Monday, December 9, 2013 — DT 27266

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27266
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, August 26, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27266]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog 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

Today we get to enjoy a very enjoyable offering from Rufus — one that you should not find too taxing. The publication cycles of The Daily Telegraph and the National Post have briefly aligned, so we actually get a "Monday" puzzle on a Monday this week.

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   Distinctions that have to be fought for (6,7)

Technically, I would say that the entire clue is the definition. Here we have a cryptic definition that is made up of a primary indication ("distinctions") which is a straight definition and a secondary indication ("that have to be fought for") which provides further elaboration to narrow the scope of the definition. I'm not sure if that is the "academically correct" way to describe the clue — but that is how I see it.

10a   Up in arms (7)

Another cryptic definition. I suppose that to be consistent with what I have done in the previous clue I should have underlined only the word "up". That is the difficulty one encounters when it comes to classifying cryptic definition — it is often difficult to know where to draw the line.

In heraldry, rampant^[5] is an adjective (usually postpositive) indicating that an animal is represented standing on one hind foot with its forefeet in the air (typically in profile, facing the dexter side, with right hind foot and tail raised) ⇒ two gold lions rampant. Dexter^[5] means on or towards the right-hand side (in a coat of arms, from the bearer’s point of view, i.e. the left as it is depicted).

11a   One's health-giving  cooking device (7)

I would say that there is yet another cryptic definition here — but its precise identity is perhaps open to debate. On one hand, one might view the entire clue as a cryptic definition or, on the other hand (as I have done), one could conclude that the clue is a double definition with the first part being a cryptic definition of someone who raises a glass "To your health!".

12a   Well-established  business (4)

13a   Churned up mud at starting line (5)

Datum^[5] is a fixed starting point of a scale or operation ⇒ an accurate datum is formed by which other machining operations can be carried out.

14a   Hold  a strong position (4)

A keep^[5] is the strongest or central tower of a castle, acting as a final refuge.

17a   Near understanding? (7)

18a   It provides no latitude for the navigator (7)

Finally, a cryptic definition where it seems perfectly clear what needs to be underlined.

The equator^[5] is a line notionally drawn on the earth equidistant from the poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°.

19a   Graduate and get dead drunk (4,3)

In Britain, pass out^[10] can mean (especially with respect to an officer cadet) to qualify for a military commission or to complete a course of training satisfactorily ⇒ General Smith passed out from Sandhurst in 1933.

22a   A graduate ordered don to clear off (7)

A don^[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.

24a   Pet  duck (4)

In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game. In British puzzles, duck is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

25a   Riddle -- what was the craft of the Jumblies? (5)

The Jumblies is a poem by English writer Edward Lear^[7] (1812-1888). The poem begins:

They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,

   In a Sieve they went to sea:

In spite of all their friends could say,

On a winter’s morn, on a stormy day,

   In a Sieve they went to sea!

A riddle^[5] is a large coarse sieve, especially one used for separating ashes from cinders or sand from gravel.

26a   Drive away from Soho (4)

Soho^[7] is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable transformation. It now is predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues.

29a   One may peg out playing it (7)

Not knowing that peg out is British slang meaning to croak, the surface reading was mostly lost on me. I merely assumed that the misdirection involved an expectation that the solver might be more likely to think of a card game rather than a lawn game.

Peg out^[5] is an informal, chiefly British term meaning to die ⇒ she looked as if she might peg out any moment.

In cribbage, to peg out is to score the winning point [by moving a counting peg into the pegging-out hole at the end of the crib board].

However, all of this is misdirection. The clue is, in fact, a reference to a game but the game is not cribbage.

 In croquet, to peg out is to hit the peg with the ball as the final stroke in a game.

30a   Polish female to ring back (7)

31a   Result of choosing the wrong type for the job? (8,5)

For me, it turned out not to be a PRINTER'S ERROR, but a solver's error. In fact, I actually appear to have invented a new term here — PRINTER'S PROOF. With a proof being a test or trial of something, I reasoned that printer's proof might be a term used in the printing industry to refer to the outcome of a faulty test run that is never shown to the customer (and, thus, seen only by the printer).

Down

2d   Possibly dreams about one getting honours (7)

Honour^[5] is used in the sense to regard with great respect ⇒ Joyce has now learned to honour her father’s memory.

3d   A drop of drink, right? (4)

4d   Passage straight from the pamphlet (7)

5d   Doubter is disposed to be intrusive (7)

6d   Test centre where players try to stay in shape (4)

A Test (short for Test match)^[5] is an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒ the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies.

The Oval^[7], referred to as the Kia Oval due to a commercial sponsorship deal, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club, and also traditionally hosts the final Test match^[5] of each English summer season in late August or early September.

7d   The only thing a defeated army can beat (7)

8d   Driving force (7,6)

9d   Drama students are  resolute (8,2,3)

15d   Radiant woman goes up West (5)

16d   Soundly ridicules appearance (5)

Guy^[3] means to hold up to ridicule or mock.

20d   Various upsets requiring rescuer (7)

21d   A gardener should get it up before it gets down (7)

In keeping with the spirit of the season ...

He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle ...

22d   Warns  guides (7)

23d   Look after new hotel for a dramatic character (7)

Othello^[7] is the title character in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, a tragedy by English playwright William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

27d   Go, but don't go ahead (4)

28d   Look  noble (4)

A peer^[5] is a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron ⇒ hereditary peers could still dominate the proceedings of the House of Lords.

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