Thurdsday, January 19, 2012 - DT 26699

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26699
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26699]
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
Notes This puzzle is a pangram - a puzzle in which every letter of the alphabet appears at least once.

Introduction

I started off at a torrid pace today, immediately writing in solutions for several clues one after another. Nevertheless, I did eventually come to several clues which required a bit of cogitation. However, I was able to crack them without opening my tool chest today. I do have to confess that I failed to notice that the puzzle is a pangram.

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.

14a   Propose a posh but dramatic scene (7)

In Britain, table^[5] means to present formally for discussion or consideration at a meeting (more than 200 amendments to the bill have already been tabled), whereas in the US it means to postpone consideration of (I’d like the issue to be tabled for the next few months). In Canada, I think we tend to follow the British usage, but I'm sure that the American usage has also crept in - thus making the meaning of the word quite ambiguous. Seemingly, it can indicate that something is either under active consideration or on the back burner.

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective with respect to language or social behaviour meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes (U manners). The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In cryptic crossword puzzles, it is often clued by adjectives (such as "posh") which carry an upper class aura.

21a   In Scotland know why broadcast comes before a republic (5)

In Scottish and Northern English dialects, ken^[5] is a verb meaning (1) know • d’ye ken anyone who can boast of that? or (2) recognize or identify • that’s him—d’ye ken him?

27a   Trainer’s ground? Yes! (7)

As Pommers quite rightly indicates, this is a rather difficult clue to explain.

It seems clear that the word "ground" does double duty, serving as definition (TERRAIN) and as anagram indicator. In the latter role, "ground" is the past tense of grind, with the rationale behind the anagram being that if the fodder word (TRAINER) were to be put through a grinder (in the sense of a food grinder, not a grindstone), the letters might come out rearranged to spell the solution word (TERRAIN).

Beyond this, things become much less clear. If we try to parse it as a standard cryptic clue, we start with the anagram, but "Yes!" hardly appears to qualify as a definition for 'terrain'.

Pommers suggests that it may be an all-in-one clue and after some considerable thought I tend to agree with him, although it may be a semi-all-in-one rather than a true all-in-one. The difference between these types is that in a true all-in-one the entire clue serves as both definition and wordplay, whereas in a semi-all-in-one the entire clue serves as a definition but only a portion of the clue makes up the wordplay.

We do have a part of the clue being an anagram (trainer's ground). Possibly, the clue is also a reference to a type of outdoor exercise known as terrain training, in which terrain is literally the "trainer's ground". In this interpretation, the word "Yes!" would be lending emphasis and convey the idea of "Emphatically yes!" or "Yes - in more ways than one!" (meaning that TERRAIN is not only the solution to an anagram but is also defined by "trainer's ground").

Postscript: It seems that I could have saved myself a lot of effort had I read the comments at Big Dave's site before composing my blog. As Jezza notes, "the etymology for the answer to 27a is ‘ground for training horses’" or as the Oxford Dictionary of English states in its entry for terrain^[5] "Origin: early 18th century (denoting part of the training ground in a riding school)".

6d    Jack stole criminal’s barge (6)

We sometimes encounter Jack in the role of a sailor, but today he is found in a deck of cards - not on the deck of a ship.

15d   Dog left in support with sentry (10)

Blackguard^[5] is a dated term for a man who behaves in a dishonourable or contemptible way.

16d   Sabotage ruined men’s pants (9)

I may have to join Pommers in the dunce's corner (although it appears that, in the UK, the expression is "dunce's step"), as I went through the exact same sequence of incorrect anagram attempts as he did. Perhaps I may escape punishment, given that the actual solution relies on a Briticism (although I must admit that I have encountered it previously on more than one occasion). In Britain, pants is an informal expression meaning rubbish or nonsense • he thought we were going to be absolute pants.

To the Brit's, by the way, the surface reading would refer to men's underwear - not trousers.

25d   Look — a fellow with brains! (4)

In Britain, the phrase use your loaf^[5] means to use your common sense, with loaf meaning head (or brains). The expression likely comes from loaf of bread, rhyming slang for 'head'.

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