Monday, November 27, 2017 — DT 28513 (Published Saturday, November 25, 2017)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28513
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wedmesday, August 23, 2017
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28513]
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 25, 2017 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

Sometimes the most obvious of clues defies decryption. Such was the case with today's puzzle. I developed a complete and utter mental block concerning 2d.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Can I go out to play, with son /being/ 12? (10)

The numeral "12" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 12a in its place to complete the clue. The directional indicator is customarily omitted in situations such as this where only a single clue starts in the light^* that is being referenced.

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^* light-coloured cell in the grid

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Here, catching^[5] is used as an adjective meaning (of a disease) infectious ⇒ chicken pox is catching until scabs form on all the blisters.

6a   Make a deep impression /in/ Bletchley (4)

Scratching the Surface

Bletchley Park[7], in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was the central site of the United Kingdom's Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), which during the Second World War regularly penetrated the secret communications of the Axis Powers – most importantly the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. The most prominent of the code-breakers who worked there was Alan Turing whom we encountered in a puzzle this Friday past.

10a   Pull Italian - // namely ... (2,3)

"Italian" = IT, in reference to the country or the vermouth (show explanation )

This cluing might be explained in a couple of ways:

• It.^[10] is an abbreviation for Italian or Italy.


• Italian^[10] is another name for Italian vermouth. It^[5] is an informal, dated British term for Italian vermouth ⇒ he poured a gin and it.

hide explanation

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To wit^[3] is an idiom meaning that is to say or namely.

Delving Into the Past
The expression to wit is perhaps the last remaining vestige in common use of the archaic verb wit[3,5] meaning (when transitive) to be or become aware of (or, in other words, learn) and (when intransitive) to know ⇒ I addressed a few words to the lady you wot of. The past participle of this verb is wist, the present participle witting, and the first and third person singular present tense is wot.

11a   ... street performer /showing/ anger in achievement in front of the Queen (4-5)

"the Queen" = ER, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth (show explanation )

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.

hide explanation

12a   Managing to grasp // difficulty at home with source of gas (8)

What did they say?
In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis describe catch as A word for a difficulty or fish hook. While catch[2] can mean the total amount of fish caught, I can find no evidence of it meaning fish hook. Perhaps this is a New Zealand usage.

13a   Sartorial feature /of/ primate in two lines (5)

15a   Ham /is/ finished and cat is upset (7)

17a   Crime /resulting from/ end of lost cause (7)

19a   Group/'s/ place for sleeping beside lake (7)

What did they say?
In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis describe a cot as a small bed. In the UK, cots are even smaller than they are here. In Britain, a small bed with high barred sides for a baby or very young child is called a cot[5] rather than a crib[5] as it is known in North America.

21a   Supplier /seeing/ Queen before King? (7)

A queen^[5] is an adult female cat that has not been spayed.

"king" = R (show explanation )

In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms^*, Rex^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George — often shortened to GR) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

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^* A Commonwealth realm^[7] is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares the same person, currently Elizabeth II, as its head of state and reigning constitutional monarch, but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms. There are currently sixteen Commonwealth realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific island nations.

hide explanation

A Visit to the Pedant's Corner

On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, there is a metaphorical nook known as the Pedant's Corner — a spot where I would likely feel right at home. Being the pedant that I am, perhaps I may be forgiven for commenting on the reference in the 2Kiwis' review to R as the single letter regnal cypher. While the letter R is an integral element of a regnal cypher, can it be a regnal cypher in its own right? It would seem, at least according to one dictionary, that it cannot. A cipher[5] (also cypher) is a monogram[5] or motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.

22a   This might call you // about empty space for reversing (5)

24a   Paints // defeat mainly in scary liquid (8)

27a   Opt for changes, rejecting fuel // investments (9)

28a   Type of fruit // fool containing raisins originally (5)

In their review, the 2Kiwis state "Fool here is a verb". However, the clue works equally well if fool is a noun.

29a   Admire efforts to ring // bank (4)

30a   Foothold /established by/ game of cards with boss (10)

Down

1d   Energy after reduction /is/ precious (4)

"energy" = E (show explanation )

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae.

hide explanation

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Precious^[2] is used in a derogatory sense meaning (said of speech or manner) affected or over-precise.

Cute^[3] is used in the sense of obviously contrived to charm; in other words, precious: ⇒ [He] mugs so ferociously he kills the humor—it's an insufferably cute performance (David Ansen).

