Thursday, January 5, 2017 — DT 28243

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28243
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28243]
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

Although today's workout from Jay is relatively gentle, one relative may prove to be less than well-known to most North Americans.

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   Undercover // family needs it to change (11)

9a   Lawyer meeting patient, // maybe a carrier (9)

Brief^[5] is an informal British term for a solicitor or barrister ⇒ it was only his brief's eloquence that had saved him from prison.

10a   Material // convinced on the radio (5)

11a   Perjurer ringing once, oddly not involved // in a row (6)

The clue parses as LIAR (perjurer) containing (ringing) NE {[O]N[C]E with the odd letters deleted (oddly not involved)}.

Versions

From the discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, this clue appeared in several versions across various platforms in the UK. However, the clue is correct as published in the National Post. One might suppose that as we here in Canada are seeing the clue several months after it appeared in the UK, the erroneous clue that appeared there has been corrected before being published here. However, I do not believe that to be the case. My observations over the years lead me to believe that the puzzle is distributed in syndication prior to being published in the UK. Moreover, even though the puzzle does not appear here until several months later, it is not altered from the originally syndicated version. This would lead me to conclude that the clue as written by the setter was correct and furthermore that the syndicated version was correct. Any errors appearing in the UK would have been introduced during the production process at The Daily Telegraph subsequent to the puzzle having been distributed in syndication.

12a   Good! Fish, fish /and/ fish (8)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[10] for good likely relates to its use in grading school assignments or tests.

hide explanation

The ling^[5] is any of a number of long-bodied edible marine fishes including various species of large East Atlantic fish related to the cod, in particular Molva molva, which is of commercial importance.

The grayling^[5] is an edible freshwater fish which is silvery-grey with horizontal violet stripes and has a long high dorsal fin, of both Eurasia and North America.

13a   Newspaper article about length /for/ such a coat (6)

A raglan^[5] is an overcoat with raglan sleeves.

15a   Left dance drunk after graduate // fair (8)

18a   Element // speaking languages before 10 (8)

19a   Make up // name to be assumed by popular doctor (6)

21a   Extend // agreement to cover results over target range, initially (8)

23a   Tipsy chef's hidden // spirit (6)

26a   Principle /demonstrated by/ the empty grid (5)

27a   Lease revoked in disturbed client/'s/ mind (9)

Let^[5] is a chiefly British^* term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i) she let the flat [apartment] to a tenant; (ii) they’ve let out their house.

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^*  This word may not be quite as British as Oxford Dictionaries would have us believe.^[3,11]

A Bit More on the British Side
As a verb, let in the sense of lease, is not entirely a foreign usage for North Americans. However, I would say that the situation is different when the word is used as a noun. Let[5] is a British term for: a period during which a room or property is rented ⇒ I’ve taken a month’s let on the flat; or a property available for rent ⇒ an unfurnished let.

28a   Rotten practice with company of French // driver's rules (7,4)

"of French" = DE (show explanation )

In French, de^[8] is a preposition meaning 'of'' or 'from'.

hide explanation

In Britain, the Highway Code^[10] is an an official government booklet giving guidance to users of public roads.

British — or not British

It was a surprise to learn that Britain has a Highway Code as one might have thought that it would be called a Motorway Code. However, the word highway seems to have a different meaning in the UK than it does in North America. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary and Oxford Dictionaries both show highway[2,5] as a North American or chiefly North American term in all senses of the word. However, Collins English Dictionary lists highway[10] as mainly US and Canadian only in the sense of a main road, especially one that connects towns or cities. In Britain, according to this source, the term means a public road that all may use.

Down

1d   Person at last /getting/ a pie (7)

By sheer coincidence, I had apple cobbler for dessert tonight.

Not British At All

All of my British dictionaries are in agreement that cobbler[5] is a North American term for a dessert consisting of fruit baked in a deep dish with a thick, cake-like crust on top ⇒ apricot cobbler. I don't think of this dessert as a pie, but American dictionaries describe it as such. The American Heritage Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary both describe cobbler[3,11] as a deep-dish fruit pie with a thick biscuit crust, usually only on top. I figure if it isn't round, and can't be sliced, it's not a pie. In my experience, a cobbler is typically baked in a square pan and served by scooping rather than slicing.

2d   Co-ordinate // a policy broadcast (5)

3d   Costs incurred /by/ scuffle during trades (9)

4d   Creature /from/ the deep lake (4)

5d   Church elite must support one // dairy product (3,5)

"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

6d   Try, /seeing/ enemies losing heart, perhaps (5)

7d   Promised // disheartened pal, getting nicked (7)

Nick^[11] means to hit or injure slightly. For instance, in the context of sports, it might denote an attempt to strike a ball which fails to make good contact.

In cricket, edge^[5] means to strike (the ball) with the edge of the bat [remember, a cricket bat is flat — unlike a baseball bat] ⇒ he edged a ball into his pad or to strike a ball delivered by (the bowler) with the edge of the bat ⇒  Haynes edged to slip^*.

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^* a fielding position

8d   Rather inferior // cider some brewed with no end of apples (8)

14d   Muzzle // pug -- not in buckles (8)

16d   Relative's friend /is/ an easy target for criticism (4,5)

Aunt Sally^[5,10] is a British term for a person or thing set up as an easy target for criticism ⇒  today's landowner is everyone's Aunt Sally. The term comes from a game played at fairgrounds and fêtes^* in some parts of Britain in which players throw sticks or balls at a figure of an old woman's head, typically with a clay pipe. Both the game and the dummy are known as Aunt Sally.

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^* Fete^[5] (also fête) is a British term for a public function, typically held outdoors and organized to raise funds for a charity, including entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments ⇒ a church fete.

17d   Attractive, // feminine and making a deep impression (8)

18d   Dump mainly serious // adviser on course (7)

This adviser tells you which horse to bet on.

Tip^[10] is a British term for:

1. (noun) a dump for refuse,  etc.; and
2. (verb) to dump (rubbish, etc).

20d   Settler settling /for/ support under table (7)

22d   Gag // miserable specimen with no wife (5)

24d   Belief system // encountered in sacred orders (5)

25d   Cook/'s/ stitch in time? No -- the other way round! (4)

"No -- the other way round!" tells us to put 'time in stitch' rather than 'stitch in time'.

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