Wednesday, February 4, 2015 — DT 27578

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27578
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27578]
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

Today we get a puzzle that is a little more difficult than yesterday's offering but considerably less of a challenge than those presented to us on the previous two days.

I wonder if this mystery setter may be an expat American. As in 1d today, he frequently manages to introduce Americanisms into his puzzles which elicit an outcry from the Brits.

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   A tendency // at sea (6)

4a   Paper associated with a union? (8)

10a   Bird /causing/ one to talk on street (9)

The stonechat^[5] is any of several species of small Old World songbird of the thrush family, having bold markings and a call like two stones being knocked together.

11a   Some buying (or selling) // an evergreen shrub (5)

Gorse^[5] is any of several species of yellow-flowered shrub of the pea family, the leaves of which are modified to form spines, native to western Europe and North Africa.

12a   Vocalist going about with // regular partygoer? (7)

In the definition, I would say that regular^[2,5,10] is likely being used in a dated, informal sense denoting complete or absolute (used as an intensifier for emphasis) ⇒ That child is a regular little monster. As such, it indicates that the actions or state of the person or thing so described exceed normal bounds (i.e., they would likely be considered to be anything but regular or normal). The setter further emphasizes this point by placing a question mark at the end of the definition.

Swinger^[5] is an informal term for someone who is promiscuous, especially by engaging in group sex or swapping sexual partners.

13a   Letters to a celeb, // cool and masculine, it’s said (3,4)

14a   Bar of gold // I obtained around noon originally (5)

15a   A Jamaican port, // or I choose slightly reduced rum (4,4)

Rum^[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

Ocho Rios^[7] (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") is a town on the north coast of Jamaica. Just outside the city is Columbus Park, where Columbus supposedly first came on land. Once a fishing village, it is now a tourist resort, a port of call for cruise ships, and a loading port for cargo ships.

Delving Deeper
The name "Ocho Rios" is a misnomer because there are not eight rivers in the area. It is most likely a British corruption of the original Spanish name "Las Chorreras" ("the waterfalls"), a name given to the village because of the nearby Dunn's River Falls.

18a   Ambassador meeting newly-weds /in/ British isles (8)

Note that "isles" is not capitalized.

HE^[2] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency^[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.

The Hebrides^[5] is a group of about 500 islands off the northwestern coast of Scotland. The Inner Hebrides include the islands of Skye, Mull, Jura, Islay, Iona, Coll, Eigg, Rhum, Staffa, and Tiree. The Little Minch separates this group from the Outer Hebrides, which include the islands of Lewis and Harris, North and South Uist, Benbecula, Barra, and the isolated St Kilda group.

Behind the Picture
In case you are scratching your head over the illustration in Gazza's review, the two fellows are "he brides" (gay marriage partners).

20a   Operatic heroine // common? Not quite (5)

Norma^[7] is an opera by Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835) with libretto by Italian poet Felice Romani (1788–1865). It was first produced at La Scala in Milan in 1831.

23a   I am finished with old // painting technique (7)

Impasto^[5] is the process or technique of laying on paint or pigment thickly so that it stands out from a surface.

25a   Casual // worker, not switched on at first (7)

26a   District housing new // stadium (5)

27a   Duke, // duke wife's divorced (9)

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington^[5] (1769–1852) was a British soldier and Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister from 1828–30 and again in 1834. Known as the Iron Duke, he served as commander of the British forces in the Peninsular War (1808–14) and in 1815 defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, so ending the Napoleonic Wars.

Delving Deeper

The Iron Duke's marriage ended with the death of his wife in 1831 and not through divorce. Their marriage had been rather unsatisfactory — at least from his perspective. They lived apart for most of the time and occupied separate rooms in the house when they were together. Wellesley confided to a friend that he had "repeatedly tried to live in a friendly manner with her...but it was impossible...& it drove him to seek that comfort & happiness abroad that was denied him at home";

Duke Ellington^[5] (1899–1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader; born Edward Kennedy Ellington. Coming to fame in the early 1930s, Ellington wrote over 900 compositions and was one of the first popular musicians to write extended pieces. Notable works: Mood Indigo (1930).

