Wednesday, October 25, 2017 — DT 28490

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28490
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, July 27, 2017
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28490]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Kath
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

I would say that today's puzzle from RayT is of about average difficulty. In reading Kath's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I see that I failed to see the wordplay in one clue. The surface reading of that clue is so smooth that I had thought it to be an all-in-one clue in which the entire clue forms the definition.

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   Most evil // since being boxed by finest (6)

4a   Small guitar strummer without large // range (8)

S^[5] is the abbreviation for small (as a clothes size).

L^[5] is the abbreviation for large (as a clothes size).

9a   Some singers are poetic backing // musical works (6)

10a   Actually taking on phone company // owing money (8)

BT Group plc^{* [7]} (trading as BT) is a holding company which owns British Telecommunications plc, a British multinational telecommunications services company with head offices in London, United Kingdom. It has operations in around 170 countries. BT runs the telephone exchanges, trunk network and local loop connections for the vast majority of British fixed-line telephones. Currently BT is responsible for approximately 28 million telephone lines in Great Britain.

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^* plc (public limited company) is the British counterpart to the North American designation Ltd.

11a   Mass said first /for puritan (8)

Mass^[5] is the celebration of the Christian Eucharist, especially in the Roman Catholic Church.

13a   Starting to appear less exciting really, initially (6)

In this semi-all-in-one clue, the entire clue provides the wordplay within which the definition is embedded.

15a   Ailment's best treated ringing hospital // foundation (13)

18a   Children go nuts almost shaking // teddy? (13)

What did she say?
In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath describes a teddy as an all in one piece of lingerie which is a bit like a babygro for grown-ups. Babygro[5] is a British trademark for an all-in-one stretch garment for babies.

22a   Greek god's about gutted accepting // heathens (6)

In Greek mythology, Pan^[5] is a god of flocks and herds, typically represented with the horns, ears, and legs of a goat on a man's body. His sudden appearance was supposed to cause terror similar to that of a frightened and stampeding herd, and the word panic is derived from his name.

24a   Physical // work's rejected in pen (8)

"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

26a   Boss promises to pay // hard-working (8)

27a   Mournful song /from/ Led Zeppelin singer penning single (6)

Robert Plant^[7] is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin.

28a   Silver brought back covered by excise // charge (8)

The symbol for the chemical element silver is Ag^[5] from Latin argentum.

29a   Declines to go after circular // saws (6)

Down

1d   Head of buddleia emerges producing flowers (6)

Scratching the Surface
Buddleia[5] is a widely cultivated shrub with clusters of fragrant lilac, white, or yellow flowers. It is named in honour of English botanist Adam Buddle (died 1715).

2d   Front line // deviously reshaped round middle of war (9)

3d   Colour /of/ little wound? (7)

A double definition, the second being whimsical.

5d   Fix time /for/ drink (4)

In Britain [not to mention elsewhere], the pint^[5] is the traditional measure for a serving of beer ⇒ we’ll probably go for a pint on the way home.

6d   Fast one /from/ con man on the phone (7)

The word "cheater", when pronounced in a non-rhotic (show explanation ) accent typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain, sounds like "cheetah".

Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.

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7d   Speed getting left behind // animal (5)

The ratel^[5] (also called honey badger) is a badger-like mammal with a white or grey back and black underparts, native to Africa and Asia. In Africa it is attracted by the honeyguide bird to bee nests, which it breaks open to gain access to the grubs and honey.

8d   Second time around Queen // soften (8)

"second" = MO (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

"Queen" = 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

12d   Nice // bust remodelled on French article (6)

"French article" = LE (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le^[8].

hide explanation

The adjective nice^[5] (especially when used in reference to a difference) means slight or subtle.

14d   Bar // in club is trouble (6)

16d   Devouring // extract of ginseng or ginger (9)

Engorge^[5] means to eat (food) ravenously or greedily.

17d   Alleged // drunk swallowing very big measure (8)

"drunk" = SUPPED (show explanation )

As a verb, sup^[5] is a dated or Northern English term meaning to take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls ⇒ (i) she supped up her soup delightedly; (ii) he was supping straight from the bottle.

As a noun, sup^[5] means (1) a sip of liquid ⇒ he took another sup of wine or (2) in Northern England or Ireland, an alcoholic drink ⇒ the latest sup from those blokes at the brewery.

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"very big" = OS (show explanation )

The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size^[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize (abbreviation OS^[5]) in Britain.

hide explanation

19d   Published piece /that shows/ where one stands (7)

I totally failed to see the wordplay here, thinking that the clue was simply a cryptic definition. The wordplay is RAN (published) + KING ([chess] piece).

Taking a contrary view to Kath, I have marked the definition as merely "where one stands" as opposed to "[something] that shows where one stands".

Ranking^[10] denotes a position on a scale or rating.

I think that rankings^[10], the official list of the best players in a particular sport, would be "[something] that shows where one stands".

20d   Stuck, // the compiler's turned white (7)

"compiler'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 "compiler" with the verb "to be" producing "compiler's" (a contraction of "compiler is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").

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21d   Loud instruments /and/ quiet instruments? (6)

"loud" = F (show explanation )

Forte^[5] (abbreviation f^[5]) is a musical direction meaning (as an adjective) loud or (as an adverb) loudly.

hide explanation

23d   Porridge /in/ heartless gaol, full of regret (5)

Scratching the Surface
Gaol[10] is a British variant spelling of jail.

25d   Reportedly wriggled out of // tube (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