Friday, September 11, 2020 — DT 29276

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29276
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, February 3, 2020
Setter Campbell (Allan Scott)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29276]
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

I received an unpleasant surprise when I logged on to write today's blog. Google has discontinued support for Blogger's legacy editor. For several months, Google has been urging bloggers to switch to the new Blogger editor but the option has been available to revert back to the legacy editor. Today that option is gone.

A few week's ago, I did attempt to use the new editor but it was such an unmitigated disaster that I switched back to the legacy editor after about a week. To make matters worse, Google provides no documentation on the new editor — or, if such documentation does exist, provides no link to it (or even any inkling that it does exist). As a result, I have had to learn how to use the new editor through trial and error while trying to compose this blog. With the new editor, many of the tasks that I do in writing the blog require either more complex operations, more steps or more keystrokes. For example, with the new editor, pressing the ENTER key produces very bizarre results (which vary depending on the context). I accidentally discovered that I can replicate the expected action of the ENTER key (i.e., the way it works in the old blogger or, or that matter, in any word processing or editing program) by pressing SHIFT + ENTER. I literally press this key dozens — if not hundreds — of times in the course of composing a post (and now I need to remember to press SHIFT + ENTER every time).

Believe it or not, I just finished writing the previous sentence and then stupidly pressed ENTER!

Rant over.

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	Small private room // near end of unit (6)

Closet^[5] is used not in the sense of a place to store things but as a small room for private study.

4a	Area in good order round university/'s/ central hall (6)

8a	Model // soldier, like leader of mission (8)

Para^[4,11] (short for paratrooper) is a soldier in an airborne unit.

10a	Property /in/ European country (6)

"European " = E [as in E number]

E^[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number^*).

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^* An E number^[1,4,10,14] (or E-number^[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.

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11a	Sketch /of/ Saint Christopher (4)

"saint " = S

S^[5] (chiefly in Catholic use) is an abbreviation for Saint ⇒ S Ignatius Loyola with SS^[5] being the abbreviation for Saints ⇒ the Church of SS Peter and Paul.

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Kit^[7] is a nickname for the given name Christopher.

12a	Diplomat // dancing samba, pathetic otherwise (10)

Scratching the Surface
The samba[5] is a Brazilian dance of African origin.

13a	Diarist // cross with Juliet wearing shades (7,5)

"Juliet " = J [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]

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

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^* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet

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Bridget Jones's Diary^[7] is a 1996 novel by Helen Fielding. Written in the form of a personal diary, the novel chronicles a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single working woman living in London. She not only obsesses about her love life, but also details her various daily struggles with her weight, her over-indulgence in alcohol and cigarettes, and her career.

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops tells us we need the IVA code letter for Juliet. He likely meant to write IVR (International Vehicle Registration) instead of IVA. However, it is actually a symbol from the NATO phonetic alphabet that is required and not an IVR code.

16a	Railway buff /that's/ wizard on coaches (12)

Harry Potter^[7] is the title character in a series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

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Trainspotter^*[5] is a British term for a person who collects train or locomotive numbers as a hobby.

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^* The name is also often used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who obsessively studies the minutiae of any minority interest or specialized hobby ⇒ the idea is to make the music really really collectable so the trainspotters will buy it in their pathetic thousands.

20a	Method of teaching singing, // complicated solo in fact (5,3-2)

Tonic sol-fa^[10] (or sol-fa^[10]) is a method of teaching music, especially singing, used mainly in Britain, by which the syllables of a movable system of solmization^* are used as names for the notes of the major scale in any key. In this system sol is usually replaced by so as the name of the fifth degree.

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^* Solmization^[10] (or solmisation) is a system of naming the notes of a scale by syllables instead of letters derived from the 11th-century hexachord system of Guido d'Arezzo, which assigns the names ut (or do), re, mi, fa, sol, la, si (or ti) to the degrees of the major scale of C (fixed system) or (excluding the syllables ut and si) to the major scale in any key (movable system).

21a	Run // second leg (4)

Pin^[5,10] (usually plural) is an informal term for a leg ⇒ she was very nimble on her pins.

22a	Progressive // kind joining Royal Navy (6)

"Royal Navy " = RN

The Royal Navy^[5] (abbreviation RN) is the British navy. It was the most powerful navy in the world from the 17th century until the Second World War.

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What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops refers to the Royal Navy as the senior service. Senior Service[5] is a British term for the Royal Navy. * A standing "Navy Royal", with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, originated in the early 16th century during the reign of Henry VIII.[7] The English Army was first established as a standing military force in 1660.[7] I trust that it is self-evident that the Royal Air Force came into existence much later.

