Wednesday, June 15, 2016 — DT 28040

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28040
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, February 18, 2016
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28040]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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

In a rare occurrence, I twigged from the first clue that this was likely a puzzle that I had solved before. On occasion, I have actually completed a puzzle the second time around without realizing that it is a repeat for me.

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   Riot Act laid out /getting/ autocratic (11)

10a   Look back and pine /for/ classic song (5)

"look" = LO (show explanation )

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

hide explanation

11a   Instrument /offers/ harmony in squeezing oxygen (9)

O^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element oxygen.

12a   That man, plain // cruel (9)

13a   Part of play // pictured for the audience (5)

14a   Small snake /is/ comparatively low (6)

The adder^[5] (also called viper) is a small venomous Eurasian snake (Vipera berus) which has a dark zigzag pattern on its back and bears live young. It is the only poisonous snake in Britain.

16a   Aggravates // hip hurt in case of falls (8)

18a   Possibly fighting // lethargy (8)

The clue published in the National Post is the one which appeared in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph. On the Telegraph Puzzles website the clue was changed to read:

• Lethargy // during bidding -- United's missed out (8)

Scratching the Surface
In Britain, the word United[5] is commonly used in the names of soccer and other sports teams formed by amalgamation ⇒ Man U [Manchester United].

20a   City // retreats in Lausanne I visited (6)

Vienna^[5] is the capital of Austria, situated in the north-east of the country on the River Danube; population 1,661,206 (2006). From 1278 to 1918 it was the seat of the Habsburgs. It has long been a centre of the arts, especially music; Mozart, Beethoven, and the Strauss family were among the great composers who lived and worked there.

Scratching the Surface
Lausanne[5] is a town in southwestern Switzerland, on the north shore of Lake Geneva; population 119,180 (2007).

23a   Origins of appallingly ripe odour making awful // smell (5)

24a   Nude agitatedly embracing a cheat, // naked (9)

26a   Crack blokes caught by English team's first // tackle (9)

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

27a   Club/'s/ instructions for man at wicket? (5)

The wordplay refers to a circumstance that can arise during the play of a cricket match.

In cricket, a team continues to bat until ten of the eleven players on the team have been dismissed^* unless the captain of a batting team declares the innings closed prematurely [the rationale for doing so is explained below]. In the event that the captain declares the innings closed, his team takes the field and the opposing team bats.

^* batsmen always appear in pairs and once ten players have been dismissed there are not enough players left to form a pair

The primary objective of each team in cricket^[7] is to score more runs than the opposing team. However, in Test cricket (a match between national teams), it is not only necessary to score the most runs but also to dismiss the opposition twice in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn. Therefore, the captain of a batting team which has built up a large lead may declare the innings closed prematurely in order to allow the opposition to bat (and thus gain an opportunity to dismiss them). As a captain, the key to victory is picking the right time to declare. Should he declare too early, the other team may score more runs than his team has amassed and thereby win. On the other hand, if he were to declare too late, the match may end before his team can dismiss the other team (resulting in a draw, even though his team may have a substantial lead in runs). 

Thus a batsman (man at wicket) may look to his captain for a signal to either "bat on" or lay down his bat and take the field.

28a   Repair /of/ rare container with gold in base (11)

"gold" = OR (show explanation )

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

hide explanation

Down

2d   Raised support supporting independent new // republic (5)

"independent" = I (show explanation )

I^[1] is the abbreviation for independent, likely in the context of a politician with no party affiliation.

hide explanation

India^[7], officially the Republic of India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country (with over 1.2 billion people), and the most populous democracy in the world.

3d   At that place catching a thespian's opening? (7)

4d   Composer following tenor/'s/ progress (6)

In music, t.^[10] is the abbreviation for tenor.

Maurice Ravel^[5] (1875–1937) was a French composer. His works are somewhat impressionistic in style, employing colourful orchestration and unresolved dissonances. Notable works: the ballets Daphnis and Chloë (1912) and Boléro (1928) and the orchestral work La Valse (1920).

5d   Dissenter /of/ Church rising in turn as converted (8)

"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

Historically, a recusant^[5] was a person who refused to attend services of the Church of England ⇒ support for the exiled King was greatest among Catholic recusants.

6d   Spray // raised from pedalo, so reacted (7)

Pedalo^[5] is a British term for a small pedal-operated pleasure boat (otherwise known as a pedal boat^[5]).

7d   Ditches patois, turning // suave (13)

8d   Referee // means to change after no score upset (8)

A linesman^[10] an official who helps the referee or umpire in various sports, especially by indicating when the ball has gone out of play.

In soccer, the official formerly known as a linesman has been rechristened an assistant referee since 1996.

Delving Deeper

In association football [soccer], an assistant referee[7] (known as a linesman or lineswoman before 1996) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. At most organised levels of football the match officiating crew consists of the referee and two assistant referees, with one assistant referee assigned to each touchline. The assistant referee's duties generally consist of judging when the ball has left the field of play – including which team is entitled to return the ball to play, judging when an offside offence has occurred, and advising the referee when an infringement of the Laws of the Game has occurred out of his or her view.

There is an extensive discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog concerning the names of on-field officials in a variety of sports. In tennis, the official is known as a line judge — thus the illustration that I used in my review on Big Dave's site may not be entirely correct (but was too good to pass by).

9d   Getting // sympathetic? (13)

15d   'Ring, ring', done in say, reversed // exchange (8)

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners.

The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).

In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable — or, as we find today, done).

17d   Importance shrouding Greek character/'s/ memorial (8)

Nu^[5] is the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ν, ν).

19d   Hard walk /from/ pirates ordered (7)

21d   Soon to welcome husband/'s/ people (7)

22d   Beam, /seeing/ Queen following (6)

"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

What did she say?

In a reply to RayT at Comment #26 at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Jane remarks quite a smile moment over the appearance of both your good self and HM [Her Majesty] in 22d!. Others made similar comments, including Silvanus at Comment #21. Beam is the pseudonym used by crossword setter Ray Terrell for his Toughie* puzzles. On Big Dave's Crossword Blog we know him as RayT. * The Daily Telegraph carries a number of cryptic crossword puzzles, principally among them being the Cryptic Crossword and the Toughie Crossword. The former is the puzzle which appears in syndication in the National Post. It is published in The Daily Telegraph from Monday to Saturday — customarily on the back page of the paper (and thus is commonly referred to on Big Dave's blog as the 'back-pager'). The latter puzzle is published from Tuesday to Friday and is to be found somewhere in the middle of the paper. The word "Queen" almost invariably appears in the clues to a RayT puzzle and is usually used to clue either R (Regina; Latin for 'queen') or ER (Elizabetha Regina; the royal cipher for Queen Elizabeth). Reportedly, this practice is a salute to the rock band, Queen — his personal favourite.

25d   Ran across right over // railway (5)

"over" = O (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation O^[5] denotes over(s), an over^[5] being a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

hide explanation

A metro^[10] is an underground, or largely underground, railway system in certain cities, especially in Europe, such as that in Paris [not to mention Montréal].

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