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

Friday, March 14, 2014 — DT 27339

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27339
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27339]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Gazza
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

Today I spent as much time on 5a as I did on the rest of the puzzle. After a considerable period of time bashing my head against a brick wall, the solution hit me like a bolt out of the blue.

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   Risk I'm running before short fling and tiff (8)

Shy^[5] is a dated term meaning, as a noun, an act of flinging or throwing something at a target and, as a verb, to fling or throw (something) at a target ⇒ he tore the spectacles off and shied them at her.

5a   Mass outlets rejecting English giving trouble and strife (6)

Trouble and strife^[5] is British rhyming slang for wife. As Gazza indicates, a Cockney would only use the first part of the phrase.

In Cockney rhyming slang, the slang word is obtained by replacing the target word (in this case, "wife") by a phrase with which it rhymes ("trouble and strife") and then dropping the rhyming word in the phrase. Through this process, "wife" becomes "trouble" to a Cockney.

Issue^[3] is used in the sense of a place of egress or an outlet ⇒ a lake with no issue to the sea.

8a   Colonial administrator restricted lottery (6)

Sir Stamford Raffles^[5] (1781–1826) was a British colonial administrator. As Lieutenant General of Sumatra he persuaded the East India Company to purchase the undeveloped island of Singapore (1819), undertaking much of the preliminary work for transforming it into an international port and centre of commerce.

9a   Joke about new secure haunt of criminals? (8)

10a   Formal boycott by Asian, we hear (5,3)

Black^[5] is a dated British expression meaning to refuse to handle (goods), undertake (work), or have dealings with (a person or business) as a way of taking industrial action ⇒ the printers blacked firms trying to employ women.

Although the dictionaries agree that black tie requires a dinner jacket worn with a black bow tie and white tie necessitates a tailcoat (tails) worn with a white bow tie, they seem to vary somewhat as to what constitutes formal. Oxford Dictionaries Online defines black tie^[5] as formal evening dress and white tie^[5] as full evening dress. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary makes the fine [and ambiguous] distinction that black tie^[2] indicates a formal function at which guests are expected to wear evening dress and white tie^[2] indicates guests are expected to wear formal evening dress. The American dictionaries, The American Heritage Dictionary and Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, both define black tie^[3,11] as semiformal and white tie^[3,11] as formal.

11a   Introduce gradually some plain Stilton (6)

Stilton^[5] (trademark) is a kind of strong rich cheese, often with blue veins, originally made at various places in Leicestershire.

12a   Dismal sort of tea sold around cafe's rear (8)

13a   Associate informally with rustic bigwig (6)

A hob^[1] is a rustic or a lout — although seemingly only when found in The Chambers Dictionary.

Nob^[5] is an informal British term for a person of wealth or high social position ⇒ it was quite a do—all the nobs were there.

15a   Curry favour in Greek island? Sure (4,2)

Kos^[7] or Cos is a Greek island of the Dodecanese with a population of 33,388. The island measures 40 by 8 kilometres (25 by 5 miles), and is 4 km (2 miles) from the coast of Turkey.

18a   Articles abroad trail outsider? (8)

The question mark may signify that "outsider" is being loosely defined as someone with only an outside chance of success.

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

In German, der^[8] is one of several variants of the definite article. 

20a   Undiminished area of diplomat's skill? (6)

21a   Primate put back suitable Irish drink (8)

Follow Gazza's recipe and you will concoct a drink that is more French than Irish.

23a   Fine hugs represented Chinese values (4,4)

In Chinese thought, feng shui^[5] is a system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy (chi), and whose favourable or unfavourable effects are taken into account when siting and designing buildings.

24a   Fearsome woman to be tedious? (6)

It would appear that the Brits more readily attribute the term dragon to a woman than is the case in North America. The American dictionaries, The American Heritage Dictionary and Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, define dragon^[3,11] as "a fiercely vigilant or intractable person" and "a fierce, combative person" respectively, although the latter dictionary adds as an additional definition, a very strict, protective woman. As for the British dictionaries, Collins English Dictionary defines dragon^[4] as a fierce or intractable person, especially a woman; Oxford Dictionaries Online says that dragon^[5] is a derogatory term for a fierce and intimidating woman ⇒ his wife is a real dragon; and Chambers 21st Century Dictionary has dragon^[2] as a colloquial term for a frighteningly domineering woman.

25a   Small cupboard, one with a key? (6)

The question mark could constitute an indication that the second definition is, as Gazza describes it, "semi-cryptic".

26a   Northern son seen after ordering rhubarb (8)

Down

1d   Get rid of stunted vegetation (5)

2d   Clipped retainer in minister's place for dining area (9)

A rectory^[2] is the house or residence of a rector. In the Church of England, a rector^[5] is the incumbent of a parish where all tithes formerly passed to the incumbent, whereas a vicar^[5] is an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman. The terms rector and vicar are also used in the Roman Catholic Church, where they have different meanings.

