Tuesday, November 14, 2017 — DT 28504

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28504
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, August 12, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28504 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28504 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) gnomethang (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

Today's solving experience proved to be a spirited but enjoyable tussle.

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   Bounty’s captain loses head with drunkard -- a // noted farce? (5,5)

William Bligh^[5] (1754–1817) was a British naval officer, captain of HMS Bounty. In 1789 part of his crew, led by the first mate Fletcher Christian, mutinied and Bligh was set adrift in an open boat, arriving safely at Timor, nearly 6,400 km (4,000 miles) away, a few weeks later.

Light opera^[5] (another name for operetta) is a short opera, usually on a light or humorous theme and typically having spoken dialogue. Notable composers of operettas include Offenbach, Johan Strauss, Franz Lehár, and Gilbert and Sullivan.

6a   Drug /from/ a police department (4)

"police department" = CID (show explanation )

The Criminal Investigation Department (seemingly better known by its abbreviation CID^[2]) is the detective branch of a British police force.

hide explanation

Acid^[5] is an informal name for LSD^[5], a synthetic crystalline compound, lysergic acid diethylamide, which is a powerful hallucinogenic drug.

10a   One doomed // daughter of Lear (not the Italian) (5)

Goneril^[7] is a character in Shakespeare's tragic play King Lear (1605). She is the eldest of King Lear's three daughters.

In Italian, the masculine singular form of the definite article is il^[8].

11a   Wine // brewed nearest us (9)

Sauternes^[5] is a sweet white wine from Sauternes in the Bordeaux region of France.

12a   School // cricket side hosted by old king (7)

In cricket, the leg^[5] (also called leg side) is another name for the on^[5] (also known as on side), the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman’s feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg.

"Old King Cole^[7] " is a British nursery rhyme most likely deriving from ancient Welsh. The poem describes a merry king who called for his pipe, his bowl, and his three fiddlers.

13a   Let down /seeing/ scenery set in river (7)

A flat^[5] (often flats) is an upright section of stage scenery mounted on a movable frame.

The Dee^[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland, England, Ireland, and Australia among which the most prominent are:

• a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen;
• a river that rises in North Wales and flows past Chester and on into the Irish Sea.

14a   Fresh trainees hate // to increase risk (5,3,4)

18a   Oppressed heretics fled // somewhere in Derbyshire (12)

Chesterfield^[5] is a town in Derbyshire, north central England.

21a   A fashionable set in function /that's/ senseless (7)

In mathematics, the term sine^[5] denotes the trigonometric function that is equal to the ratio of the side opposite a given angle (in a right-angled triangle) to the hypotenuse.

23a   Make lord // over in novel bonnet (7)

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

24a   Get behind with revising, /being/ ignorant (9)

Benighted is an adjective meaning in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance ⇒ they saw themselves as bringers of culture to poor benighted peoples.

25a   Kid /needs/ afternoon snacks to get energy (5)

Tea^[5] is a chiefly British term for a light afternoon meal consisting typically of tea to drink, sandwiches, and cakes ⇒ they were about to take afternoon tea.

"energy" = E (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

26a   Pitcher // of Milwaukee Brewers (4)

In this clue, the hidden word is located entirely within the second word of the name "Milwaukee Brewers". This sort of construction is one that I have encountered in other puzzles. Because the words "Milwaukee Brewers" together constitute a discrete entity, many^* — including myself — find it acceptable for the hidden word to be found entirely in only one of the two words.

---

^* But clearly not Big Dave. See his strongly expressed view in his contribution to the thread arising from Comment #9 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

Scratching the Surface
The Milwaukee Brewers[7] are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The team is named for the city's association with the brewing industry.

27a   Cover up QPR broadcast // bloomers (10)

Queens Park Rangers Football Club^[5] (also known as QPR) is a professional association football [soccer] club based in White City, London, that currently plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football.

The word "Ranger", when pronounced in a non-rhotic (show explanation ) accent typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain, sounds like "rainjah" — similar to the latter part of the word "hydrangea".