2d   Retail outlet in the rag trade? (9)

I obviously developed a blind spot here. I did give myself a severe kick when my electronic assistants turned up only one word matching the checking letters.

3d   Trip regularly taken by African organisation /is/ a lark (5)

The African National Congress^[5] (abbreviation ANC) is a South African political party and black nationalist organization. Having been banned by the South African government 1960–90, the ANC was victorious in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 and its leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s President.

4d   Deliver // short film during international (7)

Scratching the Surface
While the surface reading is rather meaningless to a North American, it would likely not be so to someone in the UK. International[5] (noun) is a British term for a game or contest between teams representing different countries in a sport ⇒ the Murrayfield rugby international.

5d   Respectable, /and/ not lying! (7)

I have marked the second definition as cryptic because the context deliberately misdirects one to the 'wrong' meaning of "lying" (which the setter flags with an exclamation mark).

7d   Nip out of bed // to perform a mathematical task (3,2)

8d   Uncompromising types /may be/ unlucky crossing river (10)

Hard lines^[5] (or hard luck) is an informal British expression used to express sympathy or commiserations.

9d   How do you do without love, and with tendency /to be/ determined? (4-4)

"love" = O (show explanation )

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).

hide explanation

14d   Feel Telegraph, perhaps, /should get/ a bit of a rocket (10)

The Daily Telegraph^[7] is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper, founded in 1855 as The Daily Telegraph and Courier, which is published in London and distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally [... and the newspaper in which this puzzle initially appeared].

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A rocket^[2] is a type of firework.

Touchpaper^[5] is a seemingly British^* term for a strip of paper impregnated with nitre, for setting light to fireworks or explosive substances.

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^* term not found in my US dictionaries

16d   RAF's requirement /in/ demeanour and skill? (8)

The Royal Air Force^[5] (abbreviation RAF) is the British air force, formed in 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (founded 1912) and the Royal Naval Air Service (founded 1914).

18d   Scrupulous about supporting university // criticism (9)

20d   Online seller // always covers back (1-6)

21d   In Italy, Charles heads commercial // crowd coming along for the ride (7)

Carlo^[7] is a masculine given name, an Italian form of Charles.

23d   Saving, or secretly hoarding // plant (5)

Gorse^[5] is a yellow-flowered shrub of the pea family, the leaves of which are modified to form spines, native to western Europe and North Africa.

25d   Stay in temporary accommodation, /getting/ deposit (5)

Lodge^[5] (verb) means to leave (money or a valuable item in a place or with someone) for safekeeping ⇒ the money is lodged in a bank.

26d   Looking embarrassed about a // book? (4)

Read^[5] is an informal term for a book considered in terms of its readability ⇒ her new novel is a thoroughly entertaining read.

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)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Saturday, November 25, 2017 — Fit Out With Tech

Introduction

I found the difficulty level of today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon to be a bit toned down from some of their recent puzzles.

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

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue
	Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions — including whimsical and vague definitions — are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Shares the authorship /of/ “Bovine Ceremonies” (8)

COW|RITES — COW (bovine) + RITES (ceremonies)

5a   Omar the actor /is/ funny, if rash (6)

SHARIF* — anagram (funny) of IF RASH

Omar Sharif^[7] (1932–2015), born Michel Dimitri Chalhoub, was an Egyptian actor. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s, but is best known for his appearances in both British and American productions. His films included Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Funny Girl (1968).

9a   Rambling, pass ideal // cliffs (9)

PALISADES* — anagram (rambling) of PASS IDEAL

Palisades^[5,10] is a US and Canadian^* term for high cliffs in a line, often along a river, resembling a palisade.

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^* I suspect that this may well be more of a US term than a Canadian one although there is a geologic formation in Jasper National Park in Alberta known as the Palisade^[7]. It is so named because it has a sheer cliff face and vertical markings, reminiscent of palisade walls used as a protective enclosure around forts.

11a   Central American // man holding a forked stick (5)

MA(Y)AN — MAN (†) containing (holding) Y (a forked stick)

Mayan is another term for Maya^[10], a member of an American Indian people of Yucatan, Belize, and northern Guatemala, having an ancient culture once characterized by outstanding achievements in architecture, astronomy, chronology, painting, and pottery.

