Friday, December 2, 2011 - DT 26653

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26653
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, September 9, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26653]
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

After completing this puzzle without assistance from my electronic aids, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it received a three star rating for difficulty from Gazza - I certainly must have been tuned to the right wavelength today.

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.

7a   Jog along with husband in old-fashioned marriage pledge (5)

Troth^[5] is an archaic or formal expression meaning faith or loyalty when pledged in a solemn agreement or undertaking. To pledge (or plight) one's troth is to make a solemn pledge of commitment or loyalty, especially in marriage.

9a   Boy needs practice session to produce poetry (6)

In cricket, a nets^[2] is a practice pitch enclosed in nets, indoors or outdoors and a net is a practice session in nets. Although this term is new to me, the solution seemed pretty obvious from the rest of the clue together with the checking letters.

10a   Extreme strictness is grim or nasty (8)

In general terms, rigorism^[4] is strictness in judgment or conduct. In Christian ecclesiastical or theological terms, it may denote either the religious cult of extreme self-denial or the Roman Catholic doctrine that in cases of doubt in moral matters the stricter course must always be followed.

17a   Latvian once in power acting without restraint (7,3)

Lett^[5] is an  old-fashioned term for Latvian.

20a   Hooligans rush and go wild (6)

A rough^[5] is a name that might be applied to a disreputable and violent person in Britain.

23a   Girl gets round with little hesitation, rancher on horseback? (7)

The question mark indicates that we are looking for a possible example - rather than a precise definition - of "rancher on horseback".

2d   Salt gives food item value (8)

Gazza tells us that he wandered down one wrong path here, and I stumbled down yet another. My initial - and faulty - hypothesis was to attempt to insert S(alt) into the name of a food item to get a synonym for value.

3d   Affected man at party you previously upset (6)

Collins would have us believe that stagey^[4] is the US variant of a word that would be spelled stagy in Britain.

6d   PM could bring out reporters’ bile (3,6,4)

For the second day in succession, we must deal with a British prime minister. At least this one I knew. Sir Robert Peel^[5] (1788–1850), a British Conservative statesman, served two stints as Prime Minister (1834-5 and 1841-6). 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.

8d   Long-term prisoner, Scotsman in coarse fabric (7)

Hessian^[5], chiefly a British term, is a strong, coarse fabric made from hemp or jute, used for sacks and upholstery. Rudolf Hess^[5] (1894–1987) was a German Nazi politician and deputy leader of the Nazi Party (1934–41). In 1941, secretly and on his own initiative, he parachuted into Scotland to negotiate peace with Britain. He was imprisoned for the duration of the war and, at the Nuremberg war trials, sentenced to life imprisonment in Spandau prison, Berlin, where he died. Ian is the archetypical Scotsman in Crosswordland.

14d   Ford’s place for getting wet? (3-4)

Undoubtedly, the setter's ruse here is an attempt to encourage us to think of a spot to cross a river rather than a make of automobile.

15d   One tending certain insects — a very good skill is needed in that (8)

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious.

18d   Fluid of the gods seen in rich ornamentation (5)

In Greek Mythology, ichor^[5] is the fluid which flows like blood in the veins of the gods.

17d   Fat monarch gets food supply (6)

 ER^[5] (Elizabetha Regina) is the royal monogram of Queen Elizabeth.

21d   Strange objects visible to all, loud and huge (4)

This clue crams a lot of short forms into a small package. The solution itself is an acronym, and the components of the wordplay are also acronyms and abbreviations. In Britain, U^[5] is a rating applied to films which are classified as suitable without restriction - and thus viewable by (visible to) all. Forte (abbreviation f)^[5] is a musical direction meaning loud or loudly. Finally, outsize (OS)^[2] is the British term for clothing sizes that, in North America, would be called plus size (for women's clothing) or big and tall (for men's clothing).

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