Monday, September 30, 2013 — DT 27214

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27214
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27214]
Big Dave's Review Written By scchua
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

As was the case with scchua, it was the southeast corner that caused me the most difficulty. In fact, I finally resorted to a little electronic assistance to complete three clues found there. However, in hindsight, I can see nothing in those particular clues to make them more difficult than the rest of the puzzle.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Actor, do this and you'll fail the audition? (10)

6a   Tucked up with a graduate teacher (4)

It would appear that — in Britain — to tuck someone up^[5] is an alternative manner of saying to tuck someone in [to bed].

9a   Rat attached to end of cat's foot (7)

Rotter^[4] is chiefly British slang for a worthless, unpleasant, or despicable person.

A trotter^[5] is a pig’s foot used as food ⇒ (i)brawn^* would be made from the trotters and the ears; (ii) he lay down the half-eaten trotter. The word may also be used a humorous reference to a human foot ⇒ dainty little trotters.

^* brawn^[5] is a British term for meat from a pig’s or calf’s head [and, seemingly, foot — based on the preceding usage example for trotter] that is cooked and pressed in a pot with jelly. 

10a   Tramp proclaimed ill-defined harangue (7)

12a   Popular farmhouse on film becomes target area (8,5)

Grange^[10] is a chiefly British term for a farm, especially a farmhouse or country house with its various outbuildings.

14a   Draw on evidence of engagement as opener (4,4)

Ring pull^[5] is the British name for a pull tab^[5], a ring on a can that is pulled to break the seal in order to open it.

15a   Device for lifting a large beast (6)

17a   Nick a car and set off (6)

Nick takes on two different British slang meanings in this clue. I the surface reading, nick^[5] means to steal ⇒ she nicked fivers from the till. In the cryptic reading, nick^[5] means to arrest (someone) ⇒ Stuart and Dan got nicked for burglary.

19a   Person responsible for issue of paper? (8)

Issue^[5] is a formal or legal term meaning children of one’s own ⇒ the earl died without male issue.

The Guardian^[7], known until 1959 as The Manchester Guardian (founded 1821), is a British national daily newspaper.

21a   Want one state to adopt a platform, being ineffectual (13)

24a   Tom might have one for the road! (4-3)

The cat's eye^[7] (also cat's-eye^[10] or Catseye^[2]/catseye^[5], the later being a British trademark) is a retroreflective safety device used in road marking and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers. It originated in the UK in 1933 and is today used all over the world. Cat's eye^[2] is also a type of precious stone which resembles the eye of a cat when light is reflected onto it.

25a   A meal out with daughter, and a walk through the trees (7)

In Spain and Spanish-speaking areas, an alameda^[5] is a public walkway or promenade, shaded with trees.

26a   Deposit one left in road (4)

27a   Imagined volunteers changing sides, following supporter (10)

In the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)^[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency.

Down

1d   Capable of leading the Open -- initially! (2,2)

2d   Calls for reform of prison after start of debate (5,2)

3d   Foie gras paste is served in process of initiation (4,2,7)

4d   Choke or accelerator (8)

5d   Name given to opera singer's place of rest (5)

7d   A non-conformist, Clegg is rumoured to support defeat (7)

Nick Clegg^[5] is a British Liberal Democrat statesman, Deputy Prime Minister since 2010 (in coalition with the Conservatives).

8d   Party entitled to change sign here (6,4)

11d   Sit in carriage, being moved to see doctors (13)

13d   Outside study, student ties up long hair (10)

In Britain, to read^[5] means to study (an academic subject) at a university ⇒ (i) I’m reading English at Cambridge; (ii) he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.

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.

16d   Exposed well-dressed fool (8)

18d   Engineers cutting short visit about IT performance (7)

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

IT^[5] is the abbreviation for information technology.

20d   Disease requiring peace and quiet? No way (7)

22d   Sloane Ranger backing shows venue (5)

Sloane Square^[7] is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, located 2.1 miles (3.4 km) southwest of Charing Cross [considered to be the centre of London], in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The square lies at the east end of the trendy Kings Road and at the south end of the more conventionally smart Sloane Street linking to Knightsbridge. In the early 1980s, it lent its name to the "Sloane Rangers", the young underemployed, often snooty and ostentatiously well-off members of the upper classes.

A Sloane Ranger^[5] (also called Sloane) is an informal term [clearly British] for a fashionable upper-class young woman, especially one living in London ⇒ she speaks more like an Essex girl than a Sloane. The term was coined in the 1970s by combining Sloane Square and Lone Ranger (the name of a fictitious cowboy hero).

23d   Naked and poor -- that covers the start of life (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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon