Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - DT 26734

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26734
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26734]
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

As Gazza remarks, "Today’s puzzle is a bit more meaty than the ones we’ve had on recent Tuesdays." I would say it is certainly bordering on the four star range for difficulty.

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.

4a   Insulating material, like finest used by sailor (8)

OS^[5] is the abbreviation for ordinary seaman, a term which can take on a variety of meanings depending on the context. Historically, in the Royal Navy, the term was used to refer to a seaman with between one and two years' experience at sea, who showed enough seamanship to be so rated by their captain. Later, the term was formalized as a rating for the lowest normal grade of seaman^[7].

The term ordinary seaman is currently used in the Canadian and Irish Naval Forces (who inherited the military ranking structure from the previous generation of Royal Navy, Army, and Air Force ranks.) It denotes an enlistee who is currently in training as a non-commission member (NCM) of the Forces^[7].

As a civilian occupation, an ordinary seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries^[7].

11a   Italian must go after fall? Don’t be ridiculous! (4,3,2)

In the UK, it^[5] is an informal, dated term for Italian vermouth • he poured a gin and it [a cocktail containing gin and Italian vermouth].

14a   Ever pinch some comic in school? (13)

In Britain, a comprehensive^[5] (in full comprehensive school) is a secondary school catering to children of all abilities from a given area.

17a   Minister in PA (4,9)

In the UK, the Home Secretary^[5] is the Secretary of State in charge of the Home Office^[5], the British government department dealing with domestic affairs, including law and order, immigration, and broadcasting, in England and Wales.

25a   No good coming back after glass of beer (slang) (6)

In Britain, jar^[10] is an informal term for a glass of alcoholic drink, especially beer • to have a jar with someone.

26a   BSI emblem, two articles surrounded by three kings (8)

In the UK, the Kitemark™^[5] is an official kite-shaped mark on goods approved by the British Standards Institution (BSI)^[7], the UK’s national standards body.

1d   Sister outside a church in shade (6)

The Church of England (CE)^[5] is the English branch of the Western Christian Church, which combines Catholic and Protestant traditions, rejects the Pope’s authority, and has the monarch as its titular head.

3d   Agree to study mould (7)

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing) • the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

5d  Hay fever sufferer may take one and withdraw from contest on Hampshire river (7,4)

The River Test^[7] is a river in Hampshire, England having a total length of 40 miles (64 km). Its upper reaches are renowned for the excellent quality of its fly fishing for trout.

6d   Sentiment expressed by English poet (7)

Andrew Motion^[7] was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009.

We've seen him before. In DT 26167 (published June 7, 2010 in the National Post and February 18, 2010 in The Daily Telegraph), we had:

• 15d   Moving home, a former Poet Laureate (2,6)

for which the wordplay is IN (home) MOTION (a former Poet Laureate).

8d   Second place, say, could make you spit (8)

The solution is a new term for me. While The American Heritage Dictionary gives only meanings related to a manner of speaking [to make repeated or sporadic spitting sounds; to speak hastily and incoherently, as when confused or angry; to utter or express hastily and incoherently^[3]], the Random House Unabridged Dictionary also provides a meaning [to fly or fall in particles or drops; spatter, as a liquid; to bespatter (someone or something)^[9]] that is similar to that found in British dictionaries such as the Collins English Dictionary [to spit out (saliva, food particles, etc.) from the mouth in an explosive manner, as through choking or laughing; to eject or be ejected in an explosive manner; to bespatter (a person) with tiny particles explosively ejected^[4]].

12d   Banger in sack, fine specimen (11)

In Britain, a banger^[5] might be a loud explosive firework (when it isn't a sausage or a car in poor condition, especially a noisy one).

Gazza's mention of "5^th November" is a reference to Guy Fawkes Night^[7], also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in England. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

18d   Sign my post, for a change, ‘Mike’ (7)

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

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - DT 26733

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26733
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, December 12, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26733]
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 26732 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, December 10, 2011

Introduction

I did get off to a quick start today, but the final half dozen or so clues demanded a fair amount of intense concentration. In the end, I completed the puzzle without electronic assistance — but with a question mark or two concerning some of the wordplay.

Notes on Today's Puzzle
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fag-end

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.

9a   Duck, mate! Here comes a stone! (4)

In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought • he was out for a duck. In cryptic crossword puzzles, duck more often than not indicates O as the letter "O" looks like the number "0".

11a   They give gold to be held by university staff (6)

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture. In heraldry, a tincture^[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

12a   Drawing stumps? (3-4)

The clue is a cryptic definition of the kind of stump (the small projecting remnant of something that has been cut or broken off or worn away) from which one might take a drag. Fag end^[5] is an informal, chiefly British term for a cigarette butt. It can also mean an inferior and useless remnant of something : (i) the fag ends of rope; (ii) (figurative) a culture reaching the fag end of its existence.

Note: The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition^[1], the Chambers 21st Dictionary^[2], the Collins English Dictionary^[10] and the Oxford Dictionary of English^[5] all spell this term without a hyphen. I only found it spelled fag-end in Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913).

I presume that Libellule's reference to "the frayed ends of lengths of cloth or ropes" as an alternative meaning for the solution is merely intended as a hint to solvers, and does not otherwise relate specifically to the wording in the clue.

17a   Transmit broadcast of quarter-final (4)

The definition here may, in fact, be a double definition with "transmit" and "broadcast" both meaning "send", although "broadcast" might also be a noun with the definition being "transmit broadcast".

28a   Celebrity — like Georgie? (4)

Georgie Fame^[7] (born Clive Powell) is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician had a string of hits in the 1960s.

5d   Tip-top (4)

In this double definition, one must split "tip-top" into two words ("tip" and "top") to get the two definitions. However, it doesn't work all that well (for me, at least) as "tip" and "top" essentially mean the same thing.

12d   Hand-to-hand combat? (10)

Libellule's hint "Another word for pugilism that consists of two words for striking blows with the hands" piqued my interest. A bit of research revealed that, in Britain, fist^[4] means to to hit with the fist, whereas, in North America, it means to clench into a fist or to grasp with the fist^[3].

13d   Dining out with meal and drink (3,3,4)

Although a number of cocktails incorporate gin and lime juice (perhaps most notably the gimlet^[7]), I could find no reference to a drink called specifically "gin and lime".

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, February 27, 2012 - DT 26731

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26731
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, December 9, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26731]
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

I found this puzzle from Giovanni to be a bit less difficult than his typical offerings. However, despite having found the correct solution, I only twigged to the Geordie speech in 1a when I read Gazza'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.

1a   Young Conservative in Newcastle becomes business magnate (6)

I have to admit that I was at a total loss to explain the meaning of the wordplay in this clue before reading Gazza's hint.

Newcastle upon Tyne^[7] (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne.

The dialect of Newcastle is known as Geordie^[7], and contains a large amount of vocabulary and distinctive word pronunciations not used in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Geordie dialect has much of its origins in the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon populations who migrated to and conquered much of England after the end of Roman Imperial rule. This language was the forerunner of Modern English; but while the dialects of other English regions have been heavily altered by the influences of other foreign languages—particularly Latin and Norman French—the Geordie dialect retains many elements of the old language.

The Geordie word for "go" is "gan". Thus, in Gazza's hint, I presume that "gan doon" would be Geordie for "go down" (thus making "gan doon toon" mean "go down town"). So, to residents of Newcastle, their community would be a "toon" (town).

The Young Conservatives^[7] was the youth wing of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party until the organisation was replaced in 1998 by Conservative Future.

21a   Cook rubbish (5)

In British informal speech, rubbish^[5] can be used as a verb meaning to criticize severely and reject as worthless • he has pointedly rubbished professional estimates of the development and running costs.

25a   Man on roof delivering abuse and beginning to riot (6)

A slater^[5] is a person who slates roofs for a living (hardly a profession in high demand in this area). In British slang, slate means to criticize severely • his work was slated by the critics.

26a   Resumes subjects for BA after vacation? (8)

The airline that Gazza mentions in his hint (as being irrelevant) would be British Airways (BA)^[5], the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom,.

27a   Showy marble protected from the elements? (6)

I had to resort to assistance here — not because I didn't know the marble, but rather because I had mistakenly thought that this would be a containment type clue.

1d   Bird sitting on church, unknown and very small (6)

A tit^[5] is another name for a titmouse^[5], a small songbird that searches acrobatically for insects among foliage and branches [Family Paridae: three genera, especially Parus, and numerous species, including the chickadees and the tufted titmouse (P. bicolor)].

In British slang, (1) titch (or tich)^[5] means a small person • the titch of the class; and (2) titchy means very small • a titchy theatre.

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, February 25, 2012 - Leading Ladies at the Oscars

Introduction

With the Academy Awards ceremony just days away, today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon takes us back to the early days of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and introduces us to two Canadian leading ladies who were among the first to win this much coveted award.


Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   _MARY| PICK|FOR|D_ - hidden in (in) sumMARY PICK FOR Director

Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford^[7] (1892 – 1979) was a Canadian-born [in Toronto, Ontario] motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Known as "America's Sweetheart," "Little Mary" and "The girl with the curls," she was one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood and a significant figure in the development of film acting. In addition to her Oscar as best actress for Coquette^[7] (1929), she received an Academy Honorary Award for a lifetime of achievements in 1976. In consideration of her contributions to American cinema, the American Film Institute named Pickford 24th among the greatest female stars of all time.

9a   GU(MD)ROP* - anagram (agitated) of GROUP containing (†) MD (doctor)

10a   GANG|LIA< - GANG (band) + (with) reversal (returning) AIL (pain; as a verb)

11a   CO|QUETTE - edges (verges; as a noun) on (†) COdemning etiQUETTE

Mary Pickford won an Oscar for best actress at the second Academy Awards in 1930 for her role in Coquette^[7]. The award was somewhat controversial given that Pickford was a founding member of the Academy and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, was the president at the time.

12a   NATAL - double definition; "South African place" & "of birth"

13a   DIG|ITAL - DIG (like) + ITAL (Italian)

15a   TOT|ALLY - TOT (innocent; child) + ALLY (friend)

17a   P(A|GOD)AS - PAS (French [word meaning] not) containing (embracing) {A (†) + GOD (deity)}

19a   DI(LUTE)D - DID (performed) containing (holding) LUTE (string; stringed instrument)

20a   L(I|BE)L - {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + BE (act)} contained in (between) LL (the lines)

22a   DIVORCEE* - anagram (tossed) of DICE OVER

The Divorcee^[7] is a 1930 American drama film written by Nick Grindé, John Meehan and Zelda Sears, based on the novel Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. The film was also nominated for Best Picture and won Best Actress for its star Norma Shearer.

25a   {TI|TA|NI|A}< - reversal (back) of {A (†) + IN (popular) + AT IT (active)}

Titania^[5] is the queen of the fairies in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

26a   SE(N)E|GAL - {SEE (observe) + GAL (girl)} containing (around) N (north)

27a   NO|RM|A S|HEARER - NO (†) + RM (room) + AS (†) + HEARER (audience member)

Norma Shearer

Norma Shearer^[7] (1902 – 1983) was a Canadian actress [born in Montreal, Quebec]. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s. Her early films cast her as the girl-next-door but for most of the Pre-Code^[7] film era beginning with the 1930 film The Divorcee^[7], for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress, she played sexually liberated women in sophisticated contemporary comedies. Later she appeared in historical and period films.

Down

1d   MA|GI - MA (mother) + (connected with) GI (soldier)

2d   ROME*|O - anagram (mad) of MORE + O (love; a tennis score of 0)

3d   PARQUETED~ - sounds like (in the audience) PARK (leave) + AIDE (assistant)

4d   C(A|PIT)AL - {A (†) + PIT (mine)} contained in (included in) CAL (California)

5d   FI(GMEN)T - GMEN (FBI agents; G-men) contained in (involved in) FIT (seizure)

6d   RU(N)-IN - RUIN (wreck) containing (around) N (ocean, ultimately; the last, or ultimate, letter of oceaN)

7d   P|LATE|LET - P (piano; in music, a direction meaning soft or softly) + LATE (in the wee hours) + LET (permitted)

8d   W(ALLEY)ED - WED (mate; as a verb) containing (taking) ALLEY (little-used street)

Walleyed^[3] (a new term to me) means having eyes wide-open and glaring, as in anger.

13d   DEPILATE -  anagram (fancier) of IDEAL PET

14d   GIG|A(BY)TE - BY (†) contained in (filling) {GIG (job) + (ATE (consumed)}

16d   T(OLE)RANCE - OLE ([Spanish] cheer) contained in (in) TRANCE (ecstasy)

18d   SIDEARM* - anagram (badly) of MISREAD

19d   DIVE(ST)S - DIVES (goes underwater) containing (carrying) ST (stone; British unit of weight)

21d   LENT|O - LENT (offered) + O (bagel; looks like the letter 'O')

In music, lento^[5] is a direction meaning slow or slowly.

23d   E(I)GER - I ([Roman numeral for] one) contained in (in) {E (East) + GER (Germany)}

The Eiger^[7] (3,970 m (13,025 ft)) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland.

24d   B(L)UR< - reversal (the wrong way) of RUB (†) containing (about) L (Liberal)

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, February 24, 2012 - DT 26730

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26730
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, December 8, 2011
Setter Petitjean (possibly)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26730]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
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   Although the identity of the setter has not been confirmed, Big Dave tentatively identifies the puzzle as being "probably from Petitjean".