12a   A male cat’s // tiny specks (5)

A|TOM|S — A (†) + TOM (male cat) + S ('s)

13a   Members of the clergy // always in tears (9)

R(EVER)ENDS — EVER (always) contained in (in) RENDS (tears)

14a   Doctor: “I have // pep” (5)

DR|IVE — DR (doctor; abbrev.) + IVE (I have; contraction)

15a   Police officer // on street surrounded by cord (9)

C(ON|ST|)ABLE — {ON (†) + ST (street; abbrev.)} contained in (surrounded by) CABLE (cord)

18a   Understand it, friend, // by the numbers? (9)

DIG|IT|ALLY — DIG (understand) + IT (†) + ALLY (friend)

19a   Emcee’s last joke // supply (5)

E|QUIP — E (EmceE's last [letter] ... not to mention first and fourth letters) + QUIP(joke)

21a   Alien race renovated // an artificial waterway (4,5)

{ERIE CANAL}* — anagram (renovated) of ALIEN RACE

The Erie Canal^[3,11] is an artificial waterway in New York between Albany and Buffalo connecting the Hudson River with Lake Erie.

25a   Number-one squad // had a meal in the morning (1,4)

A TE|AM — ATE (had a meal) + AM (in the morning)

26a   Overheard: “Must have // massage” (5)

KNEAD~  — sounds like (overheard) NEED (must have)

27a   Fifty-one scolded /and/ set free (9)

LI|BERATED — LI ([Roman numeral for] fifty-one) + BERATED (scolded)

28a   Moving end, set // one inside another (6)

NESTED* — anagram (moving) of END SET

29a   Note helps // some jazz musicians (8)

B|ASSISTS — B ([musical] note) + ASSISTS (helps)

Down

1d   Rodeo composer/’s/ arrangement swallowed by fish (7)

CO(PLAN)D — PLAN (arrangement) contained in (swallowed by) COD (fish)

Aaron Copland^[5] (1900–1990) was an American composer, pianist, and conductor, of Lithuanian descent. He established a distinctive American style in his compositions, borrowing from jazz, folk, and other traditional music. Notable works: Music for the Theater (1925), Appalachian Spring (1944), Fanfare for the Common Man (1942).

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Rodeo^[7] is a ballet scored by Aaron Copland and choreographed by Agnes de Mille, which premiered in 1942.

2d   Wife initially permitting // swinish behaviour (9)

W|ALLOWING — W (wife initially; initial letter of Wife) + ALLOWING (letting)

3d   Urgent /and/ determined about sister (9)

IN(SIS)TENT — INTENT (determined) containing (about) SIS (sister)

4d   Deer I shot // down (5)

EIDER* — anagram (shot) of DEER I

6d   Blind poet // hit one out of the park (5)

HOMER — double definition

Homer^[5] (8th century BC) was a Greek epic poet. He is traditionally held to be the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, though modern scholarship has revealed the place of the Homeric poems in a preliterate oral tradition. In later antiquity Homer was regarded as the greatest poet, and his poems were constantly used as a model and source by others.

Many accounts of Homer's life^[7] circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread being that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider them legends.

In baseball, homer^[5] is an informal term for home run^[5], a hit that allows the batter to make a complete circuit of the bases and score a run.

7d   Beam about // clothing material (5)

RAY|ON — RAY (beam) + ON (about; concerning)

8d   Chef, in essence, possesses // light touch (7)

_F|IN|ESSE_ — hidden in (possesses) cheF IN ESSEnce

10d   Pen circling even // number (7)

S(EVEN)TY — STY (pen) containing (circling) EVEN (†)

15d   Mark on the Spanish // officer (7)

COLON|EL — COLON ([punctuation] mark) preceding (on [in a down clue]) EL (the Spanish; Spanish definite article)

16d   Ruth uses a revised // reference book (9)

THESAURUS* — anagram (revised) of RUTH USES A

17d   Dark-haired women // profit among thugs (9)

BRU(NET)TES — NET (profit) contained in (among) BRUTES (thugs)

18d   Makes family // some leather (7)

DOES|KIN — DOES (makes) + KIN (family)

20d   Hair treatments // created in post offices (7)

PO(MADE)S —  MADE (created) contained in (in) POS (Post Offices; abbrev.)

22d   New Times // articles (5)

ITEMS* — anagram (new) of TIMES

Scratching the Surface
New Times[7] was an American glossy bi-weekly national magazine published from 1973 to 1979 by George A. Hirsch after he resigned as publisher of New York magazine over conflicts with founder/editor Clay Felker.

