Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 — DT 29770


Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29770
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29770]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
StephenL
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

In his review of this puzzle on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, StephenL describes it as "tricky". I certainly second that assessment.

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 Watch // revues call in comic (12)

Watch[5,14] (noun) is used in the sense of an act or instance of carefully observing someone or something over a period of time ⇒ the suspect had been under watch by the police for some time.

8a Automatic // rifle beginning to oddly jerk (7)

Rifle[5] (verb) is used in the sense of steal ⇒ he rifled the dead man's possessions.

9a Praise // a god, say, keeping very quiet (7)

The word "lord" , when pronounced in a non-rhotic accent (show explanation ) typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially southeastern England), sounds virtually identical to "laud".

Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.

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"very quiet " = PP [pianissimo (music notation)]

Pianissimo[5,10] (abbreviation pp[5,10]) is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very soft or very quiet or (as an adverb) very softly or very quietly.

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11a Pigeon // let down catching insect (7)

Fail[5] (verb) is used in the sense of desert or let down (someone) ⇒ at the last moment her nerve failed her.



A fantail[10] is a breed of domestic pigeon having a large tail that can be opened like a fan.

12a Cheers /seeing/ house with old beams (7)

"house " = HO

Although not found in most of the dictionaries I consulted, ho.[10] is the abbreviation for house.

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"old " = O [linguistics]

In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i) OFr [Old French]; (ii) OE [Old English].

However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.

Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.

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Self Reference?
Some may see a reference to the setter himself in this clue as RayT also sets Toughie Crossword puzzles in The Daily Telegraph under the pseudonym Beam.

* The Toughie is a cryptic crossword which is published in The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday through Friday. It gets its name from the fact that it is intended to be a more difficult puzzle than the regular Cryptic Crossword which appears in The Daily Telegraph from Monday through Saturday—the latter puzzle being the one the National Post carries in syndication.


Screenshot of the Telegraph Puzzles website
showing the puzzles available

13a Composer // saw audience thrilled in Eroica initially (5)

Erik Satie[5] (1866–1925) was a French avant-garde composer. He formed an irreverent avant-garde artistic set associated with Les Six, Dadaism, and surrealism. Notable works: GymnopĂ©dies (1888).

Scratching the Surface
The Eroica Symphony[10] (commonly known as Eroica[10]) is more formally Symphony No. 3 in E flat major by Ludwig van Beethoven.

14a Conclude EastEnders' trial, // winning (9)

An East Ender[5,10] (or East-ender[1] or Eastender[2])* is a native or inhabitant of the East End of London, an area traditionally associated with industry and the docks, and crowded living conditions whose residents are also known as cockneys. The cockney[5] dialect spoken in this part of London is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang (show more ).

Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.

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* It would seem that one can justify most any spelling merely by consulting enough dictionaries—and RayT uses yet another, EastEnders (the title of a British soap opera).

EastEnders[7] is an award-winning British soap opera which has been broadcast on BBC One since 1985. (show more )

Set in Albert Square in the East End of London in the fictional Borough of Walford, the programme follows the stories of local residents and their families as they go about their daily lives. Consistently among the top-rated TV programmes in Britain, it has tackled many dilemmas that are considered to be controversial and taboo issues in British culture and social life previously unseen on United Kingdom mainstream television.

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16a Swamps // single sister with boyfriends? (9)

19a Oddly plump cases // transforming insects (5)

A pupa[5] (plural pupae) is an insect in its inactive immature form between larva and adult, e.g. a chrysalis.

21aSplit, a capital city? (7)

Although the solution was readily apparent once I had the checking letters, I spent ages trying to identify some wordplay here. I finally concluded the clue is a cryptic definition of a divided capital city.

Nicosia[5] is the capital of Cyprus. Since 1974 it has been divided into Greek and Turkish sectors.

Scratching the Surface
Split[5] is a seaport on the coast of southern Croatia. Founded as a Roman colony in 78 BC, it contains the ruins of the palace of the emperor Diocletian, built in about AD 300.

23a NATO is one // friend in a million (7)

24a Ogling // the French sweetheart with girdle (7)

"the French " = LE [French definite article]

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le[8].

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"sweetheart " = E ['heart' of swEet]

A common cryptic crossword construct is to use the word "sweetheart" to clue the letter 'E', the middle letter (heart) of the word 'swEet'.

hide

Girdle[5] is used as a verb meaning to surround or encircle.

