Tuesday, January 2, 2018 — DT 28541

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28541
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, September 25, 2017
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28541]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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

Rufus serves up a very gentle post-holiday workout today.

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   Joint that's just over a foot (5)

4a   Every letter is written in it (8)

8a   Fearless, being in flipping saucy papers (8)

Scratching the Surface
Flipping[5] is an informal British term used for emphasis or to express mild annoyance ⇒ (i) are you out of your flipping mind?; (ii) it’s flipping cold today.

9a   Gave credit for // writer that's penetrating in the present era (8)

11a   Red Star delivery /for/ dealers (7)

Scratching the Surface

"Red Star" is likely nothing more than convenient anagram fodder although one might imagine that it refers to Krasnaya Zvezda[7] (literally "Red Star"), an official newspaper of the Soviet and later Russian Ministry of Defence or perhaps Red Star F.C.[7], a French third tier soccer club based in Paris. However, I think we can safely  rule out HC Kunlun Red Star[7], an ice hockey club in Beijing, China, playing in the KHL.

13a   The bride will be up in arms over it (9)

15a   Using coarse expressions, // more or less (7,8)

18a   Finish // unfinished 'White Stoat' in gallery (9)

Ermine^[5] is the white fur of the stoat, used for trimming garments, especially the ceremonial robes of judges or peers (members of the nobility in Britain or Ireland) ⇒ the men were dressed in costly ermine and sable-edged cloaks.

The stoat^[5] (also known as the ermine, especially when in its white winter coat) is a small carnivorous mammal (Mustela erminea) of the weasel family which has chestnut fur with white underparts and a black-tipped tail. It is native to both Eurasia and North America and in northern areas the coat turns white in winter. In North America, it is known as the short-tailed weasel.

"gallery" = TATE (show explanation )

The Tate Gallery^[5] (commonly known simply as the Tate) is a national museum of art in London, England founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened. [I would surmise that by that time the original collection could no longer be considered "modern".]

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21a   Rolled /and/ possibly curled around head of hair (7)

22a   Sets // firm with unusual angles (8)

24a   Judge /of/ knitted ties and cooked meat (8)

25a   You'll find the answer at the foot of the column (8)

26a   Love going round university /for/ money (5)

In Greek mythology, Eros^[5] is the god of love, son of Aphrodite — the Roman equivalent being Cupid. The name Eros is synonymous with sexual love or desire ⇒ Eros drives us to transcend ourselves through desire.

Down

1d   A strict or a liberal // gentleman? (10)

2d   Shrew's tail cut by chap from the French // capital, alternatively (8)

Katherina (Kate) Minola^[7] is a fictional character who is the "shrew" referred to in the title of William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew.

"from the French" = DU (show explanation )

In French, when the preposition de (meaning 'of' or 'from) would otherwise be followed by the masculine form of the definite article (le), the combination is replaced by du (meaning 'of the' or 'from the').

hide explanation

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Katmandu is an alternative spelling of Kathmandu^[5], the capital of Nepal. It is situated in the Himalayas at an altitude of 1,370 m (4,450 ft).

Kathmandu 2 Katmandu 3

The dictionaries are divided on the question of which spelling is the principal one and which is the alternative — and they do not split on national lines. Katmandu comes out narrowly ahead — perhaps because Chambers is a no-show. On the Kathmandu[3,5] side are the American Heritage Dictionary and Oxford Dictionaries. On the Katmandu[4,10,11,12] side are Collins English Dictionary (two different editions), Random House Kerneman Webster's College Dictionary, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Webster's New World College Dictionary. [I counted Collins only once but I counted the two American dictionaries separately as it seems that most American dictionaries have the word Webster in their titles even though they are unrelated.] The word is not found in either The Chambers Dictionary or the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary.

3d   The latest possible hour (8)

The eleventh hour^[5] is a phrase denoting the latest possible moment ⇒ the decision to send Eddie with the team was made at the eleventh hour.

While the eleventh hour may figuratively be considered equivalent to the last minute, it is hardly the latest possible hour. The eleventh hour runs from 10:00 to 11:00 and when it is over we still have the twelfth hour remaining.

4d   Help a // character in opera (4)

Aida^[7] is an opera by Italian  composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) which was first performed in 1871. As the opera opens, the Egyptians have captured and enslaved Aida, an Ethiopian princess. An Egyptian military commander, Radamès, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris is in love with Radamès, although he does not return her feelings.

5d   Centre right is /showing/ overconfidence (6)

6d   Possibly shoots // ducks with graduate doctor (6)

"duck" = O (show explanation )

In cricket, a duck^[5] (short for duck's egg) is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game.

In British puzzles, "duck" is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.

hide explanation

"doctor" = MB (show explanation )

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree. 

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7d   Secured -- // the same numbers of points? (4)

10d   Quietly blame Deighton over // explosive fallout? (8)

Len Deighton^[5] is an English writer whose reputation is based on his spy thrillers, several of which have been adapted as films and for television. Notable works: The Ipcress File (1962) and the trilogy Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match (1983–85).

12d   Contradictory orders to the yachtsman /for/ extra canvas (8)

Split (4,4), we have an order to the yachtsman to remain in port and an order for him to depart.

A staysail^[10] is an auxiliary sail, often triangular, set to catch the wind, as between the masts of a yawl (mizzen staysail), aft of a spinnaker (spinnaker staysail), etc.

14d   Canine tenacity? (10)

16d   Failed /to use/ a bit over for recycling (8)

In his review, I think Miffypops has gotten carried away with his underlining. The definition here is surely merely "failed" (an adjective as in "a failed attempt"). The phrase "to use" simply serves as a link between the definition and the wordplay.

17d   Unsettled // on a flight (2,3,3)

19d   Managed to get detectives /to reveal/ rank (6)

"detectives" = CID (show explanation )

The Criminal Investigation Department (seemingly better known by its abbreviation CID^[2]) is the detective branch of a British police force.

hide explanation

20d   Reformed ladies, // they're highly thought of (6)

22d   Cut down // meat (4)

23d   Animal /seen when/ ocean has left (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