Monday, January 1, 2018 — DT 28540 (Published Saturday, December 30, 2017)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28540
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, September 23, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28540 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28540 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (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. This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, December 30, 2017 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

While not extremely difficult, this puzzle should provide a good mental workout — especially for those who may be awakening after a night of serious celebrating.

Happy New Year everyone.

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   Athlete's tip for training -- // he knows what you are thinking (11)

10a   European movies, // long ones (5)

The implied definition is "long movies".

11a   China/'s/ police ran amok (9)

12a   Adaptable creature, // desert animal accepting hard time (9)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

H^[2,5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

hide explanation

13a   Emerge /with/ a pay increase (5)

Here and There
Rise[5] is the British* term for an increase in salary or wages ⇒ non-supervisory staff were given a 5 per cent rise. * The equivalent term in North America is raise[5] ⇒ he wants a raise and some perks.

14a   Turned on by some // form of worship (6)

In Christianity, the Litany^[10] is a form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations, each followed by an unvarying response.

16a   Using a particular method, prepares tomatoes /and/ various items (8)

18a   Theatre's promotion: // act Shakespeare in an unusually familiar way? (8)

A playbill^[5] is a poster announcing a theatrical performance ⇒ her name occupied third place in the playbills.

20a   Fiery, // sailor? Take it easy? (6)

"sailor" = AB (show explanation )

In the Royal Navy, according to Oxford Dictionaries, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman^[10] (also called able-bodied seaman) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.

hide explanation

23a   Girl /from/ island accompanied by Frenchman (5)

René^[7] (born again or reborn in French) is a common first name in both French-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries — and especially so in Crosswordland.

Delving Deeper
The name René derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine form). In some non-Francophone countries, however, there exists the habit of giving the name René (sometimes spelled without an accent) to girls as well as boys. In addition, both forms are used as surnames (family names).

Behind the Picture

On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Big Dave illustrates his hint with a picture of René Artois, a character from the BBC television sitcom 'Allo 'Allo![7] which was broadcast from 1982 to 1992. Set in a small town in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, 'Allo 'Allo! tells the story of café owner René Artois (played by English comic Gordon Kaye). Réné, whilst trying to remain impartial, has been dragged into the war by both sides. The Germans are threatening to shoot him if he does not secretly hide stolen valuables; the Résistance is using his café as a safe-house for shot-down British airmen; and on top of that, he is trying to keep his passionate love affairs with the café waitresses secret from his wife. Whenever his wife Edith catches him in the arms of another woman, René invariably responds with the phrase "You stupid woman! Can you not see that..." followed by a convoluted explanation, which Edith always believes, leading to an apology from her.

24a   Member of clergy facing debts // associated with someone else (9)

A vicar^[5] is a member of the clergy, although the meaning of the term varies among religious denominations (show more ).

The term vicar may mean:

• in the the Church of England, an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman;
• in other Anglican Churches, a member of the clergy deputizing for another;
• in the Roman Catholic Church, a representative or deputy of a bishop;
• in the US Episcopal Church, a clergyman in charge of a chapel;
• a cleric or choir member appointed to sing certain parts of a cathedral service.

show less

26a   Costumier // dated mechanic (9)

27a   Car with old // sound system (5)

Audi AG^[7] is a German automobile manufacturer that is now part of the Volkswagen Group. The company name is based on the Latin translation of the surname of the founder, August Horch. "Horch", meaning "listen" in German, becomes "audi" in Latin. The four rings of the Audi logo each represent one of four car companies that banded together to create Audi's predecessor company, Auto Union.

28a   Emotional // pull found in running (4-7)

Down

2d   Show // some rare vitality (5)

Evita^[7] is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón [known familiarly as Evita], the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows Evita's early life, rise to power, charity work, and eventual death.

What did he say?

