Friday, May 14, 2021 — DT 29457

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29457
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Setter Unknown
Link to full review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29457]
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

This puzzle provided a lot of enjoyment with several "penny drop moments" when a well-disguised meaning suddenly became clear.

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 "wavy underline" - whimsical and inferred definitions
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a	One's hooked // on Carthage when touring (10)

Scratching the Surface
Carthage[5] was an ancient city on the coast of North Africa near present-day Tunis. (show more ) Founded by the Phoenicians c.814 BC, Carthage became a major force in the Mediterranean, and came into conflict with Rome in the Punic Wars. It was finally destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC. hide

6a	Book // entering system, marked (4)

Emma^[7] is a novel by English writer Jane Austen (1775–1817) that was first published in 1815.

9a	Surprised // when kissed on the lips? (10)

Gob^[5] is an informal British term for a person's mouth ⇒ Jean told him to shut his big gob.

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Gobsmacked^[5] is an informal British expression meaning utterly astonished or astounded ⇒ the locals were gobsmacked when us lot trooped in.

10a	Post /for/ a chap under discussion (4)

I've always found it interesting that, in Britain, the post is delivered by the Royal Mail while, in Canada, the mail is delivered by Canada Post.

12a	Might one have got tied up at work? (12)

An escapologist^[5] is an entertainer specializing in freeing themselves from the confinement of such things as ropes, handcuffs, and chains.

15a	Edges of Egyptian flag // complete (6)

16a	Cryptic answer by the setter /in/ trousers, etc (8)

"the setter " = ME

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

hide

18a	Total // on strike correct (8)

19a	Tiger perhaps // a bit upset about getting caught, initially (3,3)

21a	Spirit from the bottle? (5,7)

The phrase Dutch courage^[5] denotes strength or confidence gained from drinking alcohol ⇒ I'll have a couple of drinks to give me Dutch courage.

24a	Hiding head, fool // friend (4)

Wally^[5] is an informal British term for a silly or inept person ⇒ I must have looked a total wally but I didn't care.

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Origin: There are many theories of the origin: one story tells of a Wally who became separated from companions at a 1960s pop festival; the name, announced many times over a loudspeaker, was taken up as a chant by the crowd.

25a	Writing stuff // fixed, by the sound of it (10)

26a	Sad -- // unlike this clue? (4)

27a	Regarding ruin, bleak winds // extraordinary (10)

Down

1d	Mineworkers' lift, // a hundred years old? (4)

2d	Court order // investigations finally into all blood groups? (4)

A blood group^[5] is any of the various types of human blood whose antigen characteristics determine compatibility in transfusion. The best-known blood groups are those of the ABO system.

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In Britain, an ASBO^[5] is a court order which can be obtained by local authorities in order to restrict the behaviour of a person likely to cause harm or distress to the public.

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Origin: abbreviation of antisocial behaviour order

3d	Last part of race perhaps // flat and neat (4,8)

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 (Oxford Dictionaries) 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.

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Home straight^[5] is the British term for the straight final stretch of a racecourse. The expression is also used figuratively to denote the last last part of an activity or campaign.

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North American equivalent: home stretch

4d	Endlessly drink something sticky, // sugary fluid (6)

Neck^[5] is an informal British term meaning to swallow (something, especially a drink) ⇒ after necking some beers, we left the bar.

5d	Some disgrace, yes, or especially // hideous sights (8)

7d	I came with him, a drunk, around British // resort city (5,5)

Miami Beach^[7] is a coastal resort city in Florida. It is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which separates "the Beach" from the mainland city of Miami.

8d	Everyone repeat, // inking in identical initials? (10)

11d	Cook taking sort of // utensil for warming marshmallows? (8,4)

A toasting fork^[5] is a long-handled fork for making toast in front of a fire ⇒ All we need now is a toasting fork and some marshmallows.

13d	Old // part of clock (6-4)

14d	Around middle of autumn, at last we reviewed // a kind of legislation (7,3)

Statute law^[5] is the body of principles and rules of law laid down in statutes — as compared to common law^[5] (the part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes) and case law^[5] (the law as established by the outcome of former cases).

17d	Short let written about /in/ flier (8)

Throstle^[5] is an old-fashioned British term for song thrush^[5], a common European and central Asian thrush with a buff spotted breast, having a loud song in which each phrase is repeated two or three times.

20d	Shrub /with/ blight in seed (6)

The protea^[5] is an evergreen shrub or small tree with large nectar-rich cone-like flower heads surrounded by brightly coloured bracts, chiefly native to South Africa.

22d	European // capitals in Sweden, Estonia, Russia and Belgium (4)

A Serb^[5] is a native or inhabitant of Serbia^[5], a republic in the Balkans that was once part of Yugoslavia.

23d	Write // category (4)

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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]   - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Dictionary of English)

  ^[6]   - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (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)

^[15]   - CollinsDictionary.com (Penguin Random House LLC/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd )

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Signing off for today — Falcon