25a Flipping raining around // drive home (7)

Scratching the Surface
Flipping[5,10] (adjective or adverb) is an informal British term used for emphasis or to express mild annoyance ⇒ (i) are you out of your flipping mind?; (ii) it’s flipping cold today.

Origin: a euphemism for the taboo word f**king

26a Dope perhaps /seeing/ reason (12)

Down

1d Maybe some // bread roll found inside case (7)

... the "case" being one that would be heard in court.

2d Run over // from Beetle car, terribly upset (7)

Scratching the Surface
The Volkswagen Beetle[7]—officially the Volkswagen Type 1 (and informally the Volkswagen Bug)—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car that was manufactured and marketed by German automaker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003.

3d Boss /of/ former unit on hospital department (9)

"hospital department " = ENT

Should you not have noticed, the ear, nose and throat (ENT[2]) department is the most visited section, by far, in the Crosswordland Hospital.

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From a British perspective, boss[5] is an informal North American term meaning excellent or outstanding ⇒ (i) that was a real boss move on his part; (ii) I like that second picture the best; it's a boss shot!.

4d Area in Scottish lake /for/ fish (5)

Loch[5] is the Scottish word for lake.



The loach[5] is a small elongated bottom-dwelling freshwater fish with several barbels near the mouth, found in Eurasia and north-western Africa.

5d Heard I'm in favour of a // jar (7)

An amphora[5] is a tall ancient Greek or Roman jar or jug with two handles and a narrow neck.

6d After tea I knock up // Indian speciality (7)

Cha (variant spelling of char[5]) an informal British name for tea [in the sense of a drink].



In Indian cookery, chapati (variant spelling of chapatti[5]) is a thin pancake of unleavened wholemeal bread cooked on a griddle.

Here and There
Knock (someone) up or knock up (someone)[5] is a British expression meaning to wake or attract the attention of someone by knocking at their door.

The meaning with which North Americans are familiar, namely to make a woman pregnant, also appears in most British dictionaries with only Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary identifying it as a non-British term, describing it as mainly US, informal and rude.[15]

7d Trained // person if also rubbish (12)

10d Argument // made steering awkward (12)

15d Preparing fish, // empty sac during handling (9)

17d Dirty // European occupying a French house (7)

"European " = E [as in E number]

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

* 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.

hide

"a French " = UN

In French, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un[8].

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House and clan might be synonyms in a couple of senses, the first being:
  • A house[10] (often capitalized) is a family line including ancestors and relatives, especially a noble one ⇒ the House of York.
  • A clan[10] is a group of people interrelated by ancestry or marriage.
Another possibility is in the informal sense of a family unit when living together under one roof ⇒ it was the first time in ages that the house/clan had sat down together for dinner.

18d Notwithstanding // abnormal speed, embraces sex (7)

"sex " = IT

It[2,5] (usually written in quotation marks, "it") is an informal term for sex appeal* or sexual intercourse ⇒ (i) the only thing I knew nothing about was ‘it’; (ii) they were caught doing ‘it’ in the back seat of his car.

* Chambers 21st Century Dictionary considers this sense to be an "old use" (Chambers' terminology for archaic, obsolete or old-fashioned).

"It"[7] (written in quotation marks) is a term that has come to mean sex appeal — although, in its earliest manifestation, it seems that the term pertained more to personality than to glamorous looks. Despite having been used as early as 1904 by Rudyard Kipling, the term was popularized  in the 1927 film It starring Clara Bow (who became known as the "It Girl").

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19d Equality over top of nude // model (7)

It took quite a while for the penny to drop on the parsing here; in case others are struggling with it, the clue parses as PAR (equality) + AGO (over) + N (top [initial letter] of Nude).

20d Boozer on board tramp // ship (7)

In Britain, 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.



A pinnace[5] (historical) is a small boat, typically with sails and/or several oars, forming part of the equipment of a warship or other large vessel.

22d A new hair product /for/ sweetheart (5)



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 )



Signing off for today — Falcon

Monday, November 29, 2021

Monday, November 29, 2021 — DT 29769 (Published Saturday, November 27, 2021)


Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29769
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29769]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
2Kiwis
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
Notes

This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, November 27, 2021 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

I found some of this puzzle quite tricky and needed to resort to a bit of electronic help to finish.

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 Impotence /of/ father visiting Cuzco perhaps (10)

Cuzco[5] is a city in the Andes in southern Peru; population 348,900 (est. 2007). It was the capital of the Inca empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533.

