Friday, March 21, 2014 — DT 27344

Vacation Edition

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27344
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, November 25, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27344]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★ / ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Notes
I am currently on vacation. Today's abbreviated posting was prepared prior to my departure and provides a link to the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog for the puzzle that I expect to be published today. However, the National Post has been known to alter its publication schedule unexpectedly, so there is no guarantee that my forecast will necessarily prove to be accurate.

Signing off for today — Falcon

Thursday, March 20, 2014 — DT 27343

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27343
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, November 23, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27343 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27343 - Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave - Hints crypticsue - Review
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
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

Today's puzzle was a good challenge. A couple of British terms that I hadn't encountered in quite a while — the fishing boat at 25a and the British Rube Goldberg counterpart at 11d — caused me to call in some electronic backup.

As I will be away from home for most of the next week, the blog will temporarily go into vacation mode. During my absence, the Puzzle at a Glance feature will continue to appear. The posts have been prepared in advance based on my forecast of the puzzles that I expect to appear projected from recent publication history.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Dejected fellow killed in battle (10)

Chapfallen^[3,4,11], meaning dejected, is a variant spelling of chopfallen which comes from chops (jaws or mouth) + fallen. [Thus having the same meaning as "down in the mouth"].

6a   Hippie girl mostly fashionable (4)

9a   Winning punch is about right (5)

10a   Small attendance at theatre where Oliver was produced (9)

Oliver Twist^[7], subtitled The Parish Boy's Progress, is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens (1812–1870), published in 1838. The story is about an orphan, Oliver Twist, who is born into a life of poverty and misfortune in a workhouse.

12a   Increase in numbers opposing euthanasia quotient (13)

14a   Things prepared for those arriving with coffees the ancient’s consumed (8)

15a   Sung in church and spoken (6)

17a   Independent Television Commission looks in to some abridged TV programme (6)

The Independent Television Commission^[5] (ITC) is a former British licensing and regulatory body that licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2003.

19a   One taking off Dior dresses in old days (8)

21a   Means to keep out noise from one in bulldoze gang when rebuilding (6-7)

24a   Donation from whistle-blower backing politician (9)

25a   Trace fishing vessel (5)

Smack^[5] is a British term for a single-masted sailing boat used for coasting or fishing ⇒ the village still harbours a few fishing smacks.

26a   Ardent lament (4)

27a   Precautionary measure, holding funeral without name (10)

Down

1d   Copper has very strong clout (4)

The symbol for the chemical element copper is Cu^[5] (from Latin cuprum).

Fortissimo^[5] (abbreviation ff^[5]) is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very loud  or (as an adverb) very loudly.

2d   Waste a cup? (7)

3d   Transport chief on paper means to keep slim (3,10)

The Fat Controller^[7] (named Sir Topham Hatt in the USA) is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by the English children's author Rev. W. V. Awdry (1911-1997). In the first two books in the series (The Three Railway Engines and Thomas the Tank Engine) he is known as The Fat Director. In the third book (James the Red Engine) he becomes The Fat Controller, as the railway has been nationalised. His full name is revealed in the foreword to the book Henry the Green Engine.

The Fat Controller also appears in many episodes of the British children's television series Thomas & Friends (titled Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends prior to 2002), adapted from the books.

4d   Man encouraged to buy shares took strides about being unbalanced (8)

Sid^[7] was the name of an archetypal small investor used to promote the privatisation of British Gas plc.

British Gas plc^[7] was an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It was formed when the British Gas Corporation was privatized in 1986 as a result of the privatizations instigated by the government of Margaret Thatcher. In 1997 the company was split to form Centrica, BG Group and National Grid.

5d   Wear down the Queen with poetry (5)

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.

7d   Skipping rail, he engages top-class freight carrier (7)

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words denoting the upper class such as posh or superior — or, as today, top-class.

8d   Does ex make a fresh start (5,5)

Do^[5] is an informal British expression meaning to do the cleaning for a person or household ⇒ Florrie usually did for the Shermans in the mornings.

