Tuesday, January 6, 2015 — DT 27557

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27557
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, August 1, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27557]
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

It is an enjoyable — and not overly difficult — offering from Giovanni today.

Looking back, I note that when we entered 2014, the delay between when The Daily Telegraph puzzles were published in the UK and when they appeared in Canada was about three and a half months. This has now grown to about five months. The reason for this being that the puzzles are delivered to us at a rate of five per week whereas they are produced at a rate of six per week.

Yesterday, I gave you a "heads up" to an error that I expected would appear in today's puzzle. As events have unfolded, the error does not appear in the version of the puzzle published by the National Post — which is highly unusual.

Based on my observations, the puzzle goes through the following life cycle.

• The puzzle is created by the setter and refined through discussion with The Daily Telegraph puzzles editor.
• The puzzle is released to syndication prior to publication in The Daily Telegraph (some papers carry it on the same day as it appears in The Daily Telegraph). Any changes to the puzzle made after this point generally would not appear in the syndicated version of the puzzle. That is why I am surprised to see that today's puzzle has been corrected.
• The puzzles editor may make a change to the puzzle between the time it is released to syndication and the point where it enters the production process.
• The puzzle enters the production process for the printed edition of The Daily Telegraph. Errors may be introduced at this stage which may — or may not — also be carried over to the version of the puzzle posted on the Telegraph Puzzles website.
• The puzzle enters the production process for the Telegraph Puzzles website. Should errors that were introduced at previous stages be detected, they may be corrected in the version posted to the website. However, additional errors may also be introduced at this stage.
• Over the course of the day of publication, changes or corrections may be made to the puzzle posted on the Telegraph Puzzles website based on feedback from readers of the paper or users of the website.

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   Competitor deemed to be superior may have // understood (3,3,5)

The wordplay requires us to fill in an implied blank with the solution:

• Competitor deemed to be superior may have ___________ .

7a   Person who may lose something /in/ the tube (7)

The surface reading is intended to make us think that "the tube" refers to the London subway system.

The Tube^[5] is a British trademark for the underground railway system in London ⇒ a cross-London trek on the Tube. The term "the tube" can also refer to a train running on the Tube ⇒ I caught the tube home.

8a   Engineers exhausted /and/ in bed? (7)

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers^[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

10a   Relation // who is bound to appear after death? (5)

The implied meaning in the second definition is "[someone] who is bound to appear after death".

11a   Scared nob in disguise, // one on the run (9)

Nob^[5] is an informal British term for a person of wealth or high social position ⇒ it was quite a do—all the nobs were there.

12a   What sounds like extreme // part of a plant (7)

In botany, the radicle^[5] is the part of a plant embryo that develops into the primary root.

14a   Painter /of/ cat catching ball at home (7)

Nicholas Poussin^[5] (1594–1665) was a French painter. He is regarded as the chief representative of French classicism and a master of the grand manner. His subject matter included biblical scenes (The Adoration of the Golden Calf, circa 1635), classical mythology (Et in Arcadia Ego, circa 1655), and historical landscapes.

15a   Place of wickedness and vice about /to become/ animated (7)

18a   Cleric // quietly leading organisation for troubled couples (7)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

Relate^[7] is a charity providing relationship support throughout the United Kingdom. Services include counselling for couples, families, young people and individuals, sex therapy, mediation and training courses.

20a   Agent // representing star -- rogue (9)

The word "representing" is deceptively used in lieu of re-presenting^[5], meaning to present (something) again, especially for further consideration or in an altered form.

21a   Devon bowler /that might get/ a duck (5)

The surface reading suggests a bowler who is batting in a cricket match. In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game. In British puzzles, duck is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.

However, the sport referred to is actually bowls^[5] (known in North America as lawn bowling^[5], a game played with heavy bowls [see following], the object of which is to propel one’s bowl so that it comes to rest as close as possible to a previously bowled small ball (the jack). Bowls is played chiefly out of doors (though indoor bowls is also popular) on a closely trimmed lawn called a green.

A bowl^[5] is a wooden or hard rubber ball, slightly asymmetrical so that it runs on a curved course, used in the game of bowls.

Sir Francis Drake^[7], vice admiral (c. 1540–1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Drake was vice admiral in command of the English fleet when it overcame the Spanish Armada that was attempting to invade England in 1588. The most famous (but probably apocryphal) anecdote about Drake relates that, prior to the battle, he was playing a game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe. On being warned of the approach of the Spanish fleet, so the story goes, Drake is said to have remarked that there was plenty of time to finish the game and still beat the Spaniards. It is more likely that he had to wait for the tide to change before he could sail out with the English fleet to engage with the Spanish Armada.

