Tuesday, August 30, 2016 — DT 28110

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28110
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28110]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By ShropshireLad
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 28109 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, May 9, 2016.

Introduction

This gentle offering should not have caused you to raise much of a sweat.

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   Finish with lovely disguised // shot on court (4,6)

I will concede that the wordplay might be parsed — as ShropshireLad shows in his review — as DROP (finish with) + an anagram (disguised) of LOVELY. On the other hand, it could equally well be parsed as DROP (finish; the boxer finished his opponent with a stiff uppercut) + (with) an anagram (disguised) of LOVELY.

A drop shot^[7] is a shot in some racquet sports in which the ball (or birdie) is hit relatively softly, and lands just over and close to the net. In tennis, a drop shot hit with a volley^* is aptly coined a drop volley.

^* A volley^[7] in tennis is a shot in which the ball is struck before it bounces on the ground.

6a   Stone // circle located by mate (4)

In Britain, mate^[5] — in addition to being a person’s husband, wife, or other sexual partner — is an informal term for a friend or companion ⇒ my best mate Steve.

9a   Mimic /shown in/ matter to be published about opening of theatre (7)

10a   Golf and water sport // on the increase (7)

Golf^[5] is a code word representing the letter G, used in radio communication.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, ShropshireLad tells us that we need a water sport contested annually between Oxford & Cambridge. The Boat Race[7] is an annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights on the River Thames in London, England. It usually takes place on the last weekend of March or the first weekend of April.

12a   What one may do at a reception // for model when breaking a finger (7,1,5)

Finger^[5] is a measure of spirits in a glass, based on the breadth of a finger ⇒ two fingers of brandy.

Tot^[5] is a chiefly British term for a small amount of a strong alcoholic drink such as whisky or brandy ⇒ a tot of brandy.

14a   Regrettably // said of eccentric artist inside (6,2)

"artist" = RA (show explanation )

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA^[5]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain. 

hide explanation

15a   Save // me -- deer rampaging (6)

17a   Quarrel involving a restaurant's initial // list of charges (6)

19a   First to commend a pamphlet about a // medical condition affecting sight (8)

ShropshireLad has omitted one piece of lego in his instructions. The full instructions would be "Take the first letter of ‘commend’ and add the first ‘a’ in the clue, followed by another term for a ‘pamphlet’. Then insert the last ‘a’ in the clue."

21a   Everything impartially considered, // infers Allan is wrong (2,3,8)

24a   Highlights // dramas at college (5,2)

In Britain, up^[5] means at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ⇒ they were up at Cambridge about the same time.

25a   Openly disobedient, // fainted when disciplined (7)

26a   Bird that's grounded // wherever heather protects it (4)

27a   Crew crossing island river /must show/ standard (10)

Down

1d   Cut // diamonds upon diamonds (4)

"diamonds" = D (show explanation )

Diamonds^[2] (abbreviation D^[2]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

hide explanation

2d   Operating daily? // Hypothetically (2,5)

3d   Girl declines /to see/ African landmark (8,5)

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’.

4d   Employ tool and eels // set free (3,5)

5d   Slip lead off dog /to fetch/ bird (5)

7d   Archbishop, // affectedly proper, dined (7)

In the Christian Church, a primate^[5] is the chief bishop or archbishop of a province ⇒ the primate of Poland.

8d   To run away with current partner /is/ warranted (10)

Leg it^[5] is an informal British term meaning to:

1. travel by foot or walk ⇒ I am part of a team legging it around London; or
2. run away ⇒ he legged it after someone shouted at him.

In physics, I^[5] is the symbol for electric current.

Here we are likely encountering the other meaning of mate (see 6a).

11d   One that office bungled, // seemingly (2,3,4,2,2)

13d   Tidy rapper adapted // Beatles song (3,7)

"Day Tripper"^[7] is a song by the Beatles, released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out". Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the Rubber Soul album. The single topped the UK Singles Chart and the song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1966.

Delving Deeper
A day-tripper[2,3,11] (or day tripper[5,10]) is a person who makes a trip to somewhere and returns within one day. Oxford Dictionaries considers the term day tripper[5] to be British despite its appearance in both of my customary American dictionaries.

16d   Reportedly harassed an // unpleasant woman (8)

18d   All are mad about // English beer (4,3)

Real ale^[7] is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)^* in 1973 for a type of beer defined as "beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide".

^* The Campaign for Real Ale^[7] (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub. It is now the largest single-issue consumer group in the UK, and is a founding member of the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU).

Delving Deeper

The heart of the real ale definition is the maturation requirements. If the beer is unfiltered, unpasteurised and still active on the yeast, it is a real ale; it is irrelevant whether the container is a cask or a bottle. CAMRA does not support the promotion and sale of keg based craft beer in the UK. CAMRA's Internal Policy document states that real ale can only be served from cask without the use of additional carbonation. This policy means that "any beer brand which is produced in both cask and keg versions" is not admitted to CAMRA festivals or supported by CAMRA.[7]

20d   Risked /being/ where many martyrs died? (2,5)

22d   A // Greek starter (5)

In his review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, ShropshireLad identifies this clue as a cryptic definition. Alternatively, I believe that one might well consider it to be a double definition (as I have chosen to show it).

Alpha^[5] is a code word representing the letter A, used in radio communication.

Alpha^[5] is the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α).

23d   A male cat, // tiny thing (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