11d   Hot brain shone working, over-elaborate in style (5-8)

William Heath Robinson^[7] (signed as W. Heath Robinson, 1872 – 1944) was an English cartoonist and illustrator, best known for drawings of eccentric machines. In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson" has entered the language as a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contraption, similar to "Rube Goldberg" in the U.S. It is perhaps more often used in relation to temporary fixes using ingenuity and whatever is to hand, often string and tape, or unlikely cannibalisations. Its popularity is undoubtedly linked to Second World War Britain's shortages and the need to "make do and mend".

13d   Took no more bets for Enigma (6,4)

The surface reading evokes the image of a race horse named Enigma.

16d   Stop everything as player is injured (8)

18d   A delicacy that could make one fretful (7)

20d   Thankless person in place of fire (7)

22d   Developed from blazing row naturally (5)

23d   Small young animal that may be produced by 19 (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]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford 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)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Wednesday, March 19, 2014 — DT 27342

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27342
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, November 22, 2013
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27342]
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

I needed some assistance from my electronic friends in the southwest quadrant today — in part resulting from my use of an American spelling instead of the required British one.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Petty Sergeant-Major everybody paid attention to (5-6)

Sergeant major^[7] is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, the various degrees of sergeant major are appointments held by warrant officers. In the United States, sergeant major is both a rank and an appointment.

In the British army, a sergeant major^[5] is a warrant officer whose job is to assist the adjutant of a regiment or battalion (regimental sergeant major) or a subunit commander (company sergeant major, battery sergeant major, etc.).

In the US army, a sergeant major^[5] is a high rank of non-commissioned officer, above master sergeant and below warrant officer.

7a   Talk about bozo ultimately in charge being disorganised (7)

The abbreviation i/c^[5] (especially in military contexts) is short for in charge of ⇒ the Quartermaster General is i/c rations.

8a   Place for early Christians moving to China (7)

Antioch^[5] is a city in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border; population 186,200 (est. 2007). Antioch was the ancient capital of Syria under the Seleucid kings, who founded it circa 300 BC.

Antioch^[5] was a chief center of early Christianity, being known as "the cradle of Christianity". The city had a large population of Jewish origin, and so attracted the earliest missionaries. It was evangelized, among others, by Peter himself, and later by Barnabas and Paul during Paul's first missionary journey. Its converts were the first to be called Christians.

10a   Party character in Athens almost ill with beer (8)

Mu^[5] is the twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet (Μ, μ).

Musicale^[5] is a North American term for a musical gathering or concert ⇒ musicales at which Anita and her mother played the piano.

11a   Very hot support Conservative's lost (6)

A Conservative^[5] (abbreviation C)  is a supporter or member of the Conservative Party of Great Britain or a similar party elsewhere. A Conservative Party^[5] is a political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership. In Britain, the Conservative Party emerged from the old Tory Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.

13a   Drinks bringing endless moral failure? (4)

14a   Task in which worker keeps messing about (10)

16a   Put a check on board's decree (10)

It certainly wasn't immediately obvious to me why "board" and "counter" would be synonyms. However, a bit of research returned the following meanings for these words:

• Board^[5,10] is an archaic term for a table, especially one used for eating at, and especially when laden with food ⇒ he looked at the banquet which was spread upon his board.
• In some cafeterias, a counter^[10] is a long table on which food is served to customers.

18a   Sword carried by the peer (4)

21a   Securing bit of metal into label (6)

22a   Game at Millwall's ground starts to erupt so suddenly -- loutish behaviour (8)

Rugby union^[10] (abbreviation RU^[5]) is one of the major variants of rugby football.

Millwall Football Club^[7] is an English professional football [soccer] club based in South Bermondsey, south-east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in 1910. From then until 1993 the club played at the Den, a now-demolished stadium in New Cross, before moving to its current home stadium nearby in South Bermondsey, also called the Den.

In his review, Deep Threat sardonically characterises rugby as "a ruffian’s game played by gentlemen" and soccer (football) as "the gentleman’s game played by ruffians".

