Thursday, December 7, 2017 — DT 28521

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28521
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, September 1, 2017
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28521]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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

My progress ground to a halt with four interlocking clues remaining (2d, 14a, 15d, and 25a). After an extended period of contemplation, they all suddenly fell into place.

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   Guy maybe /getting/ engineers to accept work (4)

"engineers" = RE (show explanation )

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers^[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

hide explanation

"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

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Guy^[3] is used in the sense of a rope, cord, or cable used to steady, guide, or secure something.

3a   His mad idol turns out /to be/ prim and proper (3-7)

9a   Stories /offering/ element of thrill or escapism (4)

10a   One may suggest that you should compose letters differently (10)

11a   With temperature, strange little boy // walks tentatively (7)

13a   Goddess // came across, carried by stag maybe (7)

"Came across" denoting encountered — although the wordplay would also work were one to interpret "came across" to mean having satisfied a set of conditions or demands.

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In Greek mythology, Demeter^[5] is the corn goddess, daughter of Cronus and Rhea and mother of Persephone. Her symbol is typically an ear of corn. Her counterpart in Roman mythology is Ceres.

14a   Very small commander dealt with slavery /and/ homelessness (11)

In the Ottoman Empire, aga^[10] (or agha) could be either:

• a title of respect, often used with the title of a senior position
• a military commander

18a   With revision needed, setter meant /to give/ an alternative form of words (11)

21a   Loose woman // Victorian novelist reported (7)

Antony Trollope^[5] (1815–1882) was an English novelist. He is best known for the six ‘Barsetshire’ novels, including Barchester Towers (1857), and for the six political ‘Palliser’ novels.

22a   Building // company takes time, time, time! (7)

23a   Are its pies 'fantastique'? (10)

This is an &lit. (all-in-one) clue. The entire clue is both definition and wordplay — of course, under different respective interpretations.

Fantastique^[8] is a French word meaning 'fantastic'.

A patisserie^[5] (a French word adopted into English) is a shop where pastries and cakes are sold ⇒ the patisserie also specializes in cheesecakes and tortes.

24a   Composer noted for silence /in/ prison (4)

John Cage^[7] (1912–1992) was an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist. Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians who present the work do nothing aside from their presence for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is not "four minutes and 33 seconds of silence," as is sometimes assumed, but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance.

25a   Hurry to small city /to see/ flowering plants (10)

Wells^[7] is a cathedral city and civil parish in Somerset. Although the population recorded in the 2011 census was only 10,536, and with a built-up area of just 3.245 square kilometres, Wells has had city status since medieval times, because of the presence of Wells Cathedral. Often described as England's smallest city, it is second only to the City of London in area and population^*, though not part of a larger urban agglomeration.

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^* The City of London^[7] (not to be confused with the city of London^[7]) is smaller both in terms of area (2.90 km²) and population (9,401; 2016 estimate).

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Speedwell^[5] is a small creeping herbaceous plant of north temperate regions, with small blue or pink flowers.

26a   Former PM /wanting/ power, slippery creature (4)

"power" = P (show explanation )

In physics, P^[10] is a symbol used to represent power [among other things] in mathematical formulae.

hide explanation

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Sir Robert Peel^[5] (1788–1850) was a British Conservative statesman, Prime Minister 1834-5 and 1841-6. As Home Secretary (1828–30) he established the Metropolitan Police (hence the nicknames bobby and peeler [for a British police officer]). His repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 split the Conservatives and forced his resignation.

Down

1d   Member of family // corresponding (8)

2d   Display cut short with one old car turning over /for/ example (8)

MG^[7] is an English automotive marque registered by the now defunct MG Car Company Limited, a British sports car manufacturer begun in the 1920s. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés.

Delving Deeper

The MG business was originally owned personally by William Morris, the proprietor of an Oxford automobile sales and service business (the initials MG stand for Morris Garages). In 1935, he sold MG to his holding company, Morris Motors Limited, restructuring his holdings before issuing (preference) shares in Morris Motors to the public in 1936. MG underwent many changes in ownership starting with Morris merging with Austin in The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) in 1952. MG became the MG Division of BMC in 1967 and so a component of the 1968 merger that created British Leyland Motor Corporation. By the start of 2000 MG was part of the MG Rover Group — along the way having passed through the hands of British Aerospace and BMW. MG Rover Group entered receivership in 2005. The assets and the MG brand were purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group (which merged into Shanghai-based SAIC Motor in 2008). Production restarted in 2007 in China, and later at the Longbridge plant in the UK under the current manufacturer MG Motor (a subsidiary of SAIC). The first all-new model from MG in the UK for 16 years, the MG 6, was officially launched in June 2011.

4d   More than one north European // drinks, we hear (5)

A Lapp^[5] is a member of an indigenous people of the extreme north of Scandinavia, traditionally associated with the herding of reindeer.

