Monday, September 11, 2017 — DT 28458 (Published Saturday, September 9, 2017)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28458
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28458]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr Kitty
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
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, September 9, 2017 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

From comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I see that I was not alone in finding this puzzle a bit slow to get into but not very difficult once a toehold had been established. There is also quite a bit of discussion on Big Dave's blog concerning the fact that cryptic crossword devotees seem to constitute a predominantly older demographic. Finally, there is mention of a memorial event for John Pidgeon^[7] (who set crosswords in The Daily Telegraph under the pseudonym of Petitjean) being held on the day that this puzzle appeared in the UK. He passed away on July 19, 2016.

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 semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Magazine /features/ extraordinary pair's wedding (5,5)

Paris Match^[7] is a French-language weekly news magazine based — where else — in Paris. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features.

6a   Telephone put back (4)

9a   Food flavouring // for fans, fishy (7)

10a   This may reduce sound /of/ organ stop (7)

12a   Turning one's back on crime -- // working, even (5,8)

14a   Arranged to repeat // work by Offenbach, perhaps (8)

Jacques Offenbach^[5] (1819–80) was a German composer, resident in France from 1833; born Jacob Offenbach. He is associated with the rise of the operetta, whose style is typified by his Orpheus in the Underworld (1858). Other notable works: The Tales of Hoffmann (1881).

15a   Criminal blamed /for/ pandemonium (6)

17a   Shock // fine just? (6)

"fine" = F (show explanation )

F^[5] is an abbreviation for fine, as used in describing grades of pencil lead [a usage that Oxford Dictionaries surprisingly characterizes as British].

hide explanation

19a   Snark and its peculiar // language (8)

Sanskrit^[5] is an ancient Indo-European language of India, in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian (Indic) languages are derived.

Delving Deeper
Sanskrit was spoken in India roughly 1200–400 BC, and continues in use as a language of religion and scholarship. It is written from left to right in the Devanagari script. The suggestion by Sir William Jones(1746–94) of its common origin with Latin and Greek was a major advance in the development of historical linguistics.

Scratching the Surface
The snark*[5] is an imaginary animal (used typically with reference to a task or goal that is elusive or impossible to achieve) ⇒ pinning down the middle classes is like the hunting of the snark. * nonsense word coined by English writer Lewis Carroll in The Hunting of the Snark.

21a   Getting // agreement (13)

24a   Melting ice does /in/ parts around cathedral (7)

A diocese^[5] is a district under the pastoral care of a bishop in the Christian Church. A cathedral^[5] is the principal church of a diocese, with which the bishop is officially associated.

25a   Rest // unhappy following cock-and-bull story (3,4)

26a   Splash of colour /in/ heart of cedar wood (4)

27a   Covert charge /in/ bargain basement's ending with husband on duty (7,3)

Stealth tax^[10] is an informal British term for an indirect tax, such as that on fuel or pension funds, especially one of which people are unaware or that is felt to be unfair.

Down

1d   Stake // large sum of money, holding Spades (4)

"Spades" = S (show explanation )

Spades^[2] (abbreviation S^[1]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

hide explanation

2d   United following umpire -- gosh, // he's fleeing (7)

"United" = U (show explanation )

In the names of sports clubs, U^[5] is the abbreviation for United^[5] — in Britain, a word commonly used in the names of soccer and other sports teams formed by amalgamation ⇒ Man U [Manchester United].

hide explanation

Here and There

From a British perspective, gee*[5] is an informal North American exclamation typically expressing mild surprise, enthusiasm, or sympathy ⇒ Gee, Linda looks great at fifty!. * perhaps an [euphemistic] abbreviation of Jesus. Brits would generally use the term "gosh" instead. However, see the discussion initiated by Rabbit Dave on Big Dave's Crossword Blog which suggests that this American expression may be in the process of being absorbed into British English.

3d   A restaurant may make this // accusation after function (7,6)

4d   Deny oneself // information offered up during decline (8)

Gen^[5] is an informal British term for information ⇒ you’ve got more gen on him than we have.

5d   Talk about energy // fraud (5)

"energy" = E (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

7d   Against the rules, // off-colour English girl /used/ (7)

Despite being positioned at the end of the clue, the word "used" plays a role not unlike that of a link word.

Here and There
Off-colour[5,10] (or off-colour[10]) is used in a British sense meaning slightly unwell ⇒ I’m feeling a bit off colour. In the UK, the term can also mean (as it does here) slightly indecent or obscene ⇒ off-colour jokes.

8d   Authorised // to run away with current partner (10)

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

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

"current" = I (show explanation )

In physics, I^[5] is a symbol used to represent electric current in mathematical formulae.

hide explanation

11d   Family magazine // disagreed, for a change, with others around (7,6)

Reader's Digest^[7] is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. For many years, the magazine — founded in 1920 — was the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States; it lost the distinction in 2009 to Better Homes and Gardens. Global editions of Reader's Digest reach an additional 40 million people in more than 70 countries, via 49 editions in 21 languages. The periodical has a global circulation of 10.5 million, making it the largest paid circulation magazine in the world.

13d   Bewildered // prisoner set up (10)

16d   Periodical trouble working over /in/ plant (8)

18d   Fashionable small cross -- upset // it's under cover? (7)

Rood^[2,3,10] denotes:

• a crucifix, especially a large one set on a beam or screen at the entrance to the chancel of a church; or
• (archaic or literary) the Cross on which Christ was crucified.

20d   I'm toxic to livestock, /and/ grow wild in desert (7)

Here and There
In North America, we are familiar with the word rat[3,11] meaning to reveal incriminating or embarrassing information about someone, especially to a person in authority; in other words, to squeal ⇒ he ratted on his best friend to the police. However, in Britain, rat[4] can take on the additional meaning of to default (on) or abandon ⇒ he ratted on the project at the last minute.

Ragwort^[5] is a yellow-flowered ragged-leaved European plant of the daisy family, which is a common weed of grazing land and is toxic to livestock.

22d   Inside centre, a trained // nurse (5)

23d   Soundly criticises // Scottish reformer (4)

John Knox^[5] (c.1505–1572) was a Scottish Protestant reformer. Knox played a central part in the establishment of the Church of Scotland within a Scottish Protestant state, and led opposition to the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots when she returned to rule in her own right in 1561.

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)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon