Friday, January 24, 2014 — DT 27302

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27302
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, October 7, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27302]
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 █ - solved but without fully understanding the wordplay or definition █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

Although I was able to solve all but one clue without the aid of my electronic assistants, the puzzle certainly did not succumb easily and seemed — to my mind, at least — to have put up a proper fight. Libellule seems to have had less difficulty in subduing it.

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   Good man rebuilt a crock -- it's for racing? (5,3)

The British concept of stock car racing is obviously vastly different than that in North America. Definitions in British dictionaries (echoed by Libellule in his review) make the sport sound like a demolition derby. North American dictionaries define a stock car as an automobile of a standard make modified for racing^[3] and a standard model of automobile changed in various ways for racing purposes^[11]. On the other hand, British dictionaries characterise it as:

• Collins: a car, usually a production saloon, strengthened and modified for a form of racing in which the cars often collide^[10];
• Oxford: an ordinary car that has been strengthened for use in a type of race in which competing cars collide with each other^[5];
• Chambers: a car that has been specially strengthened and modified for competing in a kind of track racing where deliberate ramming and colliding are allowed^[2].

I know vehicles often collide in stock car racing, but collisions also happen in open wheel events — such as Indy Car and Formula 1 racing. Then again, perhaps stock car racing in Britain really is akin to a demolition derby.

6a   It involved two banks in a row (6)

Despite not getting the solution without assistance — or, maybe, because of it — this is perhaps my favourite clue today. I thought of river banks and financial institutions, but not ancient warships.

9a   Maintain a strong company (6)

Forte^[5] (abbreviation f^[5]) is a musical direction meaning (as an adjective) loud or (as an adverb) loudly.

10a   Appropriate point which will count when renting premises (8)

Fittings^[3] is a chiefly British term for furnishings or fixtures.

11a   Rash on leg had developed (8)

12a   One is right to have them (6)

13a   Gear  that's demanded by skilled workers? (12)

A differential^[5] (also known as a differential gear) is a gear allowing a vehicle’s driven wheels to revolve at different speeds in cornering.

In what Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises as a British usage (but one that I would say is also common in Canada), a differential^[5] is a difference in wages between industries or between categories of employees in the same industry ⇒ regional differentials in pay.

16a   Daring others to get involved in hard bargaining (5,7)

19a   Part of house for rent in outskirts of Shrewsbury (6)

Shrewsbury^[5] is a town in western England, the county town of Shropshire, situated on the River Severn near the border with Wales; population 65,500 (est. 2009).

21a   Refuse C.O. agitating to send the troops in (3,5)

23a   Not a mind prepared to be masterful (8)

24a   Tom turns to her, naturally (6)

25a   Threatened strikes that don't come off (6)

26a   Find record's finished (8)

Down

2d   At heart, result of feelings is sweet (6)

A sweet^[5] is the British term for a piece of candy^[5] [with sweets being the collective term for candy] ⇒ a bag of sweets.

3d   An unruly one might be told off and left inside (5)

Chid is an archaic form of the past tense of the verb chide^[5].

4d   A drug addict should  stop behaving like that! (4,3,2)

5d   His country's been left to get protection from another (7)

For the benefit of readers of Libellule's review, Sangatte^[7] is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel [located 8 kilometres (5 miles) from Calais at the narrowest point on the English Channel].

Sangatte is the point where the Channel Tunnel meets the French coast (although the European terminus is some 5 kilometres inland at Coquelles).

Sangatte also achieved notoriety as the location of a controversial refugee camp^[7], established by the French Red Cross in 1999 to house asylum seekers (from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Africa and Eastern Europe) who were attempting to reach the UK by stowing away on trains travelling through the tunnel. Following riots in 2001 and 2002, Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior, ordered the camp closed in 2002.

6d   Club he joined to swim (5)

7d   His Grace upset about West End building destroyed by Nazis (9)

The Reichstag^[5,7] was the name of the main legislature of the German state under the Second and Third Reichs as well as the name of the building in Berlin in which it met. The building, which was opened in 1894, was badly damaged by fire on the Nazi accession to power in 1933 and after World War II, fell into disuse. Following German reunification in 1990, the building underwent reconstruction and, upon its completion in 1999, it once again became the meeting place of the German parliament: the modern Bundestag.

8d   Christmas visitors can include one conjurer (8)

13d   Military and domestic offence (9)

The clue must be interpreted as if it were written "Military [offence] and domestic offence".

14d   Skin's skin (9)

A barely cryptic definition in which the word "skin" is used with two slightly different connotations.

15d   Additional comment that the organist makes (8)

17d   With only a fag end, Edward was up against it (7)

18d   Agree it's of small account and acquiesce (6)

20d   Poet making return visit around Orient (5)

W.B. Yeats^[5] (1865–1939) was an Irish poet and dramatist; full name William Butler Yeats. His play The Countess Cathleen (1892) and his collection of stories The Celtic Twilight (1893) stimulated Ireland’s theatrical, cultural, and literary revival. Notable poetry: The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair (1929). Nobel Prize for Literature (1923).

22d   A barbecue might be best (5)

Sometimes, even though one wanders down the wrong path, they fortuitously stumble upon the correct destination. Such was my experience here. Seeing the checking letters, it occurred to me that a barbeque might be — in fact, almost certainly would be — OUTDOORS. Although I could not whittle that down to fit, it did put me on the path to the correct solution.

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