Wednesday, January 21, 2015 — DT 27568

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27568
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 14, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27568]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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

Although I only awarded this puzzle two stars for difficulty when I reviewed it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog in August, in retrospect that may have been on the low side. In fact, the puzzle almost seemed more difficult the second time around. For a moment, I thought I might even have to resort to the use of electronic aids to finish. Fortunately for my ego, it did not come to that.

Although the setter was not identified, if I had to guess I would say that the setter may have been Petitjean (John Pidgeon).

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   Concluded actors /can be/ dull (8)

5a   Comeback /reaping/ reward (6)

Look for this solution to make a comeback.

9a   High-flier /given/ a cold greeting at all times (8)

10a   Author /is/ more sardonic given time (6)

12a   Weak identity /becoming/ clear (6)

13a   'Up Up And Away' // tune endured (8)

Scratching the Surface
"Up, Up and Away"[7] is a 1967 song written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by The 5th Dimension that became a major pop hit and won Grammy Awards as Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1968.

15a   Plain speaking /from/ sweet woman wanting husband but getting left (7)

Sweet Charity^[7] is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria. However, where Fellini's black-and-white Italian film concerns the romantic ups-and-downs of an ever-hopeful prostitute, in the musical the central character is a dancer-for-hire at a Times Square dance hall. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1966, where it was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, and also ran in the West End [London] as well as having revivals and international productions.

The musical was adapted for the screen in 1969 with Shirley MacLaine as Charity and John McMartin recreating his Broadway role as Oscar Lindquist. Bob Fosse directed and choreographed this film.

16a   Socks /and/ shoe repaired (4)

20a   'Shop Around' /bringing to mind/ teenage dances (4)

Scratching the Surface
"Shop Around"[7] is a 1960 single by The Miracles (credited as "The Miracles featuring Bill 'Smokey' Robinson") on Motown's Tamla label. The song is noted for being the first million-selling record for the Miracles and for the Motown Record Corporation, as well as a 2006 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee.

21a   Pratchett covers provided // shock (7)

Sir Terry Pratchett^[7] is an English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s, and has sold over 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages.

25a   Cue line -- last in play -- // without further ado (8)

26a   Office // furniture (6)

Scratching the Surface
Although solvers on both sides of the pond will know the solution as an item of furniture — it is a markedly different piece of furniture in the UK from what we would think of here. In Britain, a bureau[5] is a writing desk with drawers and typically an angled top opening downwards to form a writing surface while, in North America, it is another name for a chest of drawers.

28a   Barnet // musical event (6)

Hair^[7] (in full Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical) is a 1967 rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement. The musical's profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy. The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of "rock musical", using a racially integrated cast, and inviting the audience onstage for a "Be-In" finale.

Barnet^[5] is an informal British term for a person's hair ⇒ It was an American era of big moustaches, buffed-up barnets, industrial-strength sideburns and intimidating, tightly permed chest hair. The term comes from rhyming rhyming slang barnet fair, the name of a famous horse fair held at Barnet, Hertfordshire.

29a   Understood cry of sea-eagle /is/ silent (8)

Erne^[5] is a literary name for the sea eagle^[5], a large Eurasian fish-eating eagle (of which there are several species) that frequents coasts and wetlands.

30a   Master of the macabre's attempt /to create/ verse (6)

Edgar Allan Poe^[5] (1809–1849) was an American short-story writer, poet, and critic. His fiction and poetry are Gothic in style and characterized by their exploration of the macabre and the grotesque. Notable works: ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (short story, 1840); ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ (detective story, 1841); ‘The Raven’ (poem, 1845).  Poe^[7] was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.

31a   Return // engagement (8)

Here we have the "return engagement" of the solution from 5a, this time appearing as part of the clue.

Down

1d   Authority // supremo's behind run getting cancelled regularly (6)

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

Scratching the Surface
Supremo[5] is an informal British term meaning (1) a person in overall charge of an organization or activity ⇒ the Channel Four supremo or (2) a person with great authority or skill in a certain area ⇒ an interior by design supremo Kelly .

2d   Resurrect // variable buzz in drugs (6)

In mathematics, a variable^[5] is a quantity which during a calculation is assumed to vary or be capable of varying in value. [In mathematical formulae, variables are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.] 

E^[5] is an abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy or a tablet of Ecstasy ⇒ (i) people have died after taking E; (ii) being busted with three Es can lead to stiff penalties.

3d   Trustworthy // journalist in bed with the French (8)

I was surprised to see "bed" being used to clue the word crib^[5], the latter being chiefly a North American usage. To the Brits, a young child's bed is a cot^[5].