In his hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Big Dave refers to the solution as a former west-end show. The West End[5] is the entertainment and shopping area of London to the west of the City. In theatrical terms, the West End is to London what Broadway is to New York. Evita began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London's West End in 1978, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and on Broadway a year later, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical.

In his hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Big Dave refers to this as a "former west-end show".

3d   Oriental // festival before 1st of November (7)

4d   Cut top off piece of embroidery, /it's/ more than enough! (6)

A sampler^[5] is a piece of embroidery worked in various stitches as a specimen of skill, typically containing the alphabet and some mottoes.

5d   Managed in a huge complex /producing/ slate (8)

Slate^[5] is an informal British term meaning to criticize severely ⇒ his work was slated by the critics.

6d   Race official/'s/ second raised blast arresting you and I (7)

7d   Hire pro to broadcast about unravelling clue -- him? (7,6)

In this semi-all-in-one clue, the definition is provided by the entire clue into which the wordplay (marked with a dashed underline) is embedded.

---

Hercule Poirot^[7] is a fictional Belgian detective, created by Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play (Black Coffee), and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975.

8d   Fawlty towers above art gallery /and/ church (8)

Basil Fawlty^[7] is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. Basil has become an iconic British comedy character that is widely recognised around the world, despite only 12 half-hour episodes ever being made.

The Institute of Contemporary Arts^[7] (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It contains galleries, a theatre, two cinemas, a bookshop and a bar.

9d   Entire prison's broken out, // scattering (13)

15d   Take to court about a T-shirt? // Injustice! (8)

In Britain, a vest^[5] is an undergarment worn on the upper part of the body, typically having no sleeves. The garment that North Americans (as well as Australians) call a vest is known in the UK as a waistcoat.

Improperly Dressed?

My first thought was that a vest and T-shirt are hardly the same thing. A vest[7] is a sleeveless (or, according to the definition from Oxford Dictionaries given above, "typically sleeveless") garment that goes by various names, among them tank top, A-shirt (from "athletic shirt"), and singlet. However — defying all semblance of logic (as it is the sleeves which give the garment its name) — there is apparently also an item of clothing known as a sleeveless T-shirt[7]. So not only has the setter hedged his (or her) bet by including a question mark ("T-shirt?") but there seems to be enough wiggle room in the definitions to drive a Mack truck through.

17d   Lift // woolly to reveal ... (8)

Ignore the ellipses. They serve merely to extend the surface meaning across the two clues.

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.

---

Lift^[5] is the common British term for elevator^[5]. [Note that "lift" is not "the" British term for elevator but rather, in Britain, the term that is commonly-used for elevator.]

Scratching the Surface
In Britain, woolly[5] is an informal term for a garment made of wool, especially a pullover. On the other hand, in Australia, New Zealand and the western US, a woolly[3,5,11] is a sheep.

19d   ... what followed Dior's famous style, they say -- // most direct approach (7)

Christian Dior^[5] (1905–1957) was a French couturier. His first collection (1947) featured narrow-waisted tightly fitted bodices and full pleated skirts; this became known as the New Look. He later created the first A-line garments.

To the best of my knowledge, B-line garments are a whimsical creation of the setter.

21d   Obama receiving Republican // heckle (7)

Barack Obama^[5] is a US Democratic statesman, 44th president of the US 2009–17; full name Barack Hussein Obama. He was the first African American to be elected to the presidency, and was re-elected in 2012 for a second term. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

---

Barrack is a British^* term meaning to Jeer loudly at (someone performing or speaking in public) in order to express disapproval or to distract them ⇒ (i) opponents barracked him when he addressed the opening parliamentary session; (ii) the disgraceful barracking that came from the mob.

---

^* On the other hand, in Australia and New Zealand barrack for means to give support and encouragement to ⇒ I take it you'll be barracking for Labour tonight?.

22d   Rare // blemish on church (6)

"church" = CE (show explanation )

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

hide explanation

25d   See rising study // of ancient times (5)

"see" = LO (show explanation )

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

hide explanation

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