Thursday, March 20, 2014 — DT 27343

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27343
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, November 23, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27343 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27343 - 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 █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved
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

Today's puzzle was a good challenge. A couple of British terms that I hadn't encountered in quite a while — the fishing boat at 25a and the British Rube Goldberg counterpart at 11d — caused me to call in some electronic backup.

As I will be away from home for most of the next week, the blog will temporarily go into vacation mode. During my absence, the Puzzle at a Glance feature will continue to appear. The posts have been prepared in advance based on my forecast of the puzzles that I expect to appear projected from recent publication history.

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   Dejected fellow killed in battle (10)

Chapfallen^[3,4,11], meaning dejected, is a variant spelling of chopfallen which comes from chops (jaws or mouth) + fallen. [Thus having the same meaning as "down in the mouth"].

6a   Hippie girl mostly fashionable (4)

9a   Winning punch is about right (5)

10a   Small attendance at theatre where Oliver was produced (9)

Oliver Twist^[7], subtitled The Parish Boy's Progress, is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens (1812–1870), published in 1838. The story is about an orphan, Oliver Twist, who is born into a life of poverty and misfortune in a workhouse.

12a   Increase in numbers opposing euthanasia quotient (13)

14a   Things prepared for those arriving with coffees the ancient’s consumed (8)

15a   Sung in church and spoken (6)

17a   Independent Television Commission looks in to some abridged TV programme (6)

The Independent Television Commission^[5] (ITC) is a former British licensing and regulatory body that licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2003.

19a   One taking off Dior dresses in old days (8)

21a   Means to keep out noise from one in bulldoze gang when rebuilding (6-7)

24a   Donation from whistle-blower backing politician (9)

25a   Trace fishing vessel (5)

Smack^[5] is a British term for a single-masted sailing boat used for coasting or fishing ⇒ the village still harbours a few fishing smacks.

26a   Ardent lament (4)

27a   Precautionary measure, holding funeral without name (10)

Down

1d   Copper has very strong clout (4)

The symbol for the chemical element copper is Cu^[5] (from Latin cuprum).

Fortissimo^[5] (abbreviation ff^[5]) is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very loud  or (as an adverb) very loudly.

2d   Waste a cup? (7)

3d   Transport chief on paper means to keep slim (3,10)

The Fat Controller^[7] (named Sir Topham Hatt in the USA) is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by the English children's author Rev. W. V. Awdry (1911-1997). In the first two books in the series (The Three Railway Engines and Thomas the Tank Engine) he is known as The Fat Director. In the third book (James the Red Engine) he becomes The Fat Controller, as the railway has been nationalised. His full name is revealed in the foreword to the book Henry the Green Engine.

The Fat Controller also appears in many episodes of the British children's television series Thomas & Friends (titled Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends prior to 2002), adapted from the books.

4d   Man encouraged to buy shares took strides about being unbalanced (8)

Sid^[7] was the name of an archetypal small investor used to promote the privatisation of British Gas plc.

British Gas plc^[7] was an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It was formed when the British Gas Corporation was privatized in 1986 as a result of the privatizations instigated by the government of Margaret Thatcher. In 1997 the company was split to form Centrica, BG Group and National Grid.

5d   Wear down the Queen with poetry (5)

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

7d   Skipping rail, he engages top-class freight carrier (7)

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words denoting the upper class such as posh or superior — or, as today, top-class.

8d   Does ex make a fresh start (5,5)

Do^[5] is an informal British expression meaning to do the cleaning for a person or household ⇒ Florrie usually did for the Shermans in the mornings.

11d   Hot brain shone working, over-elaborate in style (5-8)

William Heath Robinson^[7] (signed as W. Heath Robinson, 1872 – 1944) was an English cartoonist and illustrator, best known for drawings of eccentric machines. In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson" has entered the language as a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contraption, similar to "Rube Goldberg" in the U.S. It is perhaps more often used in relation to temporary fixes using ingenuity and whatever is to hand, often string and tape, or unlikely cannibalisations. Its popularity is undoubtedly linked to Second World War Britain's shortages and the need to "make do and mend".

13d   Took no more bets for Enigma (6,4)

The surface reading evokes the image of a race horse named Enigma.

16d   Stop everything as player is injured (8)

18d   A delicacy that could make one fretful (7)

20d   Thankless person in place of fire (7)

22d   Developed from blazing row naturally (5)

23d   Small young animal that may be produced by 19 (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