Tuesday, August 23, 2016 — DT 28105

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28105
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28105]
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
Notes
The National Post has skipped DT 28102 through DT 28104 which were published in The Daily Telegraph from Saturday, April 30, 2016 to Tuesday, May 3, 2016.

Introduction

Similar to the 2Kiwis, 10a was my last one in for which I needed a nudge from my electronic helpers to get me back on track.

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   North America's first exploit precedes a // feeling of revulsion (6)

5a   Begin hostilities /after/ sack is given to writer on love (4,4)

The setter has almost certainly used "writer" in the sense of an implement used for writing. While North American dictionaries define pen^[3,11] as a writer or an author ⇒ a hired pen, British dictionaries do not list this meaning and instead show pen^[2,4] (or the pen^[5,10]) as symbolically denoting writing as an occupation.

"love" = O (show explanation )

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).

hide explanation

I would say that the word "after" is acting merely as a link word between the definition and the wordplay rather than serving as a positional indicator. However, I initially did try to place the remainder of the solution after the synonym for "sack".

The wordplay is FIRE (sack) following (is given to; is added to or appended to) {PEN (writer) following (on) O (love)}.

The loosely-respected convention in across clues is that "A on B" denotes A following B since A can only be added on(to) B if B is already in position (i.e., has been written first). Similarly, A given to B would imply A following B since A can only be given to (added to) B if B is already in position.

9a   Self-restraint /needed/ /seeing/ cheek after altercation during meal? (5,5,3)

The words "needed" and "seeing" are what I think of as elements providing framework to the clue. They are not part of either the wordplay or the definition, but merely give structure to the clue. The word "seeing" is a link word — a word which provides a link between the definition and the wordplay — while the phrase "self-restraint needed" is a shorthand way of saying that "the solution to this clue is a word meaning self-restraint".

10a   Question on pay /as/ cause of inflation (4-4)

I fell hook, line and sinker for Jay's misdirection. I was considering COST-JUMP as a possibility until my electronic assistants steered me in the right direction.

11a   Puts one's foot down /and/ studies after start of term (6)

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.

12a   A radio presenter working to include one // neighbour (6)

In the cryptic reading, "neighbour" is a verb.

Presenter^[5] is a British term for a person who introduces and appears in a television or radio programme. In North America, terms such as host, announcer or anchor might be used for such a person.

14a   A girl, ten, excitedly // telling of events (8)

16a   Pure manoeuvring, to cross street in the morning // against the flow (8)

19a   Independent person elected to expose // damage (6)

"independent" = I (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

"Member of Parliament" = MP (show explanation )

In Britain (as in Canada), a politician elected to the House of Commons is known as a Member of Parliament^[10] (or MP^[5] for short).

hide explanation

21a   Person who rules, // for example, in lease (6)

23a   Beer // in tea? (4-4)

25a   Innumerable? About a hundred // that cannot be explained (13)

26a   Players // first locked in prison accommodation (8)

27a   Face // slump during struggle (6)

Down

2d   Sailor back East drops out // to go absent without leave (7)

"sailor" = AB (show explanation )

In the Royal Navy, according to Oxford Dictionaries, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman^[10] (also called able-bodied seaman) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.

hide explanation

No, abscond^[2] is not specifically a British term meaning to go AWOL. It means the same on the other side of the pond as it does here; namely, that one departs quickly and usually secretly — obviously without seeking permission (leave) to do so — because one has done something wrong and wants to avoid punishment or arrest.

3d   Flier/'s/ strain hugging women (5)

The swift^[5] is any of numerous species of swift-flying insectivorous bird with long, slender wings and a superficial resemblance to a swallow, spending most of its life on the wing.

4d   Wealth /is/ a common disease in criminal surroundings (9)

5d   Theoretically, // often heartless treatise (2,5)

6d   Standing // ruined broadcast after end of performance (5)

The 2Kiwis might have more correctly said "... and then a syllable that sounds like (broadcast) a word meaning ruined".

7d   Trifle ruined, mine's gone up /in/ smoke! (6,3)

Yes — as the 2Kiwis indicate — the solution is "part of a cigarette" but it can also be used as a synonym for cigarette ⇒ he smokes nothing but filter tips.

8d   Sculptor framing poet oddly /gets/ volunteered (5,2)

Auguste Rodin^[5] (1840–1917) was a French sculptor. He was chiefly concerned with the human form. Notable works: The Thinker (1880) and The Kiss (1886).

13d   Alert -- /yet/ dribbling? (2,3,4)

I immediately thought of basketball, but the setter is more likely to be thinking of soccer — or even field hockey.

Dribble^[5] means (in soccer, [field] hockey, and basketball) to take (the ball) forwards past opponents with slight touches of the feet or the stick, or (in basketball) by continuous bouncing.

The equivalent term in hockey [ice hockey to the Brits] is stickhandle.

15d   Transferable vote limit? /It's/ a recurring theme! (9)

17d   Take for granted // parking and carry on (7)

18d   Jumbo pilots // moving south after degree (7)

In South and Southeast Asia, a mahout^[5] is a person who works with and rides [guides or pilots] an elephant.

20d   Danger at sea -- // heartily sick diver should come up (7)

The grebe^[5] is any of several species of diving waterbird with a long neck, lobed toes, and almost no tail, typically having bright breeding plumage used in display.

22d   Suckers /for/ correct marks (5)

Think of "correct marks" as being marks placed on an academic test or assignment to denote that the answer is correct.

24d   British ramblers regularly /finding/ these in arms (5)

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