24a   Fellow without hesitation to go round street -- as collector (7)

Of course, as soon as I saw "fellow", I thought DON — but, for a change, that is not the case today (fellow^[10] and  don^[10] both being terms for a member of the teaching staff at Oxford or Cambridge).

In Britain, a dustman^[5] is a man employed to remove household refuse from dustbins (the British name for garbage cans^[5]).

25a   Hard work at home, energy limited? Drink needed (4,3)

Although it is found at the end of the clue, the word "needed" fulfills much the same role as a link word. It indicates that the solution to the clue is a word meaning "drink". This can be shown by considering an alternative wording of the clue which moves the definition to the end:

• Hard work at home, consuming energy, produces drink (4,3)

Sloe gin^[5] is a liqueur made by steeping sloes in gin. Sloes^[5] are small bluish-black fruit with a sharp sour taste produced by the blackthorn^[5] (Prunus spinosa), a thorny Eurasian shrub.

26a   Author in deal arranged with editor turned enemy (6,5)

Daniel Defoe^[5] (1660–1731) was an English novelist and journalist. His best-known novel, Robinson Crusoe (1719), is loosely based on the true story of the shipwrecked sailor Alexander Selkirk; it has a claim to being the first English novel. Other notable works: Moll Flanders (novel, 1722) and A Journal of the Plague Year (historical fiction, 1722).

Down

1d   Cat ascending over river remains air-bound! (5,2)

The Tay^[5] is the longest river in Scotland, flowing 192 km (120 miles) eastwards through Loch Tay, entering the North Sea through the Firth of Tay.

2d   Revolutionary army with course of action, making assault (6)

In the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)^[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency.

3d   Later luck's out -- one gets dull (10)

Carelessly entering the US spelling here certainly messed up my efforts on 16a.

The phrase "one gets" serves as a link between the wordplay and the definition.

4d   I am, before noon, a man of prayer (4)

An imam^[5] is the person who leads prayers in a mosque.

5d   Emerges from railway journey inert, sad, wretched (8)

6d   Compound -- one farm animal brought inside died unfortunately (7)

In chemistry, a dioxide^[5] is an oxide [a binary compound of oxygen with another element or group] containing two atoms of oxygen in its molecule or empirical formula.

7d   Comic lad playing with pet becoming confused (11)

9d   Capital offence? Others hang, I will get free (4,7)

The question mark may indicate that the word "capital" has special significance. In architecture, a capital^[5] is the distinct, typically broader section at the head of a pillar or column. Setters often use the word "capital" in the sense of head or to signify a high position.

12d   Is series of lectures spanning two days treated formally? (10)

Discourse^[10] (often followed by on or upon) means to speak or write (about) formally and extensively.

15d   Dwarf on isle, one with special role in film (8)

The Isle of Man^[5] (abbreviation IOM^[5])  is an island in the Irish Sea which is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system.

17d   Not like 'cheesy' photographs? (7)

19d   One receiving promise to be quietly guided -- gosh! (7)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

I did wonder initially why Deep Threat would use a pawnbroker's sign to illustrate this clue. Eventually, the reason dawned on me. A pledgee^[10] is a person to whom a pledge is given. Since one meaning of pledge^[10] is collateral for the payment of a debt or the performance of an obligation, a pledgee may be a person to whom property is delivered as a pledge.

20d   The French gent is given a reprieve (3,3)

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

Toff^[5] is a derogatory British term for a  rich or upper-class person.

23d   Advance payment comes with a loveless communication (4)

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.

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 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)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 — DT 27341

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27341
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, November 21, 2013
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27341]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By pommers
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 thought that this puzzle was rather gentle — from the perspective of both difficulty and innuendo — for a RayT offering.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Strips off article back in bed? (6)

5a   Obliged really to confine basket case (8)

I found myself at the opposite end of the spectrum from pommers, as this was my first one in. I immediately recognized "to confine basket case" as indicating that BT, the initial and final letters (case) of B(aske)T, are found somewhere in the middle of the solution. There are not a lot of words containing that common letter combination, and the correct one came readily to mind.

