Monday, July 9, 2012 - DT 26848

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26848
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26848]
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 This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, July 7, 2012 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

According to Gazza, there was "nothing too difficult today". For me, that was true enough for three quadrants, but I needed lots of support from my electronic helpers in the northeast quadrant where four intersecting clues proved particularly stubborn (including the "pretty obscure American composer" and the girl from the fairy tale).

I failed to notice – until it was pointed out by Gazza – that the puzzle contains a "Nina" which can be broken down into two "Quickie-style" puns. A Nina is a hidden feature in the crossword grid. In today's puzzle, the Nina is formed by the letters situated around the edges of the grid which spell  a word along each edge of the grid. The Quickie is a regular-style crossword puzzle that appears in The Daily Telegraph. The solutions to the first two or three clues in that puzzle always form a pun similar to those contained in today's Nina. To uncover the puns in today's puzzle, try saying either the words at the top and bottom together or the words at the left and right together. The effect is very much enhanced if you pronounce the words with a soft British R.

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.

10a   Ready to complain if there’s no starter (4)

The surface reading might refer to disgruntled athletes at a track meet or, in the UK, to diners who are upset that a course has been omitted from their meal. Starter^[5] is a chiefly British name for the first course of a meal.

23a   Develops complex close to Devizes (10)

Devizes^[7] is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England.

24a   Conservative is livid (4)

In Britain, as in Canada (or, more likely, the other way around), blue is the colour associated with the Conservative Party. In Britain, a supporter of the Conservative Party is known as a blue^[5]. Blue is also used as an adjective meaning politically conservative • the successful blue candidate.

5d   US composer determined to reject a top medal (6,4)

Ernest Gold ^[7] (1921 – 1999) was an Austrian-born American composer who wrote nearly 100 film and television scores between 1945 and 1992. He won a Golden Globe in 1960 for Best Motion Picture Score for 1959's On the Beach, and won an Academy Award a year later for the score for Exodus. His work on On the Beach also won Gold a Grammy Award.

24d   Barrister forgoing fine cheese (4)

Brief^[5] is an informal British name for a solicitor or barrister • it was only his brief’s eloquence that had saved him from prison.

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