Thursday, May 19, 2016 — DT 28008

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28008
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28008]
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 28007 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, January 11, 2016.

Introduction

Following the Great Leap Forward earlier in the week, the editors at the National Post scale back to merely a small hop today skipping over the 'Monday' puzzle from Rufus in order to present a 'Tuesday' puzzle from an unknown setter.

This should not have been a puzzle to give me problems. However, upon visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I discovered that my solution for one of the clues was incorrect.

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   Old man // developing nice tan (7)

5a   Fashion designer embracing new // means of communication (7)

Coco Chanel^[5] (1883–1971) was a French couturière; born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. Her simple but sophisticated garments were a radical departure from the stiff corseted styles of the day. She also diversified into perfumes, costume jewellery, and textiles.

9a   Unattractively artificial // closing in picture (7)

10a   Returned // embarrassed about movement in ballet (7)

11a   Security // at home certain to restrict an onset in crime (9)

12a   Heard to waste // American's increase in wages (5)

Rise^[5] is the British term for an increase in salary or wages ⇒ non-supervisory staff were given a 5 per cent rise — the equivalent term in North America being raise^[5] ⇒ he wants a raise and some perks.

13a   Avoids // birds (5)

15a   Rears cute wild // animals (9)

17a   Lass with belly changing? // Babies -- there's two there (9)

19a   Abandon // brush (5)

22a   Player's first to leave golf club, // say (5)

Scratching the Surface
While the clue could well be alluding to anyone who plays golf, I prefer to think that it is referring specifically to South African golfer Gary Player[5] who has won numerous championships including the British Open (1959; 1968; 1974), the Masters (1961; 1974; 1978), and the PGA (1962; 1972).

23a   Philosopher's following snake -- // they go round and round (9)

In his review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza identifies the most likely candidate for the role of philosopher — but this person's father and wife would also be viable contenders.

John Stuart Mill^[5] (1806–1873) was an English philosopher and economist. Mill is best known for his political and moral works, especially On Liberty (1859), which argued for the importance of individuality, and Utilitarianism (1861), which extensively developed this theory which had originally been proposed by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

James Mill^[7], born James Milne, (1773–1836) was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He is regarded as a founder of classical economics, together with David Ricardo and Adam Smith, and was the father of John Stuart Mill, the philosopher of liberalism.

Harriet Taylor Mill^[7] (1807–1858) was a British philosopher and women's rights advocate. She is largely remembered for her influence upon her second husband, John Stuart Mill, one of the pre-eminent thinkers of the 19th century.

25a   Citrus tree almost devoured by cold // weather (7)

26a   Mirror? // One friend holds it (7)

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.

27a   Intimate // guests ordered to go round back of building (7)

28a   Learning // what you're filling in? (7)

Down

1d   Paid close attention -- // pages after article told a story (7)

2d   Lesson by one Conservative // of the highest rank (7)

"Conservative" = C (show explanation )

The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.^[10] or Con.^[10].

The Conservative Party^[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.

hide explanation

3d   Go in // hospital department with expression of hesitation (5)

In the Crosswordland Hospital, patients are rarely — if ever — found anywhere but in the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[2]) department.

4d   Difficult // catch with line at sea (9)

I would argue that technical matters are not necessarily difficult — unless one is not technically inclined.

5d   Dog taken to vet with no tail // to bend (5)

6d   Soldier wearing suitable American // equipment (9)

Para^[4,11] (short for paratrooper) is a soldier in an airborne unit.

7d   No one is turning the Queen // more boisterous (7)

"Queen" = ER (show explanation )

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

hide explanation

8d   They might put up with you (7)

I'm afraid I had the far from inspired solution of LADDERS. Unfortunately, it exhibited just enough plausibility that I neglected to look any further. Moreover, I see from the comments on Big Dave's site that I am far from being alone in making that choice.

14d   12 cast off // steps (9)

The numeral "12" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 12a in its place to complete the clue. The directional indicator is customarily omitted in situations such as this where only a single clue starts in the light^* that is being referenced.

^* light-coloured cell in the grid

16d   German city 'ethically' neglected, oddly. /It's/ necessary (9)

Essen^[5] is an industrial city in the Ruhr valley, in northwestern Germany; population 583,200 (est. 2006).

17d   Becomes bitter, covering up Church // origins (7)

"Church" = CE (show explanation )

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

hide explanation

18d   Allowing // the French time can start to grate (7)

"the French" = LE (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

20d   Concerned with rent? // Save! (7)

21d   Hampers // ventures, getting round request (7)

23d   Women warm // source of food? (5)

24d   Nothing in drizzle /can make you/ damp (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