Tuesday, February 2, 2010 (DT 26060)

This puzzle was originally published Thursday, October 15, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

This was probably not a very difficult puzzle for the Brits. However, the fairly high number of Briticisms made it rather challenging for those of us on this side of the pond. I did complete the puzzle, and - with the possible exception of one clue - felt that I understood the wordplay. A digression into the world of Tracey Emin caused my solving time to be greatly extended.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

do - verb 14 colloq to cheat someone.

Tracey Emin - eminent (?) British artist, member of the Royal Academy, nominated in 1999 for the Turner Prize, an annual prize presented by the Tate Gallery to a British visual artist under the age of 50.

(the) Gents - noun informal 2 Brit. a men’s public toilet.

grass - verb 2 (often grass on) Brit. informal inform the police of someone’s criminal activity or plans.

nark - noun 1 chiefly Brit. a police informer.

nark - verb chiefly Brit. annoy.

nick - verb 2 Brit. informal steal.

tat - noun Brit. informal tasteless or shoddy articles.

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 26060].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a A survey at cross purposes? (4,4)

This is the clue for which I was uncertain as to whether I had fully understood the wordplay. It is a cryptic definition with the solution EXIT POLL. As Libellule explains in a response to a query, "cross purposes" (as I had suspected) is intended to suggest the X with which one marks one's ballot.

3d Redress, to fanatics, is breaking out (12)

The Stones may not have been able to get it, but I did.

7d Book for American gents? (4)

If you are puzzled by the pun in Nubian's comment at Big Dave's site, OTT is British slang meaning over the top. He may also be intending OT to suggest book. However, I think he may have missed the Mark (one pun deserves another) on a couple of points. OT (Old Testament) and NT (New Testament) are often used in cryptic crosswords as substitutions for books (plural), although I do have a dim recollection of once having seen one or the other of them used for book (singular) - which, as I recall, drew howls of protest. The other weakness in the pun is that the book of John is not found in the OT.

8d ? (8)

Initially, I had no idea what the solution might be; and, once the penny had dropped, I was left clueless.

17d Okay about Turner Prize nominee being girly (8)

Tracy Emin sounds like one of those people who are "famous for being famous" with a reputation (?) built on outrageous deeds. Wikipedia sums up her career as follows. "In 1997, her work Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995, a tent appliquéd with names, was shown at Charles Saatchi's Sensation exhibition held at the Royal Academy in London. The same year, she gained considerable media exposure, when she appeared drunk and swearing on a live Channel 4 TV discussion. In 1999, she was a Turner Prize nominee and exhibited My Bed — an installation, consisting of her own unmade dirty bed with used condoms and blood-stained underwear."

The Brits seem to have always had an affection for the absurd. After all they have given us Monty Python and the game of cricket. The Turner Prize appears to be no exception. [Warning: those who appreciate the finer things in life may wish to skip the following recap of selected highlights from the history of the award.] In 1997, "[t]he winner, Gillian Wearing, showed a video 60 minutes of Silence (1996), where a group of actors were dressed in police uniforms and had to stand still for an hour (occasional surreptitious scratching could be observed). ... A drunken Tracey Emin walked out of a live Channel 4 discussion programme, presented as part of the coverage of the award." In 1999, "[g]reatest attention was given to Tracey Emin's exhibit My Bed, which was a double bed in a dishevelled state with stained sheets, surrounded by detritus such as soiled underwear, condoms, slippers and empty drink bottles. Two artists, Yuan Chai and Jian Jun Xi, jumped onto the bed, stripped to their underwear, and had a pillow fight. Police detained the two, who called their performance Two Naked Men Jump Into Tracey's Bed. They claimed that her work had not gone far enough, and that they were improving it. Charges were not pressed against them. Emin also displayed two-dimensional artwork and videos. She was commonly thought to have been the winner (and is still sometimes referred to as such), although in fact the Prize was given to Steve McQueen for his video based on a Buster Keaton film." In 2001, "Controversy was caused by the eventual winner, Martin Creed's work, The Lights Going On and Off, which was an empty room with the lights going on and off." Madonna, in presenting the prize, aroused additional controversy when she uttered an obscenity on live TV before the 9 p.m. "watershed" drawing an official rebuke by the Independent Television Commission. In 2003, "The Chapman Brothers (Jake and Dinos Chapman) were given what was generally felt to be a long-overdue nomination, and caused press attention for a sculpture, Death, that appeared to be two cheap plastic blow-up sex dolls with a dildo. It was in fact made of bronze, painted to look like plastic." If this brief summary has left you hungry for more, you can read further here.

19d Paparazzi's risky venture (4,4)

In his comments at Big Dave's blog, Vince suggests that, since the solution is in the singular, the clue should necessarily read "Paparazzo's risky venture". I'm not sure that I would agree, as I think one could regard long shot as a style of shot (as opposed to a close up, for example), and its use in the singular would be equivalent to one saying something like "Many artists hone their craft on the still life."

24d Grass is a source of irritation (4)

This clue serves up a triple whammy of Briticisms. One must first know that grass is British slang meaning to inform. Second, one must also know that nark is yet another British slang term for inform. And, finally, one must know that nark is also British slang meaning to annoy.

Signing off for today - Falcon