Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - DT 26677

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26677
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, October 7, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26677]
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

Now that Christmas is over and our guests have departed, a backlog of puzzles awaits. I didn't have too much trouble with today's puzzle, although I did need Gazza to explain some of the finer points of the wordplay in the case of a couple of clues - not to mention a primer on obscene British hand gestures.

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.

1a   What a buccaneering student does in plot (10)

I must admit that I didn't fully comprehend the wordplay in this clue, having solved it mainly on the basis of the definition. Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing) • the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

9a   One getting in on the act, so to speak (10)

I saw through the homophone trap but was misled into thinking of a theatrical context. However, since only one word matched the checking letters, my electronic assistants were able to set me on the right path.

10a   Everyone joining start of march from avenue (4)

In both Britain and North America, an avenue^[5] can be a broad road in a town or city, typically having trees at regular intervals along its sides. However, the word also has alternative meanings - which are different on either side of the Atlantic. In many North American cities, an avenue is merely a thoroughfare running at right angles to the streets in a city laid out on a grid pattern (as in New York City, for example). In Britain, on the other hand, an avenue is a tree-lined approach to a country house or similar building. Mall^[4], as a short form for shopping mall, is a term that is used primarily in North America as well as Australia and New Zealand, but apparently not so much in Britain where it means a a shaded avenue (in the British sense of a tree lined promenade), especially one that is open to the public.

15a   Tramps making rude sign when accepting handout (8)

A V sign^[7] made with the fingers and with the palm facing out may be a victory sign (as made famous by Sir Winston Churchill) or a peace sign (arising from the 1960s counterculture movement). However, in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, when made with the palm facing in, it means "F**k off". [It seems that the Brits need two fingers to get across an idea that North Americans manage to convey with a single finger.]

For a time in the UK, "a Harvey (Smith)" became a way of describing the insulting version of the V sign, much as "the word of Cambronne" is used in France, or "the Trudeau salute" is used to describe the one-fingered salute in Canada. This happened because, in 1971, show-jumper Harvey Smith was disqualified for making a televised V sign to the judges after winning the British Show Jumping Derby at Hickstead. (His win was reinstated two days later.)

Steve McQueen in Le Mans

Harvey Smith pleaded that he was using a Victory sign, a defence also used by other figures in the public eye. Sometimes foreigners visiting the countries mentioned above use the "two-fingered salute" without knowing it is offensive to the natives, for example when ordering two beers in a noisy pub, or in the case of the United States president George H. W. Bush, who, while touring Australia in 1992, attempted to give a "peace sign" to a group of farmers in Canberra—who were protesting about U.S. farm subsidies—and instead gave the insulting V sign.

Steve McQueen gives a British (knuckles outward) V sign in the closing scene in 1970s motorsport movie 'Le Mans'. A still picture of the gesture was also recorded by photographer Nigel Snowdon and has become an iconic image of both McQueen and the 24 hours of Le Mans.

20a   Bits of food, cooked — what may be provided by a golf club (4,4)

In North America, the snack food known to Brits as a potato crisp^[5] is called a potato chip^[5]. In Canada, depending on the context, chips may mean either potato chips or french fries^[5] (especially in the expression fish and chips). A chip wagon^[4] (apparently a distinctly Canadian term) is a small van in which chips [French fries] are cooked and sold. Chip wagons are usually a vans or trailers which may be moved from site to site, but in many cases they are permanently (or semi-permanently) parked at one location.

29a   Agree to provide answer after expression of surprise (10)

Cor^[5] is an exclamation used in Britain to express surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm • Cor! That’s a beautiful black eye you’ve got!

1d   Player not yet big gun? (4)

In Britain, a member of a junior sports team is known as a colt^[5] (likely equivalent to the North American term minor-leaguer^[5]).

3d   Card mounting is obsolescent, a bit unfashionable (5-7)

A passe-partout^[4] is a mat, often decorated, on which a picture is mounted.

5d   A hundred yobs — they’re supposed to disappear in June? (6)

Yob^[5] (back slang for boy) is an informal British term for a rude, noisy, and aggressive youth. Clout^[5] is an archaic word meaning a piece of cloth or article of clothing. There is an old English adage, "Ne'er cast a clout till May be out" meaning do not discard your warm, winter clothing before the end of May. There is actually some controversy whether "May be out" refers to the month or to the hawthorn being in bloom (the blossoms of the hawthorn are known as May flowers) [read more].

19d   Over a long time friendship can bring oppression (7)

In his review, Gazza states "The pictures offered by Google for this are not really suitable for pre-watershed viewing". In Britain, watershed^[5] refers to the time after which programmes that are regarded as unsuitable for children are broadcast on television • the 9 p.m. watershed.

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