Tuesday, February 28, 2017 — DT 28294

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28294
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, December 10, 2016
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28294 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28294 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (Review)
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
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

I don't recall any particular difficulty with this puzzle. It all seemed to fall into place fairly readily.

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   Contracted Spanish city girl /to provide/ song (8)

This song seems to be becoming a bit of an earworm.

Madrid^[5] is the capital of Spain; population 3,213,271 (2008). Situated on a high plateau in the centre of the country, it replaced Valladolid as capital in 1561.

5a   Person who takes things the wrong way (6)

The portion of the clue with the dashed underline provides the cryptic elaboration in this cryptic definition.

8a   Horse perhaps that's not much of a goer (6)

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

9a   Attenborough maybe winkling out little fellow, // one barely seen in public (8)

Sir David Attenborough^[5] is an English naturalist and broadcaster, brother of English film actor, producer, and director Richard Attenborough. He is known for films of animals in their natural habitats, including Life on Earth (1979), The Trials of Life (1990), and The Life of Mammals (2002).

Winkle^[5] (in the phrase winkle something out) is a British term meaning to extract or obtain something with difficulty ⇒ I swore I wasn't going to tell her, but she winkled it all out of me.

A naturist is a practitioner of naturism — naturism^[1] being communal nudity or nudity practised openly, especially when done so in the belief that it encourages self-respect, respect for others and a feeling of being in harmony with nature. Among practitioners in the US, the term nudist would seem to be generally preferred while in Europe and much of Canada, the use of the word naturist is more prevalent.

The term naturist is often confused — sometimes to humorous effect — with naturalist^[5], an expert in or student of natural history.

Scratching the Surface
Is it, perchance, merely a coincidence that winkle[5] is also a child's informal term for a penis.

10a   Country steps back too much -- // it elevates a woman (8)

"too much" = OTT (show explanation )

OTT^[5] (short for over the top) is an informal British expression denoting excessive or exaggerated ⇒ presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT.

hide explanation

11a   Sour // habitual response by expert (6)

12a   Arranged one behind another, cyclically? (2,6)

This clue proved easier to solve than to explain — and there may be more going on here than first meets the eye.

To start with, "arranged one behind the other" is a precise dictionary definition for tandem^[5] as an adjective.

Above, I have marked the clue as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise dictionary definition combined with a bit of cryptic elaboration (denoted by the dashed underline) where the word "cyclically" is an allusion to a tandem (noun) a bicycle with seats and pedals for two riders, one behind the other.

I did wonder if one might possibly consider this to be a double definition:

• Arranged one behind another, // cyclically? (2,6)

where "cyclically" is a cryptic (denoted by the question mark) way of saying "in [a] tandem [bicycle]". The difficulty with this, of course, is that one would say "on a tandem" and not "in a tandem".

Another thought is that "cyclically" essentially means "one after the other" (in the manner in which the seasons repeat cyclically) and given that "one after the other" also means "in tandem", one could say the "cyclically" is cryptically equivalent to "in tandem".

13a   Pop in translated name /for/ country (6)

Nippon^[5] is the Japanese name for Japan.

15a   Everyone assembled outside // that club? (6)

I can see two possible ways to parse this clue. In the first (shown above), the definition "that club" signifies "a particular type of club". One must interpret the wordplay as a series of instructions "[1] everyone; [2] assembled outside".

Alternatively, one might parse the clue (as crypticsue has) in the following manner:

• Everyone assembled outside that // club? (6)

where the wordplay would be interpreted as "[1] everyone; [2] assembled outside that" where the pronoun "that" in the second step refers to the result of the first step..

18a   Unreliable // story about sick revolutionary (8)

20a   Capital // increasin' by 100 per cent, it is reported (6)

In yesterday's puzzle, we saw that one dropped H deserves another. Well, the same applies for a dropped G.

Dublin^[5] is the capital city of the Republic of Ireland, situated on the Irish Sea at the mouth of the River Liffey; population 506,211 (2006). It was the birthplace of many writers, including Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, and James Joyce.

