Monday, January 15, 2018 — DT 28550 (Published Saturday, January 13, 2018)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28550
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, October 5, 2017
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28550]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By pommers
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
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, January 13, 2018 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

RayT seems to feel that we have been getting off too easy lately and has upped the intensity of the today's workout.

If you would like to try your hand at deciphering a bit of British humour, try this example given by Kath at Comment #37 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

• Question: “What do you call a deer with no eyes?” Answer: “No idea”
• Question: “What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs?” Answer: “Still no idea” 

Give up? (click here for the explanation )

This riddle depends on the non-rhotic British pronunciation of the word "dear" as 'DE-ah' . Thus "No idea" (pronounced "NO EYE DE-ah") would sound exactly like "No eye dear" (a dear with no eyes).

If a dear also had no legs it would be unable to move or, in other words, be still.

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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

7a   Pig, our man decides to eat // pig (8)

9a   Cold and damp /and/ spacious, we hear ... (6)

The setter has inserted the ellipses merely to extend the surface reading across the two adjacent clues. In solving the clues, they can be ignored.

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Rheumy^[5] is an adjective meaning (especially of the eyes) full of rheum^* or watery ⇒ she was small and wizened, with rheumy eyes and bad teeth. In a literary sense, rheumy^[10] denotes damp and unhealthy ⇒ the rheumy air.

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^* Rheum^[5] is a literary term for a watery fluid that collects in or drips from the nose or eyes.

10a   ... really // kind of light (4)

A Very^* light^[10] is a coloured flare fired from a special pistol (Very pistol) for signalling at night, especially at sea.

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^* named after Edward W. Very (1852–1910), the US naval ordnance officer who invented it

11a   United // get trained working out (10)

Scratching the Surface

Manchester United Football Club[7] (often referred to simply as United* — and often as Man Utd or Man U) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system). * Although, in Britain, the word United[5] is commonly used in the names of soccer and other sports teams formed by amalgamation, it would seem that the word United on its own is customarily used in reference to Manchester United.

12a   Beer belly /of/ a being consumed by drink (6)

14a   Shocks /from/ power cuts without resistance (8)

"resistance" = R (show explanation )

In physics, R^[5] is a symbol used to represent electrical resistance in mathematical formulae.

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In his review, pommers indicates that outages is "[an] American term for power cuts". However, the only source that I could find to characterize it as such is an American dictionary, Webster’s New World College Dictionary [outage^[12]]. All of the several British dictionaries that I consulted made no mention of this being a American term.

15a   The French experiment /is/ most recent (6)

"the French" = LA (show explanation )

In French, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

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17a   Colour /is/ fashionable till over (6)

"over" = O (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation O^[5] denotes over(s), an over^[5] being a division of play 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.

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20a   Cutting edge round old empty cask /causes/ closure (8)

22a   Strong man about to reverse // squat (6)

Hunk^[5] is an informal term for a large, strong, sexually attractive man ⇒ a Hollywood hunk.

Hunker^[3] (usually used with down) means to squat close to the ground or crouch ⇒ hunkered down to avoid the icy wind.

23a   Hostility // strangely against keeping on male (10)

24a   Part inside tree's heartwood initially (4)

This is a semi-all-one clue in which the definition (marked with a solid underline) is embedded within the wordplay (marked with a dashed underline) that comprises the entire clue.

On the right is a photo of a section of a Yew branch showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood, dark heartwood, and pith (center dark spot). The dark radial lines are small knots.

25a   Boot // that is put on properly (6)

Wellie, an alternate spelling of welly^[5], is an informal British term for a wellington^[5] (also wellington boot), a knee-length waterproof rubber or plastic boot [named after the 1st Duke of Wellington].

26a   Church service // still new, with good following (8)

"good" = G (show explanation )

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

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In the Christian Church, evensong^[5] is a service of evening prayers, psalms, and canticles, conducted according to a set form, especially that of the Anglican Church ⇒ choral evensong.