9a   Improves following terribly acute burns (10)

10a   Soaked taking on hard grind (4)

11a   Submerge to catch large fish (8)

12a   Time with grass inside for mistakes (6)

In the UK, grass^[5] is used informally as a noun to mean a police informer and as a verb meaning to inform the police of someone’s criminal activities or plans ⇒ someone had grassed on the thieves. This expression may derive from rhyming slang (grasshopper = copper).

13a   Singer Gaga making comeback ... (4)

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga^[7], is an American pop and rock singer.

15a   ... song, crazy chick covering Queen single (8)

Regina^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for queen] denotes the reigning queen, used following a name (e.g. Elizabetha Regina, Queen Elizabeth) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Regina v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

18a   Funny man's about average with old content (8)

19a   Mine includes mid-evening drink (4)

In this clue, the setter employs a not uncommon cryptic crossword device, in which "mid-evening" is used to clue N, the middle letter (mid) of eveNing.

In Britain, pint^[5] (abbreviation pt) is an informal term for a pint of beer (a pint being the standard measure for a serving of beer in the UK) ⇒ we’ll probably go for a pint on the way home. 

21a   Rugby club endlessly rough (6)

Rugby union^[10] (abbreviation RU^[5]) is a form of rugby football played between teams of 15 players (in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen).

23a   Metaphor is maybe conveying proverb (8)

25a   Naked apart from burlesque ending (4)

26a   First using mouth to swallow one drink (10)

27a   Feeling that is not heartless after broadcast (8)

28a   Respect sweetheart before engagement's over (6)

In this clue, the setter employs a variation of the device appearing in 19a. This time, "sweetheart" is used to clue E, the middle letter (heart) of swEet.

Down

2d   Hold up kiosk (5)

3d   Train engine's first to run about on time (9)

4d   Send up giving stick in benefit (6)

5d   Fan must start in line to see musician (15)

As an anagram indicator, fan^[10] would be used in the sense of to agitate or move (air, smoke, etc) with or as if with a fan.

6d   Girl's rear in trousers ends giving bulges (8)

Di is certainly a strong contender for the most popular female given name in Crosswordland.

7d   Shady place for bender? (5)

8d   Irritation indeed seen within damaged retina (9)

14d   Inject syringe's centre and roughly clean out (9)

16d   Noted compiler's left a note, oddly (9)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, (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. Today, the setter has made the scenario slightly more complicated by combining "compiler" with the verb "to be" producing "compiler's" (compiler is) which must be replaced by "I'm" (I am).

17d   Make public record on waste (8)

Lose^[5] is used in the sense of to waste or fail to take advantage of (time or an opportunity) ⇒ (i) he has lost his chance of becoming world No. 1; (ii) the government lost no time in holding fresh elections.

20d   Holy place seeing religious leader bathed in glow (6)

22d   Newspaper with article on crime (5)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7] is a British international business newspaper [that is printed on conspicuous salmon pink newsprint].

One must take care to interpret this clue as "newspaper with article on [top of it]".

24d   Crack one found around top of vase (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]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford 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)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Monday, March 17, 2014 — DT 27340

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27340
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27340]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By scchua
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

Despite my best efforts, I needed help from my electronic assistants to make it over the final couple of hurdles today.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Area for recycling hops came top after review (7,4)

9a   Tolerant eastern province in time of fasting (7)

Northern Ireland^[5] (abbreviation NI^[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the northeast part of Ireland; population 1,775,000 (est. 2008); capital, Belfast.

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

10a   Dash for second hot meal (6)

12a   A religious organisation's Oedipus complex (4,3)

In Freudian theory from the field of psychoanalysis, Oedipus complex^[5] refers to the complex of emotions aroused in a young child, typically around the age of four, by an unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and wish to exclude the parent of the same sex. (The term was originally applied to boys, the equivalent in girls being called the Electra complex.)