21a   Extra pay might make you this? (8)

This is a semi-&lit. clue (or, as some prefer to call it, a semi-all-in-one clue) (show explanation ) in which the entire clue provides the definition while the portion of the clue with the dashed underline serves as the wordplay.

In an &lit. clue^[7] (or, as some prefer to call it, all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.

In a semi-&lit. clue (or, as some prefer to call it, semi-all-in-one clue), either (1) the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay or (2) the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.

hide explanation

23a   One swallows pills, strangely // aromatic flavour (8)

24a   Gosh, care when stirring must come first /in/ buttery (6)

My^[5] is used in various phrases [or even on its own] as an expression of surprise ⇒ (i)my goodness!; (ii) oh my!.

25a   Please cast off /and/ slip away (6)

26a   Condition /made by/ church council withholding zero foreign capital (8)

We complete the trio of European capitals with Rome^[5], the capital of Italy and of the Lazio region, situated on the River Tiber about 25 km (16 miles) inland; population 2,724,347 (2008).

Down

1d   Leader of exodus /from/ East entering Stirling, say (5)

Sir Stirling Moss^[5] is a British former Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of competition and has been described as "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship". In a seven-year span between 1955 and 1961 Moss finished as championship runner-up four times and third the other three.

Moses^[5] (circa 14th-13th centuries BC) was a Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, brother of Aaron. According to the biblical account, he was born in Egypt and led the Israelites on their exodus from servitude there, across the desert towards the Promised Land. During the journey he was inspired by God on Mount Sinai to write down the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone (Exod. 20).

Scratching the Surface
Stirling[5] is a city and administrative region in central Scotland, on the River Forth; population 32,000 (est. 2009).

2d   Kingly post? (5,4)

Post^[5] is a chiefly British term for mail^[5], including in the sense of letters and parcels sent or received. Does it not strike you as rather ironic that the post is delivered in Britain by the Royal Mail while the mail in Canada is delivered by Canada Post?

3d   Rewritten tragedy // was revolutionary (7)

4d   Taff's harmony led rousing // anthem (4,2,2,7)

"Land of My Fathers" is the usual English rendering of the title of the national anthem of Wales, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau^[7] (the title – taken from the first words of the song – literally means "Old Land of My Fathers" in Welsh).

Scratching the Surface

The River Taff[7] is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Little Taff and the Big Taff — before joining to form the Taff and flowing south to Cardiff Bay. Taff (as used in the surface reading of the clue) may well be a shortening of Taffy*[5], a derogatory, informal British term for a Welshman (often as a form of address). * representing a supposed Welsh pronunciation of the given name Davy or David (Welsh Dafydd)

5d   Keep crossing river /in/ coach again (7)

6d   Urban, /and/ more muscular? (5-2)

I would say this is a double definition with the second being (as flagged by the question mark) a bit on the cryptic side — and thus the dashed underline.

7d   Fashion centre with diamonds /in/ reserve (9)

12d   I am to intervene // without delay (9)

14d   Plundering vessel, // soldier is supported by the monarch (9)

"the monarch" = ER (show explanation )

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

hide explanation

Historically, a privateer^*[5] was an armed ship owned and crewed by private individuals holding a government commission and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of merchant shipping ⇒ she was captured by a French 44-gun privateer.

---

^* The term can also mean a commander or crew member of a privateer, often regarded as a pirate ⇒ Francis Drake disliked other privateers poaching prizes he regarded as his own

16d   Eccentric liable to eat nothing /but/ a flower (7)

Lobelia^[5] is any of many species of a chiefly tropical or subtropical plant of the bellflower family, in particular an annual widely grown as a bedding plant. Some kinds are aquatic, and some grow as thick-trunked shrubs or trees on African mountains.

17d   Number residing on southern French island /is/ capable of being stretched (7)

The French word for island is ile^[8].

19d   Book /that makes you/ cross, one clutched by silly clone (7)

The link phrase "that makes you" is a more concise way of stating "that produces for you, the solver".

22d   Have correspondence at the end? (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

Monday, February 27, 2017 — DT 28293

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28293
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, December 9, 2016
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28293]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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

As is typical of a Giovanni puzzle, it took a while to establish a foothold, but once having done so, the solution progressed steadily.

