Monday, January 6, 2014 — DT 27288

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27288
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, September 20, 2013
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27288]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Gazza
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 █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

I thought that I had this puzzle beaten into submission, but I fell short by one clue. Clearly the answer wasn't to GIVE UP — but that's what I ended up doing. Fortunately, my electronic assistants showed themselves to be wiser.

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

6a   Habit that many educated youngsters will acquire? (6,7)

8a   Very small one with wise appearance (6)

9a   President needing cutback certain to make strong demand (8)

10a   Low state of gloom that doesn't end (3)

Mood^[5] can mean a temporary state of mind or feeling [which may be either good or bad] ⇒ he appeared to be in a very good mood about something. However, in this clue, it is used in the second sense given by Oxford Dictionaries Online, namely an angry, irritable, or sullen state of mind ⇒ he was obviously in a mood.

11a   After a meal seem not half relaxed (2,4)

The British distinguish between afternoon tea and high tea, although both may be referred to simply as tea^[10]. Afternoon tea^[2,5,7,10] (or Low Tea) is a light afternoon meal, typically eaten between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm, at which tea, sandwiches, biscuits [British term for cookies] and cakes are served.

High tea^[7] (also known as meat tea) is the evening meal or dinner of the working class, typically eaten between 5pm and 7pm. It typically consists of a hot dish such as fish and chips, shepherd's pie, or macaroni cheese [macaroni and cheese to North Americans], followed by cakes and bread, butter and jam. Occasionally there would be cold cuts of meat, such as ham salad. Traditionally high tea was eaten by middle to upper class children (whose parents would have a more formal dinner later) or by labourers, miners and the like when they came home from work. The term was first used around 1825 and high is used in the sense of well-advanced (like high noon, for example) to signify that it was taken later in the day.

12a   Boss in location across US/Canada border (8)

Lake Superior^[5] is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America, on the border between Canada and the US. With an area of 82,350 sq. km (31,800 sq. miles), it is the largest freshwater lake in the world.

14a   Drink when international organisation's taken on board France? (7)

SS France^[7] was a French ocean liner which sailed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, colloquially known as CGT or the "French Line". She was later christened Versailles of the Atlantic, a reference to her décor which reflected the famous palace outside Paris. Ordered in 1908, she was introduced into the Transatlantic route in April 1912, just a week after the sinking of RMS Titanic, and was the only French liner among the famous "four stackers" [an ocean liner with four funnels]. France quickly became one of the most popular ships in the Atlantic. Serving as a hospital ship during World War I, France would have a career spanning more than two decades. She was decommissioned and broken up for scrap in 1936.

Anatole France^[5] (1844–1924) was a French writer; pseudonym of Jacques-Anatole-François Thibault. His works include the novel Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard (1881) and his ironic version of the Dreyfus case, L’Ile des pingouins (1908). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1921.

16a   Badger editor being installed to establish fundamental principles (7)

In Britain, it would seem that brock^[5,10] is used in stories as a form of address or name for a badger.

"Clever animal, old brock , and, moreover, one that knows where to procure the fattest worms -under newly-laid turf, it seems." — Times, Sunday Times (2002)

20a   Stubborn and awkward bod you ultimately esteem (8)

Rate^[4,11] is defined in Random House — an American Dictionary — as to esteem, consider, or account ⇒ He is rated a fine writer. However, the definition in the British Collins English Dictionary seems more emphatic, defining rate as to think highly of ⇒ the clients do not rate the new system.

23a   Come to rest  somewhere in Yorkshire (6)

Settle^[7] is a small market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The town, located 16 miles (26 km) northwest of  Skipton, has a population of 2,421 according to the 2001 Census.

24a   Trim and quaintly pleasing, almost (3)

25a   Permit drink after exam success (8)

26a   Timber shed maybe at back of court (6)

In this clue, "timber" is an adjective in both the surface reading and as a definition. While a shed^[5] may be thought of principally as a building used for storage, the term can be applied to structures used for a variety of other purposes — including to shelter animals or as a workshop.

27a   Sweet stuff cathedral cook concocted (4,9)

Down

1d   Bird of unusual shape landing on insect (8)

2d   Fertiliser that Mother couldn't bring from cupboard (8)

"Old Mother Hubbard"^[7] is an English-language nursery rhyme, first printed in 1805 and among the most popular publications of the nineteenth century.

3d   Letters being sent from distant station? (7)

Post^[5] is the British term for mail^[5]. I have always thought it ironic that the Royal Mail delivers the post in Britain and Canada Post delivers the mail in Canada!

4d   Find out something from small piece about European Union (4,2)

5d   Cat -- one in deep thought about nothing? (6)

6d   One may be seen running round the room (8,5)

The British term for a wooden board running along the base of an interior wall is skirting or skirting board^[5]. In North America, it would be called a baseboard^[5].

7d   One going round Scottish island, say, after tricky term in Oxford establishment (6,7)

Coll^[5] is an island in the Inner Hebrides, to the west of the isle of Mull.

Merton College^[7] is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it.

13d   Eastern identity conveyed in religious festival (3)

Eid^[5] (also Id) is a Muslim festival, in particular (1) Eid ul-Fitr (also called Lesser Bairam), the feast marking the end of the fast of Ramadan or (2) Eid ul-Adha (also called Greater Bairam), the festival marking the culmination of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham.

15d   Get round on a river -- using this? (3)

By semi-all-in-one clue (more formally known as a semi & lit. clue), Gazza — in his review — means one in which the entire clue (according to one interpretation) forms the definition while a portion of the clue (under a different interpretation) constitutes the wordplay.

17d   Film actor from the Orient given deal? (8)

In Britain, deal^[5] means (1) fir or pine wood as a building material or (2) a plank made of fir or pine wood [what we in North America would commonly refer to as lumber]. Apparently, this meaning of deal^[3,11] also exists (or once existed) in North America, but I would think that it is very rarely used now — especially by the general public. In Britain, lumber^[5] has a totally different meaning, being articles of furniture or other household items that are no longer useful and inconveniently take up storage space.

Clint Eastwood^[5] is an American film actor and director. He became famous with his role in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), the first cult spaghetti western; other successful films include Dirty Harry (1971). Films directed include Bird (1988) and the western Unforgiven (1992).

18d   Grand horse race needs new starter -- that's reasonable (8)

The Grand National^[5] is an annual horse race established in 1839, a steeplechase run over a course of 4 miles 856 yards (about 7,200 metres) with thirty jumps, at Aintree, Liverpool, in late March or early April.

19d   Division in religious organisation -- then no one turns up (7)

21d   Last thing you will need -- silly nurse not knowing what to do? (6)

22d   French fashion taken on board by star without delay (2,4)

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

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