Tuesday, September 15, 2015 — DT 27769

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27769
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27769]
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
Notes
The National Post has skipped DT 27768 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, April 6, 2015.

Introduction

The National Post has skipped yet another puzzle. The puzzle presented today is definitely on the easier side and has a discernible American flavour — or should that be flavor.

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   What may be said on meeting // difficult situation? (3-2-3-2)

How-do-you-do^[5,10,11] (also how-de-do or how-d'ye-do) is an informal, old-fashioned expression denoting an awkward, messy, or annoying situation ⇒ a fine how-do-you-do that would be!

The first part of the clue has not been underlined as it is not considered to be a definition due to the hyphenation not matching that shown in the numeration. However, this point may be open to debate.

In his review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza says "without the hyphens this is a formal greeting in the form of a question". That very much depends on which dictionary one consults. His contention is supported by The Chambers Dictionary^[1], Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2], Collins English Dictionary (2015 edition)^[10], and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary^[11]. However, Oxford Dictionaries Online^[5] has both senses of the phrase spelled with hyphens while Collins English Dictionary (2003 edition)^[4] has both senses spelled without hyphens.

6a   A young woman lacking finish, // unfortunately (4)

9a   Turned over winner's medal -- // it's not 22 carat (6,4)

Rolled gold^[10] (known in the US as filled gold) is a metal, such as brass, coated with a thin layer of gold [applied by rolling^[5]], usually of above 9 carat purity. It is used in inexpensive jewellery. The preferred term is now gold-plated^[2].

10a   Ruler /from/ east, on edge going west (4)

Emir^[5] (also spelled amir) is a title of various Muslim (mainly Arab) rulers ⇒ HRH the Emir of Kuwait.

12a   Considerably old // Portuguese port (4)

Faro^[7] is the capital of the Algarve region, in southern Portugal. It is the southernmost city in Continental Portugal. Tourism and related activities are extensive, with the Algarve^[7] being the most popular tourist destination in Portugal, and one of the most popular in Europe.

13a   Difficult experience /seeing/ cavalier heading off on horse (9)

Cavalier^[2] is an archaic term for a horseman or knight.

Convention Contravention

This clue contravenes the convention that, in an across clue, the construction "A on B" is used to clue B + A. The rationale for this practice is that in order for A to be placed on B, B must already exist (i.e., already have been written). Since the English language is written from left to right, this means that B must come first and A is then be appended to it. In the above clue, NIGHT (cavalier heading off) corresponds to A and MARE (horse) corresponds to B. Thus, according to the convention, NIGHT on MARE should produce MARENIGHT, not NIGHTMARE. Notwithstanding the above, a solver must always be vigilant for setters who flout convention.

15a   Charged // boy the Parisian court's imprisoned (8)

"the Parisian" = LE (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le^[8].

hide explanation

"court" = CT (show explanation )

Ct^[2] is the abbreviation for Court in street addresses — and possibly in other contexts as well.

hide explanation

Behind the Illustration

The illustration depicts a very young Eric Idle. Eric Idle[7] is an English comedian, actor, author, singer-songwriter, musician, writer and comedic composer. Idle is a member of the English surreal comedy group Monty Python, a member of The Rutles on Saturday Night Live, and the author of the Broadway musical Spamalot. Note: The reference to Saturday Night Live in the above citation would seem to be nothing short of  ridiculous. The Rutles[7] association with Saturday Night Live extends to two guest appearances on the American television program (in 1976 and 1977). This is like saying that John Lennon was a member of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.

16a   Finally // book foremost of trips (2,4)

18a   Picked up // stole (6)

20a   Most of natural talent displayed on Caribbean island // mountain (3,5)

Nevis^[5] is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, part of St Kitts and Nevis; capital, Charlestown.

Ben Nevis^[5] is a mountain in western Scotland. Rising to 1,343 m (4,406 ft), it is the highest mountain in the British Isles.

23a   Drink /associated with/ Victorian tramp? (9)

I didn't quite get the "Victorian" association correct. I supposed that we were confronted with a drink from the Victorian era and an Australian tramp. However, we are actually dealing with a drink and a tramp from the Australian state of Victoria.

Sundowner^[5] is an informal British term for an alcoholic drink taken at sunset.

Sundowner^[5] is a dated Australian and New Zealand term for a tramp arriving at a sheep station in the evening under the pretence of seeking work, so as to obtain food and shelter.

24a   Painful, // my leaving Indian city (4)

Mysore^[5] is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka; population 1,042,400 (est. 2009). It was the capital of the princely state of Mysore and is noted for the production of silk, incense, and sandalwood oil.