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   Optimistic European, // one inclined to go north (8,4)

A positive pole^[5] is a north-seeking pole of a magnet (the pole of a freely suspended magnet which points north).

Delving Deeper

The north-seeking (or positive) pole of a magnet is also often referred to as its north pole. Similarly, the south-seeking pole is also referred to as the south pole or negative pole. It is generally well-known that the magnetic north pole of the earth is not located precisely at the geographic north pole. What may be less well-known is that, when the earth is considered as a magnet, the north magnetic pole is a negative pole or south-seeking pole or, in other words, a south pole.

9a   What's odd in a politician, almost // the thinker? (9)

Rum^[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

A Tory^[10] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain (show more ) or Canada.

The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.^[10] or Con.^[10].

Historically, a Tory^[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

The Conservative Party^[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.

hide explanation

10a   Scoundrel, one brought before a // church court (5)

The Curia^[5] is the papal court at the Vatican, by which the Roman Catholic Church is governed. It comprises various Congregations, Tribunals, and other commissions and departments.

11a   Like escaped criminal // worker caught during day (6)

"worker" = ANT (show explanation )

The word "worker" and the phrase "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.

A worker^[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.

In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.

hide explanation

12a   Prisoners stuck in 'ollow place /must be/ sympathised with (8)

One Dropped Aitch Deserves Another

The cryptic device being used here is that an aitch dropped in the clue implies an aitch dropped in the solution. Clues of this style are customarily described as being written in the cockney*[5] dialect spoken in the East End of London which is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang (show explanation ). Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in Cockney rhyming slang. hide explanation However, as once pointed out in a comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog "it’s not just Cockneys that don’t pronounce initial aitches – Yorkshire folk for example!". * A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow[7] church).

13a   Try and be still, hugging a // player on the field (6)

Goalie^[5] is an informal term for goalkeeper or goaltender. Given that this is a British^* puzzle and the clue clearly specifies "player on the field", we can assume that the reference is to the former, a goalkeeper^[5] being a player in soccer or field hockey whose special role is to stop the ball from entering the goal.

---

^* From a British perspective, goaltender^[5] is a North American term for a goalkeeper, especially in ice hockey.

15a   Insane trick by Jolson /in/ song (8)

Rig^[5] (noun) is an archaic term meaning a trick or swindle.

Al Jolson^[5] (1886–1950) was a Russian-born American singer, film actor, and comedian; born Asa Yoelson. He made the Gershwin song "Swanee" his trademark, and appeared in the first full-length talking film, The Jazz Singer (1927).

18a   Identifies fellow /as/ one likely to hit target (8)

19a   Coming // ahead of the festive season (6)

After considerable deliberation, I have opted to mark this clue as a double definition reasoning that the noun "Advent" can be used as a modifier denoting "ahead of the festive season" (the "Advent period" being the "period ahead of the festive season"). My hesitation in doing so is indicated by the dotted underline used to mark the second definition.

The first definition could refer either to advent^[2,5,10] in the general sense meaning the arrival of a notable person or thing (the advent of television) or to the Christian theological term Advent^[2,5,10] denoting the coming or second coming of Christ. In the second definition, Advent^[2,5,10] is the first season of the Church year in Christianity, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

A Harbinger of Things to Come
This puzzle was published in the UK on December 9, 2016 meaning it appeared in the midst of Advent. We get another taste of the approaching Christmas season at 8d.

21a   Letter // to settle status of ennobled man (8)

A lord^[10] is a male member of the nobility, especially in Britain.

A letter^[1] is a person who lets^*, especially on hire. [Among my stable of dictionaries, this definition is found only in The Chambers Dictionary.]

---

^* 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. [However, I seriously doubt that this word is quite as British as Oxford Dictionaries would have us believe.^[3,11]]

23a   Graze // a bit, needing energy (6)

26a   Back /being/ tough (5)

27a   Native -- // one getting drink in a hole in the ground? (9)

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat refers to gin as mother's ruin. Mother's ruin[5] is British slang for gin. The name may derive from the reputed ability of gin, if consumed in large quantity, to induce abortion in pregnant women. An eye-opening account of the effects of gin-drinking on English society in the mid-eighteenth century can be found here.