Down

1d   Move missing wingers in squad /getting/ fit together (8)

2d   Hope // beam supports stern of ship (4)

Who is Beam

The appearance of the word "beam" in a RayT crossword often draws a comment from the reviewer or visitors on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. (click here to find out why ) Beam is the pseudonym used by crossword compiler Ray Terrell (whom we know as RayT) for his Toughie* puzzles. You may have noticed the theme here, a beam being a ray of light. * In addition to the Cryptic Crossword (the crossword which is carried in syndication by the National Post), The Daily Telegraph also publishes the Toughie Crossword. The former appears in The Daily Telegraph from Monday to Saturday — customarily on the back page of the paper (and thus is commonly referred to on Big Dave's Crossword Blog as the 'back-pager'). The latter is published from Tuesday to Friday and is found in the middle of the paper. A separate series of Cryptic Crossword puzzles appears in The Sunday Telegraph. hide explanation

3d   District/'s/ hot south of foreign capital (6)

4d   Panic /is/ appropriate being trapped in bog (8)

Technically, a bog and fen do apparently differ — but maybe only a chemist could tell them apart.

A fen^[3] is an area of low wet land having peaty soil and typically being less acidic than a bog.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers suggests that we are looking for the type of bog you find in East Anglia. East Anglia[5] is a region of eastern England consisting of the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and parts of Essex and Cambridgeshire. The Fens[5] is a name applied to the flat low-lying areas of eastern England, mainly in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, formerly marshland but largely drained for agriculture since the 17th century.

Scratching the Surface
The bog[5] is an informal British term for the toilet.

5d   Split // pants are ruined, holding vulgar expression back (10)

Vulgar^[5] is used in the sense of lacking sophistication or good taste or, perhaps, in the dated sense of
characteristic of or belonging to ordinary people.

Oi^[5] is an informal British expression used to attract someone's attention, especially in a rough or angry way ⇒ (i) oi, don't lean out; (ii) oi, taxi!.

6d   This compiler's strangely deep /and/ slow (6)

"this compiler's" = IM (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 combining "this compiler" with the verb "to be" producing "this compiler's" (a contraction of "this compiler is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").

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8d   Internet company/'s/ ruin, accepting tick, oddly (6)

A dotcom^[10] (also dot-com^[5], dot.com^[5,10]) is a company that conducts most of its business on the internet.

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, tick*[5] may possibly be an informal British term meaning credit  (although, when used in this sense, one would usually expect to see it in the phrase on tick) ⇒ the printer agreed to send the brochures out on tick. * The term apparently originates as a short form for ticket in the phrase on the ticket, referring to an IOU or promise to pay.

Behind the Video

At Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers illustrates his hint with a clip from Dad's Army[7], a BBC television sitcom about the British Home Guard during the Second World War that was broadcast on the BBC from 1968 to 1977. The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age or by being in professions exempt from conscription. Dad's Army deals almost exclusively with men over military age (hence the nickname "Dad's Army"). The series has influenced British popular culture, with the series' catchphrases and characters being well known. One of these was Private Frazer, a dour Scottish undertaker, whose catchphrase was "We're doomed. Doomed!".

13d   Evident // single guy embraces sweetheart after zero time (10)

16d   Mature // offspring adopting a child (8)

Seed^[10] is an archaic term (chiefly in biblical use) denoting a person's offspring or descendants ⇒ as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed.

18d   It's part of lover to need // suggestion (8)

19d   Perhaps Game of Thrones Queen upset // formula (6)

Game of Thrones^[7] is an American fantasy drama television series adapted from A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is titled A Game of Thrones. This epic production is filmed in Belfast and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and the United States.

"Queen" = ER (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^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

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21d   Delay // vessel taking on gallons (6)

22d   Bad actor surmounts hindrance /to get/ Shakespearean role (6)

In a general sense, a let^[10] is an impediment or obstruction especially in the phrase without let or hindrance^[5], a formal expression meaning without obstruction or impediment ⇒ rats scurried about the house without let or hindrance.

In tennis and other racket sports, a let^[5] is a circumstance under which a service is nullified and has to be taken again, especially (in tennis) when the ball clips the top of the net and falls within bounds or in squash when a player interferes with an opponent's access to the ball ⇒ he was obstructed and asked for a let.

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Hamlet^[7] (in full The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark) is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet. Claudius had murdered his own brother and seized the throne, also marrying his deceased brother's widow.

24d   Hard drink, lifting // elbow (4)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

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

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"drink" = SUP (show explanation )

As a verb, sup^[5] is a dated or Northern English term meaning to take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls ⇒ (i) she supped up her soup delightedly; (ii) he was supping straight from the bottle.

As a noun, sup^[5] means (1) a sip of liquid ⇒ he took another sup of wine or (2) in Northern England or Ireland, an alcoholic drink ⇒ the latest sup from those blokes at the brewery.

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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