3d   I retain woeful passivity (7)

4d   In which fellows can provide help to a degree? (6,9)

At Oxford and Cambridge universities, a fellow^[10] is a member of the governing body of a college who is usually a member of the teaching staff.

5d   Like a man of habit? (7)

6d   Austere section put in hospital (7)

San^[5] is an informal term for what is known in Britain as a sanatorium^[5] and in the US as a sanitarium^[5].

7d   Burden on graduate needing good cycling accessory? (9)

12d   Deft clue I composed to be misleading (9)

14d   Block pub food receiving promotion (9)

16d   Devilish appeal in cat at play (7)

SA^[5] is an informal, dated term for sex appeal.

17d   Large jug for US sportsman (7)

19d   Medic needs to be deployed in German city (7)

Dresden^[5] is a city in eastern Germany, the capital of Saxony, on the River Elbe; population 504,800 (est. 2006). Famous for its baroque architecture, it was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945.

22d   Criminal feature in horse-racing? (5)

In addition to flat races^[5] over a course with no jumps, horse racing in Britain includes steeplechases and hurdle races. A steeplechase^[5] is a race run on a racecourse having ditches and hedges as jumps, while a hurdle^[5] is a race over a series of hurdles [fences]. Hurdle^[5] is a British term for a portable rectangular frame strengthened with withies (willow shoots) or wooden bars, used as a temporary fence.

The National Hunt^[5] (or National Hunt Committee) [mentioned by Gazza in his review] is the body controlling steeplechasing and hurdle racing in Great Britain.

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

Thursday, March 13, 2014 — DT 27338

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27338
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, November 18, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27338]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Libellule
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

Rufus always seems to come up with a few clues that are easier to solve than they are to explain — and today is no exception.

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   Nobility and rank may well be a big issue (4,5,4)

10a   Discharges account and leaves (7)

11a   Impose obedience in French Legion (7)

The deceptive capitalisation of "Legion" in the surface reading may well draw one's attention to the French Foreign Legion^[7]. In the cryptic interpretation, however, legion^[10] merely means any large military force.

In French, en^[8] is a preposition meaning 'in'.

12a   They may be fast, but only without running (4)

I did consider DEER or DOES (female deer) which, if standing still, might figuratively be considered to be fast — in the sense of firmly fixed or attached to one spot.

13a   One who doesn't take alcohol in any liquid is smart (5)

14a   We should have a right to assume (4)

According to The American Heritage Dictionary, assume^[3] may mean to put on or don ⇒ The queen assumed a velvet robe. However, since I do not find this meaning of the word in British dictionaries, we may need to look for another explanation. Perhaps assume^[3,4,11] is being used in the sense of to pretend to or feign ⇒ Despite being inwardly troubled by the news, she assumed a cheerful smile so as not to spoil the occasion for her guests.

17a   Game with two essential elements of tennis (7)

Netball^[7] is a ball sport played by two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. The sport is most popular in Commonwealth nations, specifically in schools, and is predominantly played by women.

18a   A commodity extensively used (7)

19a   Mary's favourite skipper (3,4)

Although it is fairly easy to see that the solution must be PET LAMB, the parsing of the clue is rather obscure — at least, it certainly is to me. I looked to Libellule's review for help, but it failed to enlighten me.

Does the wordplay parse as PET (favourite) + LAMB (skipper) or might the clue be a double definition:

• 19a   Mary's favourite skipper (3,4)

where "Mary's favourite" is a PET LAMB and "Skipper" is possibly the name of a pet lamb on some British children's television show? Seemingly not, as my research failed to uncover any evidence to support this.

Maybe skipper refers to England cricketer Allan Lamb^[7] who played for the Northamptonshire County Cricket Club from 1978 to 1995, finishing his career as captain (skipper) of the club. I would rate this idea as conceivable but rather improbable.

The most plausible explanation would seem to be that "skipper" refers in some fashion to the childhood pastime of skipping. Apparently, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (not necessarily with its original words) is a popular rhyme to recite while jumping rope. Thus, "skipper" might be someone jumping rope or, possibly, a rhyme recited while jumping rope.

22a   US city, smart in the past (7)

24a   Open a pickle container for example (4)

25a   They continue to work for southern transport (5)

26a   Dad's embarked for health resorts (4)

"Has embarked" indicates that Dad is on board a steamship (abbreviation  SS^[10]), by far the preferred mode of ocean travel in Crosswordland.

29a   Flu? See a new prescription giving relief (7)

I would say that the anagram indicator is "new prescription" rather than merely "new".

30a   Regroup in large formation (7)

My progress was impeded by the mistaken assumption that the definition must be "formation" with the anagram indicator being "regroup".

