Thursday, January 26, 2012 - DT 26705

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26705
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26705]
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

Although some of the solutions required a good deal of concentrated thought, I did manage to complete the puzzle without calling my electronic assistants into action.

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   A drug dealer’s yacht, and a rope thrown out (10)

I could see that this is quite clearly an anagram, but is the definition "a drug dealer's yacht" with the wordplay being an anagram (out) of ROPE THROWN? Or is the definition "a drug dealer" with the wordplay being an anagram (thrown out) of {YACHT + (and) A ROPE}. The latter turns out to be correct - but we are not looking for the type of drug dealer that first came to mind! In the surface reading, the 's is used to form the possessive of "drug dealer"; however, in the cryptic reading, it is a contraction for 'is' and serves as a link word indicating equality between the definition and wordplay (i.e., definition is wordplay).

10a   Gather there’s action starting in valley (5)

This is the first of a couple of Scottish geographical features seen in today's puzzle. A glen^[5] is a narrow valley, especially in Scotland or Ireland ...

15a   Extend thoroughfare through mountain (7)

... and ben^[5] (especially in place names) is Scottish for a high mountain or mountain peak (such as Ben Nevis, a mountain in western Scotland that rises to 1,343 m (4,406 ft) making it is the highest mountain in the British Isles.).

22a   Muse a long time — and return books (5)

By convention, "books" in a cryptic crossword clue is often a codeword for either the Old Testament (OT) or New Testament (NT).

27a   Soldiers on a date, soldiers with time for change (9)

On first blush, I (like Pommers in his comment) questioned "on" being used in the sense of 'in' as a containment indicator (soldiers on a date). However, one meaning of on^[5] is in the possession of or being carried by (she only had a few pounds on her), thereby seemingly making it very well suited to this purpose. "On" is one of those words with so many shades of meaning that it can mean almost anything one chooses it to mean.

Note: in a comment at Big Dave's site, Gnomethang provides an alternative interpretation:

• Soldiers ON a – in an across clue means MEN after A. Then add D for D(ate) as it is in order in the clue, then some more soldiers (MEN) then the T for change. This wouldn’t work in a down clue!.

28a   Bird shot (5)

I initially questioned how shot could mean snipe since, when used as verbs, shot is past tense and snipe is present tense. However, as a noun, snipe^[2] can mean either (1) a sniping shot, i.e., a shot at someone from a hidden position or (2) a quick verbal attack or criticism (a shot). However, you won't find either of these meanings at Oxford Dictionaries^[5].

29a   Raises the temperature in London and breaks fast (4)

The phrase "in London" indicates that we need a word that sounds like the way 'heats' (raises the temperature) would be pronounced in London (in particular, in East London which is home to the cockneys). A distinctive feature of the cockney^[5] accent is the dropping of the letter H from the beginning of words.

1d   Ship making a right turn (4)

In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts (not the Canadian football team^[7] or the former British football club that never played a match^[7]) sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus. Surely, readers in Toronto had no difficulty with this clue.

16d     Rock singer’s first suit (8)

While Pommer's very straight forward explanation of the clue is no doubt what the setter had in mind, I interpreted the clue in a rather more complex fashion. I saw it as an all-in-one where the entire clue is a cryptic definition of DIAMONDS - rock singer's first (favourite) suit (wouldn't diamonds naturally have to be Neil Diamond's favourite suit). As for the wordplay, I thought it to be DIAMOND (rock singer) + (has) S {first S(uit)}. Yes, I realize it seems a bit contrived (especially in hindsight), but hardly beyond the bounds of what I have seen some setters deliver.

20d   Seamstresses boxing 1000 pins (7)

Yes, the clue calls for an abbreviation for a thousand - but one derived from Greek, not a Roman numeral.

21d   Expensive hot drink and meal (4,3)

In Britain,according to the Collins English Dictionary, tea^[4] can refer to either (1) afternoon tea, a light meal eaten in mid-afternoon, usually consisting of tea and cakes, biscuits, or sandwiches or (2) high tea, an afternoon tea that also includes a light cooked dish. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary gives a similar definition for the former meaning but defines the latter as either a light cooked meal, usually less substantial than the midday meal, served early in the evening or the main evening meal^[2]. Thus it would seem that high tea is a more substantial meal than afternoon tea and is served later in the day (late afternoon to early evening as opposed to mid-afternoon).

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[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