Tuesday, March 15, 2016 — DT 27938

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27938
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27938]
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

This is Jay in a rather gentle mood. As usual,though, a pleasure to solve.

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   Tries tucking in top of trouser // suit (6)

5a   Carpet // expert must be in contact (8)

Carpet^[5] is British slang meaning to reprimand severely ⇒ the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses. Although we do not use this expression in North America, we certainly use the presumably related expression to be called on the carpet^[5].

9a   Blood group, say, identifies // such a clumsy individual (13)

10a   Instrument // chap left at home after party (8)

11a   Settle a guest’s // alliance (6)

For cryptic purposes, one might interpret the 's as a contraction for 'has' or as denoting possession. Depending on which one you select, the fodder ("settLE A GUEst") holds (has) or possesses the solution.

12a   Beneficiary gets to keep fine European // cow (6)

"fine" = F (show explanation )

F^[5] is an abbreviation for fine, as used in describing grades of pencil lead [a usage that Oxford Dictionaries surprisingly characterizes as British].

hide explanation

14a   Turns down // ranges after the Christmas period (8)

Line might be a synonym for range in any of several senses:

1. a range of commercial goods^[5] ⇒ the company intends to hire more people and expand its product line;
2. a series of related things^[5] ⇒ the bill is the latest in a long line [or, alternatively, range] of measures to protect society from criminals;
3. in physics, a narrow range of the spectrum that is noticeably brighter or darker than the adjacent parts^[5].

16a   Glove mostly carried by a theologian /is/ allowed (8)

"theologian" = DD (show explanation )

Doctor of Divinity^[7] (abbreviation D.D. or DD, Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity.

Historically, the degree of Doctor of Divinity identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects. In the United Kingdom, Doctor of Divinity has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction. In the United States, the Doctor of Divinity is usually awarded as an honorary degree.

hide explanation

19a   Hang around, // discarding last two bits of underwear (6)

21a   Professional // women wearing coat (6)

23a   Away leg // unavailable to the audience (3-5)

25a   Instruction // from substitute with good system (8,5)

"good" = G (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

Order^[5] denotes a a particular social, political, or economic system ⇒ they were dedicated to overthrowing the established order.

Standing order^[5] can mean:

1. British an instruction to a bank by an account holder to make regular fixed payments to a particular person or organization;
2. British an order for a commodity placed on a regular basis with a retailer such as a newsagent;
3. an order or ruling governing the procedures of a parliament or other society or council; or
4. a military order or ruling that is retained irrespective of changing conditions.

26a   Concluded // popular female made a mistake (8)

27a   Ploughman/'s/ row about lines (6)

Down

2d   Became agitated about banker's ultimate // squeeze (7)

3d   Valued // time invested in costly reversal (5)

4d   Suspect // everybody returned during term as planned (5,1,3)

5d   Polished // broadcast of discovery by engineers (7)

"engineers" = RE (show explanation )

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers^[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

hide explanation

6d   Road up after parking -- /that's/ punitive (5)

7d   Exercises incorporated into speech // surgery (9)

"exercises" = PE (show explanation )

PE^[5] is the abbreviation for physical education [or Phys Ed, as it was known in my school days]. 

hide explanation

8d   Dress // some cut off (7)

13d   Story /from/ newspaper covering light beer (5,4)

The Financial Times^[7] (abbreviation FT) is a British international business newspaper that is printed on conspicuous salmon pink newsprint.

15d   Facade of indifference /for/ a feature of the weather? (4,5)

The first part of the clue (the portion with the dotted underline) amounts to a whimsical definition, with the entire phrase "facade of indifference" being interpreted as "cold front".

17d   Makes use of // lad to support raffle (5,2)

18d   Doctor had /to be/ overwhelmed (7)

20d   Warning from French /of/ exploding grenade? (2,5)

In the sport of fencing, en garde^[5] (French en garde '(be) on guard') is a direction to be ready to fence, taking the opening position for action.

22d   Cyclist/'s/ answer ignored by attacker (5)

24d   Like some rivers -- // boy, it's up! (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