5d   Mother grabs English lord -- terrible // song and dance (9)

My Lord!

In Britain, Lord[7] is used as a generic term to denote members of the peerage. Five ranks of peer exist in the United Kingdom: in descending order these are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. The appellation "Lord" is used most often by barons, who are rarely addressed by their formal and legal title of "Baron". The correct style is 'The Lord (X)': for example, Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, is commonly known as "The Lord Tennyson". Marquesses, earls and viscounts are commonly also addressed as Lord. Dukes use the style "The Duke of (X)", and are not correctly referred to as 'Lord (X)'. Dukes are formally addressed as 'Your Grace', rather than 'My Lord'. "Lord" is also used as a courtesy title for some or all of the children of senior members of the peerage: for example the younger sons of dukes and marquesses are entitled to use the style "Lord (first name) (surname)". As these titles are merely courtesy titles, the holder is not by virtue of the title a member of the peerage and is not entitled to use the definite article 'The' as part of the title.

6d   Unable to get // pay, keeping quiet, needing temporary shelter (11)

I would interpret "unable to get" to mean '[mentally] incapable of understanding'.

7d   Identity destroyed almost? // Imagine! (6)

8d   Walkers // shriek when disturbed (6)

12d   Relaxed // lad is rebel, I suspect (11)

15d   Spooner's model, family girl /getting/ a piece of facial protection (9)

The Rev. W. A. Spooner has bequeathed to us the name for an oft-encountered slip of the tongue. A spoonerism^[5] is a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures. It is named after the Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), an English scholar who reputedly made such errors in speaking. Spooner held a Doctor of Divinity degree and thus was entitled to be called Dr. Spooner.

I thought it very poor form for the word "piece" to appear in both the definition and solution — especially when there is no shortage of alternative terms which could have been used in the definition.

16d   Derek Trotter knowing // bit of America (8)

Derek "Del Boy" Trotter^[7] is the fictional lead character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses which originally aired from 1981 to 1991 (with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003).

'Del'ving Deeper

Played by English actor and comedian David Jason, Del Boy is often regarded as one of the greatest comedy characters in the history of British Television, and is regarded as an iconic character in British culture. Encompassing everything Cockney, Del is known for his broken French quotes which are usually completely out of context and a variety of catchphrases, including: "He who dares – wins!", "This time next year we'll be millionaires", "Lovely Jubbly!", "You know it makes sense" (which he usually says to his customers after they've agreed on a deal) and "You plonker!" (which he usually says to his half-brother, Rodney). Del Boy works as a market trader*[7], running his own company, Trotters Independent Traders (T.I.T.), either from out of a suitcase or from the back of his bright yellow Reliant Regal supervan. With a never-ending supply of get-rich-quick schemes and an inner belief in his ability to sell anything to anyone, he embroils "the firm", as he calls the family business, in a variety of improbable situations. This unwavering confidence gives rise to his oft-proclaimed ambition "This time next year, we'll be millionaires!". * In this case, market trader[5] denotes a person running a stall at a market — not a trader on the stock market. In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat alludes to Del being the "Cockney diminutive" of Derek. While I was unable to find a satisfactory explanation for it, I was at least able to find some evidence of the existence of this practice. According to a discussion on Digital Spy Forums, it is apparently common for Cockneys to replace "R" with "L" in nicknames. Thus, in addition to Derek becoming Del, Gary become Gal, Terry becomes Tel, and Karen becomes Kal. In other parts of England, it seems that "R" is replaced with "Z" with Gary becoming Gaz or Gazza, Terry becoming Tez or Tezza, and Karen becoming Kaz or Kazza or Kazzie. One contributor comments "I grew up in Leyton [a district of east London] and have to say in general we use a mix whatever rolls of the tongue easiest at that moment hehe! [My] mum is Carol she gets called Cal, Caz, Cazzie, Cazza, however nobody calls my son Harry Hal that would sound weird its always "shortened" to Hazza, but my friend Gary is always Gal not Gaz its confusing eh".

17d   Part of Somerset here, alluring /and/ heavenly (8)

Scratching the Surface
Somerset[5] is a county of southwestern England, on the Bristol Channel.

19d   Female campaigner // drinks heavily after conclusion of crusades (6)

Marie Stopes^[5] (1880–1958) was a Scottish birth-control campaigner. Her book Married Love (1918) was a frank treatment of sexuality within marriage. In 1921 she founded the pioneering Mothers' Clinic for Birth Control in London.

20d   Northern town /offers/ illegal recording -- not good! (6)

Bootle^[7] is a town in Merseyside^*, England.

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^* Merseyside^[7] is a county in North West England that encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary including the city of Liverpool.

22d   Coldness // about to descend on elevated land (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