28a   Adulterer // agreeing to lose one of two rights (2-10)

Co-respondent^[5] (also corespondent) is a person cited in a divorce case as having committed adultery with the respondent.

Behind the Picture
Deep Threat illustrates his review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog with a picture of some interestingly-named men's footwear. Co-respondent shoes[5,10] (also co-respondents) is a humorous, dated [presumably British] term for men's two-tone shoes, usually black and white or brown and white. Unfortunately, the dictionaries do not explain the origin of the term.

Down

1d   Hair /and/ metallic thread upsettingly swallowed by farm animal (7)

Periwig^[5] is an archaic term for a wig^[5] (in fact, the word 'wig' is merely a shortening of the word 'periwig' introduced in the late 17th century). Thus the term 'periwig' was used in the 17th century because the word 'wig' had yet to be invented.

2d   This person's entertained by boy, // simple lad? (5)

"this person's" = IM (show explanation )

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

Today, the setter has made the scenario slightly more complicated by combining "this person" with the verb "to be" producing "this person's" (a contraction of "this person is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").

hide explanation

"Simple Simon"^[7] is a popular English language nursery rhyme.

3d   Woman with shots going round // hides in these workplaces (9)

The definition could be stated more clearly as "workplaces in which hides may be found" — but that would spoil the surface reading.

4d   Prohibit // nothing after check (4)

5d   Private // agent set up new salon (8)

6d   Secures // hair (5)

7d   Fresh role -- go up /giving/ introduction to play (8)

8d   Composer // to manage being heard (6)

George Frideric Handel^[5] (1685–1759) was a German-born composer and organist, resident in England from 1712; born Georg Friedrich Händel. A prolific composer, he is chiefly remembered for his choral works, especially the oratorio Messiah (1742), and, for orchestra, his Water Music suite (circa 1717) and Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749).

14d   Planned // a road to bypass mountains (8)

16d   Cut // last bit of learner’s instruction with head of academy absent (9)

The clue published today in the National Post is is the one that solvers in the UK saw in the printed edition of  The Daily Telegraph. A different clue appeared on the Telegraph Puzzles website:

• Introduce woeful // cut (9)

This does bolster my confidence in my observation that the syndicated puzzle is distributed prior to publication in the UK — despite not appearing here until months later.

17d   Bearing /of/ one in anger following vehicle (8)

18d   Trouble // created by furry creature on street (6)

Lost in Translation
The Spanish word for disturb is 'molestar'[5]. I once had a Mexican employee, newly arrived in Canada, who walked into a co-worker's office and innocently asked if he could molest her.

20d   There is time /for/ those not yet considered (3,4)

22d   Words /coming from/ Heather with love (5)

Ling^[5] is another name for the common heather^[5] (Calluna vulgaris), a purple-flowered Eurasian heath that grows abundantly on moorland and heathland.

"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

24d   No. 51 in avenue /becomes/ animated (5)

25d   Work up and down /in/ part of ship (4)

"work" = OP (show explanation )

In music, an opus^[5] (plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.

The abbreviation Op.^[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..

Opus^[5] can also be used in a more general sense to mean an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

hide explanation

The poop^[5] (also poop deck) is the aftermost and highest deck of a ship, especially in a sailing ship where it typically forms the roof of a cabin in the stern ⇒ there on the poop stood Captain Meech.

Delving Deeper

The word poop[5] (in the sense of a deck on a ship) dates to Late Middle English coming from Old French pupe which in turn comes from a variant of Latin puppis 'stern'. Many people seem to believe that the toilets on a sailing ship were located on or below the poop deck thereby giving this part of the ship its name. However, the term has nothing to do with excrement — in fact, in the sense of excrement, poop[5] is a North American term. Moreover, in sailing ships, the toilet area for the regular sailors was placed in the bow somewhat above the water line with vents or slots cut near the floor level allowing normal wave action to wash out the facility. Only the captain had a private toilet near his quarters, at the stern of the ship in the quarter gallery. This explains why the toilets on a ship are called heads[7].

