Friday, September 18, 2015 — DT 27772

Published on September 19, 2015 but backdated to maintain sequence.

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27772
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, April 10, 2015
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27772]
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

Not only did I fail to recognize that this puzzle is a pangram (the solution contains at least one instance of every letter of the alphabet), I needed help from my electronic assistants to finish. I fell for the ruse of looking for an old French king and failed to identify the correct type of wood.

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   Illumination /needed/,  peacekeepers being involved in insult (8)

"peacekeepers" = UN (show explanation )

The United Nations^[5] (abbreviation UN) is an international organization of countries set up in 1945, in succession to the League of Nations, to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

The UN Security Council bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security, and may call on members to take action, chiefly peacekeeping action, to enforce its decisions.

hide explanation

The word "needed" serves as framework in the clue (similar in function to a link word). The phrase "illumination needed" is equivalent to saying "the solution is a synonym for illumination".

5a and 2 Down:   A male in charge with less feeling /could be/ 79, thinking of gold! (6,6)

"in charge" = IC (show explanation )

The abbreviation i/c^[5] can be short for either

1. (especially in military contexts) in charge of ⇒ the Quartermaster General is i/c rations; or
2. in command ⇒ 2 i/c = second in command.

hide explanation

A tom^[5] is the male of various animals, especially a domestic cat [although Deep Threat chooses to think of it as a man's name].

"Number" is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of 'more numb'.

Gold^[5] is a yellow precious metal, the chemical element of atomic number 79, used in jewellery and decoration and to guarantee the value of currencies.

9a   Start // trading, but with number not right (8)

10a   Quiet prayer exuding love /in/ place with chaplain? (6)

"quiet" = P (show explanation )

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

hide explanation

Orison^[5] (usually orisons) is an archaic term for a prayer.

"love" = O (show explanation )

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).

hide explanation

12a   Deal unwisely /in/ public, getting what's dear, terribly (9)

In his review, Deep Threat tells us that the first part of the solution is "a word for open or in public". I would suggest that it actually should be "a word for open or public". I believe "in public" means overtly.

13a   Sound /bringing/ tingle, hard to miss (5)

14a   Last character to come to a particular // area (4)

16a   International organisation certain /to be/ free (7)

"international organization" = UN (show explanation )

The United Nations^[5] (abbreviation UN) is an international organization of countries set up in 1945, in succession to the League of Nations, to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

hide explanation

19a   Winger in side cross and reported /for being/ 'agitated' (7)

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, winger[5] means an attacking player on the wing in soccer, hockey, and other sports and side . Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒ there was a mixture of old and young players in their side. [note that a player is "in a side" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America]

21a   Some walker turned back -- // arduous journey (4)

24a   Demonstration /of/ strength of spirit (5)

25a   Who are sacked, having got employment /in/ store? (9)

Here store^[5] is a place where things are kept for future use or sale ⇒ a grain store — not a place where things are sold.

While in North America, a shop of any size or kind is known as a store^[5], in Britain only shops of a certain size or kind would be called a store^[5]. These are specifically:

1. a large shop selling different types of goods ⇒ DIY [do-it-yourself] stores; or
2. a shop selling basic necessities ⇒ a well-stocked village store.

In Britain, most places where goods or services are sold would be termed a shop^[5].

27a   A second kitchen item // gone missing (6)

28a   Workers catching bus set out /to be/ old-style breadwinners? (8)

29a   Surpass // the has-been tennis player, by the sound of it? (6)

The solution sounds like EX-SEED (has-been tennis player).

30a   Yours truly having a fantastic feast? Food may come from here (4,4)

Meat safe^[5] is a historical British term for a cupboard or cover of wire gauze or a similar material, used for storing meat.

Down

1d   District /with/ hill that's dry on top (6)

A tor^[7] is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.

Sec^[5] is an adjective (used to describe wine) meaning dry.