26a   A practice // on the opponents' ground (4)

Ground^[5] denotes an area of land, often with associated buildings, used for a particular sport ⇒ (i) a football ground; (ii) Liverpool’s new ground is nearing completion.

27a   Plays with barking Alpine // dog (3,7)

As an anagram indicator, barking^[5] is used in an informal British sense meaning completely mad or demented ⇒ (i) we are all a bit barking; (ii) has she gone completely barking mad?.

28a   Organ -- new // make (4)

29a   Sometimes // won hand with ten, after twisting (3,3,4)

What did he say?

In his review, Gazza says the surface relates to the card game pontoon or vingt-et-un. Pontoon[5] is a British name for the card game blackjack or vingt-et-un ⇒ he got me to go into his room for a hand of pontoon. Pontoon[7] is a name shared by two distinct card games, both BlackJack variants. For those in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, Pontoon is a card game similar to MatchPlay 21 or Spanish 21, while in the UK, a game of Pontoon holds closer to the traditional BlackJack rules, but can be quickly distinguished by the verbal usage of the terms "twist" and "stick". The British BlackJack variant called Pontoon is played in the UK and Commonwealth with single 52-card decks. British Pontoon uses the terms "twist" (hit), "stick" (stand) and "buy" (double the bet, not to be confused with doubling down) and a different set of rules. The rules for buying in Pontoon include allowing the player to buy on any hand of 2 to 4 cards, allowing the player to twist after he buys.

Down

1d   Injure // top of head and limb (4)

Top^[10] is used in the sense of the beginning ⇒ (i) the top of the hour; (ii) at the top of the programme; (iii) okay, let's run through it once more from the top.

2d   Fence associated with brilliant // crime writer (7)

Edgar Wallace^[5] (1875–1932) was an English novelist, screenwriter, and dramatist, noted for his crime novels.

3d   What a tea drinker often says /is/ a farce? (3,3,3,3)

"One for the pot" is an expression used when making tea; put a teaspoonful of dried tea for each person to be served plus one extra, for the pot. This is to make sure it is strong enough.

The Whitehall farces^[7] were a series of five long-running comic stage plays at the Whitehall Theatre in London, presented by the actor-manager Brian Rix, in the 1950s and '60s. They were in the low comedy tradition of British farce, following the Aldwych farces, which played at the Aldwych Theatre between 1924 and 1933.

The fourth of these, One for the Pot, premiered in August 1961 and closed in July 1964 after 1210 performances.

4d   Dress material /in/ orange I'd ordered (8)

Organdie^[5] (US organdy) is a fine translucent cotton muslin that is usually stiffened and is used for women’s clothing ⇒ brides in flounced organdie gowns.

5d   Tug sunk in river // flood (6)

The Dee^[5] is a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen. Another river of the same name — mentioned by Gazza in his review — rises in North Wales and flows past Chester and on into the Irish Sea.

7d   Greek character holding a // dance (7)

Lambda^[5] is the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet (Λ, λ).

 The lambada^[5] is a fast erotic Brazilian dance which couples perform in close physical contact.

8d   Guard on Hampshire river /in/ trial filming (6,4)

The River Test^[7] is a river in Hampshire, England. It has a total length of 40 miles (64 km) and it flows through downland from its source near Ashe to the sea at the head of Southampton Water. In its upper reaches it is a chalk stream, and is used for fly fishing for trout. The river plays a significant part in Richard Adams' novel Watership Down.

11d   Borough, // region close to Manhattan, is alight (6,6)

Staten Island^[5] is an island borough of New York City, in the south-west of the city; population 487,407 (2008).

14d   Property // not supposed to be put on top of car (4,6)

In the UK, estate^[5] is short for estate car^[5], the British name for a station wagon^[5].

17d   Break ranks? Abe // Lincoln's here (8)

Lincoln^[5] is the state capital of Nebraska; population 251,624 (est. 2008). Founded as Lancaster in 1856, it was made state capital in 1867 and renamed in honour of Abraham Lincoln.

Scratching the Surface
Abraham Lincoln[5] (1809–1865) was an American Republican statesman, 16th President of the US 1861-5.

19d   Centre in Telford, not just // a pleasure ground (7)

Funfair^[5] is a chiefly British term for a fair consisting of rides, sideshows, and other amusements ⇒ (i) a travelling funfair set up every year; (ii) a funfair ride.

Scratching the Surface
Telford[5] is a town in Shropshire, west central England, to the east of Shrewsbury; population 161,700 (est. 2007).

21d   Disappear after pinching king/'s/ shiny coat (7)

"king" = R (show explanation )

Rex^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

hide explanation

22d   Completely // at home, toddler with duck (2,4)

"duck" = O (show explanation )

In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game. In British puzzles, duck is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.

hide explanation

25d   Is able to house large // family (4)

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