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

Saturday, February 25, 2017 — Rear Ends

Introduction

With one exception, the western half of today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon went in quite readily with the eastern half putting up a substantially more spirited fight. The exception was 10d, which eluded me for the longest time. I set it aside, wrote the review and then went back to it at which point it grudgingly yielded.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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 █ - yet to be solved

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue
	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 (//).

Across

1a   Jot // weight goal for a batter (4)

W|HIT — W (weight; abbrev.) + HIT (goal for a batter [in baseball])

The abbreviation for weight can be w^[3] (also w.^[11] or W.^[11]) or wt.^[11].

3a   Director//’s article about long book by Spanish artist (4,6)

A(TOM E|GOYA)N — AN ([indefinite] article) containing (about) {TOME (long book) + (by) GOYA (Spanish artist; )}

Goya^[5] (1746–1828) was a Spanish painter and etcher; full name Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. He is famous for his works treating the French occupation of Spain (1808–14), including The Shootings of May 3rd 1808 (painting, 1814) and The Disasters of War (etchings, 1810–14), depicting the cruelty and horror of war.

The Third of May 1808 (1814), Goya

Atom Egoyan^[7] is a Canadian director (of stage and film), writer, producer and former actor. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica (1994), a film set primarily in and around the fictional Exotica strip club. Egoyan's most critically acclaimed film is the drama The Sweet Hereafter (1997), for which he received two Academy Award nominations, and his biggest commercial success is the erotic thriller Chloe (2009).

9a   Golfer Ernie maintaining equal // numbers (7)

EL(EVEN)S — ELS (golfer Ernie; South African professional golfer Ernie Els^[7]) containing (maintaining) EVEN (equal)

11a   Two sailors bathe at last, // raw (7)

TAR|TAR|E — {TAR + TAR} (two sailors) + E (bathe at last; final [last] letter of bathE)

Tar^[5] is an informal, dated nickname for a sailor. The term came into use in the mid 17th century and is perhaps an abbreviation of tarpaulin, also used as a nickname for a sailor at that time.

12a   Cool // Western alliance including Ukraine, finally (5)

N(E)ATO — NATO (Western alliance) containing (including) E (Ukraine finally; final letter of UkrainE)

Scratching the Surface

Ukraine applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)[7] in 2008. Plans for NATO membership were shelved by Ukraine following the 2010 presidential election in which Viktor Yanukovych, who preferred to keep the country non-aligned, was elected President. Amid the Euromaidan* unrest, Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February 2014. The interim Yatsenyuk Government which came to power, initially said, with reference to the country's non-aligned status, that it had no plans to join NATO. However, following the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and parliamentary elections in October 2014, the new government made joining NATO a priority. Russia's reaction to the 2008 plan of the then Ukrainian Government to join NATO was hostile. Nevertheless, the following year, NATO spokesman said that despite Russian opposition to NATO's eastward expansion the alliance's door remained open to those who met the criteria. According to polls conducted between 2005 and 2013, Ukrainian public support of NATO membership remained low. However, since the start of the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine, public support for Ukrainian membership in NATO has risen greatly. June 2014 until 2016 polls showed that about 50% of those asked supported Ukrainian NATO membership. * Euromaidan (literally 'Euro[pean] Square') was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on the night of 21 November 2013 with public protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti ("Independence Square") in Kiev, demanding closer European integration.

13a   Asian // crocodile’s back at the rear of the boat (7)

E|ASTERN — E (crocodile's back; final [back] letter of crocodilE) + ASTERN (at the rear of the boat)

15a   One of Jacob’s sons acquires // doodads (7)

GAD|GETS — GAD (one of Jacob's sons) + GETS (acquires)

In the Old Testament, Gad^[10] is Jacob's sixth son, whose mother was Zilpah, Leah's^* maid.

---

^* Leah^[10] was the first wife of Jacob and elder sister of Rachel, his second wife (Genesis 29)

16a   Jurisdiction of a noble // lad Rome meddled with (7)

EARLDOM* — anagram (meddled with) of LAD ROME

Historically, an earldom^[5] was the territory governed by an earl^*.

---

^* An earl^[5] is a British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquess [in other words, the third highest of the five ranks of British nobility — duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron].

