Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - DT 26650

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26650
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26650]
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

Without too much effort, I got down to the point of having only a single unsolved clue (26a). However, despite having correctly identified the first word in the solution, I could not find the second without help from my Tool Chest. As it turns out, it was a new meaning (to me) for a familiar term.

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   Daughter getting drink on house (4)

In British English, drum^[5] is slang for a house or flat. What the Brits would call a flat is known as an apartment in North America. The word apartment seems to have a bit of a different meaning in Britain - and one on which the dictionaries do not appear to be in complete agreement (which might be an indication that the meaning is evolving). Chambers defines an apartment^[2] as a single room in a house or flat, while Collins elaborates a bit by defining an apartment^[4] as any room in a building, usually one of several forming a suite, especially one that is spacious and well furnished and used as living accommodation, offices, etc. As a second definition, my favourite British dictionaries all define apartment as a synonym for flat, with Chambers characterizing this usage as North American^[2] and Collins portraying it as especially US and Canadian^[4]. Oxford says that in British usage an apartment^[5] is a flat, typically one that is well appointed or used for holidays, while in North American parlance it is any flat. In Britain, apartments^[5] (in the plural) is also used to denote a set of private rooms in a very large house.

12a   Pub’s bill for wine (6)

Barsac^[5] is a sweet white wine from the district of Barsac, a department of the Gironde in France.

26a   Plump boy’s petition (5,5)

A round robin^[3] is a petition or protest on which the signatures are arranged in a circle in order to conceal the order of signing. The fact that this definition comes from the American Heritage Dictionary would indicate that this usage is not particularly British - although it is one with which I am not familiar. I am, however, well acquainted with its use in the sports world to denote a tournament in which each contestant is matched in turn against every other contestant (a usage which Collins English Dictionary characterizes as US and Canadian).

4d   Fish under bit of thick seaweed (6)

Tangle^[5] is a name that may be applied to any of a number of brown seaweeds, especially oarweed.

5d   Talks with audience about value of a stately home (10,5)

Despite never having heard of this domocile, the name was derivable through the wordplay. Chatsworth House^[7] is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England. It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family since 1549.

14d   Novelist’s rent on island (9)

Leslie Charteris^[7] (1907 – 1993), born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint." As an alternative, Gazza suggests Scottish novelist and screenwriter Hugo Charteris^[7] (1922 – 1970).

16d   Lose one’s nerve in container at sea? (6,3)

In British slang, bottle^[5 is the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous and to bottle out^[5] means to lose one’s nerve and decide not to do something.

17d   Girl falls in station (8)

This is a triple definition. Victoria is a girl's name, Victoria Falls^[7] is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and Victoria Station^[7] is a major railway terminus and London Underground complex located in central London.

Victoria Coren (chosen by Gazza to illustrate this clue in his review)is a British writer, presenter (TV or radio host or news anchor) and champion poker player. Coren writes weekly columns for The Observer and The Guardian newspapers and hosts the BBC Four television quiz show Only Connect. Coren was the first woman to win an event on the European Poker Tour and the first player to win both a televised professional tournament (EPT London 2006) and a televised celebrity tournament (Celebrity Poker Club 2005).

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