Thursday, March 5, 2015 — DT 27599

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27599
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, September 19, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27599]
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

I thought that this puzzle packed a bit less of a punch than we usually see from Giovanni. Nevertheless, although it may be lacking in difficulty, it delivers on enjoyment.

In his introduction, Deep Threat refers to "the still United Kingdom" — an allusion to the fact that this puzzle appeared in the UK on the day following the Scottish Independence Referendum.

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   Wolves? You couldn't call them soccer players! (4)

In rugby, pack^[5] denotes a team’s forwards considered as a group ⇒ I had doubts about Swansea’s pack at the beginning of the season.

I struggled to classify this clue, eventually deciding to label it a cryptic definition consisting of a broad straight definition (solid underline) combined with a bit of cryptic elaboration (dashed underline).

Perhaps one might consider the second part of the clue (with the dashed underline) to be a second definition — in which case one might call it "definition by elimination", defining something by stating what it isn't.

Scratching the Surface
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club[7] (commonly referred to as Wolves) is an English professional football [soccer] club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. They currently compete in the Football League Championship, the second highest tier of English football.

3a   I need franc changed -- /must be/ given new money (10)

Scratching the Surface
The franc[5] is the basic monetary unit of Switzerland and several other countries, equal to 100 centimes as well as being the former basic monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg (replaced by the euro in 2002).

9a   Cry // making contact, having wasted time (4)

10a   Following // agreement, what Parisian will get involved? (10)

In French, que^[8] is an interrogative pronoun meaning 'what' — or a relative pronoun or conjunction meaning 'that'.

11a   Tabloid's monetary fund /is/ something astronomical (7)

The Sun^[7] is a daily tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland by a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

13a   Growing // good fruit to begin with (7)

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

14a   Do they also have night vision? (11)

18a   Visits planet /and/ disappears (4,2,5)

Go to earth^[5] (said of a hunted animal) means to hide in an underground burrow ⇒ the fox would go to earth and stay there till dark. In Britain and Australia, the expression go to earth^{[Cambridge Idioms Dictionary]} is used figuratively denoting to go away somewhere where people will not be able to find you ⇒ I'll go to earth in my uncle's holiday cottage until all the publicity has died down.

21a   Sinatra upset // member of royal family once (7)

Not the British Royal Family.

Scratching the Surface
Frank Sinatra[5] (1915–1998) was an American singer and actor. His many hits include ‘Night and Day’ and ‘My Way’. He won an Oscar for his role in the film From Here to Eternity (1953).

22a   Drunk at this location /offers/ defiant message (2,5)

23a   Cinema she'd done up, // given modern equipment maybe (10)

24a   Female leading ancient // church congregation (4)

25a   Fish // swirls by discharge (6,4)

Congé^[5] is an unceremonious dismissal or rejection of someone ⇒ she gives him his congé, and at the same time avows her real love for him'.

Delving Deeper

The above cited entry from Oxford Dictionaries Online shows that the English usage of the word congé does not relate directly to the modern French word congé[8] meaning vacation or leave. Rather the term actually entered late Middle English from an Old French word having a somewhat different meaning. At Comment #3 on Big Dave's blog, there is a discussion of the term French leave[5], an informal, dated term denoting absence from work or duty without permission said to derive from the French custom of leaving a dinner or ball without saying goodbye to the host or hostess. The phrase was first recorded shortly after the Seven Years War; the equivalent French expression is filer à l'Anglaise, literally 'to escape in the style of the English'.

26a   Label attached to the back of this // animal (4)

Down

1d   After game see team // somewhere by the water (8)

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage would seem to exist as well in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you..

2d   City types liable to lose their aspiration (8)

A cockney^[5] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow^[7] church). 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].

Did they really say that?

If you watch the video in Deep Threat's hint, you will repeatedly hear the phrase "keep your pecker up"[5]. This is an informal British expression meaning to remain cheerful. Pecker is probably used here in the sense 'beak, bill'. Thus the expression is somewhat akin to "keep your chin up"[5], meaning to remain cheerful in difficult circumstances. Of course, pecker[5] has quite a different connotation on this side of the pond.

4d   Vessel // to be raised, having covered bottom of sea (1-4)

An E-boat^[5] is a German torpedo boat used in the Second World War.

5d   Rebel // in south, pressing (9)

6d   Right away, obtains a bit of money, // as one falling into line (11)

7d   Minister /in/ Magic Circle? (6)

Scratching the Surface
The Magic Circle[7] is a British organisation, founded in London in 1905, dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.

8d   Advanced years /of/ magistrate receiving cheers (6)

Historically, a doge^[5] was the the chief magistrate of Venice or Genoa.

Cheers^[5] is a chiefly British expression expressing gratitude or acknowledgement for something ⇒ Billy tossed him the key. ‘Cheers, pal.’

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

12d   Voyage here and there /as/ green pirate at sea (11)

15d   Chemical // came with a diet specially formulated (9)

In chemistry, acetamide^[5] is the amide of acetic acid, a crystalline solid with a characteristic musty odour.

16d   Discharged, left // place exempt from duties (4,4)

A free port^[5] is a port area where goods in transit are exempt from customs duty.

In his review, Deep Threat defines the first word in the charade as meaning "One who has been discharged or let out". He should have said "An adjective describing one who has been discharged or let out".

17d   One could make hog speed? A different animal, more like! (8)

I missed a key element of the wordplay, thinking that the phrase "a different animal" was defining the sheepdog. However, it is the entire clue that defines the sheepdog (which does not make hogs speed, but rather makes another animal run). There is also an anagram buried in the clue (as marked by the dashed underline).

19d   Bill catches cat, one // power-driven somehow (6)

20d   Dance suggested by Tintin? (6)

The cancan^[5] is a lively, high-kicking stage dance originating in 19th-century Parisian music halls and performed by women in long skirts and petticoats.

Scratching the Surface
Tintin[7] is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé, pen name of Georges Remi (1907–1983).

22d   Very good // little son? Fancy that! (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