Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - DT 26698

STOP CENSORSHIP

Many websites around the world have shut down today to protest SOPA and PIPA - draft legislation under consideration by the United States Congress that would have a devastating impact on the Internet as we know it. Here is an excerpt from an editorial in today's National Post.

SOPA and PIPA directly target the very aspects of the Internet that make it powerful and worthwhile - the ability to share and link to information that can by published by anyone, anywhere. That would be reason enough to oppose the legislation. But there's more to the story.

The debate over SOPA and PIPA draws a clear line between new media and old - and between entrepreneurship and reliance on government intervention. On the one side are the opponents of the bill - organizations and companies that are products of the self-starting Internet age, such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, Mozilla, Wikipedia, Wordpress and the like. On the other side are the dinosaurs advocating for the bill, including the motion picture and recording industries, which have been slow to adapt to the realities of the Internet, and would rather lean on government to provide them protection, than come up with innovative new business models that would be attractive to modern consumers.

You can read the entire editorial here. If you would like to find out more about the issue and learn how you can support the movement, just click on the link in the black box above.

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26698
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26698]
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

It was a fairly gentle solve today - until I ran into a new-to-me British term for a cheap alcoholic drink. A note of warning - you'll have to wait until tomorrow to follow the Wikipedia links in today's review.

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.

5a   Aim to lodge a protest (6)

How fitting that this clue should appear today - when supporters of free speech around the world are protesting the actions of American lawmakers!

10a   Clergyman from another country, one high up in government (7,8)

The photo illustrating this clue on Big Dave's site is of British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

11a   Arousing intense feeling in English grounds (7)

I needed a gentle nudge from a word finder application here. If not for the final letter, EROTICA would have fit and I became obsessed that the solution must be some new-to-me variant of that word!

20a   Cheap alcoholic drink embarrassed elderly woman (3,5)

Red biddy^[5] is a dated, informal British term for a mixture of cheap wine and methylated spirits.

1d   Cricket side’s opener, unsuitable (3-3)

Here "side" refers not to a team but to a side of the cricket field itself. In cricket, the off^[5]  (also off side) is the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch ) towards which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The other side of the field is known either as the leg^[5] (also leg side) or on (also on side).

7d   Go in wanting chips, not fish (5)

I have to admit that I didn't understand the wordplay here - even though I'm sure I have seen a very similar clue before. It seems that "Chips" was a traditional nickname for a carpenter (scroll down to find the entry), especially aboard sailing vessels. Thus, in this clue, the definition is "go in", "wanting" is a link word between the definition and wordplay, and the wordplay is CARPENTER (chips) without (not) CARP (fish) giving us ENTER.

8d   Try fish the American way (8)

Here "way" is used in the sense of roadway.

16d   Method of selection, unusual on isle abroad (3,3,3)

The Isle of Man^[5] is an island in the Irish Sea which is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system; population 82,000 (est. 2009); capital, Douglas. The island was part of the Norse kingdom of the Hebrides in the Middle Ages, passing into Scottish hands in 1266 for a time, until the English gained control in the early 15th century. Its ancient language, Manx, is still occasionally used for ceremonial purposes.

17d   Country doctor, one in remarkably cool area (8)

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.

24d   Newspaper carrying excellent feature (5)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7] is a British international business newspaper that is conspicuously published on pink newsprint.

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