2d   See 5 Across

3d   Clumsy // in gym, grabbing end of horse (5)

"gym" = PT (show explanation )

PT^[5] is the abbreviation [British, according to Oxford Dictionaries Online] for physical training^[5], the systematic use of exercises to promote bodily fitness and strength.

hide explanation

Scratching the Surface
Horse[5] is short for vaulting horse[5], a padded wooden block used for vaulting over by gymnasts and athletes.

4d   Form of therapy introduced into animal // area (7)

ECT^[5] is the abbreviation for electroconvulsive therapy^[5], the treatment of mental illness by the application of electric shocks to the brain ⇒ a course of electroconvulsive therapy.

The hectare^[5] is a metric unit of square measure, equal to 100 ares (2.471 acres or 10,000 square metres).

6d   Revolver with something groovy on it? (9)

7d   Feel the absence of wood, said /to bring/ aura (8)

8d   Finish /with/ trick element in crossword, word finally being nailed (8)

As a containment indicator, nail^[5] is used in the informal sense to detect or catch (someone, especially a suspected criminal) ⇒ have you nailed the killer?.

11d   Old King /of/ France's game spanning hours (4)

Jeu^[8] is a French word meaning game.

Jehu^[5] (842–815 BC) was a king of Israel. He was famous for driving his chariot furiously (2 Kings 9).

15d   From which you could get a Ted // from a previous era (3,2,4)

Deep Threat calls this a reverse anagram while I prefer the term inverse anagram. No matter, it amounts to the same thing. The solution (OUT OF DATE) could be an anagram (out) of DATE providing the result A TED which is found in the clue.

Having the anagram indicator and fodder in the solution and the result in the clue is the inverse of the normal situation in which the indicator and fodder would be found in the clue and the result in the solution.

Scratching the Surface

Ted[2] is short for Teddy boy[5], a slang term originally applied to a young man belonging to a subculture in 1950s Britain characterized by a style of dress based on Edwardian fashion (typically with drainpipe trousers, bootlace tie, and hair slicked up in a quiff (show explanation ) and a liking for rock-and-roll music.The name comes from from Teddy, pet form of the given name Edward (with reference to Edward VII's reign). Judging by the entry in the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, it would appear that the term Teddy boy[2] is now applied to any unruly or rowdy adolescent male. Quiff[3,4] is a chiefly British term for a prominent tuft of hair, especially one brushed up above the forehead. hide explanation

17d   Mode of transport // to leak, we hear, on road (8)

18d   Actor is beginning to corpse -- awkward // problem (8)

An acrostic^[5] is a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words.

Scratching the Surface
Corpse[5] is theatrical slang meaning to spoil a piece of acting by forgetting one’s lines or laughing uncontrollably ⇒ Peter just can’t stop himself corpsing when he is on stage.

20d   The way characters here are going to be // sad (4)

21d   Anguish /brought by/ run going up over river (7)

I initially tried using "over" as a containment indicator, with TROT going up containing (over) MEN to give TOR(MEN)T (anguish). Of course, my search for the River Men — or event the River Nem — provided fruitless.

The River Ure^[7] is a stream in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse.

22d   Country /making/ money (6)

I initially attempted to make this Ruanda^[10] — another name for Rwanda^[10], a republic in central Africa. While it fit the first definition, it failed the second test.

Guinea^[5] is a country on the west coast of Africa; population 10,058,000 (est. 2009); languages, French (official), Fulani, Susu, Malinke, and others; capital, Conakry. Part of a feudal Fulani empire from the 16th century, Guinea was colonized by France, becoming part of French West Africa. It became an independent republic in 1958.

Guinea^[5] (abbreviation gn.) is:

1. a British term for the sum of £1.05 (21 shillings in pre-decimal currency), now used mainly for determining professional fees and auction prices; or
2. historically, a former British gold coin that was first minted in 1663 from gold imported from West Africa, with a value that was later fixed at 21 shillings. It was replaced by the sovereign from 1817.

23d   Writers with little English repeated // thought in French (6)

Pensée^[5] (French word for 'thought') has been adopted into English to mean a thought or reflection put into literary form; an aphorism ⇒ an unpretentious collection of comic pensées.

26d   Uniform // practice (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