Thursday, October 27, 2011 - DT 26621

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26621
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26621]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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

Pommers seems to have breezed through this puzzle. As for myself, I came up short with six clues left to solve and had to resort to help from my Tool Chest. With a bit of assistance, I solved three of the remaining clues and the checking letters that they provided enabled me to finish the puzzle. I got the correct solution to 5d and 8d without fully understanding the wordplay (until I read Pommers' explanations).

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.

10a.    Discard shot game (5)

According to Oxford, bin⁵ is a British word. However, it is used commonly in Canada as a noun - but not so much as a verb. In Britain, it is used informally as a verb to mean 'throw (something) away by putting it in a bin' ("piles of junk that should have been binned years ago"), 'discard or reject' ("the whole idea had to be binned"), or (in the phrase bin someone off) "end a relationship with someone" ('she was a bit weird so I binned her off').

11a.    Share beds (9)

An allotment⁵ is a plot of land rented by an individual for growing vegetables or flowers. The UK dictionaries characterize this as a British term, but we do have allotment gardens in Ottawa. Here, though, one would almost invariably see the word used as an adjective rather than on its own as a noun.

21a.    Eccentric degree students are after rum (7)

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate⁷, a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in many countries if its driver is a learner under instruction. Learner plates are rare in North America, with Wikipedia mentioning only British Columbia and New Jersey as jurisdictions requiring their use. By the way, Ontario uses the term beginner driver for someone learning to drive, whereas most jurisdictions around the world (including other Canadian provinces) would seem to use the term learner driver.

Rum⁵ is an informal and dated British expression meaning odd or peculiar ("it’s a rum business, certainly").

30a.    Bitter rating sent abroad (10)

In Britain, a rating⁵ is a non-commissioned sailor in the navy.

1d.    Left order for rounded projection (4)

The Order of the British Empire⁵ is an order of knighthood instituted in 1917 and divided into five classes, each with military and civilian divisions. The classes are: Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), Knight or Dame Commander (KBE/DBE), Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE), and Member (MBE). The definition in the clue may be slightly erroneous, as OBE would appear to be the abbreviation for Officer of the Order of the British Empire (not for the order itself).

2d.     August never varies on revolutionary island in the Med (9)

Elba⁵ is a small island off the west coast of Italy, famous as the place of Napoleon’s first exile (1814–15).

5d.     For example, Channel traffic might precede them (7)

I'm reluctant to classify this as an all-in-clue (as Pommers' suggests). But then, I'm at a loss to offer a better alternative. In the first part ("For example, Channel"), the Channel [Islands] are an example of ISLANDS. The second part is "traffic might precede them", which it does in 'traffic islands'.

The Channel Islands⁵ are a group of islands in the English Channel off the NW coast of France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. Formerly part of the dukedom of Normandy, they have owed allegiance to England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and are now classed as Crown dependencies.

7d.     Deal with engineers trapped in rubbish (5)

Tat⁵ is an informal British term for tasteless or shoddy clothes, jewellery, or ornaments ("the place was decorated with all manner of gaudy tat")

8d.     Corner with talk of flowers? (10)

I couldn't see the wordplay here, as I was splitting the clue in the wrong place. The definition is "corner with talk" (not merely "corner"). In Britain, a buttonhole⁵ can mean a flower or spray worn in a buttonhole on the lapel of a jacket. I was vainly trying to make something out of the phrase "talk of flowers".

References: 
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 Online (Oxford Dictionary of English)
⁶ - Oxford Dictionaries Online (Oxford American Dictionary)
⁷ - Wikipedia

Signing off for today - Falcon