23d   Worry about leader of Danish // inner circle (5)

CA(D)RE — CARE (worry) containing (about) D (leader [initial letter] of Danish)

24d   Country // ruined by Ali (5)

LIBYA* — anagram (ruined) of BY ALI

Epilogue

The title of today's review is inspired by the phrase formed by 18a and 19a.

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)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Friday, November 24, 2017 — DT 28512

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28512
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28512]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr Kitty
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's puzzle was of moderate difficulty. Blogging was a different matter as I struggled all day with computer issues.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Give // Commanding Officer salute with unknown number involved (10)

Indefinite and Unknown

In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are customarily represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.] On the other hand, the letter n[10] is used as a symbol to represent an indefinite number (of) ⇒ there are n objects in a box. However, it is fairly common for setters to clue the letter N as "unknown number", a practice that invariably raises howls of protest on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

6a   Troublesome situation /created by/ return of moderate Conservatives (4)

Wet^[5] (adjective) is an informal British term meaning showing a lack of forcefulness or strength of character; in other words, feeble ⇒ they thought the cadets were a bit wet.

Wet^[5] (noun)  is an informal British term for a person lacking forcefulness or strength of character ⇒ there are sorts who look like gangsters and sorts who look like wets.

In British political circles, the name wet^[5] is applied to a Conservative with liberal tendencies ⇒ the wets favoured a change in economic policy. It was a term frequently used by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for those to the left of her in the British Conservative Party [which must have been just about everyone]. In his review on Big Dave's site, Mr Kitty claims that Mrs. Thatcher coined the term. I can't confirm that to be true - but if she didn't coin the term she certainly made it her own.

9a   Extremely glad to eat our // fruit (5)

10a   I dash back with money to purchase old // habit (9)

Tin^[5] is a dated informal British term for money ⇒ Kim’s only in it for the tin.

12a   Most difficult // dart he's thrown (7)

13a   Jobs /for/ Poles (5)

15a   Trouble with method that should follow right // lines (7)

17a   Bird // table with nothing in it (7)

19a   Resent a drunk /getting/ sober (7)

21a   Perhaps Carmen then regularly avoided // work (7)

Carmen^[7] is an opera by French composer Georges Bizet. It was first performed in Paris in 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences. Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following ten years. Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon.

22a   Coarse // grass restricts runs (5)

"runs" = R (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

In cricket, a run^[5] is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other circumstances.

hide explanation

24a   You're looking for these // responses (7)

27a   For instance, boxers // inferior to women are unusual (9)

As a charade indicator, the word "to" is used in the sense of "pressed against"—as in expressions such as "shoulder to the wheel" or "nose to the grindstone".

28a   Hitting lob, Edberg nets // ball (5)

Scratching the Surface
Stefan Edberg[7] is a Swedish former world no. 1 professional tennis player (in both singles and doubles).

29a   Bring in // vase, by the sound of it (4)

30a   Mark Twain, say, used this? (10)

Mark^[5] (followed by a numeral) denotes a particular model or type of a vehicle or machine ⇒ a Mark 10 Jaguar.

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Mark Twain^[5] (1835–1910) was an American novelist and humorist; pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), give a vivid evocation of Mississippi frontier life.

Down

1d   Lock up // composer (4)

John Cage^[7] (1912–1992) was an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist. Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians who present the work do nothing aside from their presence for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is not "four minutes and 33 seconds of silence," as is sometimes assumed, but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance.

2d   A Turing -- he cracked /what could be/ more difficult (9)

Scratching the Surface

Alan Turing[7] (1912–1954) was an English mathematician who was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the Turing machine, which can be considered a model of a general purpose computer. Turing is widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. During the Second World War, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, Britain's codebreaking centre. Turing played a pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements, including the Battle of the Atlantic, and in so doing helped win the war. It has been estimated that this work shortened the war in Europe by more than two years and saved over fourteen million lives. Turing was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts, then illegal in the UK, accepting chemical castration as an alternative to prison. Turing died in 1954, 16 days before his 42nd birthday, from cyanide poisoning. Although officially ruled a suicide, it has been noted that the circumstances of his death are also consistent with accidental poisoning. In 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for "the appalling way he was treated." Queen Elizabeth II granted him a posthumous pardon in 2013.

3d   Passenger, // Irish from the South, turned crimson (5)

4d   Treat criminal in neighbouring // cell (7)

5d   18 for field trip? (7)

The numeral "18" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 18d in its place to complete the clue. The directional indicator is customarily omitted in situations such as this where only a single clue starts in the light^* that is being referenced.

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^* light-coloured cell in the grid

7d   Gets // little bits of wood (5)

8d   Engineer screwed in new // part of car (10)

Windscreen^[5] is the British term for a windshield.

11d   Progress /seen in/ this writer's show (7)

As pointed out by a visitor to Big Dave's Crossword Blog (Comment #18), there was a typo in this clue when it appeared in the UK and that error resurfaces in today's edition of the National Post with "progress" being misspelled as "progess". This error appears to have been present in all the various incarnations of the puzzle (see The Life Cycle of a Cryptic Crossword Puzzle ). I failed to notice the error as did many of those posting comments on Big Dave's blog.

The Life Cycle of a Cryptic Crossword Puzzle

The reason why errors that get corrected in the UK still show up months later in the puzzle in Canada can be understood if one looks at what I believe to be the life cycle of a puzzle:

1. The setter creates the puzzle and submits it to the puzzle editor.
2. The puzzle editor and setter refine the puzzle.
3. The puzzle is distributed in syndication. (Some papers print the puzzle on or close to the date it appears in the UK. Other papers, such as the National Post, print the puzzle weeks or months later.)
4. The puzzle editor may make changes to the puzzle (with or without consulting the setter) after it has been distributed in syndication. These (and subsequent) changes do not appear in the syndicated puzzle (which has already been distributed).
5. The puzzle is prepared for print publication. Errors may be introduced during the production process. These errors sometimes also carry forward to the online versions of the puzzle.
6. The puzzle is prepared for online publication. Additional errors may be introduced during this production process but affect only the online versions of the puzzle. Complicating matters even further, there are apparently multiple online platforms on which the puzzle appears —  namely, the online edition of The Daily Telegraph and the Telegraph Puzzles website as well as Apple and Android apps. There will sometimes be an error on one of these online platforms that is not present on the others.
7. The various online versions of the puzzle are posted.
8. Errors in the online versions of the puzzle (regardless of at what stage they were introduced) are often corrected at some point during the day of publication. Of course, errors in the print edition cannot be corrected.

hide explanation

"this writer's" = IM (show explanation )

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (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 "this writer" with the verb "to be" producing "this writer's" (a contraction of "this writer is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").

hide explanation

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In the definition, progress is used as a verb.

14d   Coveting top of hill by river /as/ suitable place for plants (10)

The River Ouse^[5] (rhymes with booze rather than mouse) is a river of northeastern England, formed at the confluence of the Ure and Swale in North Yorkshire and flowing 92 km (57 miles) south-eastwards through York to the Humber estuary. There are also severalother rivers in England having the same or similar name.

• a river of southeastern England, which rises in the Weald of West Sussex and flows 48 km (30 miles) south-eastwards to the English Channel
• (also Great Ouse) a river of eastern England, which rises in Northamptonshire and flows 257 km (160 miles) eastwards then northwards through East Anglia to the Wash near King’s Lynn
• (also Little Ouse) a river of East Anglia, which forms a tributary of the Great Ouse

hide explanation

16d   If // that man enters outskirts of Wainfleet, that woman's following (7)

Scratching the Surface
Wainfleet All Saints[7] is an ancient port and market town in Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 5 miles (8 km) south-west from Skegness and 14 miles (23 km) north-east from Boston. The village of Wainfleet St Mary is directly to the south.

18d   Bear // managed small drink after end of jaunt (9)

Port^[5] (also port wine) is a strong, sweet dark red (occasionally brown or white) fortified wine, originally from Portugal, typically drunk as a dessert wine. The name is a shortened form of Oporto, a major port from which the wine is shipped.

20d   Attempt to catch ancient // play (7)

21d   Watch // over bishop and perform duties (7)

"over" = O (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation O^[5] denotes over(s), an over^[5] being a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

hide explanation

"bishop" = B (show explanation )

B^[5] is an abbreviation for bishop that is used in recording moves in chess.

hide explanation

23d   It detects signals from north and south (5)

25d   Keen, // for example, to roll up and be entertained by organ (5)

26d   Expensive // honey (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)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Thursday, November 23, 2017 — DT 28511

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28511
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, August 21, 2017
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28511]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

Today there is no doubt as to the setter of the puzzle. It is definitely one of Rufus' creations.

