Tuesday, August 9, 2016 — DT 28093

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28093
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28093]
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 28090 through DT 28092 which were published in The Daily Telegraph from Saturday, April 16, 2016 to Monday, April 19, 2016.

Introduction

I'm back from the lake — for a couple of days. The first clue (1a) in today's puzzle is a very apt description of the situation in which I found myself while trying to post the Saturday Cox and Rathvon puzzle this past weekend. To achieve this feat, I must find a shady spot (to reduce the glare on my computer screen) with a good cellular signal. I then use my smart phone as a wi-fi hotspot to link my computer to the Internet. There is no electricity so I must recharge my devices using a solar panel. Sometimes it all works — and sometimes it doesn't.

Perhaps taking inspiration from the Olympics, the editors at the National Post execute a triple jump today — leaping over three puzzles — and the track and field events have not even started in Rio.

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   Shady spots // where telephones will lose signal, ultimately (6)

Blower^[5] is an informal British term for a telephone ⇒ I’ve been trying to get hold of you on the blower.

4a   Coast road // company runs cosy little place (8)

The solution is a word with which I was unfamiliar but that I managed to construct from the wordplay.

"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

A corniche^[5] is a road cut into the edge of a cliff, especially one running along a coast.

10a   Customers /needing/ most of nicely polished box (9)

Tele^[5] is a non-standard spelling of telly^[5], an informal British term for television ⇒ (i) there’d been a cowboy film on telly; (ii) a black-and-white telly.

11a   Murphy's back around the first of March /for/ deposits (5)

Murphy^[5] is an informal name for a potato.

12a   Rodent eating unusual brie // dish (7)

Rarebit^[5] (also Welsh rarebit) is a dish of melted and seasoned cheese on toast, sometimes with other ingredients.

13a   Sacrifice // one during poor effort (7)

14a   Unhappy hour, oddly /for/ a holy man (5)

Sadhu^[5] is an Indian (Sanskrit) term for a holy man, sage, or ascetic.

15a   Finds new quarters /for/ American welcomed among freed heroes (8)

18a   Vestments /needing/ most of money, then footwear (8)

A cassock^[5] is a full-length garment worn by certain Christian clergy, members of church choirs, and others having an office or role in a church.

20a   Popular guest admitting // row (5)

23a   Wrap // English novel, working quietly (7)

"quietly" = 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

25a   Picture // designer with a master's degree (7)

Christian Dior^[5] (1905–1957) was a French couturier. His first collection (1947) featured narrow-waisted tightly fitted bodices and full pleated skirts; this became known as the New Look. He later created the first A-line garments.

26a   Fly high across pole /with/ echo-sounder (5)

27a   Testing // toy Turing designed (6,3)

Scratching the Surface
Alan Turing[5] (1912–1954) was an English mathematician. He developed the concept of a theoretical computing machine, a key step in the development of the first computer, and carried out important code-breaking work in the Second World War. He also investigated artificial intelligence.

28a   Check mobile phone? /It's/ a little thing but capable of development (4,4)

From a British perspective, cell^[5] is a North American term for a mobile phone.

29a   Much loved // mineral, in total (6)

Down

1d   Bet on others /for/ support (4,4)

2d   Rumour, some might say, // went round fast (7)

3d   Manage a session on small // cars (9)

5d   Sooner or later, // defy senate and shoo out (3,2,5,4)

6d   Free article turned up // low point (5)

7d   Host with time for right // contest (7)

8d   Players at Zurich admitting // substitute (6)

9d   Never worried, accepting trade union with excellent // source of finance (7,7)

TU^{[1,3,4,5,10,11]} is the abbreviation for Trade Union — an entry found in American as well as British dictionaries.

16d   Plain // rude -- and no different (9)

17d   Some in action // did a runner (8)

Do a runner^[5] is an informal British expression meaning to leave or escape hastily or furtively ⇒ they both did a runner and they’ve been in hiding ever since.

19d   Money up front /for/ amorous approach (7)

21d   Appeal /of/ girl disheartened with love affair (7)

22d   People count! (6)

24d   Absurdly rich, bagging // poem (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