Monday, June 13, 2016 — DT 28038

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28038
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28038]
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 28034 through DT 28037 which were published in The Daily Telegraph from Thursday, February 11, 2016 to Monday, February 15, 2016.

Introduction

The editor's at the National Post seem determined to demonstrate how far they can jump — today leaping over four puzzles.

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   For reflection, left a minute in pilgrimage at // mausoleum (3,5)

Haj is an alternate spelling of hajj^[5], the greater Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, which takes place in the last month of the year and which all Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime if they can afford to do so. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

The Taj Mahal^[5] is a mausoleum at Agra in northern India built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan (1592–1666) in memory of his favourite wife, completed circa 1649. Set in formal gardens, the domed building in white marble is reflected in a pool flanked by cypresses.

6a   River featuring during deputy/'s/ leave (6)

The Cam^[10] is a river in eastern England, in Cambridgeshire, flowing through Cambridge to the Great Ouse (river). Length: about 64 km (40 miles).

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza refers to the Cam as a river in East Anglia. East Anglia[5] is a region of eastern England consisting of the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and parts of Essex and Cambridgeshire.

9a   Night light is unfinished, /causing/ chaos (6)

10a   One offering 'A stew, sir?', taking order (8)

In this semi-&lit. clue^* (or, as some prefer to call it, semi-all-in-one clue), the entire clue acts as the definition while only the portion with the dashed underline provides the wordplay.

^* In a true &lit. clue^[7] (sometimes called an all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation is also the wordplay.

11a   Marciano cooked // food from the old country? (8)

Rocky Marciano^[5] (1923–1969) was an American boxer; born Rocco Francis Marchegiano. He became world heavyweight champion in 1952 and successfully defended his title six times until he retired, undefeated, in 1956.

12a   Greek man really discontented /in/ practice? The opposite (6)

Theo^[7] is a diminutive for various Greek names, most notably Theodore.

The setter uses "discontented" to indicate that the inner letters of "ReallY" are to be removed. This cryptic device is based on the whimsical logic that if disembowel means to remove one's insides, then it only stands to reason that discontent must mean to remove one's contents.

The definition tells us that the solution to the clue is the opposite of practice.

13a   Voices rant on possibly in this (12)

This is another semi-&lit. (semi-all-in-one) clue [see 10a].

16a   In the style of a gnome? (12)

A gnome^[2] is a pithy saying that expresses a general truth or fundamental principle; in other words, an aphorism.

19a   Actor // not fully developed (6)

Simon Callow^[7] is an English actor, musician, writer, and theatre director.

21a   Current measure with hard Latin put in favoured // treatise (8)

Amp^[10] is short for ampere^[10], the basic SI [Système International (d'Unités)] unit of electric current.

"hard" = H (show explanation )

H^[5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

hide explanation

23a   Transported // con's last in jail but being reformed (8)

24a   Pass by // Italian ladies missing sun (6)

Signora^[5] (plural signore^[8]) is a title or form of address used of or to an Italian-speaking married woman, corresponding to Mrs or madam ⇒ good night, Signora.

25a   Come to rest /in/ seat with high back (6)

A settle^[5] is a wooden bench with a high back and arms, typically incorporating a box under the seat.

26a   Broadcaster with kind of entertainment // opening that's over one's head (8)

Sky plc^[7] [private limited company] is a British-based pan-European satellite broadcasting, on-demand Internet streaming media, broadband and telephone services company headquartered in London, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. Sky is Europe's biggest and leading media company and the largest pay-TV broadcaster in Europe, with over 20 million subscribers.

Down

2d   In regions, start to need // stadia (6)

3d   Island state // engaged in formal talks (5)

Malta^[5] is an island country in the central Mediterranean, about 100 km (60 miles) south of Sicily; population 405,200 (est. 2009); official languages, Maltese and English; capital, Valletta.

Historically of great strategic importance, the island has been held in turn by invaders including the Greeks, Arabs, Normans, and Knights Hospitaller. It was annexed by Britain in 1814 and was an important naval base until independence within the Commonwealth in 1964. Besides Malta itself, the country includes two other inhabited islands, Gozo and Comino.

4d   One presumably not having to deal with letter? (9)

Let^[5] is a chiefly British term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i) she let the flat [apartment] to a tenant; (ii) they’ve let out their house. [I doubt that this word is quite as British as Oxford Dictionaries would have us believe.^[3,11]]

A letter^[1] is a person who lets, especially on hire. [Among my stable of dictionaries, this definition is found only in The Chambers Dictionary.]

5d   Crime world/'s/ wise old bird placed in criminal file (3,4)

Low life^[1] (also lowlife) is the criminal fraternity or a member of it.

6d   Meaning /of/ piled-up snow (5)

7d   Trade in a chippy? (9)

Chippy^[5] (also chippie) is an informal British term for a carpenter.

Scratching the Surface
Chippy[5] (also chippie) is an informal  British term for a fish-and-chip shop ⇒ there used to be a good chippy down the back of Albert Street.

8d   Breakfast ingredient // to expand enormously (8)

A traditional full English breakfast^[7] includes bacon (traditionally back bacon), fried, poached or scrambled eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread or toast with butter, sausages, and baked beans. Black pudding^* and bubble and squeak^** are often also included.

^* Black pudding^[7] is a type of blood sausage commonly eaten in Great Britain, Ireland and in other parts of Europe. It is generally made from pork fat or beef suet, pork blood and a relatively high proportion of oatmeal, in some recipes mixed with grits (oat groats) and sometimes even barley groats.
^** Bubble and squeak^[7] is a traditional English dish made with the shallow-fried leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. The main ingredients are potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, Brussels sprouts, or any other leftover vegetables can be added. The chopped vegetables (and cold chopped meat if used) are fried in a pan together with mashed potatoes or crushed roast potatoes until the mixture is well-cooked and brown on the sides. The dish is so named because the cabbage makes bubbling and squeaking sounds during the cooking process. It is often served with cold meat from the Sunday roast, and pickles or brown sauce, or as an accompaniment to a full English breakfast.

13d   Polite composer broadcast -- // it's for royalty's benefit? (5,4)

Franz Liszt^[5] (1811–1886) was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He was a key figure in the romantic movement; many of his piano compositions combine lyricism with great technical complexity, while his twelve symphonic poems (1848–58) created a new musical form.

In the UK, the Civil List^[5] was a fixed annual allowance formerly voted by Parliament to meet official expenses incurred by the Queen in her role as head of state. It was replaced by the Sovereign Grant in 2011.

14d   Only fool wearing surprised expression -- /or/ glumness (9)

Nit^[5] is an informal British term for a foolish person ⇒ you stupid nit!.

15d   Prize // honey (8)

17d   Momentum // one found with working of temp (American) (7)

18d   Explore // curved building in Kent? (6)

Kent^[7] is a county in southeast (SE) England.

20d   Make material depiction /of/ European in part of sea (5)

You might say that this representation is literally fabricated.

22d   Language // in church in dispute (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