Friday, March 15, 2013 — DT 27068

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27068
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, January 7, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27068]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 27067 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, January 5, 2013.

Introduction

I thought as I solved this puzzle that it had the feel of a Rufus creation. Given that the National Post has skipped the puzzle which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, January 5, 2013, we are beyond the end of the service interruption that I mentioned yesterday which resulted in comments posted on on Big Dave's site being lost.

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.

Across

1a   No bolts when this screw is working? (6,7)

Screw^[3,4] is slang for a prison guard. A bolt^[4] is a sudden start or movement, especially in order to escape ⇒ they made a bolt for the door.

10a   First male worker is resolute (7)

11a   They take the lead in arrests (7)

Lead^[3,4] is another name for leash.

12a   Improve on the ebbing tide (4)

13a   Spent about a pound for cloth (5)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

14a   New star getting county backing (4)

Avon^[5] is a former county of SW England, formed in 1974 from parts of north Somerset and Gloucestershire and replaced in 1996 by unitary councils of North Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and NE Somerset.

17a   Abandoned  bore (7)

18a   Old city in part of S Africa is unaffected (7)

Ur^[5] is an ancient Sumerian city that formerly existed on the Euphrates, in southern Iraq. It was one of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, dating from the 4th millennium BC, and reached its zenith in the late 3rd millennium BC.

Natal^[5] is a former province of South Africa, situated on the east coast. Having been a Boer republic and then a British colony, Natal acquired internal self-government in 1893 and became a province of the Union of South Africa in 1910. It was renamed KwaZulu-Natal in 1994. The name comes from Latin Terra Natalis 'land of the day of birth', a name given by Vasco da Gama in 1497, because he sighted the entrance to what is now Durban harbour on Christmas Day.

In DT 27048 (The Daily Telegraph: 2012-12-11; National Post: 2013-02-27) we had the same solution clued as:

• 10a   Typical ancient city in old African province (7)

19a   Find made by a hunter (7)

22a   Speech and attire of modern times (7)

24a   Adds up  the drinks (4)

25a   Story-teller sounds ghastly (5)

The Brothers Grimm^[7], Jacob (Ludwig Carl) Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (Carl) Grimm (1786–1859), were German philologists and folklorists who compiled an anthology of German fairy tales, which appeared in three volumes between 1812 and 1822.

26a   One always on hand for a date, maybe (4)

29a   State encouraging one to let the matter rest (7)

30a   Quite correct  to be trendy (5,2)

Right on^[5] is used as an expression of strong support, approval, or encouragement. Right-on^[5] is an informal, often derogatory term meaning in keeping with fashionable liberal or left-wing opinions and values ⇒ the right-on music press.

31a   Near the main holiday centre (7,6)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term referring to the open ocean.

Down

2d   Understand lies are wrong (7)

3d   Type of jazz cats combo (4)

Scat^[3] is a type of jazz singing in which improvised, meaningless syllables are sung to a melody.

4d   Annoyed when stung? (7)

5d   Party making drama documentary (7)

Faction^[3] is a form of literature or filmmaking that treats real people or events as if they were fictional or uses real people or events as essential elements in an otherwise fictional rendition.

6d   Misfortunes we keep well away from (4)

7d   Charm of the French in love (7)

In the French language, the phrase en amour^[8] means "in love".

8d   Protective measure for people at play (6,7)

A safety curtain^[5] is a fireproof curtain that can be lowered between the stage and the main part of a theatre to prevent the spread of fire.

9d   Setting up in business (13)

15d   Love to make an entrance, we hear (5)

16d   Learning duty's to be changed (5)

20d   Going to great lengths  either end (7)

21d   Virginia right to get a place in tough university (7)

Harvard University^[7] is an American private Ivy League research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation (officially The President and Fellows of Harvard College) chartered in the country. Harvard's history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

22d   Unhappily married -- lover required (7)

This is one of those rare clues where the definition is neither at the beginning nor the end — although the clue could be rephrased so as to put the definition at the end:

• 22d   Unhappily married -- requires lover (7)

The word "required" implicitly indicates "required [as the solution]".

23d   Retired Thespian appearing as Shylock (7)

Shylock^[5] is a Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, who lends money to Antonio but demands in return a pound of Antonio’s own flesh should the debt not be repaid on time. The name has come to mean a moneylender who charges extremely high rates of interest.

27d   The last of many complaints? Definitely! (2,2)

Is -itis an ending found in the names of many medical conditions? It is!

28d   Food produced in layers (4)

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