Tuesday, December 10, 2013 — DT 27267

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27267
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27267]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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's puzzle is not too difficult and includes a fairly low dose of Briticisms. However, a knowledge of London and environs would be a definite asset for solvers.

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   Medicine man, not genuine article (6)

5a   Thus delicate fabric provides comfort (6)

10a   Antelope from Eastern country (5)

11a   Boatyard worker? (9)

12a   Provider of seats, bluer across length (7)

13a   Heron is flying close to the coast (7)

14a   Notice embassy's entrance (9)

17a   Thump  tramp (5)

18a   Flowers in clusters, say (5)

19a   Sensationalism in USSR -- led astray? (9)

21a   Dog, as well, in front of golf club (7)

23a   Dismiss  bank clerk (7)

25a   Observer must keep back, mind (4,5)

26a   Crime rendering rector powerless? (5)

Although the term parson^[5] is applied informally to any member of the clergy, especially a Protestant one, formally the term means a beneficed member of the clergy; a rector or a vicar. A benefice^[5] is a permanent Church appointment, typically that of a rector or vicar, for which property and income are provided in respect of pastoral duties. In the Church of England, a rector^[5] is the incumbent of a parish where all tithes formerly passed to the incumbent, whereas a vicar^[5] is an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman. The terms rector and vicar are also used in the Roman Catholic Church, where they have different meanings.

27a   Stumped by foreign name for part of flower (6)

In cricket, to stump^[5,10] a batsman means that a fielder, especially a wicketkeeper, dismisses a batsman by dislodging the bails of the wicket with the ball while the batsman is out of the crease but not running. On cricket scorecards, this act is indicated by the abbreviation st^[5] meaning stumped by.

28a   Beginning to enjoy flower festival (6)

Down

2d   Report of army stockpile (5)

3d   Cricket team mean it (9)

Middlesex County Cricket Club^[7] is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex.

It^[5] (usually written in quotation marks, 'it') is an informal term for sexual intercourse or sex appeal  ⇒ the only thing I knew nothing about was ‘it’.

4d   More pleasant, Riviera resort close to Sanary-sur-Mer (5)

Nice^[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy; population 348,721 (2007).

Sanary-sur-Mer^[7] is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.

The two locations virtually bookend the French Riviera with Sanary-sur-Mer located near the western end, about 160 km from Nice which is near the eastern end.

5d   Shopkeeper burst into tears (9)

6d   American after fortune for plant (5)

7d   Write about ancient city's tranquillity (9)

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.

8d   Female entertainer from Cambridge is happy-go-lucky (6)

Cambridge^[5] is a city in eastern England, the county town of Cambridgeshire; population 116,900 (est. 2009). Cambridge University is located there.

9d   Not studied, so mostly ill-prepared (6)

In the UK, the word "read" does mean study in a way that it would not be used in North America. However, I believe that the words are used in a more generic sense in this clue — one that would not be foreign to North Americans.

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.

15d   Told Maria, awfully clumsy (9)

16d   I mixed drink with style, here in London (9)

As far as I can see, there is very little mixing taking place in this clue. The word "mix" usually acts as an anagram indicator, but here it is trying to fill the role of a charade indicator.

A sling^[5] is a sweetened drink of spirits, especially gin, and water. A Singapore Sling^[5] is a cocktail made from gin and cherry brandy.

Ton^[5] means fashionable style or distinction ⇒ riches and fame were no guarantee of a ticket—one had to have ton.

Islington^[7] is a district in Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London.

17d   Cycles round established bases (9)

18d   Pawn nobleman's gems (6)

In chess, P^[10] is the symbol for pawn.

An earl^[5] is a British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquess.

20d   Train from South Herts town (6)

Herts^[5] is short for Hertfordshire^[5], a county of SE England, one of the Home Counties [the counties around London]; county town, Hertford.


Tring^[7] is a small market town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. Situated 30 miles (48 km) north-west of London, it is now largely a dormitory town in the London commuter belt.

22d   Actual leader of my kingdom (5)

23d   Swear remedy needs to include sulphur (5)

The symbol for the chemical element sulphur is S^[5].

24d   I prosecute after second matter (5)

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