Friday, March 30, 2012 - DT 26763

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26763
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, January 16, 2012
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26763]
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
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26762 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, January 14, 2012

Introduction

Today's puzzle involved a bit of dithering. On my first pass through, I entered the correct solution at 18a. When I got to the down clues, I came up with the wrong solution to 8d - meaning that my solution to 18a appeared to be wrong. Then I solved 22a, proving that my solution to 8d was in error. So it was back to my original solution at 18a.

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   Biblical book provides joy to a clergyman (10)

It was a revelation to me to discover that the last book of the Bible does not necessarily require a plural spelling.

9a   Not a serious quarrel though it turns very noisy (4)

Fortissimo (abbreviation ff)^[5] is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very loud  or (as an adverb) very loudly.

12a   Undercooked morsel that’s eaten (7)

Rarebit^[5] (also called Welsh rabbit) is a dish of melted and seasoned cheese on toast, sometimes with other ingredients.

17a   Assemble in the mother ship (4)

SS^[5] is the abbreviation for steamship • the SS Canberra.

18a   They may be inflated, say, and very large (4)

On my first pass through, I entered EGOS here. When I got to the down clues, I thought that the solution to 8d must be AFTERSHOCK - which meant that my solution for this clue had to be wrong. Then I solved 22a, proving AFTERSHOCK to be in error. So it was back to EGOS here.

I would have saved myself all this grief if I had seen the wordplay involving a charade of EG and OS. Instead, I interpreted the clue to be solely a cryptic definition. The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size^[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize OS^[5] in Britain.

21a   Is set in this month’s presses (7)

Instant^[5] is a dated expression used in formal correspondence to indicate 'of the present month'. It is a postpositive adjective (i.e., it follows the noun it modifies) and almost always appears as an abbreviation (inst). Thus, one might write "In reference to your letter of the 7th inst ...". Perhaps IMHO our Victorian forebears were not so far removed from today's texters as we may imagine.

24a   Formidable woman appears to be tedious (6)

Judging by the tone of the definitions in various dictionaries, the application of the epithet dragon specifically to women may be primarily a British usage. The American Heritage Dictionary gives the meaning as a fiercely vigilant or intractable person^[3], Collins English Dictionary as a fierce or intractable person, especially a woman^[4], Chambers 21st Century Dictionary as a frighteningly domineering woman^[2], and the Oxford Dictionary of English as a fierce and intimidating woman^[5].

27a   Porter found gold ring after party (10)

A keeper^[5] is a plain ring worn to preserve a hole in a pierced ear lobe. Although the definition in Oxford indicates that a keeper is a sleeper, I gather from the definition of sleeper that a keeper must be just one specific form of sleeper, rather than a sleeper in general. According to Oxford, a sleeper^[5] is a ring or post worn in a pierced ear to keep the hole from closing. Oxford also says that sleeper is a British term. However, while I have heard of a sleeper, I am totally unfamiliar with the term keeper. As a result, despite getting the correct solution, I was at a loss to explain the part of the wordplay involving "ring". Alternatively, a keeper may also be a ring worn to keep a more valuable one on the finger.

28a   Sweet kind of music (4)

Rock Candy

Sweet^[5] is the British term for candy^[5]. In Britain, rock is a kind of hard confectionery in the form of cylindrical peppermint-flavoured sticks • a stick of rock. In his review, Gazza gives us a picture of the British sweet known as rock. In North America, rock candy^[5] is a kind of hard confectionery typically made of masses of crystallized sugar. It is made by suspending a piece of string or a small wooden stick in a saturated sugar solution to which food colouring has been added and allowing the sugar to crystallize on the string or stick.

29a   Small volume of overseas tourism (6,4)

I stumbled here, unable to overcome my mental block that the first word must be POLISH - even though 25d seemed to rule out that possibility.

2d   Some currency back in circulation (4)

I would say that the setter has exercised a rather large dose of cryptic licence in this clue - however, it is not the first time that I have encountered this device. The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition begins its definition for currency with the words "that which circulates". Using cryptic crossword logic, this could apply to water flowing in a channel - which is how the setter chooses to employ it. Of course, Chambers goes on to complete the definition with the words "especially the money of a country". But the setter very deliberately ignores that bit. In an eddy^[5], the flow of water in a channel circulates back on itself in a circular motion.

5d   Jot down the first nine letters (4)

A "jot"is an IOTA and the first nine letters of the alphabet are A TO I. If you reverse the later, you get the former. But how does "down" become a reversal indicator?

Usually, "up" is used as a reversal indicator in a down clue. Words in down clues are normally entered into the grid from top to bottom (written in a downwards direction). Thus, to reverse a word, one would write it "up" (in an upwards direction) in the grid. In fact, this very device is employed in the following clue, 6d.

I was hoping that Gazza would elaborate on this point, but neither he - nor anyone else at Big Dave's blog - batted an eyelash at this construction. In fact, Little Mart marveled at "the work of genius that is 5 down" - leaving me even more perplexed at my obtuseness. That left me with no option but to do some more research.

I thought the setter might have used down^[2] in the sense of from a greater to a lesser size, amount or level. Thus "down the first nine letters" would be an indication to write them from the ninth to the first, or I TO A. But that doesn't work, as it gives ITOA, rather than IOTA.

Obviously, the setter intended "down" to operate as a reversal indicator on the phrase A TO I. However, I really can't justify this to my satisfaction.

So I am left not knowing if I am brilliant for spotting a flaw that escaped everyone else or a fool for not being able to see what is obvious to the world!

As an aside, I see that the Brits say bat an eyelid^[5], whereas North Americans say bat an eye or bat an eyelash.

6d   Dash up and give a number attention (7)

Here "up, in a down clue" is a reversal indicator.

7d   Triad thugs running wild (10)

I didn't think that distraught necessarily meant wild. However, The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition defines it, in part, as distracted; frantic, e.g. with grief or worry; mad; perplexed ...^[1]

14d   Sorts letters, perhaps (5)

In the cryptic reading, I believe that we may be expected to interpret letter^[5] in the sense of to inscribe letters or writing on • her name was lettered in gold.

20d   Arab leaders give one the shivers, by the sound of it (7)

This is a homophone clue that does not travel well - either across the Atlantic or, it seems, across the Red Sea. In Britain, sheikh is pronounced quite similar to shake. Gazza comments "the Arabic pronunciation doesn’t sound much like that". I wouldn't know, but in the US, it is pronounced to sound like sheek.

25d   Rise like a lark? (4)

Well, I did get the correct solution but didn't really understand the clue - even after reading Gazza's comment. But then, he does conclude by saying "unless I’ve missed something, I think that this is a bit weak". Amen!

As an aid in understanding Gazza's comment, Vaughan Williams^[7] (1872 – 1958) was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. His orchestral composition The Lark Ascending^[7], inspired by George Meredith's poem of the same name about the skylark, is one of the most popular pieces in the Classical repertoire among British listeners. In his review, Gazza provides a link to a performance of this piece.

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)

Signing off for today - Falcon