Monday, December 27, 2010 (DT 26353)

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26353
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, September 23, 2010
Setter Campbell (Allan Scott)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26353]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ***	Enjoyment - **
Falcon's Performance ****

Introduction

I am doing a bit of house cleaning today, trying to catch up on a few recent puzzles that didn't get blogged due to social pressures over the holiday season.

It seems that even nearly a week of cogitation and 'perservation' (a word coined by Mary, a regular visitor to Big Dave's site) did not help me solve the final two clues (8d and 19a) in this puzzle. However, they were easily deciphered with the aid of my trusty Tool Chest - and proved to be so simple, I kicked myself vigorously for failing to get them without help.

Finally, I quite enjoyed the spirited debate among the regulars at Big Dave's place about whether lager qualifies to be called beer.

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle

Appearing in Clues:

crown cork (also known as a crown cap or just a crown) - the first form of bottle cap which was invented by William Painter in 1891 in Baltimore. [The name presumably arises from the fact that the cap originally contained a thin layer of cork - now generally replaced by plastic - which covered only the 'crown' of the bottle, as opposed to a cork inserted into the neck of the bottle, as for a wine bottle.]

wagon - noun 1 [3^rd entry] British a railway freight vehicle; a truck.

Appearing in Solutions:

artic - noun British informal an articulated lorry.

lorry - noun British a large, heavy motor vehicle for transporting goods or troops; a truck.

blower - noun 2 British informal a telephone.

c - abbreviation (of water) cold: all bedrooms have h & c.

CE or C.E. - abbreviation 1 Church of England.

CH - [5^th entry] abbreviation child [according to the reference cited, one of 97 possible meanings]

drop scone - noun a small, thick pancake made by dropping spoonfuls of batter on to a griddle or other heated surface.

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899 – 1974) - American composer, pianist, and big band leader.

E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster (1879 – 1970) - English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist.

full house - noun 2 a poker hand with three of a kind and a pair, which beats a flush and loses to four of a kind.

HE - abbreviation 3 His or Her Excellency.

Excellency - noun (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.

Le Monde (English: The World) - a French daily evening newspaper based in Paris which is considered to be the French newspaper of record.

Liège - a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.

off - adjective 1 characterized by performing or feeling worse than usual; unsatisfactory or inadequate: even the greatest athletes have off days.

Offa - King of Mercia (Anglo-Saxon kingdom located in the region now known as the English Midlands) from 757 until his death in July 796.

R² - abbreviation [1^st entry] rand: a farm worth nearly R1,3 million

retsina - noun a Greek white or rosé wine flavoured with resin.

slip¹ - noun 4 Cricket

• a fielding position (often one of two or more in an arc) close behind the batsman on the off side, for catching balls edged by the batsman: he was caught in the slips for 32; King is at first slip
• a fielder at slip. [i.e., a fielder playing that position]

up - adverb 4 [2^nd entry] British at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge: they were up at Cambridge about the same time.

v (also v.) - abbreviation (in textual references) verse.

w - abbreviation 7 with.

Wellington - capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

19a Draw rand out of bank (4)

According to the discussion at Big Dave's blog, the clue published on The Daily Telegraph online site varied from that in the print edition of the paper. We have received the version that appeared in the print edition. In case you are interested, the alternative version of the clue was:

• 19a Before end of encounter, draw level (4)

27a One may get led astray in just this sort of district! (3-5)

Like Big Dave, I initially failed to see the anagram in a container in this clue, solving it as if it were simply a cryptic definition - a perception that is reinforced by the exclamation mark at its end. It was only when I was writing up the blog that I realized the true nature of the clue.

5d Originally without appeal, where tour ends? (2,3,4,6)

This is a double definition, with one definition being a bit cryptic. The straight definition is "originally without appeal" which the setter uses to mean IN THE LAST RESORT (although I tend to disagree, as I will explain later). The more cryptic definition is "where the tour ends" which is obviously "in the last resort".

Oxford Dictionaries Online defines in the last resort as meaning 'ultimately: in the last resort what really moves us is our personal convictions [suggested by French en dernier ressort]' which I believe has quite a different meaning than as a last resort which means 'when all else has failed'.

The latter phrase definitely fits the meaning "originally without appeal" (something that you initially reject but fall back on 'as a last resort'). I had initially wavered between AS THE LAST RESORT and AT THE LAST RESORT as possible solutions here, which caused me grief for quite some time on 5a.

16d Vegetable all right to be eaten by ambassador on the wagon? (9)

The surface reading evokes a member of the diplomatic corps who is abstaining from the consumption of alcohol. The definition is "vegetable" and the particular one that we are looking for is an ARTICHOKE. The wordplay is OK (all right) contained in (to be eaten by) HE (ambassador; His or Her Excellency) following (on) ARTIC (wagon; specifically an articulated truck).

truck has the same meaning in Britain and North America, namely "a large road vehicle, used for carrying goods, materials, or troops". However, the Brits have a couple of additional names for such a vehicle, lorry and wagon. In North America, a wagon is generally "a four-wheeled trailer for agricultural use", a meaning that is apparently also common in Britain. The word wagon is also used in North America as a short form for station wagon, a vehicle that is called an estate car in Britain.

In Britain, a wagon can also be a railway freight car - but not in North America. The Brits would seemingly not use the word 'car' in reference to a railway freight vehicle - only to a railway passenger vehicle. Whereas the Brits might refer to a railway passenger vehicle as a passenger car, coach or carriage, Americans would be likely to use only the former two terms.

By the way, I notice that the Brits seem to prefer the term railway, whereas the Americans lean toward railroad. Canadians - as per usual - seem to use the two terms interchangeably.

Finally, it does not escape Big Dave's notice that the setter uses a clue structure employing the word "on" that many consider inappropriate in a down clue.

Signing off for today - Falcon