18a   Scottish national symbol // altered the list (7)

THISTLE* — anagram (altered) of THE LIST

The thistle is the floral emblem of Scotland^[7] and is celebrated in the patriotic song "The Thistle o' Scotland"^[7].

21a   Mary Jane’s angry, // careless criticism (7)

POT|S|HOT — POT (Mary Jane; slang for marijuana) + S ('s) + HOT (angry)

23a   In centre, a timely // petition (7)

_ENTRE|A|T_ — hidden in (in) cENTRE A Timely

As the definition, "petition" is a verb despite being a noun in the surface reading.

25a   Ram front of elevated, // flattopped hill (5)

BUTT|E — BUTT (ram) + E (front [initial letter] of Elevated)

27a   “Wrong letter,” I // call anew (7)

RETITLE* — anagram (wrong) of I LETTER

28a   I bore myself in retreat /for/ people of distinction (7)

{EM|ERIT|I}< — reversal (in retreat) of {I (†) + TIRE (bore) + ME (myself)}

Emeriti is the plural of emeritus, one who is retired but retains an honorary title corresponding to that held immediately before retirement^[3].

29a   Arachnid behind prison camp/’s/ calcite formation (10)

STALAG|MITE — MITE (arachnid) following (behind) STALAG (prison camp)

A stalag^[5] was a Second World War German prison camp, especially for non-commissioned officers and privates. The name comes from German, a contraction of Stammlager, from Stamm 'base, main stock' + Lager 'camp'.

A stalagmite^[5] is a mound or tapering column rising from the floor of a cave, formed of calcium salts deposited by dripping water and often uniting with a stalactite^*.

---

^* A stalactite^[5] is a tapering structure hanging like an icicle from the roof of a cave, formed of calcium salts deposited by dripping water.

30a   Icy mass // composer (4)

BERG — double definition

Alban Berg^[5] (1885–1935) was an Austrian composer, a leading exponent of twelve-note composition. Notable works: the operas Wozzeck (1914–21) and Lulu (1928–35) and his violin concerto (1935).

Down

1d   Little fellows in shiny suits, // some evenings (10)

WEE|KNIGHTS — WEE (little) + KNIGHTS (fellows in shiny suits)

2d   Anger Left and // part of Europe (7)

IRE|L|AND — IRE (anger) + L (left) + AND (†)

4d   Flowers coming after last of sweet // samplers (7)

T|ASTERS — ASTERS (flowers) following (coming after) T (last [letter] of sweeT)

5d   Sea mist splashed around // painter (7)

MATISSE* — anagram (splashed around) of SEA MIST

Henri Matisse^[5] (1869–1954) was a French painter and sculptor. His use of non-naturalistic colour led him to be regarded as a leader of the Fauvists. His later painting and sculpture displays a trend towards formal simplification and abstraction, and includes large figure compositions and abstracts made from cut-out coloured paper.

Woman with a Hat, 1905, Henri Matisse

6d   Mad king losing English // stuff (5)

GORGE — G[E]ORGE (mad king) after having removed (losing) the [first] letter E (English; abbrev.)

George III^[5] (1738–1820) was king of Great Britain and Ireland 1760–1820, Elector of Hanover 1760–1815 and king of Hanover 1815–20. He exercised considerable political influence, but it declined from 1788 after bouts of mental illness, as a result of which his son was made regent in 1811.

7d   Craved // vote for communist, keeping neutral (7)

YEA|R(N)ED — YEA (vote for) + RED (communist) containing (keeping) N (neutral; an indication found on a gearshift lever)

8d   Must have // struck a low blow to the ear (4)

NEED~ — sounds like (to the ear) KNEED (struck a low blow)

10d   Wearing // the latest in fake chinchilla, e.g. (7)

E|RODENT — E {the latest [final letter] in fakE} + RODENT (chinchilla, e.g.)