Perhaps crib^[5] is used in the sense of a manger. In Britain, crib is the name used for what is known in North America as a crèche^[5], a a representation of the nativity scene. In Britain, a crèche^[5] is a nursery where babies and young children are cared for during the working day.

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le^[8].

4d   Tory moderates back /in/ bother (4)

Wet^[5] is an informal British term for a person lacking forcefulness or strength of character ⇒ there are sorts who look like gangsters and sorts who look like wets. In British political circles, the name wet is applied to a Conservative with liberal tendencies ⇒ the wets favoured a change in economic policy. It was a term frequently used by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for those to the left of her in the British Conservative Party [which must have been just about everyone].

6d   Drunk on beer /in/ dress, with pomp (6)

In the cryptic reading, "dress" is being used as a verb.

7d   United let injured Ferdinand recuperate initially /in/ secret (8)

In the names of sports clubs, U^[5] is the abbreviation for United ⇒ Man U [Manchester United].

Rio Ferdinand^[7] is an English professional footballer who currently plays for Queens Park Rangers whom he joined in July 2014. Prior to that, he played for Manchester United. Thus at the time that this puzzle was likely compiled, he would still have been a member of Manchester United.

Scratching the Surface
Manchester United Football Club[7] (often referred to simply as United) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

8d   Invaders // formerly from North or South Yemen decapitated (8)

Norsemen^[7] refers to the group of people who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language between the 8th and 11th centuries.

Norseman means "person from the North" and applied primarily to Old Norse-speaking tribes who settled in southern and central Scandinavia. They established states and settlements in England, Scotland, Iceland, Wales, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Ireland, Russia, Greenland, France, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, and Poland, as well as outposts in Sicily and North America.
The Old Frankish word Nortmann "Northman" was Latinized as Normanni and then entered Old French as Normands, whence the name of the Normans and of Normandy, which was settled by Norsemen in the 10th century
Norsemen (also known as Vikings) invaded England in the 8th century. Normans invaded England in the 11th century (Battle of Hastings^[7], 1066).

11d   Resistance stops yet note judge turn all // nervous (7)

In physics, R^[5] is the symbol for electrical resistance.

In music, ti^[2] (or te) is the seventh note of the major scale in sol-fa notation. Judging by entries in American and British dictionaries, the only recognized spelling in the US would seem to be ti^[3,4,11] whereas, in the UK, the principal spelling would appear to be te^[2,3,4,11], with ti as an alternative spelling in some dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries Online provides less leeway, giving the spelling as te^[5] with ti shown as the North American spelling.

J^[2] (plural JJ) is the abbreviation for judge.

14d   In short // cheese attracts insect (7)

Contrary to my comment on Big Dave's blog, this cheese attracts only a single flying insect.

17d   Speed up // cuts (4-4)

Chop-chop^[5] is pidgin English for quickly or quick ⇒ 'Two pints, chop-chop,' Jimmy called.

18d   Back-to-back compositions put /in/ flipside (8)

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.

19d   Expressing emotion /and/ energy opening of 'Famous Five' enthrals us (8)

Scratching the Surface
The Famous Five[7] is the name of a series of children's novels written by English author Enid Blyton (1897–1968). The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and their dog Timmy.

22d   A rest for potter /and/ spinner (6)

In billiards and snooker, pot^[5] means to strike (a ball) into a pocket ⇒ he failed to pot a red at close range. Thus, a potter is someone who plays billiards or snooker.

A spider^[5] is a long-legged rest for a billiard cue that can be placed over a ball without touching it.

23d   'Dandy' encompassing the Spanish /for/ 'fool' (6)

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

Scratching the Surface

The Dandy[7] was a long-running children's comic published in the United Kingdom from 1937 to 2012. However, given the numerous musical references in today's puzzle, perhaps we should look in that direction instead. "Dandy" is a 1966 song from The Kinks, appearing on their Face to Face album. The Kinks did not release the song as a single either in Britain or North America. However, "Dandy" did became a hit single in North America in 1966 as recorded by fellow UK group Herman's Hermits, reaching #1 in Canada on the RPM national singles chart and #5 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100. Surely, you must remember the line "two girls are too many, three's a crowd and four you're dead!".

24d   Wordplay's clear, // its contents seasonal? (6)

The wordplay is PUN (wordplay) + ('s; contraction for has) NET (clear; financially speaking).

Punnet^[5] is a British term for a small light basket or other container for fruit or vegetables ⇒ a punnet of strawberries.

27d   Good affordable starter home /generating/ profit (4)

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

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