Thursday, April 30, 2020 — DT 29175

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29175
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, October 7, 2019
Setter Uncredited — likely Campbell (Allan Scott)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29175]
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

An especially gentle puzzle today — easy even by "Monday" standards.

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.

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

7a	Apricot tart contains // soft cheese (7)

Ricotta^[2] is a soft white unsalted Italian curd cheese made from sheep's or cow's milk and often used in sauces for ravioli, lasagne, etc.

9a	Theatrical company rented playhouse, finally // full (7)

Rep^[2,5] is an informal short form for repertory theatre (also simply repertory).  It can refer either to the practice of performing of various plays, operas, or ballets by a company at regular short intervals ⇒ once, when I was in rep, I learned Iago in three days) or to a repertory theatre or company ⇒ the Birmingham Rep^*.

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^* Birmingham Repertory Theatre^[7], commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a theatre located in Birmingham, England.

"rented" = LET (show explanation )

Let^[5] is a British^* term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i) she let the flat [apartment] to a tenant; (ii) they’ve let out their house.

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^* However, based on its appearance in US dictionaries, I seriously doubt that this word is quite as British as Lexico (formely Oxford Dictionaries Online) would have us believe.^[3,11]

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10a	Waterway // shown in plan, a channel to the west (5)

11a	One responsible for arranging // rare song, I suspect (9)

12a	Deliberately ignore // the alternative method after search (4,3,5,3)

13a	Perhaps Ulster/'s/ best film (7)

An ulster^[5] is a man’s long, loose overcoat of rough cloth, typically with a belt at the back.

Scratching the Surface

Ulster[10] is a widely-used [albeit considered inaccurate by many*] informal name for the UK province of Northern Ireland.  * Historically Ulster was a province and former kingdom of northern Ireland which passed to the English Crown in 1461. In the 17th century, confiscated land was given to English and Scottish Protestant settlers giving rise to serious long-term conflict. Ulster was partitioned in 1921, with six counties [Antrim, Down, Armagh, Londonderry, Tyrone, and Fermanagh] forming Northern Ireland (a province within the United Kingdom) and three counties [Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan] joining the Republic of Ireland.

16a	One feels // queen should be repelled by insect (7)

Anne^[7] (1665–1714) became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a single sovereign state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death.

19a	This may prove a comfort to one who's just retired (8,7)

Retired ... but merely for the night.

23a	Spirit /of/ leading investor (9)

In general use, an archangel^[5] is an angel of greater than ordinary rank; more specifically, in traditional Christian angelology, a being of the eighth-highest order of the ninefold celestial hierarchy.

24a	Piece of furniture, // one skirted by cleaner (5)

Char^[5] is an informal British term for charwoman^[5] (or charlady^[5]), a dated British name for a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops describes this cleaner as your daily Mrs Mop (sic). His comment is an allusion to a character from the BBC radio comedy programme It's That Man Again[7] (or, commonly, ITMA) which ran from 1939 to 1949. It featured popular characters such as Colonel Chinstrap and Mrs. Mopp in comic situations often related to current war news. ITMA was credited with sustaining wartime morale. The programme generated certain catchphrases that long outlived the series — among them being cleaning lady Mrs Mopp's query "Can I Do* You Now, Sir?". * Do[5] is an informal British expression meaning to do the cleaning for a person or household ⇒ Florrie usually did for the Shermans in the mornings. Of course, it has other connotations as well! The title ITMA refers to a contemporary phrase concerning the ever more frequent news-stories about Nazi leader Adolph Hitler in the lead-up to the Second World War.

25a	A male aboard pilot // ship (7)

26a	Order to economise /is/ to no avail (7)

Down

1d	Pair allowed /in/ band (8)

A brace^[10] is a pair, especially of game birds ⇒ a brace of partridges.

2d	Knife // fight about it upset student (8)

"student " = L [driver under instruction]

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

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Automobile displaying an L-plate

3d	Old man having part to play /in/ prisoner's conditional release (6)

4d	Bum /in/ boozer (6)

Scratching the Surface
In British English, boozer[5] is not only an informal term for a person who drinks large quantities of alcohol but also an informal term for a pub or bar.

5d	Whingers disconcerted // US composer (8)

George Gershwin^[5] (1898–1937) was an American composer and pianist, of Russian-Jewish descent; born Jacob Gershovitz. He composed many successful songs and musicals, the orchestral work Rhapsody in Blue (1924), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935). The lyrics for many of these were written by his brother Ira Gershwin (1896–1983).

