Friday, November 11, 2011 - DT 26635

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26635
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, August 19, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26635]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
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

Using the wordplay today, I was able to construct several words - some of which (like 6d) were new to me and some of which (like 15d) were known words but used with meanings that were new to me.

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.

4a   Fliers in place executing one aerial attack (6)

The Royal Air Force⁵ (RAF) is the British air force, formed in 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (founded 1912) and the Royal Naval Air Service (founded 1914).

10a   Says crazy people should be beheaded (6)

In the UK, a mad or eccentric person might be informally referred to as a nutter⁵ .

12a   Illumination in only half of street — one difficult situation (5,5)

Strip light⁵ is a British term for a tubular fluorescent lamp.

16a   A thousand blokes in bed with stars, according to reports! (12)

The British expression red top⁵ (a term used by Gazza in his review) means a tabloid newspaper. The term derives from the red background on which the titles of certain British newspapers are printed.

23a   Great crime creates ill-will — men must be caught (8)

In the British armed forces other ranks⁵ (OR) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

I had to check the dictionary to see if enormity really meant "great crime". I discovered that indeed it did and that the sense in which the word is commonly used is considered to be incorrect.

Enormity is a word that - depending on the authority - is either frequently misused or undergoing a change in meaning. Dictionaries - with varying degrees of rigidity - generally agree that the new usage is one to be avoided. Oxford Dictionaries says

"Enormity traditionally means‘ the extreme scale or seriousness of something bad or morally wrong’, as in residents of the town were struggling to deal with the enormity of the crime. Today, however , a more neutral sense as a synonym for hugeness or immensity, as in he soon discovered the enormity of the task, is common. Some people regard this use as wrong, arguing that enormity in its original sense meant ‘a crime’ and should therefore continue to be used only of contexts in which a negative moral judgement is implied. Nevertheless, the sense is now broadly accepted in standard English, although it generally relates to something difficult, such as a task, challenge, or achievement".

Search Chambers advises

"Strictly, enormity should not be used in a neutral sense to mean 'very great size or scale' (He was clearly exhausted by the enormity of the task he had set himself.) You will come across this usage quite often, because the alternative enormousness is awkward. RECOMMENDATION: if the meaning is neutral, use another word or expression such as hugeness, great size/scale, greatness, immensity, vastness".

Collins English Dictionary provides similar counsel

"In modern English, it is common to talk about the enormity of something such as a task or a problem, but one should not talk about the enormity of an object or area: distribution is a problem because of India's enormous size (not India's enormity)".

The American Heritage Dictionary comes down most forcefully against the new usage

"Enormity is frequently used to refer simply to the property of being great in size or extent, but many would prefer that enormousness (or a synonym such as immensity) be used for this general sense and that enormity be limited to situations that demand a negative moral judgment, as in Not until the war ended and journalists were able to enter Cambodia did the world really become aware of the enormity of Pol Pot's oppression. Fifty-nine percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of enormity as a synonym for immensity in the sentence At that point the engineers sat down to design an entirely new viaduct, apparently undaunted by the enormity of their task. This distinction between enormity and enormousness has not always existed historically, but nowadays many observe it. Writers who ignore the distinction, as in the enormity of the President's election victory or the enormity of her inheritance, may find that their words have cast unintended aspersions or evoked unexpected laughter".

1d   Excel, having way, it’s said, to produce vegetable (8)

Beetroot³, a word chiefly used in Britain, is the edible root of the beet plant.

2d   Old PM’s turned up with the rest (5)

Sir Robert Peel⁵ (1788–1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister from 1834-35 and 1841-46. As Home Secretary (1828–30) he established the Metropolitan Police (hence the nicknames bobby and peeler). His repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 split the Conservatives and forced his resignation.

6d   Confusing ‘anti-trade’ Bill that could get treasonable Lords expelled (9)

In English criminal law, attainder⁷ or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs. Both men and women condemned of capital crimes could be attainted.

Attainder by confession results from a guilty plea at the bar before judges or before the coroner in sanctuary. Attainder by verdict results from conviction by a jury. Attainder by process results from a legislative act outlawing a fugitive.

7d   The woman turns up having to protect paintings etc. in underground shelters (6)

An earth⁵ is the underground lair of a badger or fox.

9d   Hero devours unusual dish to begin with (4,1’6)

Like Gazza, I too took note of the rarely-seen apostrophe in the numeration for this clue. And I also had difficulty spelling the solution - which caused me some grief with an intersecting clue.

14d   Sitting outside church in withdrawn group (9)

The Sezession⁵ (also the secesssion) was a radical movement involving groups of avant-garde German and Austrian artists who, from 1892, organized exhibitions independently of the traditional academies. The Vienna Secession founded by Gustav Klimt in 1897 helped to launch the Jugendstil.

15d   Conservative worker involved in exploit is moved to another area (8)

In the UK, to decant⁵ someone is to temporarily transfer them to another place. In North America, this term is used only with respect to wine.

21d   Review creates problem at university (3,2)

In Britain, up⁵ can mean at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ("they were up at Cambridge about the same time").

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 (Oxford Dictionary of English)
⁶ - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
⁷ - Wikipedia
⁸ - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon