Friday, January 22, 2015 — DT 27570

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27570
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, August 16, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27570 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27570 - 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

As reported by crypticsue in her review, she and "quite a lot of other people thought this was a trickier than usual Saturday puzzle". Of course, the Saturday prize puzzles are among the easiest of the week. Personally, I found it significantly less difficult than yesterday's offering from Giovanni.

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   Antagonism /in/ work place (10)

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.

6a   Unusual getting second // chances (4)

10a   Socially dominant /in/ sacred river area (5)

In zoology and sociology, alpha^[5] is used as a modifier denoting the dominant animal or human in a particular group ⇒ the pack is a tightly knit, highly organized group, led by an alpha wolf. The term alpha^[5] is also used in informal speech as a modifier denoting a person who has a dominant role or position within a particular sphere ⇒ take turns cooking for each other if one of you is too much of an alpha chef.

The Alph is a fictional river mentioned in the poem Kubla Khan^[7] by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem begins:

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure-dome decree :

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

11a   Not entirely risky acquiring horse /for/ old coach (9)

I was not familiar with the solution, but fortunately managed to work it out from the wordplay.

Charabanc^[5] is a British term for an early form of bus, used typically for pleasure trips. The name comes from French char-à-bancs 'carriage with benches' (the original horse-drawn charabancs having rows of bench seats).

12a   Drama of fine end-of-series // deciders (4-4)

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].

13a   Briefly visit // old man at home (3,2)

15a   Entrant, // a competitor on river (7)

17a   Sound // check (7)

18a   Greeting composer, one /leaving/ barbecue (7)

"Leaving" is not an indication that a letter is to be deleted but, rather, a link word used in the sense of 'resulting in' (i.e., 'leaving [the result]').

Johann Sebastian Bach^[5] (1685–1750) was a German composer. An exceptional and prolific baroque composer, he produced a massive body of work — not to mention twenty children.

21a   Court finally presented with motive /for/ crime (7)

23a   Piece of spinach on // a tortilla chip (5)

24a   Loyal follower, // guy from a Belgian river port? (8)

Historically, a liegeman^[5] was a a vassal who owed feudal service or allegiance to a nobleman — a vassal being a holder of land by feudal tenure on conditions of homage and allegiance. [In other words, loyalty came at a price.]

Liège^[7] is a major city situated in the valley of the Meuse River, in the east of Belgium, not far from borders with the Netherlands and with Germany. It is the capital of Liège province and part of the Walloon (French-speaking) region of Belgium.  The Port of Liège, located on the River Meuse, is the 3rd largest river port in Europe.

27a   Beginning to like catching Latin // lecture (7-2)

28a   High explosive is used by leader of team /in/ spectacular theft (5)

HE^[5] is the abbreviation for high explosive.

29a   Almost // half of bedtime drink (4)

30a   Clue for Poirot, say, // could bring dishonour to family (10)

The wordplay is a charade of BLOOD (family) + (could bring ... to) STAIN (discover). Since we are bringing STAIN to BLOOD, the latter must have been written first.

Down

1d   /What's/ touching about mother // country? (4)

In a clue phrased as a question, the word "what's" can be considered to be equivalent to a link word, serving the same function as the word "that's" in a clue phrased as a statement. This can be seen more clearly if we phrase the clue as a statement rather than  a question, in which case it might read:

• Country /that's/ touching about mother (4)

Of course, the surface reading of the rephrased clue is by no means as satisfying as the original — which explains why the setter chose to phrase the clue as a question.

2d   Widely admired // university in London area (7)

Poplar^[7] is a historic, mainly residential area of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Charing Cross [considered to mark the geographic centre of London].

3d   A duke in cast, // underhand (5)

A duke^[5] (abbreviation D.^[10]) is a male holding the highest hereditary title in the British and certain other peerages. 

Shy^[5] is a dated term meaning, as a noun, an act of flinging or throwing something at a target and, as a verb, to fling or throw (something) at a target ⇒ he tore the spectacles off and shied them at her.

4d   Diplomatic /in/ court dividing fault roughly (7)

Ct^[2] is the abbreviation for Court in street addresses — and possibly in other contexts as well.

5d   Famous Greek // is below on a ship (7)

In Crosswordland, you'll rarely go wrong by assuming that a ship is a steamship (abbreviation SS^[5]).

Aristotle Onassis^[5] (1906–1975) was a Greek shipping magnate and international businessman; full name Aristotle Socrates Onassis. He owned a substantial shipping empire and founded the Greek national airline, Olympic Airways (1957). In 1968, he married Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of US president John F. Kennedy who had been assassinated in 1963.

7d   Empty, // obsolete bain-marie? (7)

A bain-marie^[5] is a pan of hot water in which a cooking container is placed for slow cooking ⇒ cook in a bain-marie until the custard thickens slightly.

8d   Used // additional bit of help (6-4)

9d   Fighter /having/ to turn from correct course over channel (8)

14d   Used to be nothing, cracked up /to be/ a US president (10)

16d   First one to get on a // four-wheeled carriage (8)

Historically, a victoria^[5] (named after Queen Victoria) was a light four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with a collapsible hood, seats for two passengers, and an elevated driver’s seat in front ⇒ Atlanta 's finest could promenade in phaetons, victorias and tallyhos pulled by gleaming horses.

19d   Finance account /in/ arrears (7)

20d   Bad carrying on with a // criminal (7)

In cricket, the on^[5] (also known as on side) is another name for the leg^[5] (also called leg side), the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman’s feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg. The other half of the field is known as the off^[5] (also called off side).

21d   Venetian painter // to fasten sports shirt (7)

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo^[5] (1696–1770) was an Italian painter. He painted numerous rococo frescoes and altarpieces including the Antony and Cleopatra frescoes in the Palazzo Labia, Venice (circa 1750), and the decoration of the residence of the Prince-Bishop at Würzburg (1751-3).

22d   It's a man running, /showing/ staying power (7)

25d   Guiding beliefs // set out involving husband and love (5)

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.

26d   College // bill rising (4)

Eton College^[7], often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent [private] school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor". It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, and is one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. [Note: In Britain, "public schools" are a special class of private school; what North Americans would call public schools seem to be referred to in Britain by terms such as state-run or state-funded schools].

My initial thought was that bill might be a reference to a banknote, but on reflection concluded that this is unlikely to be correct.

Bill^[5] is a North American term for a banknote ⇒ a ten-dollar bill while note^[5] is a British term for a banknote ⇒ a ten-pound note.

Bill^[10] is (1) another term for a bill of exchange or (2) an obsolete name for a promissory note. A bill of exchange^[10] is a document (now chiefly used in foreign transactions), usually negotiable, containing an instruction to a third party to pay a stated sum of money at a designated future date or on demand. Promissory note^[10] (also called note or note of hand) is a mainly US term for a document, usually negotiable, containing a signed promise to pay a stated sum of money to a specified person at a designated date or on demand.

The definition at Oxford Dictionaries Online appears to blur — or, more accurately, remove — the boundaries between these two terms. It defines bill of exchange^[5] as being (1) a written order to a person requiring them to make a specified payment to the signatory or to a named payee; [or] (2) a promissory note.

No doubt, I should have gone straight to The Chambers Dictionary which tells us that note^[1] is an obsolete term for a bill or account.

Of course, failing all other explanations, we can fall back on bill^[10] being an archaic term meaning any document and note^[10] being a short written statement giving any kind of information.

This takes me back to my remark the other day about a man with two clocks never being sure what time it is. Or, as someone once said, the nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from.

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