Thursday, December 28, 2017 — DT 28538

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28538
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, September 21, 2017
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28538]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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 think I might have struggled more with this puzzle the second time around than I did on my initial solve back in September when reviewing in for Big Dave's Crossword Blog. I certainly found it no easier than I did then. In fact, I was well into the puzzle before it dawned on me that this was a rerun.

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   Postman's endless list /on/ round (6)

Postman Pat^[5] is a British stop-motion animated children's television series that has aired in the UK since 1981. The show, aimed at pre-school children, concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale.

4a   Flag, // out of lust and ardour (8)

9a   Beginning to seem bothered? (6)

This is an all-in-one clue in which the entire clue is both wordplay and definition.

10a   Substitutes // with obligations to secure record (8)

"record" = EP (show explanation )

EP^[10] (abbreviation for extended-play) is one of the formats in which music is sold, usually comprising four or five tracks.

hide explanation

12a   Style, // say, wearing English cut (8)

13a   Speechless that trendy's admitted to // flash (6)

15a   Terrible ham promises to // change (13)

18a   Revolting to-do in France about European // Union (13)

22a   This compiler's practically impenetrable? // Not true! (6)

"this compiler's" = MY (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 using "this compiler's" in a possessive sense thereby requiring it to be replaced by a possessive pronoun.

hide explanation

24a   Absolute // 'catch' allowed sweetheart to embrace male (8)

26a   This dish /is/ wrong, I will answer (8)

27a   It's vital to check explosive // fuse (6)

HE^[5] is the abbreviation for high explosive.

28a   Left // endorsed again? (8)

29a   One having punt // improved (6)

Punt^{[2,3,4,5,10,11]} is a chiefly British term which (as a verb) means:

• (verb) to gamble or bet, especially against the bank (as in roulette and some card games such as faro) or on horses or other sporting events
• (noun) such a gamble or bet

Down

1d   Badger // exterminator gutlessly follows nuisance (6)

2d   Reputation bound to rise about small // shopkeeper (9)

Tradesman^[10,11] is a chiefly British term meaning a man engaged in trade, especially a retail dealer; in other words, a shopkeeper.

3d   Emote too much /giving/ account in public (7)

5d   Terribly winsome, excessively endearing, just for starters (4)

Another all-in-one clue in which the entire clue is both wordplay and definition.

Twee^[5] is a British term meaning excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental ⇒ although the film’s a bit twee, it’s watchable.

6d   Feed // rhinos digested, eating stripped cud (7)

7d   Nice farewell? (5)

This clue is a cryptic definition.

Nice^[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy.

Adieu^[5] (from French: 'goodbye' or 'farewell') is a chiefly literary term that means:

• (exclamation) goodbye
• (noun) a goodbye ⇒ he whispered a fond adieu .

8d   Husband is persevering holding /in/ spread (8)

11d   Holidaymaker under canvas finally /getting/ to frolic (7)

Holidaymaker^[5] is a British term for a person on holiday [vacation] away from home.

Here and There

The British use the word holiday(s) where North Americans might say vacation[5]. Holiday[5,10] (often holidays) is a chiefly British term for a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation ⇒ (i) I spent my summer holidays on a farm; (ii) Fred was on holiday in Spain. According to the British dictionaries, the usual US and Canadian term for such a break is vacation. However, I am accustomed to hearing the two terms used almost interchangeably — in much the same manner that we use fall and autumn interchangeably. This may not be the case in all parts of Canada, but I grew up in the Maritimes and have lived in Eastern Ontario for most of my life, both areas where British influence is particularly strong. In Britain, the word vacation[5] has a very specific meaning, a fixed holiday period between terms in universities and law courts ⇒ the Easter vacation. In North America, such a period might be called a break[7].

14d   Duplicity /of/ crooked senator (7)

16d   Most fervent // following and support (9)

17d   Sword // wound around one hand, cut (8)

A scimitar^[5] is a short sword with a curved blade that broadens towards the point, used originally in Eastern countries.

19d   Leaving // former wife single can start to grate (7)

20d   Pick up // mischievous child on prowl (7)

21d   Incredibly remote // object seen in space (6)

23d   Times oddly covering Queen // titles (5)

"Queen" = ER, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth (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— from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

hide explanation

In the solution, term^[5] is used as a verb meaning to give a descriptive name to or call by a specified term ⇒ he has been termed the father of modern theology.

Scratching the Surface
The Times[7] is a British daily national newspaper based in London. The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a division of News UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian-born American publisher and media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

25d   Run away /from/ sound of insect (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