Thursday, November 14, 2013 — DT 27247

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27247
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, August 3, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27247 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27247 - Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (Review)
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 As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

It was not a very difficult puzzle today. However, creating this post turned into a major challenge. Microsoft installed some patches and restarted my computer overnight and, in doing so, created utter havoc. I spent all day attempting to undo the damage that was done.

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   Pop out with Hogarth print (10)

While the wordplay may be a bit awkward, we are meant to interpret it as an anagram (out) of {POP + HOGARTH}. I suppose if "oil mixed with vinegar" is a mixture of oil and vinegar, then the logical extension is that "POP out with HOGARTH" would be an anagram (out) of POP and HOGARTH.

William Hogarth^[5] (1697–1764) was an English painter and engraver. Notable works include his series of engravings on ‘modern moral subjects’, such as A Rake’s Progress (1735), which satirized the vices of both high and low life in 18th-century England.

6a   Bar  fight (4)

9a   Line's fake, showing lack of talent (10)

10a   Work round old trick (4)

12a   Like peanuts? Full, having consumed pounds (6)

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].

13a   Enormous wastage in fuel (8)

15a   Men hunting wild elks arrested (12)

A deerstalker^[4] is a person who stalks deer, especially in order to shoot them. I would say that this sense of the word is not common in North America, although the cap of the same name worn by Sherlock Holmes is well known here.

18a   Betting about marines willing to be hawkish (12)

The Royal Marines (RM)^[5] is a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) founded in 1664, trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances.

It would appear that crypticsue has overlooked a portion of the wordplay in her review. The wordplay should be WAGERING (betting) containing (about) {RM (marines) + ON (willing)}. Here, "on" is used in the sense "willing [to accept a challenge]" as in the following challenge: "I bet you ten dollars that I can race you home. Are you on?"

21a   Chewing grass is unusual in insect (8)

In the solution to the clue, ruminant^[5] is used as an adjective. Rum^[5] is dated British slang meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

22a   Set of false teeth round a mouth's top (6)

24a   I fool someone admired (4)

25a   Anthology: I flog about 100 in a lot (10)

In Britain, flog^[4,5] is slang meaning to sell or offer for sale ⇒ he made a fortune flogging beads to hippies. In North America, the word generally means to publicize aggressively ⇒ flogging a new book^[3], although Random House does include the entry to sell, especially aggressively or vigorously^[11]. Nevertheless, I get the impression that the British sense of the word focuses on the selling aspect whereas the North American meaning centres on the promotional aspect.

26a   Notice East European in superior sort of TV (4)

27a   I see my Reds playing here (10)

This is a semi & lit. (semi-all-in-one) clue. The entire clue is the definition and the first part of the clue comprises the wordplay.

Liverpool Football Club^[7] (nicknamed The Reds) is an English professional football [soccer] club based in Liverpool that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

Merseyside^[7] is a metropolitan county in North West England that encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, including the city of Liverpool.

Down

1d   European  could be French (6)

French polish^[4,5] is a varnish for wood consisting of shellac dissolved in alcohol that produces a high gloss on wood ⇒ a coat of French polish was brushed over the repair.

2d   Alloy containing gold spy finally replaced by uranium (6)

Ormolu is a gold-coloured alloy of copper, zinc, and tin used in decoration and making ornaments ⇒  (i) candlesticks in glass, bronze, and ormolu; (ii) [as modifier] an ormolu clock.

3d   Bother! Undone! Having broken up one may be this (2,3,7)

In her review, crypticsue identifies the definition as "one may be this". To my mind, that hardly seems to be sufficient for a definition. However, the only other viable possibility would be to assume that the entire clue is the definition (i.e., that this is meant to be an & lit. or semi & lit. clue) — and that would seem to be far more than necessary, as I can't see how "Bother! Undone!" would fit into the definition. A good definition would be "Having broken up one may be this" but then "having broken up" would be be doing double duty, serving both as the anagram indicator in the wordplay and as part of the definition. I don't believe this would not be permissible as it is my understanding that parts of the clue can only do "double duty" when used in an & lit. or semi & lit. clue.

4d   Appreciate value of  carpet (4)

Carpet^[5] is British slang meaning to reprimand severely ⇒ the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses.

Rate^[5] is an archaic term meaning to scold (someone) angrily ⇒ he rated the young man soundly for his want of respect.

5d   Short video covering new Conservative bill (10)

I relied on anatomy to explain the clue, while crypticsue used geography (and I believe that she has the better explanation).

A bill^[2] may be the beak of a bird or any structure which resembles this in appearance or function. In anatomy, a promontory^[5]  is a protuberance on an organ or other bodily structure. I'm not entirely certain that a bill would qualify as a promontory, but it was worth a stab.

One meaning of bill^[2,5] (as found in place names) is a narrow promontory (a long thin piece of land that extends into the sea) ⇒ Portland Bill. Portland Bill^[7]  is a narrow promontory (or bill) of Portland stone at the southern end of the Isle of Portland, and the southernmost point of Dorset, England. This rocky promontory has often been regarded as one of the greatest navigational hazards in the English Channel.

7d   Cover surface round top of Ionian column (8)

8d   Orbison and top celebrities supporting Queen (8)

Roy Orbison^[7] (1936–1988) was an American singer-songwriter, best known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads.

11d   Dish in kitchen where pins are scattered (7,5)

14d   Ship makes giant wave in seawater (10)

Wave is used as a verb meaning to move to and fro (as a flag does).

16d   Draw obtuse angle, rather small (8)

Obtuse^[5] means difficult to understand, especially deliberately so. That pretty well sums up its use as an anagram indicator. I suppose if DRAW were to be misspelled as DWAR, it would certainly be "difficult to understand".

17d   Flower border presented in plain language (8)

19d   Spicy meat unfortunately served up on motorway (6)

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway [controlled access, multi-lane divided highway] in England connecting London to Leeds.

20d   Produce new script about model (6)

23d   Exploits when holding court (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