Friday, April 17, 2020 — DT 29166

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29166
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, September 26, 2019
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29166]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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

I reviewed this puzzle on Big Dave's Crossword Blog when it appeared in the UK last September which marked my ninth anniversary blogging on Big Dave's site. Strangely, I did not recognize having seen the puzzle before until I visited Big Dave's site after having solved the puzzle. I even struggled with one clue, thinking I might have to resort to electronic help before it eventually fell. Ironically, that clue is 26a!

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Abbreviations — Part XI

Undecided as to what topic to look at in today's installment on abbreviations, I scanned through the puzzle and the penny dropped — let's examine money. Here's the monetary holdings of my archives:

Abbreviation	Stands for	Additional Information
d	penny (denarius)	pre-decimal British penny
gn.	guinea	pre-decimal UK currency (21 shillings)
L (£)	pound (libra)	pound sterling, basic UK monetary unit
L.S.D. or l.s.d.	librae, solidi, denarii (pounds, shillings, pence)	pre-decimal UK currency system
M	mark	pre-euro German currency
p	penny	decimal British penny
R	rand	basic South African monetary unit
R	rupee	basic Indian monetary unit
s	shilling	pre-decimal UK monetary unit (one twentieth of a pound or 12 pence)
Y	yen	basic Japanese monetary unit

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.

Markup Conventions
"//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present "/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present	"solid underline" - precise definition "dotted underline" - cryptic definition "dashed underline" - wordplay "double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a	Sailor twice /produces/ battle-axe (6)

"sailor " = TAR

Tar^[5] is an informal, dated nickname for a sailor. The term came into use in the mid 17th century and is perhaps an abbreviation of tarpaulin, also used as a nickname for a sailor at that time.

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Tartar^[5] is used in the sense of a harsh, fierce, or intractable person.

4a	Penniless, // goes back to pick up penny (8)

"penny "  = P

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] (plural pennies [for separate coins] or pence [for a sum of money]) is a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound. The abbreviation for penny or pence is p^[5] ⇒ a 10p piece.

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9a	Part of flytrap hid // some bugs (6)

10a	Beloved /is/ faithful without urgency occasionally (8)

11a	Charlie rushed to accept sex, not displaying this (8)

Here, the entire clue provides the definition in which the wordplay is embedded. The double underline indicates the dual nature of the first part of the clue which is both wordplay as well as part of the definition.

"Charlie " = C

In the NATO Phonetic Alphabet^[7]*, Charlie^[5] is a code word representing the letter C.

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^* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet

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"sex " = IT

It^[2,5] (usually written in quotation marks, "it") is an informal term for sex appeal^* or sexual intercourse ⇒ (i) the only thing I knew nothing about was ‘it’; (ii) they were caught doing ‘it’ in the back seat of his car.

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^* Chambers 21st Century Dictionary considers this sense to be an "old use" (Chambers' terminology for archaic, obsolete or old-fashioned). "It"^[7] (written in quotation marks) is a term that has come to mean sex appeal — although, in its earliest manifestation, it seems that the term pertained more to personality than to glamorous looks. Despite having been used as early as 1904 by Rudyard Kipling, the term was popularized  in the 1927 film It starring Clara Bow (who became known as the "It Girl").

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13a	Copper directed to return holding golf // club (6)

"copper " = CU

The symbol for the chemical element copper is Cu^[5] (from late Latin cuprum).

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"Golf " = G

In the NATO Phonetic Alphabet^[7]*, Golf^[5] is a code word representing the letter G.

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^* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet

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15a	Clandestine // pursuit Tories abandoned (13)

As an anagram indicator, abandoned^[10] is used as an adjective meaning unrestrained or uninhibited ⇒ wild, abandoned dancing.

18a	One feeling bad at poorly // patient (13)

As the definition, patient is used as an adjective.

Here and There

While the surface reading of this clue likely sounds like gibberish to most North Americans, it would make perfect sense to Brits. According to Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online), poorly[5] (adjective) is a British* term meaning unwell ⇒ she looked poorly. * Despite Oxford claiming this to be a British usage, US dictionaries define poorly[3,11] (adjective) as meaning in poor health or somewhat ill ⇒ feeling poorly. In fact, the American Heritage Dictionary characterizes poorly used in this sense as a chiefly Southern US term. This usage may not necessarily be confined entirely to either Britain or the Southern US. I think it would it be entirely unexpected to hear someone say I feel rather poorly today. On the other hand, Lexico provides examples of British usage that I am sure one would never encounter on this side of the pond: I didn't manage too many lengths today but I haven't been for 2 weeks since being poorly sick. Zoe Bird, 26, was forced to walk for an hour to reach her home with poorly toddler son Ryan after they were forced to leave the car. Jakey on the other hand is poorly due to having an injection.

