Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - DT 26861

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26861
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26861]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
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

The puzzle not being overly difficult today, my electronic assistants got to enjoy a day off.

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   Thank you note asks for money (4)

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you • ‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

3a   Learner wearing joke jumper is a clumsy fool (10)

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction. In British and Irish slang, a cod^[10] is a hoax or trick.

9a   Voting system is working in gaol (6)

In Britain, gaol^[5] is an alternative spelling of jail. Proportional representation (abbreviation PR)^[5] is an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them.

10a   King George and father grab a quiet drink (6)

By tradition, British monarchs use initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus Queen Elizabeth's initials are ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina — and those of her father, King George VI were GR^[5] — from Georgius Rex.

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).

13a   Bed rest taken regularly after some golf game (8)

Rounders^[5,7] is a a ball game – similar to and a precursor of baseball – played (chiefly by British and Irish schoolchildren) with a cylindrical wooden bat, in which players run round a circuit of bases after hitting the ball.

14a   Field sports, initially with copper present (6)

A copper^[2] is a coin of low value made of copper or bronze. Oxford Dictionaries may think this is a British term^[5], but I would say that it enjoys widespread use in North America.

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] is a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound (and is abbreviated p). In the system formerly used, a penny was equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound (and was abbreviated d, for denarius).

21a   Put up with topless yobbos and aggressive moves (4,4)

Yobbo^[5] is another term for yob^[5] (back slang for boy), both being informal British terms for a rude, noisy, and aggressive youth.

24a   Grudgingly accept new role in gallery (8)

The Tate Gallery^[5] (or simply the Tate) is a national museum of art at Millbank, London, founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–99) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened.

26a   Almost cherished name for man of the church (4)

A dean^[7], in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Lutheran Church. In the Church of England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the dean is the chief resident cleric of a cathedral or other collegiate church and the head of the chapter of canons. If the cathedral or collegiate church has its own parish, the dean is usually also rector of the parish.

1d   Set off in time and fixed with engineers inside (9)

The Corps of Royal Engineers (RE)^[5] is the field engineering and construction corps of the British army.

In his review, Pommers alludes that rigged is "a word which can mean fixed or kitted out". In Britain, a kit^[5] is the clothing used for an activity such as a sport and to kit someone or something out (or up)^[5] is to provide someone or something with the appropriate clothing or equipment • we were all kitted out in life jackets.

2d   Pregnant rep lies about investor (8,7)

In Britain, a partner not sharing in the actual work of a firm is known as a sleeping partner^[5]. In North America, such a person would be called a silent partner^[5].

4d   Old fools, trapping English wild cats (7)

Clot^[5] is British slang for a a foolish or clumsy person • Watch where you’re going, you clot!

15d   Always popular, the first lady runs without experience (9)

"The first lady" is not Michelle Obama^[5], but the first woman mentioned in the Bible.

17d   Mourn the French way? (3)

Rue^[8] is the French word for street.

18d   Block sources of support and help useless posh bloke (4,3)

In British slang, toff^[5] is a derogatory term for a rich or upper-class person.

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