Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Wednesday, December 6, 2017 — DT 28520

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28520
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Setter
Shamus (Philip Marlow)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28520]
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

In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath observes that she didn't find the puzzle very difficult. In my case, that was true for the left-hand side. However, the right-hand side of the puzzle was a different story, putting up very stiff resistance. Nevertheless, I prevailed in the end without needing to resort to calling in my electronic assistants — although I was on the verge of doing so when the penny finally dropped on 23a which also disclosed the fact that I had an incorrect solution at 14d.

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   Name // found in Ruth and Leviticus (6)

Scratching the Surface
Ruth[5] is a book of the Bible telling the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman, who married her deceased husband's kinsman Boaz and bore a son who became grandfather to King David.

Leviticus[5] is the third book of the Bible, containing details of law and ritual.

5a   One sells /using/ only detailed slogan (8)

9a   Resting point for bowlers? (8)

Bowler[5] (also bowler hat) is a chiefly British name for a man’s hard felt hat with a round dome-shaped crown. The North American name for this item of apparel is derby[5] — said to arise from American demand for a hat of the type worn at the Epsom Derby*.

* a prestigious British horse race — not to mention a major event on the British social calendar

Scratching the Surface
In cricket, a bowler[5] is member of the fielding side who bowls or is bowling — bowling[7] being  the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman.

What did she say?
In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath writes these bowlers are titfers ....

Titfer[5]  is an informal British term for a hat. An instance of Cockney rhyming slang (show explanation ), titfer is shortened from tit for tat, rhyming slang for hat.

Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.

hide explanation

10a   Disturbance /in/ break for top diplomats? (6)

The "top diplomats" here are representatives to the United Nations. Thus a "break for top diplomats" might be described as a "UN rest".

11a   Record // fifty with intent to tour capital on way back (8)

12a   Businessman to publicise // work after crash? (6)

13a   African // labourer endlessly wearing woolly again (8)

As an anagram indicator, woolly[2] is used in the sense of vague and muddled; lacking in clarity ⇒ (i) woolly thinking: (ii) woolly-minded: (iii) woolly argument.



A Ghanaian[5] is a native or inhabitant of Ghana*, or a person of Ghanaian descent.

* Ghana[5] is a country of West Africa, with its southern coastline bordering on the Atlantic Ocean. Former name (until 1957) Gold Coast.

15a   Manage // range needing no introduction (4)

17a   In speech, be inclined /to offer/ remedy (4)

In her review, Kath has marked the definition as being "to offer remedy" (with remedy treated as a noun and "to offer remedy" being a phrasal verb). After some deliberation, I have concluded that the definition is merely "remedy" (treated as a verb) reasoning that "to offer remedy" would be "to offer healing".

19a   Influence // continually found in a lot of drink (8)

I spent far too much time trying to justify the drink being BEVERAGE (which was certainly less than helpful at 19d).

20a   Tough // is flipping over novel -- why read out loud? (6)

21a   Page with line in the map scribbled /in/ small book (8)

"page" = P (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for page is p[5]see p 784.

hide explanation

"line" = L (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for line is l.[5]l. 648.

hide explanation

22a   German gentleman breaking limits for solitary // tipple (6)

Herr[5] (plural Herren) is:
  • a title or form of address used of or to a German-speaking man, corresponding to Mr and also used before a rank or occupation ⇒ (i) good morning, Herr Weber; (ii) my trip with the Herr Doktor was postponed 
  • a German man


Sherry[5] is a fortified wine originally and mainly from southern Spain.

23a   Judge // to withdraw with Liberal replacing Conservative (8)

"Liberal" = L (show explanation )

The Liberal Party[5] (abbreviation Lib.[5] or L[2])* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats. However, a small Liberal Party still exists although it has no representation in the UK Parliament, no Members of the European Parliament (MEP), no members of the Scottish Parliament, nor any members of the National Assembly for Wales.[7]

* Although Lib.[5] may be the more common abbreviation for the Liberal Party in Britain — likely to distinguish it from the the Labour Party[5] (abbreviation Lab.[5]) — Chambers 21st Century Dictionary indicates that L[2] may also be used.

hide explanation

"Conservative" = C (show explanation )

The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].

A Tory[10] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada.

Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

The Conservative Party[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.

hide explanation

24a   Fool should follow parking information -- // it's needed to get in (8)

"parking" = P

25a   Foreign songs /making/ number one on the radio (6)

A lied[5] (plural lieder) is a type of German song, especially of the Romantic period, typically for solo voice with piano accompaniment.

Down

2d   Excessive period to get up after a minute // liqueur (8)

"excessive" = OTT (show explanation )

OTT[5] (short for over the top) is an informal British expression denoting excessive or exaggerated ⇒ presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT.

hide explanation

Amaretto*[5] is a brown almond-flavoured liqueur produced in Italy.

* Italian 'a little bitter' (with reference to bitter almonds).

3d   Force out // duke on island over cabin (8)

"duke" = D (show explanation )

A duke[5] (abbreviation D.[10]) is a male holding the highest hereditary title in the British and certain other peerages*.

* The peerage[5] is the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke or duchess, marquess or marchioness, earl or countess, viscount or viscountess, and baron or baroness.

hide explanation

4d   Get rid of // rubbish I created around area (9)

As an anagram indicator, rubbish[1] is used as an adjective denoting of or relating to rubbish (nonsense). Nonsense[12] (adjective) means of or designating verse, poetry, or other literary composition consisting of words or syllables constructed of sounds or symbols arranged arbitrarily so as to convey an absurd meaning or no meaning at all.

5d   Result of inflation in the forties? (6-3,6)

6d   Prisoner on mend after modifying // sentence (7)

7d   A river flowing round settled // Australian city (8)

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.


Adelaide[5] is a city in Australia, the capital and chief port of the state of South Australia; population 1,172,105 (2008).

8d   Converted to ritual /in/ class (8)

14d   Notification stirring one in retirement? (5,4)

Alarm call[5] is another name for wake-up call[5], a telephone call made at a prearranged time in order to wake someone up she nearly slept through her wake-up call.

15d   Draws together // society in photograph (6,2)

S[10] is the symbol for Society.

16d   Simple // old man wearing fewer clothes? (8)

17d   Where mothers brood over the young in their clutches (3,5)

18d   Base teen wrecked, // one not seen? (8)

19d   Sad book with argument /that's/ not intellectual (7)
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

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