14d   Second, counting // small number (10)

S|MATTERING — S (second; abbrev.) + MATTERING (counting; being of significance)

17d   Restricted a chart // subject to evaluation (7)

R|A|TABLE — R (restricted; motion picture classification) + A (†) + TABLE (chart)

19d   Resistance to change // shaken up in a rite (7)

INERTIA* — anagram (shaken up) of IN A RITE

20d   You and Beatrice caught in Emily/’s/ glance (7)

E(YE|BEA)M — {YE ([archaic form of] you) + BEA (diminutive of Beatrice)} contained in (caught in) EM (diminutive of Emily)

An eyebeam^[a] (or eye-beam^[5]) is an archaic or rare literary term for a glance of the eye, imagined as a beam of light.

---

^[a] Webster’s New World College Dictionary

21d   Clear about one // doctor’s case (7)

PAT(I)ENT — PATENT (clear) containing (about) I ([Roman numeral for] one}

22d   Phone link // in hotel out of order (7)

HOTLINE* — anagram (out of order) of IN HOTEL

24d   Tropical fish // seen in remote travels (5)

_TE|TRA_ — hidden in (seen in) remoTE TRAvels

A tetra^[5] is a small tropical freshwater fish that is typically brightly coloured. Native to Africa and America, many tetras are popular in aquaria.

26d   In retrospect, tender // love (4)

EROS< — reversal (in retrospect) of SORE (tender)

In Greek mythology, Eros^[5] is the god of love, son of Aphrodite — the Roman equivalent being Cupid. The name Eros is synonymous with sexual love or desire ⇒ Eros drives us to transcend ourselves through desire.

Epilogue

The title of today's review is inspired by the cryptic device employed in 11a, 12a, 13a and 10d to clue the final letter of a word.

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

Friday, February 24, 2017 — DT 28292

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28292
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, December 8, 2016
Setter Shamus (Philip Marlow)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28292]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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

This is one of those occasions where I was well into the puzzle before it dawned on me that the clues seemed very familiar.

There is almost a mini-theme in today's puzzle which morphs from a tear drop (21a), to an inflammation of the eye (23a), to an eyesore (6d), and finally to a seedy joint (1d).

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   Wander // about with son in lodgings (7)

5a   Starter, perhaps, requiring study /to get/ flavour (7)

Starter^[5] is a chiefly British^* term meaning the first course of a meal.

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^* chiefly British  according to Oxford Dictionaries, but certainly a term that is by no means foreign to Canada

"study"= CON (show explanation )

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing)  ⇒ the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

hide explanation

A soupçon^*[5] is a very small quantity of something ⇒ a soupçon of mustard. Thus a subtle flavour.

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^* Soupçon^[8] is a French word meaning 'suspicion'.

9a   Drink round lake chap's left /for/ cold meal (10,5)

Lough^*[10] is an Irish word meaning lake.

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^* pronounced identically to the Scottish word  loch^[10] which also means lake

"chap" = MAN (show explanation )

Chap^[3,4,11], an informal British^*[5] or chiefly British^[3] term for a man or boy, is a shortened form of chapman^[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar^[a,b].

---

 ^* Despite being identified by British dictionaries as a British term, I would say that the term is far from unknown in Canada.

^[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler^[c] which, in most senses, is deemed to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which in Britain is a drug peddler.

^[b] The current meaning of chap^[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.

^[c] Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary

hide explanation

Ploughman's lunch[5] is a British term for a meal of bread and cheese, typically with pickle and salad.

10a   Mo not leader? // Doubtful (4)

Mo^[5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal, chiefly British term for a short period of time ⇒ hang on a mo!.

11a   Hundred students hope to pass this // rock? (5)

12a   Drooping // fruit cut close to shop (4)

What did I say?
In my review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I hinted that "fruit cut" was a detailed citrus fruit. This was a use of "detailed" in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of having the tail removed — in juxtaposition to "decapitate" used in the hint two clues earlier.

15a   Improve // two bridge players by luck? Not principally (7)

In the card game bridge, North^[5] and South^[5] comprise one partnership and play against East^[5] and West^[5] who form the other partnership.

16a   Individual entering seaside venue /is/ trail-blazer (7)

17a   Article on port, // town in Hampshire (7)

Dover^[5] is a ferry port in Kent, England, on the coast of the English Channel. It is mainland Britain’s nearest point to the Continent, being only 35 km (22 miles) from Calais, France.

