Monday, September 16, 2017 — DT 28463 (Published Saturday, September 16, 2017)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28463
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, June 26, 2017
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28463]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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 16, 2017 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

I'm falling behind with the blog posts. The weekend was just too gorgeous not to get out and enjoy it.

In this puzzle, Rufus is showing off his prowess with cryptic definitions.

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   Lost island // silly nit recorded in map book (8)

Atlantis^[3,11] is a a legendary island, first mentioned by Plato, said to have existed in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar and to have sunk beneath the sea during an earthquake.

Scratching the Surface
Nit[5] (short for nitwit)[10] is an informal British term for a foolish person ⇒ you stupid nit!.

6a   Fraud // bound to include City in retrospect (6)

The setter uses "City" to stand for for the EC postcode^*  (show explanation ) which serves the City of London.

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^* postcode being the British counterpart of the Canadian postal code or American zip code

The EC (Eastern Central) postcode area^[7] (also known as the London EC postcode area) is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. It includes almost all of the City of London as well as parts of several other London boroughs.

The City of London^[7] (not to be confused with the city of London) is a city and ceremonial county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the conurbation has since grown far beyond the City's borders. The City of London is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. It is one of two districts of London to hold city status, the other being the adjacent City of Westminster.

The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City (often written as just "City" and differentiated from the phrase "the city of London" by capitalising "City") and is also colloquially known as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (2.90 km²), in area. Both of these terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. This is analogous to the use of the terms Wall Street and Bay Street to refer to the financial institutions located in New York and Toronto respectively.

hide explanation

9a   From which the faithful are instructed // how to convert wood into paper (6)

10a   Instrument of justice (8)

A recorder^[10] is a wind instrument of the flute family, blown through a fipple in the mouth end, having a reedlike quality of tone. There are four usual sizes: bass, tenor, treble, and descant.

 Historically, in Britain, a Recorder^[5] was a judge in certain courts. Today the term is used in England and Wales for a barrister appointed to serve as a part-time judge.

11a   Advertising agent // who's out-of-this- world? (8)

I have marked the first part of this clue as a cryptic definition. Despite being unable to find the term in any of my dictionaries, I presume that a spaceman (or perhaps a space man) is an advertising agent who purchases and/or sells advertising space in publications on behalf of his clients. Perhaps the expression is a cryptic allusion rather than an actual advertising industry term.

Blame it on the French and the Americans

I often see complaints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog concerning advertising taking over the back page of The Daily Telegraph usurping the customary location of the Cryptic Crossword. The roots of this sacrilege can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century. In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by all titles. Around 1840, Volney B. Palmer established the roots of the modern day advertising agency in Philadelphia. In 1842 Palmer bought large amounts of space in various newspapers at a discounted rate then resold the space at higher rates to advertisers. The actual ad – the copy, layout, and artwork – was still prepared by the company wishing to advertise; in effect, Palmer was a space broker. The situation changed in the late 19th century when the advertising agency of N.W. Ayer & Son was founded (also in Philadelphia). Ayer and Son offered to plan, create, and execute complete advertising campaigns for its customers. By 1900 the advertising agency had become the focal point of creative planning, and advertising was firmly established as a profession.[7]

12a   Sampled // last of fruit -- fresh dates (6)

13a   More than mean (5,7)

16a   Net result of all efforts coming to nought (8,4)

Goalless^[5] is an adjective denoting a game of soccer, rugby, etc. in which no goals are scored ⇒ (i) the match finished goalless; (ii) a goalless draw.

I think North Americans would be far more apt to say "a scoreless tie" rather than "a goalless draw".

19a   Back pay /for/ draughtsman (6)

21a   Sign of nervousness, // one fought by the brave (8)

Brave^[5] is a dated term for a North American Indian warrior.

Paleface^[2,5,10] is a term^* for a white person said to have been used by North American Indians although it may actually be more or less merely a literary term used in fictional representations of the speech of North American Indians.

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^* variously characterized as a derogatory^[10] or sometimes derogatory^[2] term or as disparaging offensive slang^[3] or as an ethnic slur^[7].

Delving Deeper
The word paleface[5] dates from the early 18th century (in the sense ‘person whose face is pale as a result of fear or shock’). The sense ‘white person’ dates from the early 19th century and was popularized by American writers such as James Fenimore Cooper.

23a   Ungenerous period /for/ interval (8)

24a   Look // good with jousting weapon (6)

"good" = G (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

25a   Following ship, // like seabird (6)

26a   University to put in test /for/ learning experience (8)

Down

2d   President's // superior suit (6)

3d   Jelly /made with/ a non-Eastern spice (5)

4d   Temple too elaborate /to be/ something Indians venerate (5,4)

5d   Odd // way to go over hills (7)

Although I expect the typo will be obvious to most readers, Miffypops has inadvertently written "owner" rather than "over" in his review.

6d   Tube holding a // gold coin (5)

A ducat^[5] is a gold coin formerly current in most European countries.

7d   One may be seen twisting at a party (9)

8d   Submarine threats that would break down if fired (8)

13d   Pocket money /could get/ booze to hold sad party in Africa (9)

The African National Congress^[5] (abbreviation ANC) is a South African political party and black nationalist organization. Having been banned by the South African government 1960–90, the ANC was victorious in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 and its leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s President.

14d   Brilliant featherweight (4,5)

This is a whimsical Rufus cryptic definition that defies rigorous parsing.

A Very^* light^[10] is a coloured flare fired from a special pistol (Very pistol) for signalling at night, especially at sea.

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^* named after Edward W. Very (1852–1910), the US naval ordnance officer who invented it

15d   Residents who learn // they're not invited on the ship (8)

This is a double definition in which both parts are more or less cryptic.

17d   A word for the wise (7)

The "word" — which happens to be an adjective — could be used to describe "the wise".

18d   I will join accountants up a // gum tree (6)

I think one could parse this clue a couple of ways.

As Miffypops shows in his review, it could be parsed as a reversal (up) of {CA + CA ([Chartered] accountants)} + (will join) I (from the clue) + A (again from the clue).

Alternatively, it could be parsed as a reversal (up) of {I + (will join) CA + CA (accountants)} + A.

Both routes get one to the same destination.

The acacia^[5] (also acacia tree) is any of numerous species of tree or shrub of warm climates which bear spikes or clusters of yellow or white flowers and are typically thorny. Some kinds of acacia, collectively known as gum arabic trees^[5], exude a gum (called gum arabic^[5]) that is used in the food industry and in glue and incense.

20d   Check key's in, /that's/ the rule (5)

22d   Special aptitude // one's shown for illuminating targets, we hear (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)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon