Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - Dt 26691

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26691
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, October 24, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26691]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
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 The National Post has skipped DT 26690 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, October 22, 2011

Introduction

I thought this puzzle was a pretty typical Rufus creation. Although it took a while to find a starting point, and progress bogged down noticeably about half way through it, I eventually reached the point of having two clues left to solve. At that point, I needed a bit of assistance from my electronic aids. It took a while to track down the English university appearing at 13d. As for 11a, it is a classic Rufus cryptic definition containing a clever element of misdirection. It definitely made me smile when the penny finally dropped.

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   Demonstrates hostility to private accommodation (8)

In Britain, barrack^[5] means to jeer loudly at (someone performing or speaking in public) in order to express disapproval or to distract them • opponents barracked him when he addressed the opening parliamentary session.

6   God willing, it’s all right to admit artist and composer (6)

DV^[2][4][5] or D.V.^[3][9] is the abbreviation for Deo volente (Latin for God willing) in British and American dictionaries respectively. RA^[5] is the abbreviation for Royal Academician, a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain. Antonín Dvořák^[7] (1841 – 1904) was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia.

11   Restoration of features in theatre (8)

A cryptic definition of an elective medical procedure that takes place in an operating theatre.

23   Symbol of Christ in unusual guise and form (5,3)

The definition is "symbol of Christ" with the solution being AGNUS DEI, where Agnus Dei^[5] is a figure of a lamb bearing a cross or flag, as an emblem of Christ. I would say that the wordplay is "unusual guise and form" with "in" serving as a linkword between the definition and wordplay. My guess is that we are expected to interpret the wordplay as being equivalent to "unusual form of GUISE AND". Otherwise, the word "form" would appear to be superfluous.

24   Outstanding, but lost (6)

Libellule, in his hint, refers to an anecdote from the life of British poet John Donne. While working as private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, he destroyed his chances of career advancement when he secretly married Anne More, daughter of Sir George More. Anne's enraged father had Donne thrown into Fleet Prison for several weeks, and Egerton dismissed him from his post. Donne's marriage was a happy one, despite constant financial worries. With typical wry wit, Donne described his life with Anne as "John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone" [read more].

13   Carpets university residences, say? (9)

In Britain, carpet^[5] is an informal term meaning to reprimand severely • the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses. Keelhaul^[5] literally means to punish (someone) by dragging them through the water under the keel of a ship, either across the width or from bow to stern. However, it can also be used in a figurative sense meaning to punish or reprimand (someone) severely. [Note that, despite appearances, Libellule's parenthetical explanation refers to the solution to the clue (KEELHAULS) and not to the word "carpets" found at the beginning of the sentence.] Keele University^[7], located near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England is the largest single-site campus university in the UK. A campus university^[7] is a British term for a university situated on one site, with student accommodation, teaching and research facilities, and leisure activities all together. Campus universities are contrasted to collegiate universities^[7], based on a number of colleges (such as Oxford, Durham, London or Cambridge Universities) or a university consisting of a number of sites, or even individual buildings, spread throughout a town (such as Edinburgh University).

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