Friday, December 11, 2015 — DT 27848

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27848
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27848]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
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 would say that today's puzzle from Jay sits a bit lower on the difficulty scale than his usual fare.

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   Visitor and partner must accept independent // judge (10)

"independent" = I (show explanation )

I^[1] is the abbreviation for independent, likely in the context of a politician with no party affiliation.

hide explanation

What did they say?
In their review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis describe mate as a partner (or perhaps a pal). In Britain, mate[5] — in addition to being a person’s husband, wife, or other sexual partner — is an informal term for a friend or companion ⇒ my best mate Steve.

6a   Demands // barrels be topped (4)

10a   Colour /of/ bedroom with no central heating (5)

The abbreviation for central heating is c.h.^[1] This is perhaps a term that one might be more likely to see in real estate ads in the UK where central heating is not as ubiquitous as it is here. In Canada, I think this feature would be considered to be a given.

11a   Evidence of faith /in/ setter Nick? (3,6)

Nick^[5] is an informal British term meaning to arrest (someone) ⇒ Stuart and Dan got nicked for burglary.

Dog collar^[5] is an informal term for a clerical collar.

Behind the Image
The 2Kiwis illustrate the clue with an image of English actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson in the role of Father Gerald in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral[7] (1994).

12a   A role played by church /in/ infectious disease (7)

Cholera^[5] is an infectious and often fatal bacterial disease of the small intestine, typically contracted from infected water supplies and causing severe vomiting and diarrhoea. The disease is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.

13a   Escort // rebellious mutineer, abandoning leader (7)

14a   Dialogue /that's/ a source of tension in Metamorphosis (12)

Scratching the Surface

The Metamorphosis[7] is a novella by Czech novelist Franz Kafka (1883–1924), first published in 1915. It has been called one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century and is studied in colleges and universities across the Western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed (metamorphosed) into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. The cause of Gregor's transformation is never revealed, and Kafka himself never gave an explanation. The rest of Kafka's novella deals with Gregor's attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents and sister, who are repelled by the horrible, verminous creature Gregor has become.

18a   Police outfit // pins the local criminal (12)

"Outfit" refers to attire rather than organization.

21a   Land // recently vacated by European nobleman (7)

A count^[5] is a foreign [from a British perspective, obviously] nobleman whose rank corresponds to that of an earl.

23a   Barge in, // twisting under it (7)

24a   Wonderful // book left in Madeira, possibly (9)

Scratching the Surface
Madeira[5] is an island in the Atlantic Ocean off northwestern Africa, the largest of the Madeiras, a group of islands which constitutes an autonomous region of Portugal; population 247,161 (2007); capital, Funchal. Encountered by the Portuguese in 1419, the islands were occupied by the Spanish 1580–1640 and the British 1807–14.

25a   Absent peer regularly /making/ bid (5)

26a   Starts to eat -- needs drink, so // finishes (4)

27a   Spooner's impudence therefore /showing/ sound judgement (5,5)

A spoonerism^[5] is a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures. It is named after the Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), an English scholar who reputedly made such errors in speaking.

Take note that the Reverend Spooner was an "English scholar" and therefore presumably spoke with a non-rhotic accent.

Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.

The phrase "horse sense", when pronounced by a speaker with a non-rhotic accent, would sound like 'hauce sense' and as a spoonerism would sound like SAUCE (impudence) HENCE (therefore).

Sauce^[5] is an informal, chiefly British term for impertinence or cheek ⇒ ‘None of your sauce,’ said Aunt Edie — which, in North America, would be called sass^[5].

Down

1d   Grand knight in fancy material /gets/ sideways look (6)

Grand^[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒ he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would appear to be used in the UK, the abbreviation G^[5] meaning grand would appear to be an informal North American usage ⇒ I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.

"knight" = N (show explanation )

N^[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].

As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines: 

• K^[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight. 
• K^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king. 
• N^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.

The dictionary fails to specify how one differentiates an abbreviation from a symbol.

hide explanation

2d   All together, // once resolved to accept cover for bail (2,4)

3d   A crowd maybe indicate performance /is/ a test of skill on the road (5-5,4)

The clue alludes to the adage ⇒ two's company, three's a crowd^[5].

A turn^[5] is a short performance, especially one of a number given by different performers in succession ⇒ (i) Lewis gave her best ever comic turn; (ii) he was asked to do a turn at a children’s party.

4d   Leave maid to work, /being/ old-fashioned! (9)

Mediaeval is an alternate spelling of medieval^[5].

5d   Woods, for example, /has/ row about golf (5)

Golf^[5] is a code word representing the letter G, used in radio communication.

Tiger Woods^[5] is an American golfer; born Eldrick Woods. In 2000 he became the youngest player to win all four of golf’s grand slam events. During 1997–2008 he won 14 major championships.

As I recall, the row concerned activities which happened off the course.

7d   Grand // lost initially in outlay I put on diamonds (8)

Spend^[5], as a noun, is an informal term meaning an amount of money paid out ⇒ (i) the average spend at the cafe is £10 a head.

"diamonds" = D (show explanation )

Diamonds^[2] (abbreviation D^[2]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

hide explanation

8d   Officer/'s/ gear sent for repair (8)

What did they say?

In their review, the 2Kiwis comment And in anticipation of all the comments, I am sure Jay meant a police one rather than the military one. I would guess they are alluding to the fact that a sergeant in the military is a non-commissioned officer and therefore presumably not an officer in the full sense of the word. For instance, non-commissioned officers are among those soldiers included in the category other ranks[5].

9d   Offences /of/ formal assemblies holding pictures up (14)

15d   A barrister's fees /for/ servants (9)

16d   Technologically-advanced // step adopted by green (5-3)

Scratching the Surface
The term green[5] (usually Green) denotes a member or supporter of an environmentalist group or party ⇒ the Greens' remarkable 15 per cent vote [Dream on, Elizabeth May!]. Note: The share of the popular vote garnered by the Green Party of Canada[7] has never exceeded 6.8% (achieved in the 2008 Federal Election) although they have apparently scored as high as 14% in public opinion polls.

17d   Cleaned up /in/ short holiday with United (twice) on the sea (8)

Vac^[5] is an informal British term for vacation.

The Med^[5] is an informal, chiefly British name for the Mediterranean Sea.

19d   Gasp over popular // bird (6)

The puffin^[5] is any of three species of  auk (seabird) of northern and Arctic waters which nests in holes, with a large head and a massive brightly coloured triangular bill.

20d   Extent /to which/ order's good for cold? (6)

Despite recognizing that this is a replacement type clue, I could not come up with the required words without a gentle nudge from my electronic assistants.

In the cryptic analysis, the 's is a contraction of has.

22d   Lout/'s/ blog oddly coming after setting up youth (5)

Yobbo^[5] is an alternative term for yob^[5] (back slang for boy), an informal British term for a rude, noisy, and aggressive youth.

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