Plymouth Hoe^[7] (referred to locally as the Hoe) is a large south facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth [a port and naval base in Devon, England]. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Hoe, a sloping ridge shaped like an inverted foot and heel.

22a   Small room // I need somehow to keep dry (7)

Teetotal^[5] (abbreviation TT^[5]) means choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol ⇒ a teetotal lifestyle. The term is an emphatic extension of total, apparently first used by Richard Turner, a worker from Preston [England], in a speech (1833) urging total abstinence from all alcohol, rather than mere abstinence from spirits, as advocated by some early temperance reformers.

23a   After short hint worker /is/ put firmly in place (7)

24a   Hospital number (11)

"Number" is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of something that numbs.

Down

1d   Good space editor // prepared (7)

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

2d   Drunk/'s/ yen to expectorate to the ceiling (5)

The yen^[5] (abbreviation Y^[5])  is the basic monetary unit of Japan.

3d   This place houses container /for/ kitchen plants (7)

Herbage^[5] is defined as simply herbaceous vegetation, which would certainly seem to be more than broad enough to cover plants grown in the kitchen for the purpose of flavouring stews and other dishes.

4d   Becomes cheerful, // message being that fringe benefits are to be increased (5,2)

5d   Cast into crude // institute (9)

6d   Far Eastern attacks we may hear /in/ angry speeches (7)

7d   Models I read about // deprived of confidence (11)

9d   Disarray /of/ some Ulster Protestants, not extreme characters, falling into depression (11)

As I warned you yesterday, this clue appeared in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph as:

• 9d   Disarray /of/ some Ulster Protestants without leader falling into depression (11)

In a comment posted on Big Dave's blog, Giovanni (who set the puzzle) acknowledges the error and apologizes for it.

I have rarely — if ever — seen such a correction appear in the syndicated version of the puzzle. It did occur to me that someone at the National Post might have read yesterday's blog. However, I suspect that the Diversions page in the National Post is prepared well in advance of the date of publication.

An Orangeman^[5] (plural Orangemen^[5]) is a member of the Orange Order^[5], a Protestant political society in Ireland, especially in Northern Ireland [popularly, if inaccurately, known as Ulster].

13d   Criminal type starts to infiltrate American // business groups (9)

16d   Terrace /that might provide/ some bovver and aggro (7)

I would say that the hidden word indicator is "some", not (as indicated by Deep Threat in his review) "might provide". The phrase "that might provide" serves as a link between the definition and the wordplay.

Bovver^[5] (representing a cockney pronunciation of bother) is an informal British term (usually used as a modifier) denoting hooliganism or violent disorder, especially as caused by gangs of skinheads ⇒ a bovver boy.

A cockney^[5] is a native of the East End of London. 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].

A skinhead^[5] is a young man of a subculture characterized by close-cropped hair and heavy boots, often perceived as aggressive.

Aggro^[5] (abbreviation of aggravation or aggression) is an informal British term for (1) aggressive, violent behaviour ⇒ they do not usually become involved in aggro or (2) problems and difficulties ⇒ he didn’t have to deal with aggro from the desk clerk.

17d   Business folk -- // they may hand out cards (7)

In his review, Deep Threat mentions "City traders", City being a reference to the United Kingdom's trading and financial services industries.

The City^[5] [or as used by Deep Threat, simply City] 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") and is also colloquially known as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (2.90 km²), in area. Both of these terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. This is analogous to the use of the terms Wall Street and Bay Street to refer to the financial institutions located in New York and Toronto respectively.

18d   After gym I have rolled over and shut up, /being/ irritable (7)

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

19d   A sort of memory with which Bill retains one // language mostly forgotten (7)

RAM^[10] is an acronym for random access memory, semiconductor memory in which all storage locations can be rapidly accessed in the same amount of time. It forms the main memory of a computer, used by applications to perform tasks while the device is operating.

Aramaic^[5] is a branch of the Semitic family of languages, especially the language of Syria used as a lingua franca in the Near East from the 6th century BC. It replaced Hebrew locally as the language of the Jews, and though displaced by Arabic in the 7th century AD, it still has about 200,000 speakers in scattered communities.

21d   What drunk did having turned up /in/ station (5)

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