Monday, September 25, 2017 — DT 28468 (Published Saturday, September 23, 2017)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28468
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, July 1, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28468 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28468 – 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. This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, September 23, 2017 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

Fortunately, this puzzle was not a difficult solve — and equally easy to review.

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   Agree to fix /being/ very thin (10)

6a   Nail // poet that's twisted inside (4)

9a   Rock singer // learning to join blooming band (7)

Lorelei^[5] is a siren said to live on the Lorelei rock, a rock on the bank of the Rhine. She is held by legend to lure boatmen to destruction with her enchanting song.

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, blooming[5] is an informal British term used to express annoyance or for emphasis ⇒ (i) of all the blooming cheek!; (ii) a blooming good read.

10a   Seam put in Her Majesty's // furs (7)

"Her Majesty" = 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

12a   Trump's game upset insurgent concealing mean // person exposing wrongdoing (7-6)

14a   Something unusual, // 'I tarry', needs rewriting (6)

15a   Appear less civilised /in/ puzzle (8)

17a   Do away with corrupt // cruel woman (3-5)

19a   Six-footer // belonging to religious faction (6)

22a   Prepare a lithe model /for/ Victorian artist (3-10)

A Pre-Raphaelite^[5] is a member of a group of English 19th-century artists, including Holman Hunt, Millais, and D. G. Rossetti, who consciously sought to emulate the simplicity and sincerity of the work of Italian artists from before the time of Raphael.

24a   Someone lagging in race /for/ promotion (7)

25a   Empire sacked queen /as/ head of government (7)

"queen" = R (show explanation )

Queen may be abbreviated as Q, Qu. or R.

Q^[5] is an abbreviation for queen that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

Qu.^[2] is another common abbreviation for Queen.

In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms^*, Regina^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for queen] denotes the reigning queen, used following a name (e.g. Elizabetha Regina, Queen Elizabeth) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Regina v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

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^* A Commonwealth realm^[7] is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares the same person, currently Elizabeth II, as its head of state and reigning constitutional monarch, but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms. There are currently sixteen Commonwealth realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific island nations.

Thus Queen Elizabeth signs her name as 'Elizabeth R' as seen here on Canada's paint-stained constitution.

hide explanation

Here and There
Outside Australia and Canada, the term Premier[5] refers to a Prime Minister or other head of government. In Australia and Canada, a Premier is the chief minister of a government of a state or province.

26a   Hearties regularly /are/ unable to stand (4)

Scratching the Surface
Hearty[5] is an informal British term for a vigorously cheerful and sporty person ⇒ climbers and haversack-touting hearties.

27a   French short story with surprise ending // entering competition (10)

Conte^[5] (the French word for 'tale') in English denotes a short story^* as a form of literary composition.

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^* To the best of my knowledge, the French word conte does not necessarily mean a "short" story.

Down

1d   Mass with everyone /in/ shopping complex (4)

"mass" = M (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

2d   Old gardener /has/ hour in tall building (7)

Percy Thrower^[7] (1913–1988) was a British gardener, horticulturist, broadcaster and writer
who became nationally known through presenting [hosting] various gardening programmes on the BBC from 1956 to 1976.

What did she say?
In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, crypticsue writes it will be interesting to see how many solvers know/remember Percy Thrower. On this side of the pond I venture to say very few — if any. Fortunately, the wordplay easily lead one to the correct solution.

3d   Source of money /and /wealth hellion dissipated (4,2,3,4)

Scratching the Surface
In Britain, a hole in the wall[5] is an automatic cash dispenser installed in the outside wall of a bank and not, as in North America, a small dingy bar, shop, or restaurant.

4d   Needing refreshment when sun comes out, /making/ a couple of points over love? (6)

In tennis, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil. A players first and second points are each worth fifteen, so a couple of points over love is thirty.

5d   Party in playground having to turn up // smarter (8)

Here and There
Rec[5] is an informal British term for a recreation ground whereas in North America it is used as a short form for recreation ⇒ the rec centre. Thus Brits may conduct their sporting activities at the rec while North Americans would pursue theirs at the rec centre.

7d   Sheep gets to tear around // refreshed (7)

8d   Group of soldiers // abandon traitors (6,4)

Desert Rat^[5] is an informal term for a soldier of the 7th British armoured division in the North African desert campaign of 1941–2. The badge of the division was the figure of a jerboa (a desert-dwelling rodent).

11d   Very rich woman // crashed airline's limos (13)

13d   Bad-tempered person /in/ vote plot (10)

This plot is found in the garden.

16d   Previously // popular leading man's touring time (8)

As a containment indicator, touring is used in the sense of travelling (i.e., going) around — with the emphasis on around.

18d   Debonair, /making/ a gentle change (7)

20d   Old professors // deserve interrupting that is on the rise (7)

21d   Tyrant // installing son in base (6)

23d   Dress up /showing/ swagger (4)

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