31a   Gambler's hand that should win -- fair and square (8,5)

Down

2d   An enquiry into cause of being late (7)

3d   He takes after his father, presumably (4)

4d   Invest in unit of the open market (7)

Invest^[5] is used in the sense of to formally confer a rank or office on (someone) ⇒ he was invested as Head of State on 1 October 1936.

5d   Plays with the exchange rate (7)

6d   How fire can become widespread (4)

This is one of those clues that virtually defies explanation — a type of clue that Rufus is particularly noted for.

In his review, Libellule says that this clue is "an anagram (how) of FIRE". However, the clue is undoubtedly more complex than that simple explanation would convey.

I do not consider this to be merely a "normal" clue consisting of wordplay, an anagram (how) of FIRE, a link phrase ("can become") and a definition ("widespread"). Rather, I would think it to be some sort of all-in-one clue consisting of a distinct definition ("widespread") [shown with solid underlining] and a subsidiary indication ("how fire can become") [shown with dashed underlining].

To elaborate, I would say that the word how^[2] is used in the sense of "in what condition" (How are you feeling?) rather than "by what means" (How did you do that?). Thus, RIFE would be the condition in which "fire" would find itself if transformed into a word meaning "widespread".

7d   Hill split in flood (7)

8d   Espy an admirer, possibly the answer for this? (7,6)

This is another instance of a clue that is difficult to explain. I suppose that one might say that it is a "normal" clue with wordplay ["espy an admirer, possibly"], a link phrase ["the answer for"], and a definition ["this"].

However, I consider "this" or even "the answer for this" to be far too vague to be considered a definition. One surely has to take the entire clue to be the definition [thus I have underlined the entire clue]. Nevertheless, the clue does have embedded wordplay, and I have shown that portion of the clue with a dashed underline.

9d   It's barred for pedestrians (5,8)

In Britain, a zebra crossing^[5] is an area of road painted with broad white stripes, where vehicles must stop if pedestrians wish to cross.

15d   Rise and fall of pompous young lady? (5)

In Britain, a conceited or bossy girl or young woman is known as a madam^[5] ⇒ she’s a proper little madam.

16d   Fleet Street, containing an awful mixture of printers (5)

Fleet Street^[5] is a street in central London in which the offices of national newspapers were located until the mid 1980s (often used as a metonym for the British Press) ⇒ the hottest story in Fleet Street.

Pi^[10] is a printing term meaning a jumbled pile of printer's type.

20d   Tidy up -- start in passage (7)

I delayed matters by mistakenly looking for an anagram (tidy) of UP START.

21d   Finance record reveals arrears (7)

22d   Tom takes in strip show (7)

23d   Makes a request for one to tuck into fruit (7)

27d   Who ditched England and Wales of all football clubs? (4)

Offa^[5] (died 796) was king of Mercia 757–96 — Mercia being a former kingdom of central England that was established by invading Angles in the 6th century AD in the border areas between the new Anglo-Saxon settlements in the east and the Celtic regions in the west.

Offa organized the construction of Offa’s Dyke^[5], a series of earthworks marking the traditional boundary between England and Wales, running from near the mouth of the Wye to near the mouth of the Dee, originally constructed in the second half of the 8th century to mark the boundary established by his wars with the Welsh.

A dyke^[3,5] (more usually spelled dike in North America) is probably most commonly thought of as an embankment of earth and rock built to prevent floods. In Britain however, the term can be applied to a low wall or earthwork, often of sod, dividing or enclosing lands and serving as a boundary or defence [which applies to Offa's Dyke]. However, a dyke can also be a ditch or watercourse.

I thought that the characterisation of Offa's Dyke as a ditch must be a misrepresentation — perhaps intentional. However, in Ireland, it seems that a ditch^[5] can be a bank made of earth excavated from and placed alongside a drain or stream. Thus, it would appear that ditch and dyke can both mean either a trench or an embankment — leading me to believe that I don't know a dyke from a hole in the ground.

The Football Association^[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of football [soccer] in England. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

28d   His initial character differed before conversion (4)

St Paul^[5] (died circa 64) was a missionary of Jewish descent; known as Paul the Apostle, or Saul of Tarsus, or the Apostle of the Gentiles. He first opposed the followers of Jesus, assisting at the martyrdom of St Stephen. On a mission to Damascus he was converted to Christianity [and changed his name from Saul to Paul] after a vision and became one of the first major Christian missionaries and theologians. His epistles form part of the New Testament.

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 12, 2014 — DT 27337

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27337
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, November 16, 2013
Setter Cephas (Peter Chamberlain)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27337 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27337 - 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

At one point, I was about to throw in the towel and call in my electronic support. However, just at that moment the light bulb flashed on and I went on to complete the puzzled unaided.