6a Stag // party undressed by first of hens (4)

Scratching the Surface
Hen[5] is a British term for a woman who is about to get married and is attending a celebration with female friends and relatives today's naughty hens don't want to share the stories with their other halves.

Hen party[5] is a [likely British or chiefly British] term for a social gathering of women, especially a hen night* [the equivalent of a stag party for the fairer sex].

* Hen night[5] is an informal British term for a celebration held for a woman who is about to get married, attended only by women.

10a Feature of a hawk // leaving Marxist alone (5)

11a Medic performing easy // work off the record (9)

"medic " = MO [medical officer]

A medical officer[5] (abbreviation MO[5]) is a doctor in charge of the health services of a civilian or military authority or other organization.

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Here and There
There is no consensus among dictionaries on the meaning of the term medic. Most dictionaries show medic as being an informal term for a physician, surgeon, intern or medical student. However, some British dictionaries think it is a British term while some American dictionaries consider it to be a US term. One British dictionary also includes medical orderlies within the definition. The dictionaries do appear to agree on one point; namely, it is a US usage to apply the name to a member of a military medical corps. (show more )

Here is how various dictionaries define medic.

Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries)[5]:
  • (British) informal term for a medical practitioner or student
  • (US) a paramedic in the armed forces
Collins English Dictionary[4,10]:
  • informal term for a doctor, medical orderly, or medical student
The Chambers Dictionary[1]:
  • rare term for a physician
  • informal term for a medical student
Chambers 21st Century Dictionary[2]:
  • colloquial term for a doctor or medical student (also called medico).
American Heritage Dictionary[3]:
  • a member of a military medical corps
  • a physician or surgeon
  • a medical student or intern
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary[11]:
  • a military medical corpsman
  • a doctor or intern
Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12]
  • informal term for a physician or surgeon
  • (US) informal term for a medical student or intern
  • informal term for a medical noncommissioned officer who gives first aid in combat; aidman; corpsman
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12a Exploit delay in case of finance // body (8)

13a No through road /that's/ shut (5)

Close[5] (often found in street names) is a British term for a residential street without through access she lives at 12 Goodwood Close.

15a Stumbles across church // army feature! (7)

"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.

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According to whimsical cryptic crossword logic, if leggy[5] means having attractively long legs then army must necessary mean having attractively long arms.

17a Be quiet // because occupied by the French (7)

"the French " = LE [French definite article]

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le[8].

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19aWriter's block, // and poet is upset (7)

21a Busy, /and/ furious dismissing Republican for good (7)

"Republican " = R [member or supporter of US political party]

A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5])  is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.

* the other being the Democratic Party

Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.

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"good " = G [academic result]

The abbreviation G[a] for good comes from its use in education as a grade awarded on school assignments or tests.

[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

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22a Bill has no time /for/ problem (5)

24a Wrong maps included in quote /for/ temporary accommodation (8)

27a Think, love, before American /gets/ heavy (9)

"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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28a Recover strength /for/ meeting in common cause (5)

29a Irritated, /with/ tons stolen from shop (4)

Here and There
The word "store" has a more restricted meaning in the UK than it does in North America.

Brits would think of most stores as shops. From a British perspective, a store[5] is:
  • In North America, a shop of any kind
  • In Britain, either a large shop selling different types of goods ⇒ DIY [do-it-yourself] stores or a shop selling basic necessities ⇒ a well-stocked village store.

30a One's belt is loose, /that's/ apparent (10)

Down

1d Scrap // answer after seeing nothing in it (4)

2d Artist // is too cruel, represented with no end of hope (9)

As an anagram indicator, represented is deceptively used* in the sense of re-presented[5], meaning to have presented (something) again, especially for further consideration or in an altered form.

* Remember, in cryptic crosswords, it is common practice to omit or insert punctuation at will—or on a whim.



A colourist[5] is an artist or designer who uses colour in a special or skilful way.

3d Cash /from/ article failing to appear in atonement? (5)

Pence[5] is a plural* form of penny[5], a British bronze coin and monetary unit. (show more ).

* Both pence and pennies have existed as plural forms of penny since at least the 16th century. The two forms now tend to be used for different purposes: pence refers to sums of money (five pounds and sixty-nine pence) while pennies refers to the coins themselves (I left two pennies on the table). The use of pence rather than penny as a singular (the chancellor will put one pence on income tax) is not regarded as correct in standard English.

Today, a penny is equal to one hundredth of a pound and is the smallest denomination in Britain's modern decimal currency system introduced in 1971. The abbreviation for the modern penny or pence is p[5].