28a   Fail to keep backing during meeting, /being/ without friends? (8)

29a   Unreal shot // of the nervous system (6)

Down

1d   Hit man // when given cheek at home (8)

Scratching the Surface

The setter has clearly chosen to spell "hit man" as two words so that it can serve as a verb and its object in the surface reading. My dictionaries seem unable to achieve a consensus on whether this killer is a hit man or a hitman. Oxford Dictionaries Online lists the spelling as only hitman[5] while the American Heritage Dictionary, Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, and Collins English Dictionary (2003 Edition) have it as only hit man[2,3,4]. The Collins English Dictionary (2015 Edition) — contrary to its 2003 Edition — and Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary take a position on the fence by listing both spellings[10,11]. Surprisingly, The Chambers Dictionary — supposedly the "Bible" for the Daily Telegraph puzzles — lists only hitman.

Commentary on Commentary
In comment #5 at Big Dave's blog, Rabbit Dave says ''I am sorry to say that I didn’t like the use of US slang in 1d". In comment #19, skempie also alludes to this "Americanism".
He is referring to the word "sass". A Brit would have said "sauce". Sass[5] is an informal North American term for impudence or cheek ⇒ the kind of boy that wouldn’t give you any sass. Sauce[5] is an informal, chiefly British term for impertinence or cheek ⇒ ‘None of your sauce,’ said Aunt Edie.

2d   Boarding // train, first to leave in middle of night (7)

3d   Warplane circling about /does for/ cargo ship (9)

Scratching the Surface
Do for[10] means to to cause the ruin, death, or defeat of   ⇒ the last punch did for him. This is not a turn of phrase with which I am familiar and I must say that it grates on my ear. I might have said  the last punch did him in.

5d   Stars are so // excellent (3,2,4,5)

6d   Cigarette lit /for/ gang leader (5)

In Britain, the adverb in^[10] (with reference to a fire) means alight ⇒ do you keep the fire in all night?.

Fagin^[7] is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. He is the leader of a group of children, the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates among them, whom he teaches to make their livings by pickpocketing and other criminal activities, in exchange for a roof over their heads.

7d   Whirlwind // ripped a door half off (7)

8d   Designs must include large // examples (6)

9d   Novelist heading off for estuary cut off /in/ a place full of trees (8,6)

This was my last one in — and it nearly did for me.

Christopher Isherwood^[5] (1904–1986) was a British-born American novelist. Notable novels: Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935), Goodbye to Berlin (1939; filmed as Cabaret, 1972).

Est.^[1] is the abbreviation for estuary.

Sherwood Forest^[7] is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous by its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood.

Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve today encompasses 423.2 hectares, (1,045 acres) surrounding the village of Edwinstowe. The forest that most people associate with Sherwood Forest is actually named Birklands and Bilhaugh. It is a remnant of an older, much larger, royal hunting forest, which derived its name from its status as the shire (or sher) wood of Nottinghamshire.

Delving Deeper

A royal forest[7] is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land. Under the Norman kings (after 1066), by royal prerogative forest law was widely applied. The law was designed to protect the venison and the vert, the "noble" animals of the chase – notably red and fallow deer, the roe, and the wild boar – and the greenery that sustained them. Forests were designed as hunting areas reserved for the monarch or (by invitation) the aristocracy . The concept was introduced by the Normans to England in the 11th century, and at the height of this practice in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, fully one-third of the land area of southern England was designated as royal forest. Afforestation (the establishment of Royal forests) figured large in the folk history of the "Norman Yoke", which magnified what was already a grave social ill: "the picture of prosperous settlements disrupted, houses burned, peasants evicted, all to serve the pleasure of the foreign tyrant, is a familiar element in the English national story". Forest law prescribed harsh punishment for anyone who committed any of a range of offences within the forests; by the mid-17th century, enforcement of this law had died out, but many of England's woodlands still bear the title Royal Forest. In addition to woodland, Royal forests usually included large areas of heath, grassland and wetland – anywhere that supported deer and other game. In addition, when an area was designated forest, any villages, towns and fields that lay within it also became subject to forest law. This could foster resentment as the local inhabitants were then restricted in the use of land they had previously relied upon for their livelihoods.

16d   Protect // telephone receiver (4-5)

Ring-fence^[5] is a verb meaning to enclose (a piece of land) with a ring fence^[5] — which is a fence completely enclosing a farm or piece of land. Ring-fence^[5] is also a British term meaning to guarantee that funds allocated for a particular purpose will not be spent on anything else ⇒ the government failed to ring-fence the money provided to schools.

17d   Principal // character in a line (8)

19d   Speak // fast (7)

21d   Race around on hill -- // that generates energy (7)

Remember to mentally insert the word "something" before the word "that" in the definition.

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

22d   Genius // is reportedly in charge (6)

24d   Southern shopping centre, // limited in size (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