Monday, December 19, 2011 DT 26667

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26667
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, September 26, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26667]
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
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26666 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, September 24, 2011

Introduction

This is the usual gentle start to the week that we have come to expect from Rufus. He is recognized as a master of the cryptic definition, and I thought his skill in this area was particularly well-demostrated 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.

6a   What many, in panic, make themselves (6)

This clue is a lovely semi & lit. (or, as Big Dave prefers to call it, semi all-in-one). The entire clue is a cryptic definition of the solution, which is also given by a bit of wordplay (many, in panic) which is embedded in the clue. The use of many, a large number, and other similar words or phrases to signify a large Roman numeral is a cryptic crossword convention.

10a   Lovely girl, outwardly competent (8)

The woman chosen by Gazza to illustrate the clue is Dora Bryan^[7], an English actress who has appeared on stage, film and television.

13a   Receive notice of termination and become agitated (3,3,4,2)

According to The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition get (or have) the wind up means to become (or be) nervous, apprehensive or agitated. I was surprised to see that, in this expression, wind is used in the sense of a current of air (I had presumed that it was used in the same sense as in the following expressions). Chambers 21st Century Dictionary says to wind someone up is (1) to make them tense, nervous or excited, or (2) to taunt or tease them. It also states that wind-up is a noun meaning the taunting or teasing of someone, e.g. the playing of a practical joke on them. In these later two instances, wind is used in the sense of to turn, twist or coil.

19a   Embryo to fuse together somehow (6)

Foetus^[5] is the common British spelling of fetus. Oxford says "The spelling foetus has no etymological basis but is recorded from the 16th century and until recently was the standard British spelling in both technical and nontechnical use. In technical usage fetus is now the standard spelling throughout the English-speaking world, but foetus is still quite commonly found in British English outside technical contexts."

21a   Clumsy former spouse in Pinter play (8)

Although the information has no real bearing on one's ability to solve the clue, Harold Pinter^[7] (1930 – 2008) was a Nobel Prize-winning English playwright and screenwriter.

25a   Well acquainted with the metric system (6)

I needed a gentle nudge from one of my electronic friends to push me out of the field of science and engineering measurement and into the realm of poetry.

4d   Stout friends, about 50, who share digs (9)

Flat^[5] is the British name for what North Americans would call an apartment.

5d   Stay faithful (7)

As an adjective, staunch^[2] means loyal and as a verb it means to stop the flow of (something). The word may be spelled in a variety of ways depending on which part of speech it may be, which side of the Atlantic it happens to be on , and seemingly which dictionary one chooses to follow. The Oxford Dictionary of English advises "Remember that staunch^[5] is spelled with -au- in the middle (the spelling stanch is American)". However, the Collins English Dictionary seems to take a contradictory position by showing staunch^[4] as a variant spelling of stanch^[4] (as a verb and a noun) with the latter spelling being the main entry. The American Heritage Dictionary is also not totally aligned with Oxford's characterization of American usage, proclaiming that "Staunch^[3] is more common than stanch as the spelling of the adjective. Stanch is more common than staunch as the spelling of the verb."

14d   Two wines favoured in York (5,4)

The War of the Roses (1455 - 1485) was fought between the House of Lancaster (whose symbol was the red rose) and the House of York (represented by the white rose).

17d   A classical way to gain height as a flier (7)

Here, the wordplay is A (from the clue) + VIA (classical way; Latin word for 'road') + (to gain) TOR (height; a high point of land). The phrase "to gain" serves as a charade indicator and the word "as" is a link word between the wordplay and definition (which is "a flier").

20d   An MP must do so before he can sit (5)

 A Member of Parliament (MP) must stand for election before he can take a seat in Parliament.

22d   Indicate position in field (5)

I failed to grasp the reference to cricket and tried (not very convincingly) to concoct a meaning having to do with a compass needle in a magnetic field. In cricket, a point^[5] is (1) a fielding position on the off side near the batsman or (2) a fielder at the point position.

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)
^[9] - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon