equally well be considered to be a cryptic definition (as Gazza prefers to see it) or a charade (as I happened to see it). After all, a cryptic definition is often merely a charade in which a twist can be applied to the meaning.

Local^[5] is an informal British term for a pub convenient to a person’s home ⇒ a pint in the local.

Local authority^[5] is a British term for an administrative body in local government ⇒ (i) you will need planning permission from your local authority; (ii) local authority housing.

28a   Calm // Scandinavian featured in a French story (11)

A Lapp^[5] is a member of an indigenous people of the extreme north of Scandinavia, traditionally associated with the herding of reindeer.

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

Down

2d   Harmony /shown in/ letters (14)

3d   Chore, having to defend line /that's/ standard (4)

Fag^[5] is an informal British term for a tiring or unwelcome task ⇒ it’s too much of a fag to drive all the way there and back again.

4d   A column noted in passing? (8)

5d   A particular // military unit (6)

6d   Requirement // originally named by daughter (4)

7d   Alternative cup devised /to get/ money for new businesses (7,7)

8d   Would-be clever figure // roams by tots awkwardly (6-5)

In Britain, smarty-boots is an alternative term for smarty-pants^[5].

10d   Musical venue // formerly by right in Switzerland overlooking a pair of lakes (7,4)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Switzerland is CH^[5] [from French Confédération Helvétique 'Swiss Confederation'].

14d   My enjoyment is limited /in/ foreign island (5)

Cor^[5] is an informal British exclamation expressing surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm ⇒ Cor! That‘s a beautiful black eye you’ve got!.

Corfu^[5] is a Greek island, one of the largest of the Ionian Islands, off the west coast of mainland Greece; population 127,900 (est. 2009).

15d   Inclination // to invest small amount of money in fruit (5)

In Britain's current decimal currency system, the smallest denomination is a penny^[5] (plural pennies [for separate coins] or pence [for a sum of money]), a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound. The abbreviation for penny or pence is p^[5].

Sloe^[5] is another name for the blackthorn as well as being the name of the small bluish-black fruit of this plant, with a sharp sour taste. The blackthorn^[5] (also called sloe) is a thorny Eurasian shrub (Prunus spinosa) which bears white flowers before the leaves appear, followed by astringent blue-black fruits (sloes).

18d   Owned second joint in which there's onset of real // privation (8)

21d   Handy // guide giving instructions (6)

25d   Pounds invested in hollow // blueprint (4)

For cryptic purposes, pound could be used either as a monetary unit or a unit of weight. However, the context in the clue definitely suggests the former.
 
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L^[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l^[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word Libra.

26d   A study curtailed /in/ district (4)

In Britain, to read^[5] means to study (an academic subject) at a university ⇒ (i) I’m reading English at Cambridge; (ii) he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.

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