Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - DT 26619

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26619
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, August 1, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26619]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26618 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, July 30, 2011.

Introduction

I did not call on my electronic assistants today - not so much because they were not needed but simply because they were well beyond reach. The posting comes a bit late as I have been occupied writing a review of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph puzzle for Big Dave's Crossword Blog. We should see that puzzle in the National Post sometime near the end of January.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

6a   Some card games that may be supplied by a stationer (6)

In Britain, a rubber² is another name for an eraser.

12a   Go away to see a relative about five (6)

Avaunt⁵ is an archaic exclamation meaning go away ("avaunt, you worm-faced fellows of the night!").

13a   Supporters groan — it stops play (12)

A new meaning for me, protagonist² can mean a leader or champion of a movement or cause. Chambers² characterizes this usage as "non-standard" and Oxford⁵ says "The basic sense of protagonist, as originally used in connection with ancient Greek drama, is‘ the main character in a play’. Some traditionalists object to the looser use to refer to a number of characters (rather than just the main one ) in a play, film, etc., as for example the play’s half-dozen protagonists were well cast; , although this is both common and well established. Traditionalists also dislike the meaning ‘a supporter of a cause’, as in he’s a strenuous protagonist of the new agricultural policy. This sense, recorded from the 19th century, probably arose by analogy with antagonist, the pro- in protagonist being interpreted as meaning ‘in favour of’. In fact, prot- here derives from the Greek root meaning ‘first’".

16a   Key man in the penal system (6,6)

In Britain, a warder⁵ is a guard in a prison. I initially did myself no favour by entering PRISON WARDEN.

23a   He has one pound, about to invest in foreign capital (8)

The pound⁵ (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK.

25a   Going from Ringway to finish in Belgian port (6)

Ringway⁵ is a civil parish within the City of Manchester, England and the site of Manchester Airport. Ostend⁵ is a port on the North Sea coast of NW Belgium, in West Flanders. It is a major ferry port with links to Dover, England.

2d   His leader expresses his opinion (6)

In Britain, a leader (also leading article) is an article in a newspaper, etc written to express the opinions of the editor.

6d   Wine jar I recycled when empty (5)

Rioja⁵ is a wine produced in La Rioja, Spain. The phrase "when empty" is another way of saying "with nothing in it".

7d   Officer getting a rough ride on ship (9)

Doctor Who⁷ (mentioned by Libellule in his review) is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior appears as a blue police box. The show has had fairly widespread distribution in North America and apparently is currently available in Canada on the SPACE specialty channel on cable and satellite.

15d   Develops way through mountain peaks (8)

Ben⁵, found especially in place names, is Scottish for a high mountain or mountain peak. For instance, Ben Nevis⁷, in Scotland, is the highest mountain in the British Isles.

22d   Unexpectedly met with greeting — not returned (3,2)

It would seem from Libellule's explanation that hit on, as used here meaning "unexpectedly met", may not be an idiomatic expression per se, but rather merely a way of suggesting ran into or crashed. Oxford⁵ gives another meaning for hit on which might conceivably fit, "discover or think of, especially by chance" (also a common usage in North America). However, in North America, the phrase can also mean to "make sexual advances towards".

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