Thursday, February 12, 2015 — DT 27584

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27584
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27584]
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

The Brits like to use the expression "horses for courses" (meaning that particular race horses are more suited to certain race courses than are others) to explain the widely varied perceptions of solvers when it comes to the level of difficulty of puzzles. Such has been the case over the last couple of days. I found yesterday's puzzle (rated a single star for difficulty by Miffypops) to be a bit of an ordeal whereas today's puzzle (assessed as being three star difficulty by Gazza) proved to be much less of a challenge.

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

Fancy a Taste of Australia?

Should you wish to expand your cryptic crossword horizons and feel like a break from British puzzles, you might be interested in visiting David Stickley's Australian Crosswords blog. David has been setting crosswords professionally since 1995. On his blog, he provides a weekly cryptic crossword. As a nice touch, he accompanies the puzzle with an explanation of Australian vernacular appearing in 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   Foresee // resistance after Putin's first order (7)

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

Scratching the Surface
Vladimir Putin[5] is a Russian statesman, President 2000-2008 and 2012 to present, Prime Minister 2008–2012.

5a   The Entertainer, for example, almost perfectly // jolly (7)

I was very slow to get this as, like Kath [who comments on Big Dave's blog], I did not know the play but did know the Scott Joplin piece^[7].

The Entertainer^[7] is a three-act play by English playwright John Osborne (1929–1994), first produced in 1957. His first play, Look Back in Anger, had attracted mixed notices but a great deal of publicity. Having depicted an "angry young man" in the earlier play, Osborne wrote, at Laurence Olivier's request, about an angry middle-aged man in The Entertainer. Its main character is Archie Rice, a failing music-hall performer.

9a   Old // girlfriend given diamonds (5)

Diamonds^[2] (abbreviation D^[2]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

10a   Matches -- // each golfer is after a decent score (9)

Ernie Els^[7] is a South African professional golfer, who has been one of the top professional players in the world since the mid-1990s.

In golf, par is (1) the number of strokes a first-class player should normally require for a particular hole or course ⇒ (i) Woosnam had advanced from his overnight position of three under par; (ii) the sixteenth is a par five or (2) a par score at a hole ⇒ a card that showed 16 pars, one eagle, and one birdie.

11a   Forced // frail cat I upset to eat one (10)

12a   Stable // bank, by the sound of it (4)

14a   Liberty/'s/ desire for some Scotch? (12)

Scotch^[5] is a dated term for the people of Scotland or the form of English spoken in Scotland.

Notes on Usage

The use of Scotch to mean ‘relating to Scotland or its people’ is disliked by Scottish people and is now uncommon, although it survives in fixed expressions like Scotch egg and Scotch whisky.[5] The terms Scottish, Scot, Scots, and Scotch are all variants of the same word. They have had different histories, however, and in modern English they have developed different uses and connotations. The normal everyday word used to mean ‘of or relating to Scotland or its people’ is Scottish, as in Scottish people; Scottish hills; Scottish Gaelic; or she’s English, not Scottish. The normal, neutral word for ‘a person from Scotland’ is Scot, along with Scotsman, Scotswoman, and the plural form the Scots (or, less commonly, the Scottish). The word Scotch, meaning either ‘of or relating to Scotland’ or ‘a person/the people from Scotland’, was widely used in the past by Scottish writers such as Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. It is now less common, being disliked by many Scottish people (as being an ‘English’ invention) and now regarded as old-fashioned in most contexts. It survives in certain fixed phrases, as for example Scotch broth, Scotch mist, and Scotch whisky. Scots is used, like Scottish, as an adjective meaning ‘relating to Scotland’. However, it tends to be used in a narrower sense to refer specifically to the form of English spoken and used in Scotland, as in a Scots accent or the Scots word for ‘night’.[5]

The Scottish independence referendum^[7] was a referendum on Scottish independence that took place in Scotland on 18 September 2014 [just slightly more than two weeks following the publication of this puzzle in The Daily Telegraph].

The independence referendum question, which voters answered with "Yes" or "No", was "Should Scotland be an independent country?". The "No" side won, with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the introduction of universal suffrage.

18a   Building // prisoner's training in to get released (12)

21a   Head/'s/ idle (4)

As is often the case, it is a four-letter word that proved to be my downfall. Before calling in electronic backup, I considered a number of possibilities, among them LEAD (head) and LAZY (idle).

Loaf^[10] is British slang for head or sense arising from loaf of bread being rhyming slang for 'head'. It is found, for instance, in the informal British expression use one's loaf^[5] meaning to use one's common sense.

Delving Deeper
Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in Cockney rhyming slang. Similarly, loaf — short for loaf of bread — means 'head'.

22a   Work attitude /creates/ hostility (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.

25a   Youngsters // get a sneer when dressed up (9)

26a   Annoyed // at getting into rage (5)

27a   Show a high regard for // detail (7)

28a   Students initially notice head/'s/ misery (7)

Usually found in place names, ness^[5] means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

Down

1d   Dill regularly stocked by fruit // seller (6)

2d   Character I'd cut out // being (6)

3d   Uncertain // to order dinner if tie not right (10)

4d   Subject // to choice? Not quite (5)

5d   Awful temper with nan // going on and on (9)

Scratching the Surface
Nan[5] is an informal British term for one's grandmother.

6d   Skilled // Liberal Democrat losing his head (4)

Vince Cable^[7] is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the British cabinet since 2010.

Delving Deeper

In the UK, the Liberal Democrats[5] are a political party (formerly the Social and Liberal Democrats) formed from the Liberal Party and members of the Social Democratic Party. Following the 2010 general election in Britain (in which no party achieved a majority), the Liberal Democrats[7] formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party, with Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister and other Liberal Democrats taking up ministerial positions.

7d   Visit // common (8)

8d   Starts to see the eels in large ship -- // one's likely to catch a lot (8)

13d   Dine out, breaking diet if // discovered (10)

15d   Men quite badly fixing Peugeot's first // gear (9)

Scratching the Surface
Peugeot[7] is a French car brand produced by PSA Peugeot Citroën, a French multinational manufacturer of automobiles sold under the Peugeot, Citroën and DS marques. These vehicles are sold worldwide with the exception of the United States and Canada where they apparently have not been sold since 1974.

16d   Small copper disc found on hill -- // one could carve it into something (8)

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

A tor^[5] is a hill or rocky peak.

17d   Violent illegal immigrants? // Almost the opposite around outskirts of Auckland (8)

Scratching the Surface
Auckland[5] is the largest city and chief seaport of New Zealand, in the North Island; population 404,658 (2006). It was the site of the first Parliament of New Zealand in 1854, remaining the capital until 1865.

19d   Who might appear in Treasure Island /from/ page 26 (6)

The numeral "26" in the clue is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 26a in its place to complete the clue.

20d   If not // fun, when female's gone there's a smaller amount (6)

23d   Band // in studio as I speak (5)

Oasis^[7] were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Developed from an earlier group, the Rain, the band consisted of Liam Gallagher (vocals and tambourine), Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass guitar), and Tony McCarroll (drums, percussion). They were later joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher (lead guitar and vocals) as a fifth member, becoming the band's settled line-up until April 1995. The band broke up in 2009 following a period of increasingly deteriorating relations between the Gallagher brothers culminating in a backstage altercation.

24d   Forced /to have/ flipping cheese (4)

Edam^[5] is a round Dutch cheese, typically pale yellow with a red wax coating.

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