Here and There

Whereas North Americans merely whine, it would seem that Brits both whine and whinge. Whinge[5] is an informal British term that means: (verb) to complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way ⇒ stop whingeing and get on with it!  (noun) an act of complaining persistently and peevishly ⇒ she let off steam by having a good whinge This would seem to connote a stronger level of complaint than a whine[5] which is defined as: (verb) to complain in a feeble or petulant way ⇒ (i) she began to whine about how hard she had been forced to work; (ii) My legs ache,’ he whined (noun) a feeble or petulant complaint ⇒ a constant whine about the quality of public services

6d	Courage shown by last in convoy /in/ sound (6)

Hearty^[5] is used in the sense of (said of a person) strong and healthy ⇒ a formidably hearty spinster of fifty-five.

8d	Against having party /in/ flat (5)

"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 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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Here and There

Flat[5] is the British term for what would be called an apartment[5] in North America. (show more ) The term apartment is used in Britain, but seemingly in a more restricted sense than in North America applying to either temporary or upscale accommodation. As Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) puts it, an apartment[5] is: (British) a flat, typically one that is well appointed or used for holidays [vacations] ⇒ self-catering holiday apartments; (North American) any flat ⇒ the family lived in a rented apartment. hide

9d	Great at manoeuvring /in/ series of yacht races? (7)

14d	Representative turned up, ringing about a church // minister (8)

15d	Provoke // tense scaffolder? (7)

A rigger^[5] is a person who erects and maintains scaffolding, cranes, etc. ⇒ I rely upon labourers, riggers, and construction workers.

17d	Not this dear French // stateswoman (8)

The masculine form of the French word for dear is cher^[8].

Margaret Thatcher^[5], Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven (1925–2013) was a British Conservative stateswoman, prime minister 1979–90. She was the country's first female prime minister, and became the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century.

18d	Star /in/ East, twinkling, seen by chance (8)

19d	Undergraduate ultimately failing // to pass (6)

20d	Shock /finding/ uniform inside streetcar, American (6)

"uniform " = U [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]

In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet^[7]*, Uniform^[5] is a code word representing the letter U.

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^* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet

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Tram^[5] (also tramcar) is a British term for streetcar^[5], a passenger vehicle powered by electricity conveyed by overhead cables, and running on rails laid in a public road.

21d	Remark addressed to a back-seat driver that's double-edged? (4,2)

Belt up^[5] is an informal British admonishment to be quiet ⇒ for God's sake, belt up.

22d	Jack, // deceitful man (5)

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Epilogue

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Symbols:
En dash : –
Em dash : —
Bullet : •

Dashed underline (transparent): [xx]

Dotted underline (transparent): [xx]

Double underline (transparent): [xx]

Solid underline (transparent): [xx]

Dropped dashed underline (transparent): [xx]

Dropped dotted underline (transparent): [xx]

Dropped solid underline (transparent): [xx]

To double underline:
Outer span style: style="border-bottom: 2px dotted; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 3px;"
Inner span style: style="border-bottom: 2px dashed;"

5d   {content_inner_1}{content_inner_2}{content_inner_3}{content_inner_4}{content_inner_5}{content_inner_6}{content_outer} (7)

Arrow bullet (single) : ⇒ X. [code = &_#8658; (remove "_")]
Arrow bullet (multiple) : ⇒ (i) X; (ii) X. [code = &_#8658; (remove "_")]

HTML center code: style="text-align: center;"
HTML code to stop text wrapping: br clear="left|right|all"
HTML show/hide code (insert following id="examplex"): onclick="showHide('outsize_OS');return false;"

Image dimensions: (original) 560 x 315; 420 x 236; (in box) 400 x 225;

Code to disable related videos on YouTube embed: ?rel=0 at end of URL

To make background transparent use Online Image Editor (https://www.online-image-editor.com/)

To remove white border around images place style="border: 0px;" in the image tag

To insert "Listen" button (copy and past in HTML window): ()

To remove bullets from an unordered list place style="list-style-type: none;" in the ul tag

To create a left-aligned horizontal line place style="margin-left: 0; text-align: left; width: 75%;" in the hr tag

{content}

{Main text* } * {Subtext}

Scratching the Surface Delving Deeper Here and There The Story Behind the Picture
In the surface reading, {content}

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops writes .... {content}

What are they talking about?
On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, {commenter(s)} write(s) .... {content}

Link to resources : "link text"
Superscript : ^[1] .^[2] .^[3] .^[4] .^[5] .^[6] .^[7] .^[8] .^[9] .^[10] .

{Visible Text} (show explanation )

{Invisible Text}

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[#]

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[#]

[#]{Main text^* }

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^* {Subtext}

[#]

[#]{Anchor} .

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Origin: 

[#]

{Anchor} . Facts:

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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