23a	Article appears after group // rehearsed play (3,5)

Set piece^[5] is a British term for a carefully organized and practised move in a team game by which the ball is returned to play, as at a scrum or a free kick^* ⇒ in the 89th minute another set piece produced the third goal.

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^* a somewhat related term — and one commonly heard in North American sport — is set play^[5], a prearranged manoeuvre carried out from a restart by the team who have the advantage ⇒ the Germans scored the deciding goal on a set play, off a corner kick in the 15th minute

24a	See // literary review? (6)

25a	Nonsense written about Laurel originally // having three parts (6)

Tripe^[5] is an informal term^* meaning nonsense or rubbish ⇒ you do talk tripe sometimes.

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^* "Formally", tripe is the first or second stomach of a cow or other ruminant used as food.

Scratching the Surface

The surface reading may be a tip of the bowler hat to comedian Stan Laurel. Laurel and Hardy[5] were an American comedy duo consisting of Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson) (1890–1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). British-born Stan Laurel played the scatterbrained and often tearful innocent, Oliver Hardy his pompous, overbearing, and frequently exasperated friend. They brought their distinctive slapstick comedy to many films from 1927 onwards.

Down

1d	Biscuits /and/ nuts // off one's trolley (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.

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Nuts^[10] is an offensive slang term meaning insane.

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Off one's trolley is an informal British expression^[14] (or offensive slang^[10]) meaning insane. The trolley in this case is a pulley running on an overhead track that transmits power from the track to drive a tram; the idea is similar to that in the expression go off the rails.

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^* Whole several of my sources identify the expression as British, Webster’s New World College Dictionary claims it to be US slang^[12].

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Crackers^[5] is an informal British term meaning insane.

2d	Love some, but not all, // abstract paintings (2,3)

"love " = O [nil score in tennis]

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).

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Op art^[5] is a form of abstract art that gives the illusion of movement by the precise use of pattern and colour, or in which conflicting patterns emerge and overlap. Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely are its most famous exponents.

3d	Abu Dhabi, for example, // angry after Middle East uprising (7)

ME^[1] is the abbreviation for Middle East^*.

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^* The Chambers Dictionary is the only one of my regular reference sources to list this meaning.

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Abu Dhabi^[5] the  largest of the seven member states of the United Arab Emirates, lying between Oman and the Persian Gulf coast. The former sheikhdom joined the federation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971.

5d	Traitor's initial motive /for/ his crime? (7)

6d	Inn artist condemned // on the way (2,7)

7d	Moving // proposal (6)

9d	Noel G's jam surprisingly includes R&B // song (2,9)

"Mr. Bojangles"^[7] is a song written and originally recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title. Since then, it has been recorded by many other artists, including US country rock band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose version rose to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971. The song is also widely associated with Sammy Davis Jr., who made the song part of his stage shows and live television performances for nearly two decades.

Scratching the Surface
Noel Gallagher[7] is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He served as the songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis. After leaving Oasis in 2009, he formed and became the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

14d	Loss /of/ red mitten processed (9)

15d	Ordinary // French wine I imported, rouge lacking body (8)

Médoc^[5] is a red wine produced in Médoc, the area along the left bank of the Gironde estuary in southwestern France.

Scratching the Surface
Rouge[2] (in full vin rouge) is a French red wine.

17d	Poison // scare broadcast across Northern Ireland (7)

"Northern Ireland " = NI

Northern Ireland^[5] (abbreviation NI^[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the northeast part of Ireland.

According to Oxford Dictionaries, Northern Ireland^[5] is the only major division of the United Kingdom to hold the status of province, with England^[5], Scotland^[5] and Wales^[5] considered to be countries.

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18d	Detailed decorative design around large // dish (7)

The setter uses "detailed" in a whimsical cryptic crossword sense meaning having the tail removed — analogous to the formation of words such as deflowered or defrocked.

"large " = L [clothing size]

L^[5] is the abbreviation for large (as a clothing size).

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19d	Belittle // act, blue (2,4)

Do down^[12] is an informal British expression meaning to to criticize, belittle, or demean.

21d	Getting married in spring, /so/ tighten one's belt (5)

"married " = M [genealogy]

In genealogies, m^[5] is the abbreviation for married ⇒ m twice; two d^*.

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^* married twice; two daughters.

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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]   - TheFreeDictionarycom (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)

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Signing off for today — Falcon