In the British currency system used prior to 1971, a penny[5] (abbreviation d[5] [for denarius]) was a coin or monetary unit equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound.

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4d Fights // fixed cost to cover business degree (7)

5d Shifting worst, keeping the Spanish // tools (7)

"the Spanish " = EL [Spanish definite article]

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el[8].

hide

7d Bother /found in/ a good half of ground (5)

Good, which first appeared in 21a, returns for an encore performance.



Aggro[5] (abbreviation of aggravation or aggression) is an informal British term for:
  • aggressive, violent behaviour ⇒ they do not usually become involved in aggro
  • problems and difficulties ⇒ he didn’t have to deal with aggro from the desk clerk

8d Action during championships /must get/ evidence of ownership (5,5)

9d Non-striker /may be/ bowling initially -- need support (8)

Blackleg[5] is a derogatory British term for a person who continues working when fellow workers are on strike; in other words, a strike-breaker.

14d Bear tweets, /finding/ sources of water! (10)

Pipe[5] is used in the sense (said of a bird) to sing in a high or shrill voice.



Here and There
A standpipe is a source of water on both sides of the pond, but the word seemingly has quite a different meaning in North America than it does in the UK.

In Britain, a standpipe[2,5] is a vertical pipe leading from a water supply, especially one connecting a temporary tap to the mains to provide an emergency supply in the street when household water is cut off.

In North America, a standpipe[12,15] is:
  • a high vertical pipe or cylindrical tank for storing water and keeping it at a desired pressure, especially such a large tank used in a water-supply system for a town, etc.
  • a water pipe for supplying the fire hoses of a building, connected with the water supply of the building and usually with a siamese* outside the building.

    * a siamese[15] is a standpipe placed outside a building close to ground level, having two or more openings so that fire engines can pump water to the sprinkler system of the building

16d Retired hotel employee, // one with business abroad (8)

 A porter is:
  •  (British) an employee in charge of the entrance of a hotel, block of flats [apartments], college, or other large building[5]
  • (mainly British) a person in charge of a gate or door; a doorman or gatekeeper[10]
  • a person employed by a university or college as a caretaker and doorkeeper who also answers enquiries[10]
  • a person in charge of the maintenance of a building, especially a block of flats [apartments][10]

18d Venue // suffering glitch in centre (9)

20d Opportunities to employ court // professionals (7)

"court " = CT [in street addresses]

Ct[2] is the abbreviation for Court (in street addresses ... and possibly in other contexts as well).

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21d Line dismissed by travelling salesmen // as a group (2,5)

"line " = L [textual references]

In textual references, the abbreviation for line [of written matter] is l.[5] l. 648.

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23d Instrument // carried by fliers on a raid (5)

25dRides a white horse? (5)

A white horse[5] is a white-crested wave at sea ⇒ The spirit of the wave is physically embodied in the enormous white horses which are charging through the water as the three surfers surge forward.

Scratching the Surface
Horse[5] is an informal name for heroin. "Ride the white horse"[7] is drug culture slang for using heroin.

26d Promo // they upset intermittently (4)



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 )



Signing off for today — Falcon

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Saturday, November 27, 2021 — Telling Its Own Tale


Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, like the legendary Swiss hero at its core, hits the mark. I found it difficult to gain an entry point but once I had established a foothold, the solve progressed steadily. However, I did ponder a long time over 7d, my last one in.

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

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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
- yet to be solved

Symbols and Markup Conventions
  •  "*" - anagram
  • "~" - sounds like
  • "<" - indicates the preceding letters are reversed
  • "( )" - encloses contained letters
  • "_" - replaces letters that have been deleted
  •  "†" - indicates that the word is present in the clue
  • "//" - 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 the symbols and markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a At home, youngster consumed // warm eggs (8)

IN|CUB|ATE — IN (at home) + CUB (youngster) + ATE (consumed)

5a Backing a power unit with zero // capital (6)

{O|TTAW|A}< — reversal of (backing) A (†) + WATT (power unit) + O ([letter that looks like] zero)

Although contestants on Jeopardy! recently failed to identify Ottawa, I hope American readers here will recognize it as the capital of Canada.



By the way, the Ottawa Tourism Bureau has invited the two contestants to visit Ottawa, all expenses paid, to "show them what they may have missed".

