Friday, July 8, 2016 — DT 28063

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28063
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28063]
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

Today we receive a fairly gentle mental workout from Jay.

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   Worries about son/'s/ light touch (6)

4a   Discipline // is found in celibate (8)

9a   Times quote on start of election // to raise feelings (6)

Scratching the Surface
The Times[7] is a British daily national newspaper based in London.

10a   Particular // drug (8)

A specific^[2] is a drug that is used to treat one particular disease, condition, etc.

12a   Organ/'s/ terrible scare after backing racing certainty (8)

Nap^[5] is a British term for a tipster’s prediction of the probable winner of a race ⇒ he discovered that his nap of the day had sprinted home at 10-1 at Doncaster.

13a   Reveal // end of filming by international forces (6)

"international forces" = UN (show explanation )

The United Nations^[5] (abbreviation UN) is an international organization of countries set up in 1945, in succession to the League of Nations, to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

The UN Security Council bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security, and may call on members to take action, chiefly peacekeeping action, to enforce its decisions.

hide explanation

15a   Order Dutch treats, accepting Man Utd originally // make the grade (3,3,7)

Scratching the Surface
Manchester United Football Club[7] (often referred to simply as United — and often as Man Utd or Man U) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

18a   Blairite coped after doctoring // elementary information (8,5)

Scratching the Surface
A Blairite[10] is a supporter of the modernizing policies of Tony Blair[5], British Labour statesman who was Prime Minister 1997–2007.

20a   Employ // people (6)

22a   Lines used by footballers after drink /will lead to/ ruin (8)

The Football Association^[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of football [soccer] in England. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

24a   Journalist put onto one married couple // did damage (8)

25a   High finish // hurt feelings (6)

26a   Relatively famous German /of the/ Naughty Nineties? (8)

Albert Einstein^[5] (1879–1955) was a German-born American theoretical physicist, founder of the special and general theories of relativity.

Scratching the Surface
The naughty nineties[5] were the 1890s, regarded as a time of liberalism and permissiveness, especially in Britain and France.

27a   Yes -- runs on way /for/ runner who won't give up (6)

"runs" = R (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

In cricket, a run^[5] is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other circumstances.

hide explanation

Sometimes the meaning of a word seems obvious even though it is not an expression I would use. That is the case with "stayer". However, I did wonder why the term was specifically applicable to a runner. Well, it turns out that it is used in relation to a four-legged runner.

Stayer^[5] is a British term for a tenacious person or thing, especially a horse able to hold out to the end of a race.

Down

1d   Sinister // member of the Lords put up in empty cemetery (6)

In the UK, the House of Lords^[5] (or, more informally, the Lords^[5]) is the higher chamber of Parliament, composed of peers and bishops.

2d   Syndicate accepting bill -- accountant right /to get/ competitive transport (6,3)

"accountant" = CA (show explanation )

The official designation CA^[5] for Chartered Accountant is used in Scotland — and was formerly employed in Canada. However, as of January 2013, Canadian CAs — together with CGAs (Certified General Accounts) and CMAs (Certified Management Accountants) have adopted the CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) designation.

Outside Scotland, the descriptive term "chartered accountant" is used by members of the accounting profession in the UK who belong to certain professional bodies.

In the UK (apart from Scotland) the designatory letters are ACA^[10] (Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants) or FCA^[10] (Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants). The designatory letters ACA and FCA are also employed in the Republic of Ireland although there I would presume that they stand for Associate of Chartered Accountants Ireland and Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland respectively — Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) being the Irish counterpart to the Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).^[7]

In addition to the organizations already mentioned there are a plethora of other bodies representing accountants in the UK. In fact, in the UK there are no licence requirements for individuals to describe themselves or to practise as accountants. However, those who use the description "chartered accountant" must be members of one of the organisations mentioned above or a recognised equivalent body in another Commonwealth country.

hide explanation

3d   Forced Unitarians to top // the limit (10,5)

Scratching the Surface
In Christian theology, a Unitarian[5] is a person who asserts the unity of God and rejects the doctrine of the Trinity.

5d   Store sending son down /to get/ brewer's requirements (4)

6d   Term of employment /that/ stinks if scene be changed (8,7)

In the UK, sickness benefit^[5] denotes a benefit paid weekly by the state to an individual for sickness which interrupts paid employment.

7d   Gather // sign of beer must be oddly missing (5)

All the odd-numbered letters are missing from sIgN oF bEeR.

8d   Commercial seen in flight /for/ a jolly adventure (8)

11d   King remains on edge, up // somewhere in Asia (7)

"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

Kashmir^[5] is a region on the northern border of India and northeastern Pakistan. Formerly a state of India, it has been disputed between India and Pakistan since partition in 1947, with sporadic outbreaks of fighting. The north-western part is controlled by Pakistan, most of it forming the state of Azad Kashmir, while the remainder is incorporated into the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

14d   Feeling // no one book should be promoted (7)

16d   Typically // maintain lady must be disheartened after maturity (9)

Averagely^[5] may be in the dictionary, but one is certainly far more likely to encounter the term on average^[10].

17d   The other side has answer for its first // fitting (8)

19d   Germany welcomes top // flier (6)

21d   Bird /needing/ head covered? (5)

A capon^[5] is a castrated domestic cock fattened for eating.

23d   Shop // held up by juvenile -- deplorable (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