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.

hide explanation

The hydrangea^[5] is a shrub or climbing plant with rounded or flattened flowering heads of small florets, native to Asia and America.

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, bloomer[5] is likely being used in the dated informal British sense of a serious or stupid mistake ⇒ he never committed a bloomer.

Down

1d   What’s left, // say, in flimsy surroundings (6)

2d   Scrawny // mob put on plays -- nothing odd about that (6)

3d   Trio of distant objects /for/ less than a penny (5,9)

A farthing^[5] is a former monetary unit and coin of the UK, withdrawn in 1961, equal to a quarter of an old [pre-decimal] penny.

4d   Group chasing Poldark getting upset, // one owns (9)

In the wordplay, the word "chasing" is not a positional indicator, i.e., we are not seeking a synonym for "group" following (chasing) a reversal of the said Mr. Poldark; rather we are looking for a "group chasing" preceding a reversal of Mr. Poldark.

Ross Poldark^[7] is the title character in a series of historical novels by English novelist Winston Graham (1908–2003), published from 1945 to 1953. A continuation of the series published from 1973 to 2002 is concerned with the lives of the descendants of the previous novels' main characters. The BBC has adapted the series for television twice: Poldark, which aired in 1975 and 1977, and a new version, Poldark, which premiered in 2015.

5d   Global // tour (5)

Here and There
Round[5] is a chiefly British term meaning a journey along a fixed route delivering goods as part of one’s job or a job involving such journeys ⇒ I did a newspaper round. From a British perspective,  route[5] is a North American term meaning a round travelled in delivering, selling, or collecting goods.

7d   Trick to appreciate good // dancing (8)

"good" = G (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

8d   Mess /with/ attractive woman, the first one having left (8)

"the first [woman]" = EVE (show explanation )

In the Bible, Eve^[5,10] is the first woman, mother of the human race, fashioned by God from the rib of Adam, companion of Adam and mother of Cain and Abel^*.

---

^* not to mention Seth and her other sons and daughters^{[Gen 5:4]}

hide explanation

9d   Complaining to Heston finally about healthy // meat dish (4,10)

Beef Wellington^[5] is a dish consisting of beef coated in pâté and wrapped in puff pastry.

Scratching the Surface
Heston Blumenthal[7] is a British celebrity chef who has authored several books, written newspaper and magazine columns for various publications and been featured on numerous TV series. He is the proprietor of The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, one of four restaurants in Great Britain to have three Michelin stars; it was voted No. 1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2005.

15d   Offer to take trouble in // number 10? (4-5)

In cricket, a tailender^[5,10] (or tail-ender^[2]) is a weak batsman sent in to bat towards the end of the batting order ⇒ an astonishing display of hitting by the tailender.

There being 11 players on a cricket side, number 10 bats second to last.

What did he say?

In his hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Big Dave remarks Tuffers was usually a number 11. Phil Tufnell[7] (nicknamed Tuffers) is a former English cricketer turned television personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, he played 42 Tests* and 20 One Day International** matches for England, as well as playing for Middlesex from 1986 to 2002. * Test[5] (short for Test match)[5] denotes an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries. A Test is a four innings (show explanation ) match which may last up to five days. In cricket, an innings is each of two or four divisions of a game during which one side has a turn at batting. The term innings (spelled with an 's') corresponds somewhat to an inning (spelled without an 's') in baseball — although an innings certainly would typically last far longer than an inning. hide explanation ** A One Day International[7] (ODI) is a form of limited overs (show explanation ) cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, usually fifty. An over[5] is a division of play in cricket 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 Like baseball pitchers, cricket bowlers are obviously not known for their batting prowess.

16d   Small pack endlessly trumpeted /as/ thing to do with eggs? (8)

17d   Intended following of French // resistance (8)

"of French" = DE (show explanation )

In French, de^[8] is a preposition meaning 'of'' or 'from'.

hide explanation

19d   Burning // a briquette initially to use no energy (6)

20d   Economic slump, losing one third // when Parliament’s not sitting (6)

22d   Guard overlooking small // gate (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