Last week, Rufus (Roger Squires) was pulled from his usual "Monday" spot in the rotation and replaced by Mister Ron (Chris Lancaster). That puzzle appeared in the National Post one week ago yesterday. I am afraid that I had not read the comments at Big Dave's Crossword Blog before posting my review and so was not aware of this fact at that time. I only discovered that the puzzle had not been set by Rufus when pommers mentioned it in a comment a couple of days later and I only realized that Mister Ron had compiled it when Senf remarked on it yet another day later.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Humble // suggestion to refer to a clue that's not here today (4,3,4)

I likely spent as much time on this clue as I did on the remaining clues combined. I did use some electronic assistance but my helpers did not serve up the answer on a silver platter. They merely helped me narrow down the number of possibilities. It still involved a lot of deduction on my part to assemble the correct combination from the long lists of candidates they nominated for each position in the solution.

After that experience, I felt humbled when I read the first part of Miffypops' hint "I just love it when one across is a piece of cake". However, I regained a bit of confidence when I got to "Not so today".

9a   Pole enters by way of // special permit (4)

10a   A capital picture-house (4,7)

The Tate Gallery^[5] (commonly known simply as the Tate) is a national museum of art in London, England founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened. [I would surmise that by that time the original collection could no longer be considered "modern".]

11a   Half the alphabet // that's studied by physicists (4)

... the other half being N to Z.

14a   Leaning over // he upset Nigel (7)

16a   Book /in/ stock (7)

17a   Showed open-mouthed wonder /seeing/ space-man? (5)

In his review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops writes "Not only do you have to guess which man you also have to shorten his name. Unfair clueing in my opinion." In theory, one should be able to arrive at the solution through either the definition or the wordplay. This is a case where one is more apt to arrive at the solution via the definition and then use the wordplay to confirm it. That is, having found the solution based on the definition, does it also satisfy the wordplay.

18a   Cushions // which are left behind by astronauts? (4)

This was an easy solve — once I had focussed on the right leg of the journey. I spent too much time pondering on what they might have left behind on the moon.

19a   Great work // from the picador (4)

Scratching the Surface
In bullfighting, a picador[5] is a person on horseback who goads the bull with a lance.

20a   Don't agree with // sending potato back (5)

22a   Redoing novel /to be/ cut (7)

Cut^[3] means to refuse to speak to or recognize (someone); in other words, to snub ⇒ cut me dead at the party.

23a   [It receives word /of/ a murder that's been arranged (7)

24a   Clothing // to boast about (4)

28a   What dead men do, // on being held back by informers (4,2,5)

Dead men tell no tales^[a,b,c] is a proverb alluding to the fact that those who are dead cannot reveal secrets.

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^[a] Farlex Dictionary of Idioms; ^[b] McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs; ^[c] Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary

A Truth of the Ages

This proverb apparently dates at least to the 13th century. A posting on the website Quoteland.com claims that Will Durant's Age of Faith volume 4, in his Civilization series quotes p 530 of Lewis Browne's "Wisdom of Israel," NY, 1945, as attributing this line to the medieval Persian poet Sa'di, around 1250, saying this is what we should to to all quacks and charlatans: "So I finished the rogue, notwithstanding his wails, With stones, for dead men, as you know, tell no tales."

29a   Has // wrongly won point (4)

30a   Character /in/ tantrum meant to explode (11)

Down

2d   The first man /for whom/ madam lost her head (4)

"the first man" = ADAM (show explanation )

In the biblical and Koranic traditions, Adam^[5] is the name of the first man. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam was created by God as the progenitor of the human race and lived with Eve in the Garden of Eden.

hide explanation

3d   Still // quits (4)

Still^[5] is an adverb meaning even (used with comparatives for emphasis) ⇒ (i) write, or better still, type, captions for the pictures; (ii) Hank, already sweltering, began to sweat still more profusely.

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Quits^[5] is an adjective meaning (of two people) on even terms, especially because a debt or score has been settled ⇒ I think we’re just about quits now, don’t you?.

4d   Approaching // Grannie for change (7)

5d   He could be told, /but/ he probably wouldn't understand (4)

6d   Suffered wounds after fighting, /but/ sang (7)

7d   Cold game? (6,5)

This is one of those clues which is only cryptic if you fall for the misdirection — and many will likely not especially if they don't happen to be wintertime hunters.