Andover^[7] is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 25 miles (40 km) north of the city of Southampton.

What did I say?

In my review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I stated that the wording of the clue is in contravention of the convention for the use of on in an across clue. "A on B" Convention A sometimes ignored cryptic crossword convention provides that, in an across clue, the construction "A on B" is used to clue B + A. The rationale for this practice is that in order for A to be placed on B, B must already exist (i.e., already have been written). Since the English language is written from left to right, this means that B must come first and A is then appended to it. . Notwithstanding the above, a solver must always be vigilant for setters who flout this convention.

19a   Dry wind /is/ over African country -- medic takes flight (7)

"over" = O (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation O^[5] denotes over(s), an over^[5] being a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

hide explanation

"medic" = MO (show explanation )

A medical officer^[5] (abbreviation MO^[5]) is a doctor in charge of the health services of a civilian or military authority or other organization.

hide explanation

A sirocco^[5] is a hot wind, often dusty or rainy, blowing from North Africa across the Mediterranean to southern Europe.

21a   Drop, we hear, /is/ level among others (4)

22a   A learner falls behind American university // standard (5)

"learner" = L (show explanation )

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

hide explanation

23a   Inflammation? // Sadly, yes -- temperature must be contained (4)

26a   What could be rhetorical skill -- /or/ lack of certainty (15)

The wordplay is an allusion to the term rhetorical question^[5], a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

27a   Support // aim by Arab, say, in East End (7)

An Arab^[5] is a horse of a breed originating in Arabia, with a distinctive high-set tail.

The East End^[5] is the part of London [England] east of the City as far as the River Lea, including the Docklands, an area whose residents are known as cockneys. The cockney^[5] dialect spoken in the East End of London is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words.

28a   What customers want a shop to be -- // 'customary'? Editor needed! (7)

Down

1d   Strip /in/ seedy joint interrupted by English priest (7)

2d   Hit the roof? // Some do it when diving (2,3,3,4,3)

3d   Limit // club -- bar women! (4)

A wedge^[5] is a golf club with a low, angled face for maximum loft.

4d   Mention of amount secured /for/ an unknown person (7)

5d   Tanning device // plus man for a massage (7)

6d   Like an eyesore, // unedifying largely at the edges? (4)

7d   Unexpectedly eccentric kind of // swindle (10,5)

Confidence trick^[10] (informal shortened form con trick) is the British term for a confidence game (informal shortened form con game).

8d   Loser // prone to sprawl around house (2-5)

A no-hoper^[10] is a useless person; a failure.

13d   Rogue // part of church given hearing (5)

14d   Seek to win over // legal institution (5)

17d   What might be quaint and last in furniture? (7)

This is an &lit. clue^[7] (or, as some prefer to call it, all-in-one clue), a type of clue in which the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.

18d   Gentleman put up with single // fried dish (7)

Rissole^[5] is a British term for a compressed mixture of meat and spices, coated in breadcrumbs and fried.

19d   Soprano with energy, a singer /and/ swimmer (3,4)

"soprano" = S (show explanation )

In music, the abbreviation for soprano is S or s^[2].

hide explanation

"energy" = E (show explanation )

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae.

hide explanation

Sea bass^[7] is a common fish name. Many fish species of various families have been called sea bass.

20d   Ace I had cited // with singular vision? (3-4)

24d   Revolutionary deserters /showing/ sign of military rank (4)

The only explanation that I could come up with for this clue was that it was referring to the stars used by the US military as an insignia of rank. However, the British military uses "pips" rather than stars and the Canadian military uses maples leaves.

In Comment #24 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mike suggests that the clue is referring to a 'Star of the Bath'.

Plunging In

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath[7] (formerly the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath) is a British order of chivalry founded by George I in 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as "Knights of the Bath". The Order of the Bath is the fourth-most senior of the British Orders of Chivalry, after the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, and the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (dormant). The insignia[7] of the order includes a star, the design of which varies by rank and division.

25d   Lush // part of meadow in Oxfordshire (4)

Oxfordshire^[5] is a county of south central England; county town, Oxford.

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