Friday, September 11, 2015 — DT 27765

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27765
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, April 2, 2015
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27765]
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

It didn't immediately register that I had done this puzzle before. Then gradually it began to dawn on me that parts of it seemed familiar. For a while, though, I did fear that I might need to resort to electronic help to complete it. However, I persevered and finished on my own.

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   House cleric organised /for/ partial figure (10)

According to both Collins English Dictionary and Oxford Dictionaries Online, semi^[5,10] is an informal British term for a semi-detached house ⇒ a three-bedroomed semi. However, one frequently sees this usage in Canada, although we would surely say ⇒ a three-bedroom semi.

6a   Disagreeable // family creating fairytales, we hear (4)

The Brothers Grimm^[5], Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were German philologists and folklorists. In 1852 the brothers jointly inaugurated a dictionary of German on historical principles, which was eventually completed by other scholars in 1960. They also compiled an anthology of German fairy tales, which appeared in three volumes between 1812 and 1822.

9a   Country // lawyer featuring in paper (5)

In the US, a district attorney^[5] (abbreviation DA) is a public official who acts as prosecutor for the state in a particular district.

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

10a   One in lodge // scrawling forenames (9)

A lodge^[5] is a branch or meeting place of an organization such as the Freemasons.

A Freemason^[5] is a member of an international order established for mutual help and fellowship, which holds elaborate secret ceremonies. The original free masons were itinerant skilled stonemasons of the 14th century, who are said to have recognized fellow craftsmen by secret signs. Modern freemasonry is usually traced to the formation of the Grand Lodge in London in 1717; members are typically professionals and businessmen.

12a   It made one smart on board in the main? (3-1-4-5)

A cat-o'-nine-tails^[5] is a rope whip with nine knotted cords, formerly used (especially at sea) to flog offenders.

14a   Room Serb fashioned /for/ headwear (8)

15a   Coverage obtained in Germany for aircraft (6)

17a   Foreign correspondent not available for meeting? (3,3)

19a   Plain // verbal wit from a former PM? (8)

Sir Alec Douglas-Home^[5], Baron Home of the Hirsel of Coldstream (1903–1995) was a British Conservative statesman, Prime Minister 1963-4. When Douglas-Home became Prime Minister he relinquished his hereditary peerage.

What did I say?
In my review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I offered black, sticky stuff from John as a parallel construct. Sir John Major[5] is a British Conservative statesman, Prime Minister 1990-7.

21a   Daughter into volunteering possibly // given to excess? (13)

24a   Rank // attacking action (9)

25a   Tone // adopted by cretin generally (5)

As a hidden word indicator, "adopted" is interpreted as 'taken in'.

26a   Shout, // 'Previously you should take left and left again' (4)

What idiot blogged this puzzle on Big Dave's site?

Clearly the hint should have read "start with an archaic form of the second person pronoun and append a double helping of lefts".

27a   Night-time comforts /provided by/ feast in county (10)

Beds^[10] is the abbreviation for Bedfordshire^[5], a county of south central England; county town, Bedford.

What did he say?
In my review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I suggested that the clue might be referring to a feast of clangers. The traditional nickname for people from Bedfordshire is "Clangers", deriving from a local dish comprising a suet crust pastry filled with meat in one end and jam in the other.[7]

Down

1d   Piece of ribbon // put under second tree (4)

The wordplay must be interpreted as "put under second, tree" or, in a less convoluted construction, "put tree under second".

2d   Instant maxim with time forgotten // a bit (7)

Mo^[5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal, chiefly British term for a short period of time ⇒ hang on a mo!.

3d   Dismay // one inside with austere allowance that's not right (13)

I think it took me just as long — if not longer — to figure out the wordplay in this clue the second time around.

4d   Whistleblower in Eastern network, // source of valued stuff? (8)

5d   An extension to being out? (3-2)

Lie-in^[5] is a British expression for a prolonged stay in bed in the morning ⇒ your mother is having a lie-in this morning.

7d   Cancel // note on small college in Germany (7)

In music (specifically, in tonic sol-fa), re^[5] is the second note of a major scale. In Britain, where the most common spelling is ray^[5], this is seen as a variant spelling.

"college" = C (show explanation )

According to The Chambers Dictionary, c^[1] (or c.) is the abbreviation for college.

hide explanation

"Germany" = D (show explanation )

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Germany is D^[5] [from German Deutschland].

hide explanation

8d   None merits exotic // soup (10)

11d   Let me tote card freely? // It's needed for security (5,8)

13d   Making cross a subject in this study? (10)

With all the checking letters in place, I was finally able to dredge up the missing letters from the deep, dark recesses of my mind.

Psephology^[5] is the statistical study of elections and trends in voting.

16d   Lacking ambition // like one that's poor when striking? (8)

In sporting contexts, strike^[5] means to hit or kick (a ball) ⇒ he struck the ball into the back of the net. In soccer, a forward or attacking player is known as a striker^[5].

A football [soccer] player who is poor when striking might well find himself goalless.

18d   Oral work by female university student /is/ requisite (7)

"university" = U (show explanation )

U^[5] is a symbol for university.

hide explanation

"student" = L (show explanation )

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

hide explanation

This time the student driver is not a phantom.

20d   Plant // one favoured beside college area (7)

"college" = UNI (show explanation )

Uni^[5] is an informal [seemingly British] term for university ⇒ he planned to go to uni.

I suppose college and university are considered to be the same thing since, in Britain, college^[5] can refer to any of the independent institutions into which certain universities are separated, each having its own teaching staff, students, and buildings ⇒ the Oxford colleges. 

Thus, if you go to Oxford, you actually attend one of the several constituent colleges that make up Oxford University.

hide explanation

22d   Impulse /shown in/ organised campaign (5)

23d   'Pet Sounds' /discovered in/ a small way? (4)

Mews^[5] is a British term for a row or street of houses or flats [apartments] that have been converted from stables or built to look like former stables. Such a street is typically short, thus "a small way".

Scratching the Surface

Pet Sounds[7] is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys. Released in 1966, it initially met a lukewarm critical and commercial reception in the United States, but received immediate success abroad, where British publications declared it "the most progressive pop album ever". It charted at number two in the UK but number ten in the US, a significantly lower placement than the band's preceding albums. In later years, the album garnered enormous worldwide acclaim by critics and musicians alike, and is regarded as one of the most influential pieces in the history of popular music.

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