9a Spanish data display // opened for viewing (6,3)

SP|READ OUT — SP (Spanish; indication of language in dictionary entries) + READ OUT (data display)

11a Different // trouble after the debut (5)

_OTHER — [B]OTHER (trouble) with the initial letter removed (after the debut)

12a Shoemaker hurt returning // baking dish (7)

{RAM|EKIN}< — reversal of (returning) {NIKE (shoemaker) + MAR (hurt)}

13a Entertained // lass in straw (7)

RE(GAL)ED — GAL (lass) contained in (in) REED (straw)

14a Around one in the morning, intend to notify // marksman (7,4)

WILL(I|AM) TELL — {WILL (intend to) + TELL (notify)} containing (around) {I ([Roman numeral] one + AM (in the morning)}

19a Bum temporarily holding wizard’s aid, a // weapon (3,3,5)

BOW AND ARROW — BORROW (bum) containing (holding) {WAND (wizard's aid) + A (†)}

22a Reindeer // hold up roaming after mid-march (7)

RUDOLPH* — anagram of (roaming) HOLD UP following (after) R (mid-March; middle letter of MaRch)

24a Cut that woman/’s/ slip stealthily (7)

SLIT|HER — SLIT (cut) + HER (that woman)

25a Book of maps // finally abridged (5)

AT|LAS_ — AT LAS[T] (finally) with the final letter removed (abridged)

26a Dangerous, imbibing doctored whey // drink (3,6)

R(YE WH)*ISKY — RISKY (dangerous) containing (imbibing) anagram of (doctored) WHEY

27a Carry around five hundred and one, // so far (2,4)

TO (D|A)TE — TOTE (carry) containing (around) {D ([Roman numeral] five hundred) + (and) A (one)}

28a Changed so, and yet // stuck around (6,2)

(STAYED ON)* — anagram of (changed) SO AND YET

Down

1d Tuck // still eating piece of steak (6)

IN(S)ERT —INERT (still) containing (eating) S (piece [initial letter] of Steak)

2d Shiny metal coating // church next to Vatican site (6)

CH|ROME — CH (church) + (next to) ROME (Vatican site)

3d Bishop is missing pale // bird with a long neck (5,4)

B|LACK S|WAN — B (bishop; bishop) +LACKS (is missing) + WAN (pale)

4d Something sharp: // tenor brass instrument (5)

T|HORN — T (tenor; singing voice) + HORN (brass instrument)

6d Skimpy garment // among marathon gear (5)

_THON|G_ — hidden in (among) maraTHON Gear

7d Hero // is sore, getting sick (8)

ACH(ILL)ES — ACHES (is sore) containing (getting) ILL (sick)

In Greek mythology, Achilles[5] was a hero of the Trojan War, son of Peleus and Thetis. During his infancy his mother plunged him in the Styx, thus making his body invulnerable except for the heel by which she held him. During the Trojan War Achilles killed Hector but was later wounded in the heel by an arrow shot by Paris and died.

8d Dog // was shown beer (8)

AIRED|ALE — AIRED (was shown) ALE (beer)

10d Drop the ball that is right behind last bit of hot // dog (7)

T|ERR|IE|R — {ERR (drop the ball) + IE (that is) + R(ight)} following (behind) T (last bit [letter] of hoT)

15d Hide // article received by Shakespearean king (7)

LEA(THE)R — THE ([definite] article) contained in (received by) LEAR (Shakespearean king)

16d Turned wash milky, // in a soapy way (9)

MAWKISHLY* — anagram of (turned) WASH MILKY

17d Perverse // insect circling Yogi (8)

A(BERRA)NT — ANT (insect) containing (circling) BERRA (Yogi; baseball catcher Yogi Berra[7])

18d Blanketed // son walked like a duck (8)

S|WADDLED — S(on) + WADDLED (walked like a duck)

20d Went after // virgin in audition (6)

CHASED~ — sounds like (in audition) CHASTE (virgin)

21d Weep continuously about a // colouring agent (6)

CR(A)Y|ON — CRY ON (weep continuously) containing (about) A (†)

23d Catalogue including Greek film // composer (5)

LIS(Z)T — LIST (catalogue) containing (including) Z (Greek film)

Z[7] is a 1969 Algerian-French political thriller film that presents a thinly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963.

24d Extract metal /from/ fish (5)

SMELT — double definition

Epilogue

It's certainly not difficult to discern a theme today; in fact, one could say the puzzle "tells its own tale". As Peter puts it in his comment below "The Swiss hero and his arms take centre stage.".

Those of us of a certain age will be familiar with the William Tell Overture as the theme song of the 1950s television program The Lone Ranger.



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 )



Signing off for today — Falcon