Wednesday, April 15, 2020 — DT 29164

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29164
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29164]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K
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

There was no need to call in electronic help today — or, at least, I didn't bother to do so. I did get a bit absent-minded and forgot to go back and revisit the parsing of  one clue before reading Mr K's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog resulting in the one blemish on my efforts.

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

Abbreviations — Part IX

We have one abbreviation from the world of politics today, so why not venture there. Here is what I managed to extract from my archive (and it proves to be even longer than yesterday's list of cricket abbreviations):

Abbreviation	Stands for	Additional Information
AM	Assembly Member	Member of the Welsh Assembly
ANC	African National Congress	South African political party
C. or Con.	Conservative	Member or supporter of the UK Conservative Party
CND	Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament	British group advocating for nuclear disarmament
D or Dem or Dem.	Democrat	Member or supporter of the US Democratic Party
DUP	Democratic Unionist Party	Northern Ireland political party
GOP	Grand Old Party	Nickname for US Republican Party
Lab.	Labour	The UK Labour Party
L or Lib.	Liberal	Member or supporter of the UK Liberal Party
LDP	Liberal Democratic Party	A UK political party
Lib Dem or Lib-Dem	Liberal Democrat	Member or supporter of the UK Liberal Democratic Party
MEP	Member of European Parliament	What it says
MLA	Member of the Legislative Assembly	Member of  the Northern Ireland Assembly
MP	Member of Parliament	Member of the UK House of Commons
MSP	Member of the Scottish Parliament	What it says
PR	proportional representation	An electoral system
R or Rep.	Repuplican	Member or supporter of the US Republican Party
SNP	Scottish National Party	Scottish political party
Nat	Nationalist	Member or supporter of the Scottish National Party
TD	Teachta Dala	Member of the Dáil, the lower house of Parliament in the Republic of Ireland
U	Unionist	Member or supporter of a Northern Ireland political party in favour of the union of Northern Ireland with Great Britain
YC	Young Conservative	Member of the youth section of the UK Conservative Party

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	Outer pane smashed, cutting tail of Great // Dane? (8)

The question indicates that the definition is an example of the solution.

5a	Beer keeping Romeo // bigger (6)

Romeo^[5] is a code word representing the letter R in what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet^[7] (officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet).

10a	Conservative pulled to pieces their sarcastic // qualities (15)

"Conservative " = C [member of British political party]

The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.^[10] or Con.^[10].

The Conservative Party^[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownershipthat emerged from the old Tory Party^* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.

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^* Historically, a Tory^[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

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11a	Large jug /for/ US sportsperson? (7)

12a	Deadly // charm, fulsome to some extent (7)

13a	Think // about working with team leader in retail (8)

"team " = SIDE

Side^[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒ there was a mixture of old and young players in^* their side.

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^* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.

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15a	Court's // times (5)

Had the apostrophe been placed differently — i.e., "Courts' times", I would have considered this to be a double definition. However, as presented, I see it as a charade: DATE (court) + S ('s). Nevertheles, some may beg to differ.

18a	Relax by lake -- // appropriate place for a painting (5)

20a	Player/'s/ foul in a miscue, almost (8)

23a	Tramps pinching hospital // clothes (7)

25a	Water, perhaps -- // a small amount (7)

In ancient and medieval cosmology, the elements^{[10^]} were the four substances thought to constitute the universe (earth, air, water, and fire).

26a	Mouse // retreating on flower (9,6)

27a	Money that's earned // perhaps crossing city with Republican (6)

Post Mortem
Having supposed that the word 'perhaps' is part of the definition, I could not parse the wordplay. I set the clue aside, planning to return to it later. However, I neglected to do so before reading Mr K's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog which revealed what I had missed.

28a	Articles -- // what might be accomplished by university research (8)

A feature^[5] is a newspaper or magazine article or a broadcast programme devoted to the treatment of a particular topic, typically at length ⇒ a special feature on children's reference books.

Down

1d	Save // passage from book, right away (6)

2d	Responses /from/ moving copyright in designs (9)

3d	Gadfly nearly eating every // fruit (7)

A gadfly^[5] is a fly that bites livestock, especially a horsefly, warble fly, or botfly. The term has also come to be applied to a person who annoys or criticizes others in order to provoke them into action ⇒ always a gadfly, he attacked intellectual orthodoxies. In this latter sense, while no doubt a pest to the establishment, not necessarily seen as such by everyone.

4d	Following // behind the Queen (5)

"the Queen " = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth]

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

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6d	Country upset? Not Italy, editor // guaranteed (7)

"Italy " = I [IVR code]

Italian Licence Plate

(The IVR code is on the left below the EU flag emblem)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Italy is I^[5] [from Italian Italia].

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7d	50% grey? That is female/'s/ misery (5)

8d	Tailor sets rules -- no uniform /is/ itchy (8)

Uniform^[5] is a code word representing the letter U in what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet^[7] (officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet).

9d	Monster challenging son // where to find fruit? (8)

An orc^[10] is a member of an imaginary race of evil goblins, especially in the fiction of English writer J. R. R. Tolkien.

14d	Home/'s/ endless criticism after arched roof (8)

Stick^[5] is an informal British term denoting severe criticism or treatment ⇒ I took a lot of stick from the press.

16d	Tell raver off -- // one could be tripping (9)

Many British dictionaries consider the term 'rave' to be British slang. However, I think (like COVID-19) it has spread to North America. One American dictionary puts it best, defining a rave^[12] as a kind of loosely organized dance party, lasting through the night, that originated in Britain in the 1980s: a rave features techno music and typically includes the use of psychedelic drugs.

17d	Canine inspectors //  end its barking before test, oddly (8)

Cryptic definition of a practitioner who inspects your canines, bicuspids, incisors, and molars.

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As an anagram indicator, barking^[5] is used in an informal British sense meaning completely mad or demented ⇒ (i) we are all a bit barking; (ii) [as submodifier] has she gone completely barking mad?.

19d	Student // left with one who's 27 (7)

In the wordplay, the 's is to be interpreted as a contraction of 'has'.

The numeral "27" is a cross reference indicator to clue 27a (show more ).

To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light^* identified by the cross reference indicator.

The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.

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^* light-coloured cell in the grid

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21d	Film supporting revolutionary // drug dealer? (7)

Cryptic definition of a British pharmacist.

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"revolutionary " = CHE [Guevara]

Che Guevara^[7] (1928–1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.

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Here and There
In Britain, the term chemist[5] can mean a shop where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold, and in which toiletries and other medical goods can be purchased ⇒ antihistamine tablets are freely available in chemists; or a person authorized to dispense medicinal drugs. In North America, the former would be known as a pharmacy or drug store and the latter as a pharmacist or druggist.

22d	Tattoos lifted American/'s/ kudos (6)

The Chambers Dictionary defines kudos^[1] as a noun meaning credit, fame, renown, prestige — not exactly what I (not to mention many dictionaries) thought it meant.

24d	In the countryside // right next to river (5)

The Ural River^[5] is a river, 1,575 miles (2,534 km) long, that rises at the southern end of the Ural Mountains in western Russia and flows through western Kazakhstan to the Caspian Sea at Atyraū.

25d	Dog dropping black // bird (5)

"black " = B [pencil lead]

B^[5] is an abbreviation for black, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ 2B pencils.

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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