Thursday, June 9, 2016 — DT 28032

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28032
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28032]
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 28031 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, February 8, 2016.

Introduction

As should not surprise us, the National Post has skipped the 'Monday' puzzle from Rufus. I would say that today's puzzle is a tad more difficult — and also rather more enjoyable — than we are accustomed to seeing in a 'Tuesday' puzzle.

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   Wager involving question put to everyone after British // game (10)

With the NBA playoffs currently nearing an end, this clue is more timely today than when it appeared in the UK in February.

6a   Hit // low, mostly, and hard (4)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

10a   Ardour lit? Oddly, /being/ mature (5)

11a   Type of cricket // clue, along with last (3-3-3)

Tip-and-run^[5] is an informal way of playing cricket in which the batsman must run after every hit^*.

^* In an official game of cricket, the batsmen may either run or elect not to run when the striking batsman hits the ball. See following box for details.

A Few Basics of Cricket[7]

The cricket field is usually circular or oval in shape, with a rectangular pitch at the center. The edge of the playing field is marked with a boundary, which could be a fence, part of the stands, a rope or a painted line. At each end of the pitch is a wooden target called a wicket, placed 22 yards apart. The pitch is marked with painted lines: a bowling crease in line with the wicket, and a batting or popping crease four feet in front of it. The wicket is made of three vertical stumps supporting two small horizontal bails. A wicket is put down if at least one bail is dislodged, or one stump is knocked down (usually by the ball, but also if the batsman does it with his body, clothing or equipment). This is also described as breaking, knocking down, or hitting the wicket – though if the ball hits the wicket but does not dislodge a bail or stump then it is not considered to be down. At any instant each batsman owns a particular wicket (usually the one closer to him) and, except when actually batting, is safe when he is in his ground. This means that at least one part of his body or bat is touching the ground behind the popping crease. If his wicket is put down while the ball is live and he is out of his ground then he is dismissed, but the other batsman is safe. The two batsmen take positions at opposite ends of the pitch. One designated member of the fielding team, called the bowler, bowls the ball from one end of the pitch to the striking batsman at the other end. The batsman at the bowling end is called the non-striker, and stands to the side of his wicket, behind his crease. If the batsman is successful in striking the ball and it is not caught without bouncing, then the two batsmen may try to score points (runs) for their team. To do so, both batsmen would run the length of the pitch, exchanging positions, and grounding their bats behind the opposite crease. Each crossing and grounding by both batsmen is worth one run. The batsmen may attempt one run, multiple runs, or elect not to run at all. By attempting runs, the batsmen risk dismissal. This happens if the fielding team retrieves the ball and hits either wicket with the ball (either by throwing it, or while holding it) before the batsman who owns that wicket reaches his ground behind the crease. The dismissed batsman is run out. Batsmen will sometimes start to run, change their mind, and return to their original positions.

12a   Rat on criminal, cheat /and/ twister (7)

Do^[5] is an informal British term meaning to swindle ⇒ a thousand pounds for one set of photos — Jacqui had been done.

13a   Endurance /of/ man? It's beaten by females at the centre (7)

14a   Film // somehow suited – see why? (4,4,4)

Eyes Wide Shut^[7] is a 1999 erotic drama film based on Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle (Dream Story), with the story transferred from early 20th century Vienna to 1990s New York. The film was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It was his last film, as he died four days after showing his final cut to Warner Bros. Pictures. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually charged adventures of Dr. Bill Harford, who is shocked when his wife, Alice, reveals that she had contemplated an affair a year earlier. He embarks on a night-long adventure, during which he infiltrates a massive masked orgy of an unnamed secret society.

18a   Railway buff // returned pictures in protest after changes made (12)

I parsed the clue slightly differently than Gazza — but with the same result — as a reversal (returned) of ART (pictures) + IN (from the clue) + an anagram (after changes made) of PROTEST.

Trainspotter^[5] is a British term for a person who collects train or locomotive numbers as a hobby. The name is also often used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who obsessively studies the minutiae of any minority interest or specialized hobby ⇒ the idea is to make the music really really collectable so the trainspotters will buy it in their pathetic thousands.

21a   Note // what Anglicanism has to offer? (6,1)

23a   Struggle to survive /in/ desert heat, perhaps (3,4)

In North America, rat^[3,11] means to reveal incriminating or embarrassing information about someone, especially to a person in authority; in other words, to squeal ⇒ he ratted on his best friend to the police. However, in Britain, rat^[4] can take on the additional meaning of to default (on) or abandon ⇒ he ratted on the project at the last minute.

24a   On hand, // popular book (2,7)

25a   Busy // female leaving brew (2,3)

This clue was easy to solve — once I had sorted out the spelling of the beautiful stone in 5d and 19d.

26a   Medal // from Pentagon, gold (4)

27a   Cross, girl led astray /making/ meal (5,5)

Down

1d   Allure /of/ Scottish isle, reportedly last for ferry (6)

Bute^[7] (also known as the Isle of Bute) is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.

2d   Piazza /is/ level (6)

A piazza^[5] is a public square or marketplace, especially in an Italian town.

3d   European guys learn this foreign // language? (7,7)

In the UK, Estuary English^[5] is the name for a type of accent identified as spreading outwards from London and containing features of both received pronunciation and London speech ⇒ the upper-class young already talk Estuary English.

4d   Last drink? // Here's to you! (7,2)

As a verb, sup^[5] is a dated or Northern English term meaning to take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls ⇒ (i) she supped up her soup delightedly; (ii) he was supping straight from the bottle. As a noun, sup^[5] means (1) a sip of liquid ⇒ he took another sup of wine or (2) in Northern England or Ireland, an alcoholic drink ⇒ the latest sup from those blokes at the brewery.

5d and 19d   Beautiful stone // -- there's one in US plaza I'll fancy (5,6)

7d   Impenetrable /in/ appearance, even (8)

8d   No blokes do (3,5)

Bloke^[5] is an informal British term for a man ⇒ he’s a nice bloke.

Hen party^[5] is a [likely chiefly British] term for a social gathering of women, especially a hen night^[5], an informal British term for a celebration held for a woman who is about to get married, attended only by women.

9d   Promising band put on prior to match (10,4)

... continuing with the theme from the previous clue.

15d   Obstruct // opening of inn, rent-free building (9)

16d   Identifying // a politician falling into police trap (8)

17d   Bureaucrat /from/ Iran, possibly supporting Morocco's leader also (8)

19d   See 5d

20d   Let on // about meat (6)

22d   Soldier chasing my // dog (5)

"soldier" = GI (show explanation )

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war.

Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

hide explanation

Cor^[5] is an informal British exclamation expressing surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm ⇒ Cor! That‘s a beautiful black eye you’ve got!.

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