Tuesday, December 20, 2011 DT 26668

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26668
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26668]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Today we have a not overly difficult offering from a mystery setter.

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.

1a   Wild revelry after tea? Strange but not, that is, for one in ancient race (10)

In Britain, tea might be informally referred to as either cha, chai or char^[5]. In his clue, Gazza alludes to incidents that occurred in England between 6 and 10 August 2011, in which several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson [read more]^[7] .

12a   Clearly pantomime footwear (5,8)

A pantomime^[5] is a traditional British theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, which involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas.

14a   Man U stew about possible pen (4,4)

Man U is short for Manchester United Football Club^[7], an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League.

15a   Guaranteed missing Old Master will be painstakingly drawn (6)

In the US, the solution would be spelled prized. This is one case where I believe the Canadian practice is to use the British spelling prised.

17a   With Tottenham’s fifth, no exclamation of disgust is sufficient (6)

Tottenham^[7] is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated 6.6 miles (10.6 km) north north east of Charing Cross [note: Charing Cross is considered to be the centre of London]. It is the home of the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club^[7], commonly referred to as the Spurs, an English Premier League football club. I'm not sure if the term "Tottenham's fifth" has any special significance in the surface reading.

19a   Laurel and Hardy’s separate starts in knockabout comic western — a ready source of money (5-3)

Although not identified as such in any of the dictionaries that I consulted, milch cow^[2] would appear to be a British expression. It means something or someone that is seen as a source of easy income or profit. This is very similar - if not identical - in meaning to cash cow^[5], a figure of speech well-known in North America and seemingly also used in Britain.

24a   Support in advance of Kasabian’s first record with commercials a source of friction (5,4)

An EP (short for extended play) is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play (SP) records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact Discs and music downloads as well. [read more]^[7]

2d   Okay but not quite entirely correct? (7)

In his review, Gazza comments "the spelling of the answer is frowned upon by some purists (although, as the ODE points out, similar constructions like “altogether” are accepted)". Specifically the ODE (Oxford Dictionary of English) advises "Although all right can also be spelled alright, you should use all right in formal writing."^[5] The ODE prefaces this by saying:

The merging of all and right to form the one-word spelling alright is not recorded until the end of the 19th century (unlike other similar merged spellings such as altogether and already, which date from much earlier). There is no logical reason for insisting on all right as two words, when other single-word forms such as altogether have long been accepted. Nevertheless it is still considered by many people to be unacceptable in formal writing.

The American Heritage Dictionary provides a similar note of caution:

Despite the appearance of the form alright in works of such well-known writers as Langston Hughes and James Joyce, the single word spelling has never been accepted as standard. This is peculiar, since similar fusions such as already and altogether have never raised any objections. The difference may lie in the fact that already and altogether became single words back in the Middle Ages, whereas alright has only been around for a little more than a century and was called out by language critics as a misspelling. Consequently, one who uses alright, especially in formal writing, runs the risk that readers may view it as an error or as the willful breaking of convention.^[3]

5d   Former member of string quartet losing inclination to get better (5)

In this case, "member of string quartet" refers to a cellist not a cello.

18d   Rating from previous season? (3,4)

In Britain, a rating^[5] is a non-commissioned sailor in the navy. When Gazza uses the term "league tables" in his hint, he  is referring to what we would call league standings. I must admit that I did need a gentle prod from my electronic help on this one (having gotten another expression stuck in my mind).

20d   Senior officer getting on top of honey-trap’s budget (7)

In espionage, a honeypot (more often called a honeytrap) is a trap set to capture, kill or compromise a person, commonly but not necessarily an opposition agent, officer, or employee, using sex as the lure.

References: 
^[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)

Signing off for today - Falcon