8d   Such a reception may please friends /but/ annoy enemies (4,7)

This is a difficult clue to mark as part of the clue is implied (which I have attempted to show through the use of a dotted underline for the second definition). The dotted underline is also appropriate as the usage is ironic. The clue, in full, would read "Such a reception may please friends /but/ [such a reception may] annoy enemies".

In the Old West, unwelcome guests might be given a warm welcome with blazing rifles ⇒ Okay, boys! Let's give these varmints a warm welcome!.

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable lists a warm reception (also a hearty welcome) as meaning a hot opposition ⇒ The Home Rule members are prepared to give the Coercion Bill a warm reception; Mr. Parnell’s followers will oppose it tooth and nail.—Newspaper paragraph, May 19th, 1885.

12d   Scapegoat // one of Fagin's pickpockets? (8,3)

Whip^[5] is an informal British term meaning to steal (something) ⇒ the escaper had whipped his overcoat.

Scratching the Surface
Fagin[7] is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the novel Oliver Twist (1838) authored by English writer Charles Dickens (1812–1870). He is the leader of a group of children, the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates among them, whom he teaches to make their livings by pickpocketing and other criminal activities, in exchange for a roof over their heads.

13d   It's worn after the match (7,4)

My first (erroneous) attempt here was WEDDING GOWN, reasoning that it would be in used condition (worn) following the ceremony. In my books, that would have been a more Rufusesque solution than the actual one.

15d   Georgia and Edward // confined to school (5)

Gate^[5,10] is a British term meaning to confine or restrict (a pupil or student) to the school or college grounds as a punishment ⇒ he was gated for the rest of term.

16d   Show // to look back on, they say (5)

20d   Make duty-free? (7)

It may have been Miffypops "iffy clue of the day". However, I rather liked this  cryptic definition alluding to a soldier, for example, taking over a post from another.

21d   A doctor breaks journey /to get/ an instrument (7)

"doctor" = MB (show explanation )

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree. 

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Tambour^[5] is a historical term for a small drum.

25d   Strike /makes/ mates upset (4)

In Britain, mate^[5] — in addition to being a person’s husband, wife, or other sexual partner — is an informal term for a friend or companion ⇒ my best mate Steve.

26d   Quiet // part of electrical motor (4)

27d   Anxious /to show/ how cutting you can be? (4)

Some of those posting comments on Big Dave's Crossoword Blog report that the word "show" was misspelled as "sow" in various versions of this puzzle in Britain including in the paper edition of The Daily Telegraph. As this error does not appear in the National Post, it must have been introduced during the production process in the UK after the puzzle had been distributed in syndication (see The Life Cycle of a Cryptic Crossword Puzzle ).

The Life Cycle of a Cryptic Crossword Puzzle

The reason why errors that get corrected in the UK still show up months later in the puzzle in Canada can be understood if one looks at what I believe to be the life cycle of a puzzle:

1. The setter creates the puzzle and submits it to the puzzle editor.
2. The puzzle editor and setter refine the puzzle.
3. The puzzle is distributed in syndication. (Some papers print the puzzle on or close to the date it appears in the UK. Other papers, such as the National Post, print the puzzle weeks or months later.)
4. The puzzle editor may make changes to the puzzle (with or without consulting the setter) after it has been distributed in syndication. These (and subsequent) changes do not appear in the syndicated puzzle (which has already been distributed).
5. The puzzle is prepared for print publication. Errors may be introduced during the production process. These errors sometimes also carry forward to the online versions of the puzzle.
6. The puzzle is prepared for online publication. Additional errors may be introduced during this production process but affect only the online versions of the puzzle. Complicating matters even further, there are apparently multiple online platforms on which the puzzle appears —  namely, the online edition of The Daily Telegraph and the Telegraph Puzzles website as well as Apple and Android apps. There will sometimes be an error on one of these online platforms that is not present on the others.
7. The various online versions of the puzzle are posted.
8. Errors in the online versions of the puzzle (regardless of at what stage they were introduced) are often corrected at some point during the day of publication. Of course, errors in the print edition cannot be corrected.

hide explanation

Keen^[5] is a British^* term meaning having or showing eagerness or enthusiasm ⇒ (i) a keen gardener; (ii) John was keen to help.

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^* British! Really?

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In the second definition, the setter seems to play with a couple of meanings of the word. Keen^[10] (said of a tool or implement) denotes having a sharp cutting edge or point. It can also mean intellectually acute.

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)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon