Tuesday, June 21, 2016 — DT 28044

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28044
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28044]
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

Introduction

Today we are served a rather gentle offering from one of the mystery "Tuesday" setters.

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   Programme includes student's first // multiplication aid (5,5)

6a   Hereditary, in part? // Correct (4)

9a   Mountain-dweller // also described by the old man (5)

The use of the word "describe" as a containment indicator is a common cryptic crossword convention. This device relies on describe^[3] being used in the sense of to trace the form or outline of ⇒ describe a circle with a compass. Thus, in today's clue, we have PA (the old man) containing (describing) AND (also) with the rationale for the wordplay being that the container (PA) forms an outline around the contained entity (AND) in a similar manner to the circumference of a circle forming an outline around the circular area contained within it.

The panda^[5] (also giant panda) is a large bear-like mammal (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) with characteristic black-and-white markings, native to certain mountain forests in China. It feeds almost entirely on bamboo and has become increasingly rare.

10a   Acts I deny working /for/ cartel (9)

12a   Heard I was hard? // Nonsense (7)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

Eyewash^[5] is an informal term for insincere talk or nonsense ⇒ all that stuff about blood being thicker than water was a lot of eyewash. This seems not to be a British expression, as the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary provides essentially the same definition^[11]. However, the American Heritage Dictionary offers a somewhat different connotation, defining eyewash^[3] as an informal term for actions or remarks intended to conceal the facts of a situation.

13a   Fear /of/ onset of darkness? Study needed (5)

In Britain, to read^[5] means to study (an academic subject) at a university ⇒ (i) I’m reading English at Cambridge; (ii) he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.

15a   Further // loan (7)

16a   Bone // tossed initially into Spanish dish (7)

Paella^[5] is a Spanish dish of rice, saffron, chicken, seafood, etc., cooked and served in a large shallow pan.

18a   Noisy celebration /in/ joint's at an end (5-2)

Up^[5] is an adjective meaning at an end ⇒ (i) his contract was up in three weeks; (ii) time’s up.

Knees-up^[5] is British slang for a lively party or gathering ⇒ we had a bit of a knees-up last night.

Delving Deeper
"Knees Up Mother Brown"[7] is a song that became popular in English pubs in the early part of the 20th century and was particularly associated with Cockney culture. The expression "knees up" came to mean a party or a dance. The tune has been adopted by football [soccer] fans for various chants. Here it is performed by Noel Harrison and Petula Clark:

20a   Envisage // opponent tackling reserve by end of game (7)

Among other possibilities, res.^[2] is the abbreviation for reserve.

21a   Article taken from grubby // relative (5)

23a   Bird -- // I check on unfamiliar sort (7)

"check" = CH (show explanation )

In chess, ch.^[10] is the abbreviation for check.

hide explanation

25a   Draughts, perhaps, // made bar go uncomfortable (5,4)

Draughts^[10] is the British name for checkers.

26a   Saw // a duke decline (5)

"duke" = D (show explanation )

A duke^[5] (abbreviation D.^[10]) is a male holding the highest hereditary title in the British and certain other peerages.

hide explanation

27a   Peculiar piano // seat (4)

Rum^[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

"piano" = P (show explanation )

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

hide explanation

28a   Young landlord enclosing second // bulletin (10)

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.]

Down

1d   Record // knock by opener for Essex (4)

Scratching the Surface

The surface reading is all cricket. In cricket, knock[5] is an informal term for an innings*, especially of an individual batsman ⇒ a splendid knock of 117 against Somerset. * Innings[5] can mean: each of two or four divisions of a game during which one side has a turn at batting ⇒ the highlight of the Surrey innings; or a player’s turn at batting ⇒ he had played his greatest innings; or (as used in this clue) the score achieved during a player’s turn at batting ⇒ a solid innings of 78 by Marsh. In cricket, an opener[5] is a batsman who opens the batting [i.e., is the first player to bat]. Essex[5] is a county of southeastern England; county town, Chelmsford. Essex County Cricket Club[7] is one of eighteen first-class* county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. * First-class cricket[7] is that which is played at the highest international or domestic standard.

2d   Handle // work of art after staff (9)

3d   Sounds like Arab leader with broken nose -- point /and/ show disbelief (5,4,4)

A sheikh^[5] (also shaikh, shaykh, or sheik) is an Arab leader, in particular the chief or head of an Arab tribe, family, or village. The name can be pronounced either shake or sheek.

4d   In question, // investment after a short time (2,5)

5d   Protracted dance, /or/ friendly ball? (4,3)

In cricket, long hop^[5] denotes a a short-pitched, easily hit ball ⇒ he fascinated spectators by bowling slow full tosses and deliberate long-hops. [Note that Oxford Dictionaries spells the term without a hyphen in the definition but adds a hyphen in the usage example.]

7d   Navigator, // one at home on second part of 8? (5)

The numeral "8" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 8d 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

Sir Francis Drake^[5] (circa 1540–1596) was an English sailor and explorer. He was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe (1577–80), in his ship the Golden Hind. He played an important part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza describes Sir Francis Drake as a famous Elizabethan sea captain, navigator and bowler. The most famous (but probably apocryphal) anecdote about Drake relates that, prior to the battle, he was playing a game of bowls* on Plymouth Hoe**. On being warned of the approach of the Spanish fleet, Drake is said to have remarked that there was plenty of time to finish the game and still beat the Spaniards. There is no known eyewitness account of this incident and the earliest retelling of it was printed 37 years later. Adverse winds and currents caused some delay in the launching of the English fleet as the Spanish drew nearer, perhaps prompting a popular myth of Drake's cavalier attitude to the Spanish threat.[7]   * British name for lawn bowling ** Plymouth Hoe is a sloping ridge overlooking the English coastal city of Plymouth

8d   We dart and tear all over the place, /but/ fail to make progress! (5,5)

11d   Enid treated, end // not exactly established (13)

14d   Advocate anaesthetic? // Old issue (4,6)

"Number" is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of something that numbs.

17d   Fall in love, /then/ become disillusioned (4,5)

19d   Foul-mouthed // supporter, English, supporting old hand (7)

By a strange coincidence, this clue has become rather timely with English soccer fans making their obnoxious presence felt at the EUFA Euro 2016^[7] tournament currently underway in France.

20d   Female, Italian head, /in/ good health (7)

"Italian" = IT (show explanation )

This clueing might be explained in a couple of ways:

• It.^[10] is an abbreviation for Italian or Italy.


• Italian^[10] is another name for Italian vermouth. It^[5] is an informal, dated British term for Italian vermouth ⇒ he poured a gin and it.

hide explanation

Ness^[5] (a term usually found in place names) means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

22d   Appeal /of/ tea room (5)

Cha (also chai) is an alternative spelling of char^[5], an informal British name for tea.

24d   Try // to listen (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