Tuesday, April 23, 2013 — DT 27098

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27098
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, February 11, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27098]
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

Introduction

I needed a gentle nudge from my electronic helpers for a few clues today. For both 1a and 13a, the first thing to come to mind proved to be incorrect; but it also seemed to get stuck in my mind and completely block out any other possibility from coming to the surface.

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   Musical passages for beginners? (8)

The first thought to come to mind was ETUDES — and, no matter what I did, I could not dislodge it from my mind.

6a   More than one rock group? (6)

The Rolling Stones^[7] are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. In 2012 the band celebrated their 50th anniversary. The band will kick off the North American leg of their 50 and Counting tour next month in Los Angeles, coming to Toronto for two concerts — on May 25 and June 6.

9a   Corrects final part in a script (6)

10a   Rex -- Joy's brother perhaps (8)

Rex^[4] (Latin for king, abbreviated as R^[5]) is part of the official title of a king, now used chiefly in documents, legal proceedings, and inscriptions on coins. It may be used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, or GR, for King George^[5]) or in the titles of lawsuits, e.g. Rex v. Jones: the Crown versus Jones^[5] (which would often be written simply as R. vs Jones).

11a   Profit from hobby (8)

12a   Cheat with contract (4,2)

13a   A despatch note? (5,7)

In this case, it was DEATH SENTENCE that blocked out all other possibilities.

Despatch^[4] is a less common spelling of dispatch.

16a   Sign language comes before volumes of words (12)

I was only familiar with diction^[3,4,11] in its other meaning of enunciation or elocution.

19a   Confused brides refuse (6)

21a   Sort of error made by clumsy tic-tac man? (8)

In the UK, tic-tac^[5] (also spelled tick-tack) is a kind of manual semaphore used by racecourse bookmakers to exchange information.

23a   Drawing instruments -- possibly rulers (8)

It may just be me being obtuse, but the second definition seems to fall flat.

24a   Workers' associations in unison perhaps (6)

25a   Highballs for winter sportsmen? (6)

Despite arriving at the correct solution, I failed to uncover the correct explanation for the clue. My research led me in the direction of a highball^[5] being a drink consisting of a spirit, especially whisky, and a mixer such as soda, served with ice in a tall glass. However, I was not able to track down a drink matching this description. While there is a drink called a skier's toddy consisting of Kahlua, Triple Sec, hot chocolate and marshmallows, it is obviously served hot — not cold — and in a mug — not a highball glass.

As I was to discover, skier is a variant spelling of skyer^[5], a cricket term for a a hit which goes very high.

26a   The class rioting which scholars carry out (8)

It took me quite some time to get the solution to this clue, as I do not associate this term with school children. Oxford Dictionaries Online defines a satchel^[5] as a bag carried on the shoulder by a long strap and closed by a flap, used especially for school books. The term satchel might be used in North America for such a bag, but not when used by school children. In this context, it would almost certainly be called a schoolbag.

Down

2d   A trying delay (6)

I recognized that we were in a courtroom setting, but the term would not come to mind until all the checking letters had been assembled.

3d   Weapon point caught in material (5)

Thinking that the wordplay was {N (point) + C (caught)} contained in (in) LAE led me to expend a great deal of time and effort looking for a fabric called "lae". Doh!

The correct wordplay is N (point) contained in (caught in) LACE (material).

4d   Reckless person's crazy road speed (9)

5d   Extend  a term of imprisonment (7)

6d   Disunity  somewhere in former Yugoslavia (5)

Split^[5], the second-largest city of Croatia, is situated in the Mediterranean Basin on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centred around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its bay and port.

7d   Fringes for old-fashioned garments (9)

8d   Time soon modifies feelings (8)

13d   Decide to put off when on my own (9)

14d   A spirit to woo results in engagement for Henry (9)

The Battle of Agincourt^[5] was a battle in northern France in 1415 during the Hundred Years War, in which the English under Henry V defeated a large French army. The victory, achieved largely by use of the longbow, allowed Henry to occupy Normandy.

15d   Close associate in team given boot (8)

In Britain, side^[7] is another term for a sports team.

17d   Dire Straits would be recording ones (7)

Dire Straits^[7] were a British rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), his younger brother David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Pick Withers (drums and percussion). Dire Straits' career spanned a combined total of 15 years. The band originally split up in 1988, but reformed in 1991. Dire Straits disbanded for good in 1995 when Mark Knopfler launched his career full time as a solo artist.

18d   Four may opt out from revelry in the flesh (6)

20d   Measures taken for the sake of progress (5)

22d   Hibernian flag on hospital (5)

A flag^[4] is any of various plants [including the iris] that have long swordlike leaves.

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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon