Monday, May 16, 2016 — DT 28001

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28001
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, January 4, 2016
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28001]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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

In a departure from recent practice, the National Post did not skip a puzzle today thereby giving readers the rare opportunity to enjoy a Rufus creation.

According to Miffypops' review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, this puzzle has a difficulty rating of three stars. However, we can not rely on that indication as Miffypops has stated on numerous occasions that he never adjusts the ratings from the default three star state. While Big Dave apparently sometimes changes the setting when Miffypops writes the review, we also cannot be certain that he has intervened.

Nevertheless, the three star rating may be fair based on the fact that I needed to seek help from my electronic assistants to finish this one.

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   Demonstrating opposition to hunter's movement? (13)

A hunter^[5] is a watch with a hinged cover protecting the glass.

10a   Rawness can produce wrong ones (7)

11a   Window // the Spanish put back outside garret (7)

... or one the French put outside garret.

"the Spanish" = EL and "the French" = LE (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

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

hide explanation

A lattice^[2] (also lattice window) is a window with small diamond-shaped panels of glass held in place with strips of lead.

12a   Doubtless, // it follows plea for enjoyment (4)

13a   Subject // to reduced choice (5)

14a   Pole // beats retreats (4)

17a   He may resort to clubs and bars, but should be fit (7)

I am familiar with the parallel and uneven bars (the later apparently known in Britain as asymmetric bars) but I don't recall ever seeing a gymnast using Indian clubs.

An Indian club^[3] is a bottle-shaped wooden club swung in the hand for gymnastic exercise.

18a   Find something irritating /and/ withdraw from event (7)

19a   Not on duty, worker /is/ casual (7)

22a   Type of fiction // unfamiliar with the French (7)

... or the Spanish, for that matter.

"the French" (or "the Spanish") = LA (show explanation )

In French, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

Coincidentally, in Spanish, the feminine singular form of the definite article is also la^[8].

hide explanation

24a   Hail on the waters (4)

25a   Study on leave // somewhere in Africa (5)

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing)  ⇒ the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

The Congo^[5] (also called the Republic of Congo or Congo-Brazzaville) is an equatorial country in Africa, with a short Atlantic coastline; population 4,012,800 (est. 2009); languages, French (official), Kikongo, and other Bantu languages; capital, Brazzaville.

The region was colonized in the 19th century by France, and as Middle Congo formed part of the larger territory of French Congo (later, French Equatorial Africa). The country became independent in 1960.

26a   Wake up /in/ the nick of time? (4)

The nick^[5] is an informal British term for prison ⇒ he’ll end up in the nick for the rest of his life.

Stir^[5] is an informal term for prison [on both sides of the Atlantic] ⇒ I’ve spent twenty-eight years in stir.

Both are places where a miscreant might spend time.

29a   Damp // mines to put right (7)

Damp^[5], used as a verb, means to make (something) slightly wet ⇒ damp a small area with water. As such, it is a synonym for dampen^[5] which is the word that I would use.

30a   Strangely, one isn't /showing/ stress (7)

31a   The sauce /of/ girl making a speech (5,8)

Down

2d   Holy man in no spirit /for/ a quack remedy (7)

3d   Part of White Mountains /seen in/ detail (4)

Scratching the Surface
In all likelihood, the White Mountains[7] to which the clue alludes are a fictional mountain range in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth rather than the White Mountains[7] of New Hampshire.

4d   How to fight miserliness? (4,3)

The entire clue is a cryptic definition that is a play on two meanings (one specific to Britain) of the term 'lash out'.

Lash out^[5] is a British term meaning to spend money extravagantly ⇒ (i) I decided to lash out and treat myself; (ii) let’s lash out on a taxi.

5d   Scale /of/ clues compiled one's put in upside down (7)

6d   Point put by a teetotal // engineer (4)

"teetotal" = TT (show explanation )

Teetotal^[5] (abbreviation TT^[5]) means choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol ⇒ a teetotal lifestyle.

A teetotaller^[5] (US teetotaler; abbreviation TT^[5]) is a person who never drinks alcohol.

The term teetotal is an emphatic extension of total, apparently first used by Richard Turner, a worker from Preston [England], in a speech (1833) urging total abstinence from all alcohol, rather than mere abstinence from spirits, as advocated by some early temperance reformers.

hide explanation

James Watt^[5] (1736–1819) was a Scottish engineer. Among his many innovations he greatly improved the efficiency of the Newcomen steam engine, which was then adopted for a variety of purposes. He also introduced the term horsepower.

7d   Tacks up favourite // piece of information (7)

8d   Gunrunning, say, /in/ conflict (7,2,4)

Passage of arms^[5] (or passage at arms) is an archaic term for a fight or dispute.

9d   Document the police may need to look over (6,7)

15d   Boat's the same even when capsized (5)

16d   Boasting without publicity /is/ well done (5)

20d   For about a pound, girl /sees/ part of America (7)

"pound" = L (show explanation )

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L^[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l^[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra.

In ancient Rome, the libra^[5] was a unit of weight, equivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.

hide explanation

21d   Elevated road had // flooded (7)

22d   Unusual thing that is // what ladies wear in retirement (7)

23d   Rearrange vital meeting with a North // European (7)

27d   A feature of Sicily // and French central Monaco (4)

In French, et^[8]is a conjunction meaning 'and''.

28d   Taverns // in the capitals of Norway and Sweden (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