Tuesday, January 23, 2018 — DT 28556

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28556
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, October 12, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28556]
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

Like many of those leaving comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, for me it was the northwest quadrant that held out to the bitter end. Then, after staring blankly at it for some considerable period of time, it all suddenly fell into place quickly.

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   Money in US // county (5)

Bucks.^[5] is the abbreviation for Buckinghamshire^[5], a county of central England.

Behind the Picture
The photo used by Kath to illustrate her hint at Big Dave's Crossword Blog shows a picturesque scene in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire[7].

4a   Publication to catch is mesmerising at first -- // that's attractive (9)

9a   A comedian's funny // state (9)

Macedonia^[5] is a landlocked republic in the Balkans. Formerly a constituent republic of Yugoslavia, Macedonia became independent after a referendum in 1991.

10a   Wear // only down back? (3,2)

Reverse the solution to get a (3,2) phrase that is equivalent to saying "only down".

11a   Expression of disgust, // ghastly one (7)

12a   Bird // dog (7)

A harrier^[5] is a long-winged, slender-bodied bird of prey with low quartering flight.

A harrier^[5] is a hound of a breed used for hunting hares.

13a   Devious game in // mystery (6)

15a   Bird // looking to circle lake (8)

A starling^[5] is a gregarious Old World songbird with a straight bill, typically with dark lustrous or iridescent plumage but sometimes brightly coloured.

There's No Escaping Them

The common starling (also called European starling) (Sturnus vulgaris) is found in all but one of the world's six biogeographical realms, excepting (so far) the Neotropics. Dispersed mainly over its natural Palearctic region (from Central Siberia in the east and the Azores in the west to Norway in the north and the Mediterranean in the south), starlings were introduced to North America in 1890. Of the one hundred starlings released that year in New York City, only fifteen pairs survived. Over the next hundred years, starlings would increase a million-fold from those original fifteen pairs. Because of their wide range of ecological tolerance, these birds were able to rapidly expand their range across the United States. The European Starling is found today sprawled from the Atlantic to the Pacific (east to west) and from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico (north to south).

Behind the Picture
The picture used by Kath to illustrate her review shows starlings coming home to roost beneath Portsmouth Harbour railway station in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England (the station is built on a wooden pier). The town of Gosport is on the horizon with the Gosport ferry in the middle distance.

18a   Leaders, // band members hitting the high notes? (3,5)

20a   Good variety /for/ farm (6)

"good" = G (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

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Grange^[10] is a mainly British term for a farm, especially a farmhouse or country house with its various outbuildings.

23a   Extraordinary thing /to achieve/ fifty in speeding down the motorway? (7)

Insert the Roman numeral for fifty into a term (2,4) that one might use to describe an instance of speeding down a certain British motorway.

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway [controlled access, multi-lane divided highway] in England connecting London to Leeds.

24a   Curious girl, ten, // curl in hair (7)

26a   Tot has a // play (5)

27a   Italian girl // dancing on air after clue (9)

Signorina^[5] is a title or form of address used of or to an Italian-speaking unmarried woman, corresponding to Miss ⇒ Signorina Rosalba.

28a   Vessel touring a river, // large boat (9)

The Tamar^[5] is a river in southwestern England which rises in northwestern Devon^[a] and flows 98 km (60 miles) generally southwards, forming the boundary between Devon and Cornwall^[b] and emptying into the English Channel through Plymouth Sound.

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^[a] Devon^[5] (also called Devonshire) is a county of southwestern England.
^[b] Cornwall^[5] is a county occupying the extreme southwestern peninsula of England.

29a   Scoundrel /in/ heavy footwear, heading off (5)

A brogue^[5] is:

• a strong outdoor shoe with ornamental perforated patterns in the leather
• a rough shoe of untanned leather, formerly worn in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands

Down

1d   Stay with me, /and/ do as you please (2,2,5)

In this double definition, the second part is a well-known expression and the first is a literal interpretation of it.

2d   They're prickly // characters initially before start of play? (5)

3d   Pistol, say, // raised in action, beginning to misfire (7)

4d   Style /in/ private house discussed? (6)

Private house seems to be a very general term that could encompass any type of accommodation from the lowliest of cottages to the grandest of manors.

A private house^[5] is a house that is a private home, as distinct from a shop, office, or public building.

Manor^[5] is a British term for a large country house with lands ⇒ (i) a Tudor manor house in the English countryside; (ii) Kelmscott Manor.

In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath suggests that everyone may not pronounce manor and manner similarly. While I pronounce the two words similarly — although likely not identically — my pronunciation bears little resemblance to that of the British.

5d   Success in Merlot, perhaps, /offers/ lead for writer? (8)

Merlot^[5] is:

• a variety of black wine grape originally from the Bordeaux region of France
• a red wine made from the Merlot grape

6d   More in play that's absorbing for each /in/ Julius Caesar, say? (7)

Despite what is likely a common misconception, Julius Caesar was not a Roman emperor. The Roman emperor^[5] was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period (starting in 27 BC). Julius Caesar (who was assassinated in 44 BC) ruled during the republican period and held the title of consul rather than emperor.

7d   Perception of truth // in instruction (9)

8d   Subordinate // underground worker, we hear? (5)

14d   This person's left with soldier // leading (9)

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

hide explanation

Port^[5] denotes the side of a ship or aircraft that is on the left when one is facing forward ⇒ (i) the ferry was listing to port; (ii) the port side of the aircraft.

A soldier^[5] is a wingless caste of ant or termite with a large specially modified head and jaws, involved chiefly in defence.

16d   Dog /in/ Hamlet? (5,4)

17d   One who judges // fools, so right (8)

19d   Again, take // 23 Across badly (7)

The numeral and directional indicator "23 Across" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 23a in its place to complete the clue. The directional indicator is customarily included only in situations such as this where both Across and Down clues start in the light^* that is being referenced.

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^* light-coloured cell in the grid

21d   Bitterness // flowed with boldness, age forgotten (7)

22d   Continue to trail // monster (6)

Trail^[5] is used in the sense of to draw or be drawn along behind someone or something ⇒ her robe trailed along the ground.

23d   GP // entering home, dictator! (5)

Here and There

Dictionaries appear unable to reach a consensus on the meaning of the term medic. Most dictionaries show medic as being an informal term for a physician, surgeon, intern or medical student. However, some British dictionaries think it is a British term while some American dictionaries consider it to be a US term. One British dictionary also includes medical orderlies within the definition. The dictionaries do appear to agree on one point; namely, it is a US usage to apply the name to a member of a military medical corps. (show more ) Oxford Dictionaries: A medic[5] is: (British) an informal term for a medical practitioner or student (US) a paramedic in the armed forces Collins English Dictionary: Medic[4,10] is an informal term for a doctor, medical orderly, or medical student. The Chambers Dictionary: A medic[1] is: a physician (rare) a medical student (informal) Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: Medic[2] (also medico) is a colloquial term for a doctor or medical student. American Heritage Dictionary: A medic[3] is: a member of a military medical corps a physician or surgeon a medical student or intern Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary: A medic is: a military medical corpsman a doctor or intern Webster’s New World College Dictionary: A medic[12] is: (informal) a physician or surgeon (US) a medical student or intern a medical noncommissioned officer who gives first aid in combat; aidman; corpsman hide explanation

25d   Telling stories // in bed, perhaps? (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