Tuesday, June 14, 2016 — DT 28039

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28039
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28039]
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 puzzle put up a bit of resistance and in the end I needed a bit of help from my electronic aids to subdue it.

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   Employees // using covert sign? (11)

9a   Furnish with only half of rent, /being/ thrifty (9)

10a   Gather // golfer misses regularly and finishes early (5)

11a   Fear nerves must reveal // cash job (6)

Earner^[10] is an informal British and Australian term for an activity or thing that produces income, especially illicitly ⇒ a nice little earner.

12a   Queen // falls /in/ line! (8)

Victoria Falls^[5] is a spectacular waterfall 109 m (355 ft) high, located on the River Zambezi, on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border. Its native name is Mosi-oa-tunya, ‘the smoke that thunders’.

The Victoria line^[7] is a deep-level London Underground [subway] route running from Brixton in the south to Walthamstow Central in the north-east of London. It is one of two underground lines to run entirely below ground, the other being the Waterloo & City line.

13a   Organise a late appearance (6)

15a   Promotes // coats worn by the Queen (8)

"Queen" = R (show explanation )

Regina^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for queen] denotes the reigning queen, used following a name (e.g. Elizabetha Regina, Queen Elizabeth) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Regina v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

Thus Queen Elizabeth signs her name as 'Elizabeth R' as seen here on Canada's paint-stained constitution.

hide explanation

18a   Tracks across poles /to find/ supporters (8)

19a   Mostly lying about one's // time served here (6)

21a   Timorous // farm animal with circle on end of nose (8)

23a   Issues shares /in/ carnival displays (6)

In the UK, a carnival^[5] is a public event or celebration, typically held outdoors and involving stalls, entertainment, and processions ⇒ children from Wroughton are getting ready for the village carnival. By the way, carnival^[5] meaning a travelling fair or circus is a North American usage.

26a   Latin American hiding his // anxiety (5)

27a   Discovered 26 held by jailbird // showing no sign of life (9)

The numeral "26" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 26a 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

The setter uses "discovered" in a whimsical sense directing the solver to strip away outer letters. This cryptic device is based on the logic that if disrobe means to remove one's robe (or other clothing), then it only stands to reason that discover must mean to remove one's cover.

28a   Cutting remark // on past right to be transferred (7,4)

Down

1d   Highest // rising American with power over British engineers (7)

The engineers making an appearance today are not the usual Corps of Royal Engineers^[5] (abbreviation RE^[5]) but rather the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers^[7] (abbreviation REME; pronounced phonetically as "Reemee"), a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of almost every electrical and mechanical piece of equipment within the British Army from battle tanks and helicopters to dental tools and cooking equipment/utensils.

^* the field engineering and construction corps of the British army who are also known as the sappers

How Did This Happen?
In a highly unusual turn of events, an error that appeared in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph does not show up in the National Post. The clue published in the newspaper in the UK was: American backed power over British engineers (7)

2d   Task mostly incorporating one // group of singers (5)

3d   Skin // deep, sir? I'm in need of surgery (9)

4d   Top // copy with signature of an illiterate (4)

5d   Plot // clandestine love affair (8)

6d   Good deal /of/ vision? (5)

A sight^[10] is an informal term meaning a great deal ⇒ she's a sight too good for him.

7d   Wreckers /of/ museum also going unprotected (7)

The Victoria and Albert Museum^[5] (abbreviation V & A) is a national museum of fine and applied art in South Kensington, London, created in 1852 and having collections principally of pictures, textiles, ceramics, and furniture.

8d   Plucky // female, like Van Gogh's left? (8)

Vincent Van Gogh^[5,7] (1853–1890) was a Dutch painter. He is best known for his post-impressionist work, influenced by contact with impressionist painting and Japanese woodcuts after he moved to Paris in 1886. His most famous pictures include several studies of sunflowers. Suffering from severe depression, he severed his left ear (either wholly or in part; accounts differ) with a razor and eventually committed suicide.

14d   Fool -- // gangster to achieve victory over king (8)

"king" = K (show explanation )

K^[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

hide explanation

16d   Exhilarating // obsession, crossing stream (9)

17d   Error ultimately found in typeface that is right /for/ the border (8)

18d   Poorly rewarded with this (4,3)

Not only is poorly^[5] being used in a chiefly British sense meaning unwell or in poor health, but this adjective is also being used as a noun — the poorly being persons who are feeling poorly.

While North Americans might use the word poorly to mean 'in poor health', we would likely use it as an adverb in a statement such as I am feeling poorly today. On the other hand, Oxford Dictionaries provides the following examples of British usage: (i) I didn't manage too many lengths today but I haven't been for 2 weeks since being poorly sick.; (ii) Zoe Bird, 26, was forced to walk for an hour to reach her home with poorly toddler son Ryan after they were forced to leave the car.; (iii) Jakey on the other hand is poorly due to having an injection..

20d   Even without the First Lady, a trail /is/ developing (7)

In the Bible, Eve^[5,10] is the first woman, mother of the human race, fashioned by God from the rib of Adam, companion of Adam and mother of Cain and Abel [not to mention Seth and their other sons and daughters].^{[Gen 5:4]}

22d   Go over // limit after losing heart from race (5)

24d   Flooded // area used to be source of hope (5)

25d   Some unimaginative // bearers of gifts? (4)

In Christianity, the Magi^[2] (plural of magus) were the three wise men or astrologers from the east who brought gifts to the infant Jesus, guided by a star. Also called the Three Kings and the Three Wise Men.

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