Monday, March 21, 2016 — DT 27943

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27943
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27943]
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 27942 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, October 26, 2015.

Introduction

You should not find today's offering from the mystery "Tuesday" setter to be overly difficult.

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   Two bulls // shared equally? (5-5)

Bull^[5] is a British term for a bullseye ⇒ aim for the bull.

The standard dartboard^[7] is divided into 20 numbered sections, scoring from 1 to 20 points, by wires running from the small central circle to the outer circular wire. Circular wires within the outer wire subdivide each section into single, double and triple areas. The central circle is divided into a green outer ring worth 25 points (known as "outer", "outer bull", or "iris") and a red or black inner circle (usually known as "bull", "inner bull" or "double bull"), worth 50 points. The term "bullseye" can mean either the whole central part of the board or just the inner red/black section.

6a   Touch // head of freshwater fish (4)

10a   A European king must go // to give assent (5)

"king" = K (show explanation )

K^[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

hide explanation

11a   Completely boycotts // international team (3,6)

Black^[5] is a dated British expression meaning to refuse to handle (goods), undertake (work), or have dealings with (a person or business) as a way of taking industrial action ⇒ the printers blacked firms trying to employ women.

International^[5] is a British term for a game or contest between teams representing different countries in a sport ⇒ the Murrayfield rugby international. An international team therefore would be one that competes in internationals.

The All Blacks^[5] are the New Zealand international rugby union team, so called because of their black strip [uniform (see 24a)].

12a   Criminal activity // by pop group, I hear (8)

13a   Sing // version with new opening (5)

15a   Argue after small child /leads one to/ squalid part of city (4,3)

Skid row^[5] is an informal, chiefly North American term for a run-down part of a town frequented by vagrants and alcoholics.

17a   Instrument // installed in radio car in avenue (7)

An ocarina^[3,4,11] is an elongated egg-shaped terra-cotta or plastic wind instrument with a protruding mouthpiece and six to eight finger holes, producing an almost pure tone.

19a   Farm owner // fled, heading for Cheyenne with that woman (7)

This landholder may be less than pleased to be called a farmer.

Scratching the Surface
Cheyenne[5] is the state capital of Wyoming; population 56,915 (est. 2008).

21a   Board // allowed to block head (7)

Pate^[5] is an archaic or humorous term for a person's head.

22a   New elected judge, a // martial art expert (5)

"judge" = J (show explanation )

J^[2] (plural JJ) is the abbreviation for judge.

hide explanation

A ninja^[5] is a person skilled in the Japanese art of ninjutsu^[5], the traditional Japanese art of stealth, camouflage, and sabotage, developed in feudal times for espionage and now practised as a martial art.

24a   Away team's kit /is/ better (8)

Kit^[5] is a British term for the clothing used for an activity such as a sport ⇒ a football kit; in other words, what would be called a uniform on this side of the pond.

Strip^[5] is a British term denoting the identifying outfit worn by the members of a sports team while playing [in North American parlance, a uniform] ⇒ the team’s away strip is a garish mix of red, white, and blue.

27a   Temporary // movement following fashion (9)

28a   Turn of phrase // fool shortened on mobile (5)

Mobile^[5] is a British term for a mobile phone [North American cell phone^[5]] ⇒ we telephoned from our mobile to theirs.

The prefix m-^[10] is used to denote the use of mobile-communications technology ⇒ m-banking. 

29a   Last in queue after free // travel (4)

30a   Publicity /must have/ appropriate look, it's said (10)

The phrase PROPER (appropriate) + GANDER (look) would be pronounced PROPAH GANDAH in a non-rhotic British 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.

Down

1d   Defect /in/ platform, reportedly (4)

The word FLOOR (platform) is pronounced FLAW in a non-rhotic British accent (see 30a).

2d   Structure /of/ class at independent applied to (9)

In Britain, a form^[5] is a class or year in a school, usually given a specifying number. Thus the fifth form would be the British linguistic counterpart (although not the academic equivalent) of the fifth grade in North America and Form One would be akin to saying Grade One (show more ).

A form^[7] is a class or grouping of students in a school. The term is used predominantly in the United Kingdom, although some schools, mostly private, in other countries also use the title. Pupils are usually grouped in forms according to age and will remain with the same group for a number of years, or sometimes their entire school career.

Forms are normally identified by a number such as "first form" or "sixth form". A form number may be used for two year groups and differentiated by the terms upper and lower. The sixth form is the senior form of a school, and is usually divided into two year groups: the lower sixth and upper sixth. If there is more than one form for each year group they will normally be differentiated by letters, e.g., "upper four B", "lower two Y". Schools do not follow a consistent pattern in naming forms.

hide

"independent" = I (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

Scratching the Surface

In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system. A private school[2,5] is a special case of independent school, being a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees. A public school[2] is yet another class of independent school, a secondary school, especially a boarding school run independently of the state, financed by endowments and by pupils' fees. What we in North America would call a public school[2], is known in the UK as a state school.

3d   Give way // to bear (5)

4d   Concerned and upset // at home, sweat pouring (2,1,4)

5d   Sporting call /from/ friend in hot pants (5-2)

As an anagram indicator, pants^[5] is an informal British term meaning rubbish or nonsense ⇒ he thought we were going to be absolute pants.

The exclamation tally-ho^[5] is a huntsman’s cry to the hounds on sighting a fox.

7d   Medieval hero // unfortunately lied about first of conquests (2,3)

El Cid^[5] (also the Cid) is a name applied to the Count of Bivar (circa 1043–1099), a Spanish soldier who was born Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar. A champion of Christianity against the Moors, in 1094 he captured Valencia, which he went on to rule. He is immortalized in the Spanish Poema del Cid (12th century) and in Corneille’s play Le Cid (1637).

8d   Speculate to accumulate with such // a do seller's organised (4-6)

9d   Song and dance after foremost of people // show willing (4,4)

Show willing^[5] is a British expression meaning to display a willingness to help.

14d   Who might observe rarest moon excitedly? (10)

This is a semi-&lit (semi-all-in-one) clue in which the entire clue provides the definition and the portion of the clue with the dashed underline serves as the wordplay.

16d   Go over // tries again, against English (8)

18d   Sixth sense // in teaching (9)

20d   Offering more space? // More, or I misinterpreted (7)

21d   Mine's leading, /then/ this at Grand Prix? (3,4)

FIA Formula One World Championship^[7] (also Formula One, Formula 1, and F1) is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The "formula", designated in the name, refers to a set of rules with which all participants' cars must comply. The F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix (from French, originally meaning great prizes), held throughout the world on purpose-built circuits and public roads.

Behind the Picture

Penelope Pitstop[7] is a fictional character who appeared in the Hanna-Barbera animated television series Wacky Races, and starred in the spin-off The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. Wacky Races[7] was originally broadcast on the American network CBS from September 1968 to January 1969 (17 episodes). The Perils of Penelope Pitstop[7] originally ran on CBS from September 1969 to January 1970 (17 episodes).

23d   Exposed, // corrupt Dane importing kilo ... (5)

Kilo^[7] is a code word representing the letter K, used in radio communication.

25d   ... poor and good // quality (5)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[10] for good likely relates to its use in grading school assignments or tests.

hide explanation

A thing^[5] is an abstract entity, quality, or concept ⇒ (i) mourning and depression are not the same thing; (ii) they had one thing in common—they were men of action .

26d   Girl // from Harlem, Manhattan (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