Opus Dei^[5] (trademark) [from medieval Latin, literally 'work of God'] is a Roman Catholic organization of laymen and priests founded in Spain in 1928 with the aim of re-establishing Christian ideals in society.

13a   Order maintained initially in sound offensive (7)

14a   Way of calling head of police in island (5)

Skye^[5] is a mountainous island of the Inner Hebrides, now linked to the west coast of Scotland by a bridge; chief town, Portree. It is the largest and most northerly island of the group.

Skype®^[10] is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls over the Internet.

15a   Commercial activity suffering after return cut by 50 per cent (9)

17a   Tribunal's joint activity pursued by lover (9)

20a   Chest wrapped in old man's jacket (5)

Ark^[5] is short for the Ark of the Covenant^[5] which, in the Bible, was the wooden chest which contained the tablets of the laws of the ancient Israelites. Carried by the Israelites on their wanderings in the wilderness, it was later placed by Solomon in the Temple at Jerusalem.

The term ark^[5] (or Holy Ark) is also used for a chest or cupboard housing the Torah scrolls in a synagogue.

22a   Obscure East European importing magazines (7)

These magazines are not ones containing the printed word.

24a   Roast oddly smothered in wild rice is hit-and-miss (7)

25a   Star players getting nothing right (6)

In astronomy, Castor^[5] is the second-brightest star in the constellation Gemini, close to Pollux. It is a multiple star system, the three components visible in a moderate telescope being close binaries.

26a   Teacher returned with German chap's food (7)

It is common practice for British school students to call their male teachers "Sir", as in To Sir, with Love^[7], a 1967 British drama film starring Sidney Poitier that deals with social and racial issues in an inner-city school.

In Crosswordland, Otto is certainly one of the most common — if not the most common — name for a German man.

Risotto^[5] is an Italian dish of rice cooked in stock with ingredients such as vegetables and meat or seafood.

27a   I'd get in a rut working for a total lack of appreciation (11)

Down

2d   Finished with most of performance for two, but late (7)

3d   Head of family planning's first chair -- art nouveau (9)

Art nouveau^[5] [from French, literally 'new art'] is a style of decorative art, architecture, and design prominent in western Europe and the USA from about 1890 until the First World War and characterized by intricate linear designs and flowing curves based on natural forms.

4d   Girl from South America, west of Nicaragua (5)

In Crosswordland, things are not always as they appear — in fact, more often than not, they are not as they appear.

Here Jay pulls a cryptic crossword device from the setter's bag of tricks in which he uses South America to clue SUSA [S (south) + USA (America)]. You might also see it used to clue SUS [S (south) + US (America)] or you might find South American used for the same purpose [S (south) + US (American)].

5d   Man bound to be in business? (7)

Harry Houdini^[5] (1874–1926) was a Hungarian-born American magician and escape artist; born Erik Weisz. In the early 1900s he became famous for his ability to escape from all kinds of bonds and containers, from prison cells to aerially suspended straitjackets.

6d   A religious leader -- one arguing from known facts (1,6)

A prior^[5] is the male head of a house or group of houses of certain religious orders, in particular the
man next in rank below an abbot or the head of a house of friars.

A priori^[1] [Latin, 'from what is before'] (adjective and adverb) is the term applied to reasoning from what is prior (logically or chronologically), e.g. reasoning from cause to effect, from a general principle to its consequences, or even from observed fact to another fact or principle not observed, or to arguing from pre-existing knowledge, or even cherished prejudices [a characteristically cheeky Chambers' definition!].

7d   Clouds broke over Dracula, for one (11)

Dracula^[5] is the Transylvanian vampire in the 1897 novel Dracula by Irish writer Bram Stoker (1847–1912). It is a variant of names given to Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler), a 15th-century prince of Wallachia renowned for his cruelty.

8d   Twelve might be discussing offender's damage (6)

Although I had the feeling that I must have missed something in the wordplay, I could gain no further insight from the review and discussion on Big Dave's blog.

While I can see where JURY comes from in the wordplay, I don't fully understand the IN part. I thought that "in jury" might conceivably be a legal term to describe the deliberations of a jury panel, analogous to "in camera" being used to describe a private meeting held in a judge's chambers. However, I could find no evidence to support that conjecture.

