Tuesday, October 27, 2015 — DT 27805

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27805
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27805]
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

Apart from the English county town, the Cornish river, and the rather obscure British actress there is really little in this puzzle that should be unknown on this side of the pond. Even these came fairly easily to me. Perhaps growing up in the Annapolis Valley with communities such as Aylesford and Falmouth was of help.

Many of the commenters on Big Dave's Crossword Blog are preparing to assemble for a "Sloggers and Betters" event (a Spoonerism for a Bloggers and Setters convention) which I understand to be an excuse to get together and drink a great quantity of beer. You can see some pictures from the event here. I believe the scope of this event extends beyond The Daily Telegraph cryptic crosswords so many of those in the photos are people I am not familiar with. However, there are still plenty of familiar names for those who follow the comments on Big Dave's site and it is interesting to put a face to a name.

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   Scattered // boxes close to store (6)

4a   Weapon-holder /in/ small taxi, driven initially round block (8)

9a   At sea /in/ a launch (6)

10a   Where a golfer may be seen // heading in the right direction (2,6)

11a   Quickly // pass to the suspect (9)

13a   Conveys // object on board steamship (5)

"steamship" = SS (show explanation )

SS^[5] is the abbreviation for steamship ⇒ the SS Canberra.

hide explanation

14a   Getting // beneath station (13)

17a   Telephoned by a drunk? // That's unacceptable (6,3,4)

21a   Squabbles /caused by/ dogs mother's abandoned (5)

23a   Success with single /is/ a sort of accident (3-3-3)

A single in baseball puts the batter on first base — not even in scoring position. A single in cricket puts the batsman at the other wicket and scores a run.

24a   'Blind alley', // possibly clued as 'Close', originally (3-2-3)

Scratching the Surface
This is a rather clever clue as a close is, in actuality, a blind alley. Close[5] (often found in street names) is a British term for a residential street without through access ⇒ she lives at 12 Goodwood Close.

25a   English country // manor (6)

26a   What may be evident to east /in/ the latter part of the day? (8)

Eventide^[5] is an archaic or literary term for the end of the day or evening ⇒ the moonflower opens its white, trumpet-like flowers at eventide.

27a   Evergreen // tree with crack in it, set back (6)

The myrtle^[5] is an evergreen shrub (Myrtus communis) which has glossy aromatic foliage and white flowers followed by purple-black oval berries.

Down

1d   Is coming over about affected // seafood (6)

2d   County town /may be/ busy early, surprisingly (9)

Aylesbury^[5] is a town in south central England, the county town of Buckinghamshire; population 69,300 (est. 2008).

3d   Completely intoxicated // son's given ground (7)

5d   Cheerfulness /shown by/ soldiers after short time under canvas below bluff (11)

Here, "under canvas" is another way of saying "in a tent".

6d   US actor /and/ actress Eleanor accompanying boy (7)

Eleanor Bron^[7] is an English stage, film and television actress and author. She boasts a couple of rather unique claims to fame. Among her film appearances is the role of Ahme in the Beatles film Help! (1965); her name inspired Paul McCartney when he composed "Eleanor Rigby". She was selected for her authoritative tone to become "the voice of BT" [British Telecommunications, a provider of telephone and other telecommunications services in the UK] and can still be heard on various error messages such as "Please hang up and try again" and "The number you have dialled has not been recognised".

Charles Bronson^[7] (1921–2003), born Charles Dennis Buchinsky, was an American film and television actor.

7d   Professional wearing article, // protective garment (5)

8d   Groom ahead of time /in/ equestrian event (8)

12d   Pull out queen, say -- // this may win you instant cash (7,4)

15d   Beer, for example, // at inn -- 'bier' abroad (9)

Scratching the Surface
Bier[8] is the German word for beer.

16d   Old boy's story about opening of cocktail // bar (8)

In Britain, an old boy^[5] (abbreviation OB^[2])  is:

1. a former male student of a school or college ⇒an old boy of Banbury County School; or
2. a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒ the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards.

It is also a chiefly British affectionate form of address to a boy or man ⇒ ‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.

18d   Budding // number on climb (7)

19d   Girl ringing home /for/ forgiveness (7)

20d   Queen describing former // extension (6)

Anne^[7] (1665–1714) became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a single sovereign state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death.

The use of the word "describe" as a containment indicator is a common cryptic crossword convention. This device relies on describe^[3] being used in the sense of to trace the form or outline of ⇒ describe a circle with a compass.

Thus, in today's clue, we have ANNE (queen) containing (describing) EX (former) with the rationale for the wordplay being that the container (ANNE) forms an outline around the contained entity (EX) in a similar manner to the circumference of a circle forming an outline around the circular area contained within it.

My American dictionaries show annexe as a "chiefly British"^[3] or "especially British"^[11] alternative spelling of annex. Of course, my British dictionaries characterize annex as a "US"^[2] or "especially US"^[4,10] alternative spelling of annexe. Oxford Dictionaries breaks ranks with its British confrères by describing annexe as a chiefly British alternative spelling of annex^[5], implying that it — alone among my British dictionaries — sees annex as the primary spelling. [The entries in The Chambers Dictionary for annex and annexe are too convoluted to even attempt a rational explanation.]

22d   River, south-eastern? // Wrong (5)

The River Fal^[5] flows through Cornwall, England, rising at Pentevale on Goss Moor (between St. Columb and Roche) and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth. The River Fal separates the Roseland peninsula from the rest of Cornwall.

Scratching the Surface
The entire clue could almost be considered to be the definition. No, the solution is not a south-eastern river, it is a south-western river.

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