22a	God having a cross on // chest (6)

In Scandinavian mythology, Thor^[5,7], the son of Odin and Freya (Frigga), is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing and fertility. Thursday is named after him.

24a	Boasting about American/'s/ support (8)

26a	Final // passage in European Union the French rejected (8)

"European Union " = EU

The European Union^[7] (abbreviation EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe, 19 of which use the common currency unit, the euro.

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"the French " = LA

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

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27a	Loves // a party with others getting cut (6)

"party " = DO

Do^[5,12] is an informal British^[5] or chiefly British^[12] term^* for a party or other social event ⇒ the soccer club Christmas do.

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^* although Webster’s New World College Dictionary^[12] supports the contention by Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online)^[5] that this usage is British, two other US dictionaries do not characterize do^[3,11] used in this sense as a British term

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Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, cut[5] is British slang for drunk (inebriated).

28a	Stuff // Romeo found in small briefs, perhaps (8)

"Romeo " = R

In the NATO Phonetic Alphabet^[7]*, Romeo^[5] is a code word representing the letter R.

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^* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet

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"small " = S [clothing size]

S^[5] is the abbreviation for small (as a clothing size).

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29a	Tired // words ruined day at last (6)

Down

1d	Ecstasy /comes from/ nectar being drunk (6)

2d	Practised /and/ tried again covering empty space (9)

3d	One hears // foreign car going over hill (7)

Audi AG^[7] is a German automobile manufacturer that is now part of the Volkswagen Group. (show more )

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.

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"hill " = TOR

A tor^[7] is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.

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5d	Not sure // Queen's consumed by fashion (4)

"Queen " = R

Queen may be abbreviated as Q, Qu. or R.

Q^[5] is an abbreviation for queen that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

Qu.^[2] is another common abbreviation for Queen.

In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms^*, Regina^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for queen] denotes the reigning queen, used following a name (e.g. Elizabetha Regina, Queen Elizabeth — often shortened to ER) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Regina v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

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^* A Commonwealth realm^[7] is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares the same person, currently Elizabeth II, as its head of state and reigning constitutional monarch, but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms. There are currently sixteen Commonwealth realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific island nations.

Thus Queen Elizabeth signs her name as 'Elizabeth R' as seen here on Canada's paint-stained constitution.

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Ton^[10] (a French word adopted into English) means style, fashion, or distinction.

6d	Tab // made from tobacco, untipped (7)

7d	Projection /of/ short programme with new content (5)

Prog^[5] is an informal British term for programme ⇒ I don't watch cookery [cooking] progs.

TV or Computer?
In British English, a radio or television show is a programme[10] but a piece of computer software is generally termed a program[10] (although programme[10] is accepted as a variant spelling). In either case, the informal short form is prog[5].

8d	Make public // record on waste (8)

12d	Newspaper covers singular // robberies (6)

The Financial Times^[7] (abbreviation FT) — today referred to by the setter as 'the FT' — is a British international business newspaper that is printed on conspicuous salmon pink newsprint.

"singular " = S [grammar]

To a grammarian, s^[5] is the abbreviation for singular.

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14d	Spot // Greek character around end of alphabet (6)

Sigma^[5] is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet (Σ, σ).

16d	Upset // husband in public squabble (9)

"husband " = H [genealogy]

The abbreviation for husband is h^[1,2] or h.^{[3,4,10,11,12]} or H^[12] or H.^[4,10,11,12]) [although no context is provided, it may well come from the field of genealogy].

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17d	Girl embracing very French lover (8)

In French, très^[8] is an adverb meaning 'very'.

19d	Toady /is/ comparatively prostrate (7)

20d	For the audience, more progressive // rock? (7)

21d	Club // supporter's gutted, say (6)

In golf, brassie^[5] (variant spelling brassy)  is an informal name for a number two wood.

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Origin: so named because the wood was originally shod with brass

23d	Main // objection concerns easily acquired nausea primarily (5)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term for the open ocean.

25d	Naked // except for sweetheart (4)

"sweetheart " = E

A common cryptic crossword construct is to use the word "sweetheart" to clue the letter 'E', the middle letter (heart) of swEet.

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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 Advanced 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)
^[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon