Wednesday, July 29, 2020 — DT 29239

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29239
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, December 20, 2019
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29239]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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

Well, I missed the pangram again! What else is new.

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

1a	Christmas // spruce hiding one little girl (six) (8)

Nativity^[5] is the Christian festival of Christ's birth; in other words, Christmas.

5a	Animals /in/ police cars (6)

Panda car^[5] is an informal British term for a small police patrol car (originally black and white or blue and white).

While I can find no reference to confirm that these vehicles are referred to as simply "pandas" rather than "panda cars", I suppose they may be. If not, one can always interpret the clue as a cryptic definition rather than a double definition.

9a	No more beer /provided by/ business person (8)

Porter^[5] is a dark brown bitter beer brewed from malt partly charred or browned by drying at a high temperature (originally made as a drink for porters).

10a	Fruit // one of five children brought to church (6)

Here and There
Quin[10] is the British equivalent to the North American term quint, short for quintuplet (in the sense of one of five offspring born at one birth).

"church " = CE [Church of England]

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

hide

12a	Dreadful woe -- I'll // hide away (3,3)

13a	Maybe watch // moth consuming material? (8)

Split the solution (3,5) and you have a phrase which could describe a moth consuming a particular type of material or fabric.

Rep^[5] (also repp) is a fabric with a ribbed surface, used in curtains and upholstery.

---

A repeater^[5] is a watch or clock which repeats its last strike when required.

15a	Man remembered on Boxing Day /taking/ walk with female (7)

St Stephen^[5] (died c.35) was a Christian martyr. One of the original seven deacons in Jerusalem appointed by the Apostles, he was charged with blasphemy and stoned, thus becoming the first Christian martyr. Feast day (in the Western Church) 26 December; (in the Eastern Church) 27 December.

16a	Almost 12? // Sleep (4)

20a	Girl // to wed, having given heart away (4)

Mary^[5] is the mother of Jesus (this puzzle was published five days before Christmas in the UK).

21a	Decorator with fluid /in/ recreation facility (3,4)

25a	Getting better // sports ground finished before end of January (8)

Here and There
Rec[5] is an informal British term for recreation ground whereas in North America it is a short form for the word recreation ⇒ the rec centre. Thus while Brits conduct their sporting activities at the rec, North Americans might pursue theirs at the rec centre.

26a	Gangster, old-fashioned fellow /in/ hidden part of room? (6)

"gangster " = AL [Al Capone]

Al Capone^[5] (1899–1947), nicknamed Scarface, was an American gangster of Italian descent. He dominated organized crime in Chicago in the 1920s and was indirectly responsible for many murders, including the St Valentine’s Day Massacre^* .

---

^* The St Valentine's Day Massacre^[5] was the shooting on 14th February 1929 of seven members of the rival ‘Bugsy’ Moran's gang by some of Al Capone's men disguised as policemen.

Capone^[7] was born in Brooklyn (New York) and began his life of crime in New York City before moving to Chicago. Capone inadvertently insulted a woman while working the door at a Brooklyn night club and was slashed by her brother Frank Gallucio. The wounds led to the nickname that Capone loathed: "Scarface". Capone's boss, racketeer Frankie Yale, insisted that Capone apologize to Gallucio, and later Capone hired him as a bodyguard. When photographed, Capone hid the scarred left side of his face, saying that the injuries were war wounds. Capone was called "Snorky", a term for a sharp dresser, by his closest friends.

hide

Cove^[5] is a dated informal British term for a man ⇒ he is a perfectly amiable cove.

---

Origin: Mid 16th century: perhaps from Romany kova ‘thing or person’.

28a	Encourages // good health! (6)

29a	Server // tries to move round -- was seen going outside (8)

30a	Cupid's companion, // one in a hurry (6)

31a	Explored // something growing maybe, having crossed bridge (8)

Down

1d	Requirement with second half of tale -- // one mustn't lose the thread (6)

2d	Person dumping waste // who may help 29 (6)

As a noun, tip^[10] is a British term for a dump for refuse,  etc. and, as a verb, it means to dump (rubbish, etc.). A tipper^[5] is a person who dumps waste, especially illegally.

---

The numeral "29" is a cross reference indicator to clue 29a (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.

---

^* light-coloured cell in the grid

hide

3d	Extremely short opening /for/ drink (8)

4d	Part of forest re-examined -- // something growing therein? (4)

While the definition here does not stand entirely on its own (the adverb "therein" references the word "forest" from the wordplay), the connection between the two parts of the clue is not strong enough for me to consider this to be an all-in-one clue.

6d	/What's/ entertained // us -- dame cavorting (6)

The word "what's", despite being placed at the beginning of the clue, performs a role similar to that of a link word. Expressed in a simple declarative structure, the clue might read:

• Entertained /that is/ us -- dame cavorting (6)

Of course, the surface reading makes no sense (which is why the setter chose not to employ this structure).

7d	Party people /in/ charitable activity (8)

"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.

---

^* 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

hide

8d	Sirs here supply // preprandial tipples? (8)

As an anagram indicator, supply^[5] is a variant spelling of supplely^[5], an adverb meaning 'in a supple manner'.

11d	Cleric has played lyre /in/ merry-making (7)

14d	Peter's quaking outside front of castle -- /there's/ something spooky (7)

17d	English doctor hurried /to be/ given a welcome (8)

"doctor " = MB

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree. 

Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada. Throughout the 19th century, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine.

hide

18d	Biscuits? // They're exceptionally good (8)

Here and There
The British use the term biscuit[3,4,11] to refer to a range of foods that include those that would be called either cookies or crackers in North America. A North American biscuit[5] is similar to what is known in Britain as a scone.

---

In the second definition, one must include "they're" in the definition as the solution works only as a plural noun.
Cracker^[5] is an informal British term for:

• a fine example of something ⇒ don't miss this cracker of a CD.
• an attractive person, especially a woman ⇒ you look a cracker.

I initial supposed that the solution was an adjective, However, as an adjective, crackers^[5] is an informal British term meaning insane or extremely angry.

19d	Home dull, nothing right? // I may help blow up balloons (8)

22d	A bit of carol /making one/ hostile (6)

23d	Man // to joke, having held record (6)

"record " = EP [extended play]

EP^[10] (abbreviation for extended-play) is one of the formats in which music is sold, usually comprising four or five tracks. An EP contains more cuts than a single^[5] but fewer than an LP or long-playing^[5] record.

hide

---

Having encountered Mary at 20a, it is not surprising to find her husband nearby.

24d	Being terribly sedate, /gets/ leg pulled (6)

27d	Wise man maybe /in/ picture I brought out (4)

Mage^[5] is an archaic or literary term for a magician or learned person.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat describes the solution as the singular form of the alternative name given to the Three Wise Men. I immediately supposed that Deep Threat was referring to the term 'Magi' which is how the Three Wise Men are usually referred to (and for which the singular is magus[5]). However, mage[5] is an anglicized form of Latin magus and therefore presumably its plural is mages.Thus, if one were to think of the Three Wise Men as the Three Mages, the singular form would indeed by 'mage'. Nevertheless, I must say that I can't recall ever having seen the Three Wise Men referred to in this fashion.

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