Friday, February 27, 2015 — DT 27595

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27595
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, September 15, 2014
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27595]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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 offering from Rufus should get your Friday off to a pleasant start. I think I was lulled into a state of inattention and carelessly missed a key element of the wordplay in one clue. As for the solution that I had "incorrect", my answer was probably equally valid — or nearly so.

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   Cracked up, oddly enough (6,4)

I'm afraid I must take issue with Miffypops on two points. First, I would not call this an all-in-one clue. Rather I see it as a cryptic definition.

Second, I think the clue is to be read in the context of mental health rather than disabled equipment. If it were the latter, to me "cracked up" would signify having been involved in an accident, whereas "broken down" would indicate a mechanical failure.

Crack up^[5] is an informal term meaning to suffer an emotional breakdown under pressure ⇒ I feel I’m cracking up, always on the verge of tears.

6a   Lower // piece of iceberg? (4)

Lower is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of something that lows (moos) — in other words, a bovine animal.

A calf^[5] is a floating piece of ice detached from an iceberg.

10a   Works /and/ plays to music (5)

An opus^[10] (plural opuses or opera) is an artistic composition, especially a musical work.

In the second definition, opera is used as a collective noun denoting a musical genre rather than an individual work ⇒ Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition.

11a   Achievement of one who doesn't miss a trick (5,4)

In the game of bridge, a grand slam^[5] is the bidding and winning of all thirteen tricks.

12a   Cause amazement /to/ a holy man on his mobile (8)

Although Miffypops includes the ON as part of the anagram fodder, it can actually stand on its own with the wordplay being A + ST + ON + an anagram (mobile) of HIS.

Scratching the Surface
Mobile[5] is a British term for a mobile phone [North American cell phone[5]] ⇒ we telephoned from our mobile to theirs.

13a   Unfinished picture frame (5)

15a   Regard Shaw plays /as/ utter nonsense (7)

Eyewash^[2] [found in American as well as British dictionaries] is a colloquial, derogatory term for (1) nonsense or (2) insincere or deceptive talk.

Scratching the Surface
George Bernard Shaw[5] (1856–1950) was an Irish dramatist and writer. His best-known plays combine comedy with a questioning of conventional morality and thought; they include Man and Superman (1903), Pygmalion (1913), and St Joan (1923). A socialist, he became an active member of the Fabian Society. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.

17a   Say something quickly /and/ stagger away (4,3)

19a   Relationship // hit by drink (7)

21a   A muscle unaffected by being retracted (7)

I found the correct solution but I confess failing to realize that "unaffected by being retracted" is indicating a palindrome.

I had presumed that the setter must be implying that since the muscle is a rotator it does not extend and contract — although I would find such a contention difficult to accept. I think that a rotator must extend and contract, albeit about an axis. Consequently, I think the phrase "unaffected by being retracted" actually has nothing to do with the movement of the muscle.

I debated whether to include a dashed underline below the latter part of the clue. In the end, I decided that the phrase "unaffected by being retracted" does provide elaboration that helps to narrow the scope of the definition. In this case, the elaboration concerns the structure of the word rather than the meaning of word.

22a   Conservative-Labour // rift (5)

The Labour Party^[5] in Britain is a left-of-centre political party formed to represent the interests of ordinary working people that since the Second World War has been in power 1945–51, 1964–70, 1974-9, and 1997–2010. Arising from the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century, it replaced the Liberals as the country’s second party after the First World War.

24a   Loudmouthed female // union member to use the rod first (8)

A fishwife^[5] [found in American as well as British dictionaries] is a coarse-mannered woman who is prone to shouting ⇒ the screech of a fishwife.

27a   Hate waiting? // I'm open about one (9)

Behind the Picture

The illustration in Miffypops' review comes from one of his favourite reference soures, My First Dictionary, a blog which evolved into a book. Here is how a review in the Boston Globe described the book: In his new book “My First Dictionary: Corrupting Young Minds One Word at a Time’’ (It Books), Ross Horsley, a British librarian with a wicked sense of humor, skewers the adult world of lies and secrets, infidelities, and overindulgences. He accomplishes this by pairing cheery illustrations based on a children’s dictionary from the 1970s with his own twisted and irreverent definitions. Each word, from “abandon’’ to “zoo,’’ is used in a simply stated vignette involving adult subject matter, running the gamut from sexually transmitted diseases, pedophilia, and adultery to alcoholism, suicide, and murder. Horsley is an equal opportunity offender. © Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

28a   Appearance /of/ men, it is said (5)

29a   Flower /that's/ 18 Down (4)

The numeral "18" combined with the directional indicator "Down" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 18d in its place to complete the clue. The directional indicator is often omitted in situations like this where only a single clue starts in square 18.

Flower is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of something that flows — in other words, a river.

30a   What travellers, soldiers and clerics do (4,6)

This was my last one solved and I pondered over it for a long time before the penny dropped.

The phrase take holy orders^[5] means to become an ordained member of the clergy ⇒ his first ambition was to take holy orders.

Down

1d   Hollow sound of success in business (4)

2d   Fail to turn out as intended (9)

Like Miffypops, I initially took this to be a driving reference, writing in OVERSTEER — meaning to have a tendency to turn more sharply than intended. Fortunately, this error did not create a serious impediment to reaching my destination.

3d   Muse // a long time on uplifting part of the Bible (5)

In Greek and Roman mythology, Erato^[5] was the Muse of lyric poetry and hymns. The Muses^[5] are nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences.

4d   Trouble with fog in vessel /seeking/ shark (7)

5d   Come safely through // the elements (7)

7d   Collected maps /of/ African mountains (5)

The Atlas Mountains^[5] are a range of mountains in North Africa extending from Morocco to Tunisia in a series of chains.

8d   It could be the concern of several generations (6,4)

I had FAMILY FARM. It does fit and is almost as equally a valid answer.

9d   He will be embraced by wildly ardent // fan (8)

14d   Not a direct criminal // slander (10)

Detraction^[10] is (1) the act of discrediting or detracting from another's reputation, especially by slander; or (2) disparagement.

16d   He no longer believes /in/ a teapot's brewing (8)

An apostate^[5] is a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle ⇒ after fifty years as an apostate he returned to the faith.

18d   Behaving badly, // ejected from queue? (3,2,4)

While I suppose the second part of the clue might be considered to be a definition (as Miffypops shows it), I lean toward it being a charade in which the wordplay is OUT (ejected) + OF (from) + LINE (queue).

20d   Staff head's missed tea breaks /to obtain/ material (7)

Taffeta^[5] is a fine lustrous silk or similar synthetic fabric with a crisp texture.

21d   Favour shown to electorate (7)

A favour^[2] is a knot of ribbons worn as a badge of support for a particular team, political party, etc., although Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises this usage of favour^[5] as archaic.

A rosette^[5] is a rose-shaped decoration, typically made of ribbon, worn by supporters of a sports team or political party or awarded as a prize ⇒ the showjumping rosettes Samantha had accumulated.

In Britain, it is a common practice to wear a rosette to show one's allegiance to a sports team or political party.

23d   One way to apply a finish to education (5)

Students at Everest College recently had another method thrust upon them.

25d   It's laid down by our betters (5)

26d   Leonard's // telescope will have one (4)

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