Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - DT 26657

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26657
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26657]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
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

It is a fairly gentle offering from Jay today, and so my Tool Chest was given the day off. I wonder if the symmetrical juxtaposition of 6d and 24d was deliberate. The two clues treat the outer letters of the fodder in a diametrically opposed fashion, with the former clue using them (cases) and the latter clue discarding them (without limits).

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   Runs in puffed, having caught on (7)

In the true spirit of the puzzle, I am sure that "runs" is a cricket term - although that is likely not the first sport to pop to mind on this side of the Altlantic.

11a   Recollect alarm in age of administration (10)

I had always supposed that "recollect" used in this sense (to collect again) as an anagram indicator was the invention of cryptic crossword setters - in a similar manner to a river being called a flower (something that flows). However, Oxford actually lists 'collect or gather together again' as a rarely used meaning for recollect^[5].

1d   Gone off setter? It’s the chromosomes! (6)

It is a cryptic crossword convention that setter or compiler (and, as we saw a couple of weeks ago in DT 26644, even author) are references to the creator of the puzzle and are to be replaced in the solution by a first person pronoun such as I or me.

2d   Missing son adopted by a criminal (6)
In British slang, bent^[5] is an adjective meaning dishonest or corrupt.

3d   They reveal lies in old college charts (10)

Here is another repeat performance from DT 26644. In the UK, poly^[5] is used as a short form for polytechnic^[5], an institution of higher education offering courses at degree level or below, especially in vocational subjects. In Britain the term polytechnic has largely dropped out of use. In 1989 British polytechnics gained autonomy from local education authorities and in 1992 were able to call themselves universities.

5d   From car BBC air old curiosities (9)

Like Pommers, I thought the solution should have been numerated (4-1-4) - and, apparently, so do Collins English Dictionary^[4], the Oxford Dictionary of English^[5] and even Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2]. The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition alone spells it without hyphens - as an alternative spelling in addition to the hyphenated version.

7d   Here plates, rinsed, are endlessly placed (8)

A drainer^[5] is a British term for either a draining board itself or a rack placed on a draining board to hold crockery and cutlery while it drains. A draining board^[5] is the British name for what would be called a drainboard^[5] in North America, that is a sloping grooved board or surface on which washed dishes are left to drain into an adjacent sink.

I would classify this as a semi-all-in-one (or, more formally, a semi & lit.) clue. The entire clue serves as the definition (seemingly of a clean-up following a very large banquet). A part of the clue, "rinsed, are endlessly placed" constitutes the wordplay.

8d   Tries hotel when on a do (3,1,4)

Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.

15d   Charges added to bitter salts (9)

If the solution looks familiar, it is the second appearance of it within less than a week. Last Friday (in DT 26653), Giovanni gave us "Salt gives food item value (8)".

23d   Given medicine, slept half-heartedly (5)

In British slang, doss^[5] is a verb meaning to sleep in rough accommodation or on an improvised bed.

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