Wednesday, January 31, 2018 — DT 28562

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28562
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, October 19, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28562]
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

Introduction

My pangram sensor worked well today, sounding with about a quarter of the puzzle completed. A quick check showed that I had already used all but four letters of the alphabet — and it did not take long for those to come into play.

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   Extremely macabre crimes, terribly // fascinating (8)

Mesmeric^[3] means having a strong or spellbinding appeal; in other words, fascinating.

Delving Deeper

Franz Anton Mesmer[3], a visionary 18th-century physician, believed cures could be effected by having patients do things such as sit with their feet in a fountain of magnetized water while holding cables attached to magnetized trees. Mesmer then came to believe that magnetic powers resided in himself, and during highly fashionable curative sessions in Paris he caused his patients to have reactions ranging from sleeping or dancing to convulsions. These reactions were actually brought about by hypnotic powers that Mesmer was unaware he possessed. Eventually, Mesmer's practices came to be called mesmerism (a term first recorded in English in 1784). The related word mesmerize (first recorded in English in 1829), having shed its reference to the hypnotic doctor, lives on in the sense "to enthrall."

9a   Declan having edges cut off Irish // cake (6)

In its deliciously whimsical fashion, The Chambers Dictionary — affectionately known on Big Dave's Crossword Blog as the BRB (Big Red Book) — defines éclair^[1] as a cake, long in shape and short in duration, with cream filling and usually chocolate icing.

Scratching the Surface

Declan[7], an ancient Irish given name, is an anglicized form of an Irish Gaelic saint's name Declán, also Deaglán or Déaglán, or, in colloquial terms, Det, normally all capitalised when written. St. Declan founded a monastery in Ireland in the 5th century, and the St. Declan's stone has been credited as the site of many miracles. The name is believed to mean "man of prayer" or "full of goodness".

10a   Bad-tempered // rooks maybe seen around area (4)

A rook^[5] is a chess piece (or man), typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move (if not obstructed by another chess piece) any number of spaces in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two rooks at opposite ends of the first rank.

11a   Vehicle the woman parked in pound /gets/ crushed (10)

Quid^[5] (plural quid) is an informal British term for one pound sterling ⇒ we paid him four hundred quid.

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers describes the vehicle in question as one usually white, which always overtakes you on the M1 no matter how fast you’re going. The M1[7] is a north–south motorway [controlled access, multi-lane divided highway] in England connecting London to Leeds.

12a   End // protest (6)

14a   See an article /creating/ hatred (8)

"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

Treat the two words "an article" as a single entity meaning "A THING".

15a   Budget // speech lacking nothing (6)

Scratching the Surface
The budget speech[10] is the speech in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer* (in the UK) or the Minister of Finance (in Canada) presents his (sic) budget to parliament. * the cabinet minister responsible for finance in Britain

17a   Section of song // about Egyptian god (6)

In Egyptian mythology, Horus^[5] is a god regarded as the protector of the monarchy, and typically represented as a falcon-headed man. He assumed various aspects: in the myth of Isis and Osiris he was the posthumous son of the latter, whose murder he avenged.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers informs us that we need the god whose eye turns up in the quiz show “Only Connect”. Only Connect[7] is a British television game show that has aired on the BBC since 2008. In the series, teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. On the show, clues are identified by ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs (two reeds, lion, twisted flax, horned viper, water and the eye of Horus).

20a   Feeble // pet cried out (8)

22a   After short horror film, start to exorcise // spirit (6)

Psycho^[7] is a 1960 American psychological horror film produced and directed by English filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) which was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by American writer Robert Bloch (1917–1994). The film centers on the encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who ends up at a secluded motel after stealing money from her employer, and the motel's disturbed owner-manager, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), and its aftermath.

23a   Unsubtle ambassador shown in group /in/ paper (10)

Broad^[3,5] (said of a hint) means clear and unambiguous; in other words, not subtle ⇒ gave us a broad hint to leave.

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This would seem to be almost the opposite of the normal meaning of broad as meaning general and without detail ⇒ a broad outline of the legal framework for pension schemes.

HE^[2] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency^[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.

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Broadsheet^[5] denotes a newspaper with a large format, regarded as more serious and less sensationalist than tabloids ⇒ the tabloidization of the broadsheets.

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I thought this was a common journalistic term and was surprised not to find it in most of my American dictionaries.

24a   Bark /from/ limited collection of trees, foremost in forest (4)

25a   Fanatic /in/ middle of boozers, unusually late getting round in (6)

26a   Superficial // sort plugging leak (4-4)

Down

1d   Don't forget // about subscriber? (8)

Subscription^[10] is a mainly British term for the membership dues or fees paid to a society or club from which we can infer that, in this context, subscriber is another term for member.

2d   Low-down involving male // agents (1-3)

Gen^[5] is an informal British term for information ⇒ you’ve got more gen on him than we have.

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G-man^[2] (likely short for Government man) is US slang for an agent of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). In Ireland (where its use predates^* that in the US), a G-man is a political detective (probably originally denoting an officer in the G division of the Dublin Police^[10]).

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^* The term dates to 1917 in Ireland and the 1930s in the US.

3d   Right after parking, I check // it could mark the property edge? (6)

"parking" = P

Privet^[5] is any of several species of shrub of the olive family, with small white heavily scented flowers and poisonous black berries, in particular the evergreen Ligustrum ovalifolium, often used as hedging in towns.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers suggests that the solution is a type of hedge which might well be around the edge of your garden In Britain, a garden[2,10] is an area of land, usually one adjoining a house, where grass, trees, flowers and other ornamental plants, fruit, vegetables, etc, are grown (i.e., what one would call a yard in Canada and the US). Note that a British garden includes the lawn as well as everything else whereas a North American garden would comprise only the flower and vegetable beds and any trees or shrubs contained therein and exclude the lawn and any trees or shrubs growing there. In Britain, a yard[10] is a piece of enclosed ground, usually either paved [covered with paving stones] or laid with concrete and often adjoining or surrounded by a building or buildings.

4d   Party without French water supported by northern // dandy (4,4)

The French word for 'water' is eau^[5].

Beau Nash^[7] (1674–1761), born Richard Nash, was a celebrated dandy and leader of fashion in 18th-century Britain. He is best remembered as the Master of Ceremonies at the spa town of Bath.

5d   Moment to worry // dodgy dealer (5,5)

Henry Cuthbert Edwards aka Flash Harry^[7] is a fictional character from the St. Trinian's series of films who first appears in the 1954 The Belles of St Trinian's and who may also be a spiv (i.e., an ostentatious, loudly-dressed, and usually ill-mannered man)^*.

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^* Flash Harry^[10] is old-fashioned, pejorative, informal British term for a man who likes to dress and behave ostentatiously.

The films are based on St Trinian's, a British comic strip that appeared from 1946 until 1952 which centred on a boarding school for girls, where the teachers are sadists and the girls are juvenile delinquents. In the St Trinian's movies, Harry is a long-term associate of the girl pupils, a Cockney involved in all sorts of shady dealings. Harry is one of the few whom the pupils trust: he helps to bottle and sell their gin, distilled in the school chemistry lab, and places bets on race horses for them. Harry also runs the St Trinian's Matrimonial Agency for the teenage Sixth Form [11th and 12th grade] girls, setting them up with wealthy men.

6d   Greedy eater served with one monstrous // bird (6)

8d   Light // cold? Treat first off (6)

13d   Always squeezing by // on the outside (10)

The letter x^[11] can represent by when used to indicate multiplication^* 8 x 8 = 64 (multiply 8 by 8 to get 64) or when used between figures indicating dimensions 3" x 4" (three inches by four inches).

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^* I must say that I was more than a little taken aback to see Webster’s New World College Dictionary describe this usage^[12] — that I learned in school and continue to use to this day — as "Ancient Mathematics".

16d   Facing // it during contest (8)

Think of contest as a verb.

18d   Type of glass // vessel (8)

Here and There
A schooner is a glass on both sides of the pond — albeit very different ones. In Britain, a schooner[5] is a glass for drinking a large measure of sherry, whereas in North America — as well as Australia and New Zealand — the term denotes a tall beer glass.

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In his review, pommers illustrates this clue with a photo of an unknown American schooner. Here is a very well-known Canadian schooner.

Bluenose

Bluenose (nicknamed the "Queen of the North Atlantic") was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, Bluenose under the command of Angus Walters became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and an important Canadian symbol in the 1930s, serving as a working vessel until she was wrecked on a reef in the Caribbean in 1946.

19d   Fancy woman not having married, I // repeat (6)

Fancy woman^[5] (or, in Britain, fancy piece) is a derogatory informal term for a man's lover ⇒ it's common knowledge about John and his fancy women.

There is a great deal of discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog regarding whether repeat and stress are synonymous. In particular, see the thread arising from Comment #30 where several examples are presented to demonstrate the validity of the claim of equivalence.

21d   Took home // edition about composer of anthems (6)

Thomas Arne^[7] (1710–1778) was an English composer, best known for the patriotic song Rule, Britannia!. He also wrote a version of God Save the King, which became the British national anthem, and the song A-Hunting We Will Go. Arne was the leading British theatre composer of the 18th century, working at Drury Lane and Covent Garden.

Composer of Anthems?

Depending on how one defines anthem[5], I suppose Arne might be considered to fit the bill. If by anthem one means a solemn patriotic song officially adopted by a country as an expression of national identity, the claim may be questionable. Rule Britannia!, while a patriotic song, has not been officially adopted as a national anthem. Although he is responsible for an arrangement of God Save the King, he did not compose it. The claim strengthens if we relax the meaning of anthem to be a rousing or uplifting song identified with a particular group, body, or cause. "Rule, Britannia!"[7] is a British patriotic song, originating from the poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740. It is strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but also used by the British Army. Another meaning of anthem is a musical setting of a religious text to be sung by a choir during a church service, especially in Anglican or Protestant Churches. Arne did write a few pieces of sacred music. However, compared to his most important English contemporaries, William Boyce and John Stanley, Arne's output of sacred music[7] was incredibly small. The major reason for his lack of contribution to this area was due to his Roman Catholic faith, which was at odds with the Church of England during his lifetime.

22d   Rotten // place to clear (6)

24d   Extra // off the mark (4)

In cricket, an extra^[5] is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited (in most cases) to the batting side rather than to a batsman. The types of extra^[7] are no ball, wide, bye, leg-bye, and penalty runs.

In cricket, a wide^[5] (also wide ball) is a ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side.

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