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

3a   Troops slip over wet blanket (10)

The appearance of "over" as an anagram indicator did set off alarm bells in my mind. It is much more commonly seen as a reversal indicator.

I can only guess that over is being used in the sense of upset or turned over. For instance, consider a sportscaster calling an Olympic bobsleigh run ⇒ The sled entered the turn too high and the driver is fighting to regain control. Oh, no! Too late, he's over!. The implication would presumably be that going over would cause the letters in the words to become scrambled.

8a   Reason to go about half-time (6)

9a   Bird that's trapped fish behind bars (8)

Although both Big Dave and crypticsue considered the definition to be merely "bird", I would think that it would be "bird that's trapped".

A cageling^[10] is a bird kept in a cage.

The ling^[5] is any of a number of long-bodied edible marine fishes, in particular Molva molva, a large East Atlantic fish related to the cod.

10a   Noticed molar is serrated (8)

11a   Glue-on transfers waste time (6)

12a   In a trauma I will skip the country (10)

Even though there is no compelling reason to be so specific, I would say that the definition is "the country". Otherwise, the definite article serves no purpose in the clue — other than padding in the surface reading.

14a   Sort of diet that is less stiff (6-7)

After a slight bit of wavering, I'm going to call this a cryptic definition that has a primary indication ("sort of diet") that is a broad definition and a subsidiary indication, "that is less stiff" that adds precision.

Alternatively, I suppose that one might see it as a double definition:

• 14   Sort of diet that is less stiff (6-7)

where the second definition is somewhat cryptic. However, I do not favour this approach as I feel that the two parts of a double definition should independently lead one to the correct answer.

Note: I underline the entire clue to show that this is a cryptic definition. The primary indication (definition) has a solid underline and the subsidiary indication has a dashed underline.

20a   Beer wasted cooking offal (10)

22a   Smooth tongue (6)

23a   Record pile should be organised, one believes (8)

The phrase "one believes" is to be interpreted as one [who] believes.

24a   Good man, Leonard -- he's living within a distant island (2,6)

The clue parses as {ST (good man) + LEN (Leonard)} containing (is living within) HE (from the clue) + A (from the clue).

St Helena^[5] is a solitary island in the South Atlantic, a British overseas territory; population 7,600 (est. 2009); official language, English; capital, Jamestown. It was administered by the East India Company from 1659 until 1834, when it became a British colony. Ascension, Tristan da Cunha, and Gough Island are dependencies of St Helena. It is famous as the place of Napoleon’s exile (1815–21) and death.

25a   Sign worker's put inside shelter (4-2)

26a   Notwithstanding lacking in variety (3,3,4)

I thought about marking "lacking in variety" as a second definition. However, I concluded that it just happens to be a generic phrase that conveys the same meaning as "all the same" when the latter is used as a generic phrase.

Down

1d   Won over by commercial, say, that's to be wrapped up in the present (8)

Here we encounter another interesting anagram indicator, "wrapped up". This would more commonly be used as a containment indicator.

Perhaps, "wrapped up" denotes "folded over" and the S in SAY is folded over the following letters to produce AYS. [Just a wild guess!]

In this clue, note that "over" is back to its usual role as a reversal indicator after appearing in the part of an anagram indicator in 3a.

2d   Conqueror, one annexing a state (8)

Victoria^[5] is a state of southeastern Australia; population 5,313,823 (2008); capital, Melbourne. Originally a district of New South Wales, it became a separate colony in 1851 and was federated with the other states of Australia in 1901.

3d   Start display (3,3)

4d   When penny drops from pocket there's a shout of pain (4)

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] is a bronze coin [or, more correctly, a formerly bronze — now copper-plated steel — coin] and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound (and is abbreviated p).

5d   In case this help might be needed (5,3)

I tried for a long time to justify FIRST AID. Then I thought that there might be something in Britain known as LOCAL AID. Finally, the penny dropped. The shout of pain was me kicking myself.

6d   Stop lift rising and falling (4,2)

7d   Renounce Frenchman, say, on the way up (6)

I would have to say that crypticsue's comment is — unintentionally, no doubt — misleading. The purpose of the word "say" in the clue is not to indicate that RENE is an example of a Frenchman's name. Rather, the word "say" is being used to clue EG.

Thus the clue parses as RENE (Frenchman) + GE {reversal (on the way up) of EG (say)}.

13d   Old European making one or two points (5)

Keep in mind that "one or two points" means, in effect, "one [point] or two points".

15d   Wealth, nothing more than material? (8)

16d   Quartet appearing in sensual revelry (8)

17d   What prolific artist may do to make random selection (4,4)

18d   One entertaining the Spanish in residence (6)

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

19d   Go out of one's way to entertain (6)

21d   Doctor lets us scrap (6)

23d   Info turned up at short notice (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