I also note that while its members are attempting to reach a verdict, the jury is said to be out (the jury is out^[5]). Therefore, would it not be an "out jury" — rather than an "in jury" — that might be discussing an offender?

11d   Prepare to leave who in charge for restructure? (5,6)

16d   Hush-hush tense operations on Crete going wrong (3,6)

Crete^[5] is a Greek island in the eastern Mediterranean; population 630,000 (est. 2009); capital, Heraklion. It is noted for the remains of the Minoan civilization which flourished there in the 2nd millennium BC. It fell to Rome in 67 BC and was subsequently ruled by Byzantines, Venetians, and Turks. Crete played an important role in the Greek struggle for independence from the Turks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming administratively part of an independent Greece in 1913.

18d   Forget a French student with merit (7)

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

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction. 

19d   Person offering advice from quiet street in row (7)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

20d   Found the words to express in stages protecting right (7)

I think one could consider the phrase "to express" to be either part of the definition (as scchua has chosen in his review) or a link phrase between the definition and the wordplay (as I have opted for).

21d   Alternate charge binding books (6)

The word "books" is often used to clue either the Old Testament (OT) or the New Testament (NT).

23d   Losing leader, feel sorry for flier (5)

The egret^[5] is a heron with mainly white plumage, having long plumes in the breeding season.

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 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)

Happy St Patrick's Day — Falcon

Saturday, March 15, 2014 — Harsh Language with Close Aquaintances

Introduction

Spring is almost here and you may detect a few signs of the approaching season in today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon. While the butterflies may be a tad premature, the fish and frogs are surely harbingers of spring.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue
	Definitions are underlined in the clue, with subsidiary indications being marked by means of a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

1a   Performing in the third month's Butterfly (7)

M(ON)ARCH — ON (performing) contained in (in) MARCH (the third month)

Could Butterfly be an informal reference to Madama Butterfly^[7] (Madame Butterfly), an opera by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)?

5a   Struggle with two pieces of green fruit (7)

GR_|APPLE — GR (two pieces [i.e., letters] of GReen) + APPLE (fruit)

9a   Tourist rigs sheet afresh (9)

SIGHTSEER* — anagram (afresh) of RIGS SHEET

There is a nautical flavour to this clue, with rig^[3] meaning to fit sails or shrouds to masts and yards and sheet^[3] being a rope or chain attached to one or both of the lower corners of a sail, serving to move or extend it.

10a   Caught the odour of fish (5)

SMELT — double definition

11a   Medical trainee in with the heartless nurse (6)

IN|T_E|RN — IN (†) + (with) TH (the heartless; T[H]E with its heart [middle letter] deleted) + RN (nurse; Registered Nurse)

12a   Non-combatant, provided one's in agreement (8)

PAC(IF|I|S)T — {IF (provided) + I (one) + S ('s)} contained in (in) PACT (agreement)

With only the two central checking letters identified, CIVILIAN looked like a promising choice — although, of course, I was unable to explain the wordplay. Needless to say, this miscue severely complicated attempts to solve 5d and 8d.

14a   Infielders moved around teammates? (10)

FRIENDLIES* — anagram (moved around) of INFIELDERS

For any cricket aficionados present today, an infielder^[11] is any of the four defensive players (first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, and third baseman) stationed around the infield in baseball.

16a   Stare at some frog legs (4)

_OG|LE_ — hidden in (some) frOG LEgs

18a   Tall pine (4)

LONG — double definition

19a   Sabres admitting sport oaths (5,5)

S(WEAR) WORDS — SWORDS (sabres) containing (admitting) WEAR (sport)

22a   Part of a boat available to buy, we hear (8)

FORESAIL — sounds like (we hear) {FOR SALE (available to buy)}

23a   Little frog's eye (6)

PEEPER — double definition

26a   Identify a mostly hot U.S. state (5)

ID|A|HO_ — ID (identify) + A (†) + HO (mostly hot; HO[T] with its final letter deleted)

27a   Fork prong snaring passion fruit (9)

T(ANGER)INE — TINE (fork prong) containing (snaring) ANGER (passion)

28a   Key grasped by crazy fool (7)

M(ISLE)AD — ISLE (key; a low offshore island or reef) contained in (grasped by) MAD (crazy)

29a   Marsh bird nipped sea bird (7)

BIT|TERN — BIT (nipped) + TERN (sea bird)

Down

1d   Spat behind Mom's dog (7)

MA|S|TIFF — TIFF (spat) following (behind) {MA (Mom) + S ('s)}

2d   Almost time for dark (5)

NIGH|T — NIGH (almost) + T (time)

3d   Shy about getting pooped (8)

RE|TIRING — RE (about) + TIRING (getting pooped)

4d   Error in Paul Newman film in colour (4)

HU(E)D — E (error; baseball term) contained in (in) HUD (Paul Newman film)

Hud^[7] is a 1963 western film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas and Patricia Neal.

5d   Place tor trash fire, after clothes get old (7,3)

GARBAGE CAN — CAN (fire; dismiss from employment) following (after) {GARB (clothes) + AGE (get old)}

For any British readers who might happen to drop by, a garbage can^[5] is what you would know as a dustbin.

6d   Trouble following dope attack (6)

ASS|AIL — AIL (trouble) following (†) ASS (dope)

7d   Provincial leader embracing no-good movie director (9)

PREMI(NG)ER — PREMIER (provincial leader) containing (embracing) NG (no good)

While one could further decompose the wordplay into N (no) and G (good; for instance, a grade received on a school assignment or test), NG^[3,4,11] and/or its variants N.G., ng, and n.g. are listed in several dictionaries as abbreviations for no good.

Otto Preminger^[7] (1906–1986) was an Austrian-born American film director, noted for films such as The Moon is Blue (1953), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and Bonjour Tristesse (1958).

8d   Deserve name (7)

ENTITLE — [highly questionable] double definition

Here I am going to call foul. Deserve^{[Chambers Thesaurus]} means be entitled to, which is hardly synonymous with entitle.

13d   Like an idiot, scheduled around World War I (4-6)

SLO(W-WI)TTED — SLOTTED (scheduled) containing (around) WWI (World War I)

15d   Concerns of an otologist having debts audited(5,4)

{INNER EARS}~ — sounds like (audited) IN ARREARS (having debts)

17d   Most like honey in second small sample (8)

S|WEE|TEST — S (second) + WEE (small) + TEST (sample)

18d   Political philosophy affected film set (7)

LEFTISM* — anagram (affected) of FILM SET

The Hollywood blacklist^[7] — as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known — was the mid-20th-century practice of denying employment to screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals because of their suspected political beliefs or associations. Artists were barred from work on the basis of their alleged membership in or sympathy with the American Communist Party, involvement in progressive political causes that enforcers of the blacklist associated with communism, and refusal to assist investigations into Communist Party activities. Even during the period of its strictest enforcement, the late 1940s through the late 1950s, the blacklist was rarely made explicit or verifiable, but it directly damaged the careers of scores of individuals working in the film industry.

20d   Doctor's boy eating egg (7)

S(URGE)ON — SON (boy) containing (eating) URGE (EGG)

21d   Grey rock on the beach (6)

ASH|ORE — ASH (grey) + ORE (rock)

24d   Balance is maintained by short-story writer (5)

PO(IS)E — IS (†) contained in (maintained by) POE (short-story writer)

Edgar Allan Poe^[5] (1809–1849) was an American short-story writer, poet, and critic. His fiction and poetry are Gothic in style and characterized by their exploration of the macabre and the grotesque. Notable works: ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (short story, 1840); ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ (detective story, 1841); ‘The Raven’ (poem, 1845).

25d   Insult hairstyles seen from behind (4)

SNUB< — reversal of (seen from behind) BUNS (hairstyles)

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 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)

Signing off for today — Falcon