Introduction

I had sensed that the recent sequence of easy puzzles that we have seen was surely setting us up for a more difficult challenge - and today we get it.

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.

7a   Like wheat from the West Country? (7)

The West Country^[3,4] is the southwestern part of England, especially Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Cornish^[5] means relating to Cornwall or its people or language.

8a   Room for a mule maybe, but not to swing a cat! (7)

No (or not) room to swing a cat^[5] is a humorous way to describe a very confined space • there’s not even room to swing a cat!. [Note: I suspect that cat lovers might consider 'barbaric' to be a more fitting descriptor than 'humorous'; if so, please direct any comments to Oxford!]

10a   Ray the first to savour superior Friday treat? (4,6)

According to Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (although I didn't find it in The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition), a fish supper is a Scottish term for fish and chips^[5], a meal consisting of a fillet of fish deep-fried in batter, served with potato chips [french fries], and traditionally bought ready cooked at a fish and chip shop or chip shop. However, Wikipedia states "In Northern Ireland, cod, plaice or whiting appear most commonly in 'fish suppers' - 'supper' being Northern Irish chip-shop slang for a food item accompanied by chips"^[7].

14a   Leaders of Brighton’s unsung Rossetti League all produce canvas (6)

Brighton^[7] is a well-known seaside resort in Sussex, England. I could find no evidence of the existence of a Rossetti League in the real world, thus it may be an invention of the setter.

19a   Some of CAMRA’s ideas rejected and put out of action (6)

While the Rossetti League may be fictional, CAMRA is certainly real enough. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)^[7] is an independent voluntary consumer organisation based in St Albans, England, whose main aims are promoting real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub. It is now the largest single-issue consumer group in the UK.

Real ale^[7] is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) in 1973 for a type of beer defined as "beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide". The heart of the definition is the maturation requirements. If the beer is unfiltered, unpasteurised and still active on the yeast, it is a real beer; it is irrelevant whether the container is a cask or a bottle. If the yeast is still alive and still conditioning the beer, it is "real".

22a   …that might be Irish dressing? (4)

County Mayo^[7] is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht.

23a   Unusual bile upset a withdrawn Surrealist film-maker (4,6)

Luis Buñuel^[7] (1900 – 1983) was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the United States and whose films were famous for their surreal imagery.

25a   Proposal to surround hotel with a variable formation of soldiers (7)

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

26a   Rustically simple window trim put back after DIY botch-up (7)

In Britain, cill^[4] is a variant spelling (used in the building industry) for sill.

1d   Small amount of 1960s teen music is pointless and discordant (7)

In Britain (especially in the early 1960s), a mod^[5] was a young person of a subculture characterized by a smart stylish appearance, the riding of motor scooters, and a liking for soul music.

2d   Island race? Hardly (4)

Chiefly found in Scottish place names, inch^[5] means a small island or a small area of high land.

4d   Revolutionary cubist adopting different basis for what a look of innocence can be (8)

Ernesto "Che" Guevaro^[7] (1928 – 1967), commonly known as El Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist who was a major figure of the Cuban Revolution

5d   Sore head gets compassion (10)

Usually found in place names, ness^[5] means a headland or promontory • Orford Ness.

6d   Glum character with Homeric expression declaimed poem (7)

The Glums^[7] was a regular sketch featured on Take It From Here^[7], a British radio comedy programme broadcast by the BBC between 1948 and 1960. The premise of The Glums was the long engagement between Ron Glum and his long-term fiancée Eth. As a result of post-war austerity, long engagements were common in 1950s Britain.

9d   Caribbean paella? (7,4)

The Spanish Main^[3,4] is a historical term that referred to either (1) the mainland of Spanish America, especially the north coast of South America from the Isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River, Venezuela or (2) the Caribbean Sea, the southern part of which in colonial times was the route of Spanish treasure galleons and the haunt of pirates. Paella^[5] is a Spanish [main course] dish of rice, saffron, chicken, seafood, etc., cooked and served in a large shallow pan. For those who are not regular followers of Big Dave's blog, Pommers regularly contributes reviews to the site on Wednesday. He and his wife, known on the blog as Pommette, reside in Spain.

13d   Floating melody in tavern song left echo (10)

A barcarolle^[5] is a song traditionally sung by Venetian gondoliers. Echo^[5] is a code word representing the letter E, used in radio communication.

17d   The cause of angler’s foot being in unusual pain on hot afternoon? (7)

According to The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition, a is the abbreviation for afternoon - together with some twenty other possibilities.

18d   Fourth and fifth from Lionel Messi with late positional change for deadly rival (7)

Lionel Messi^[7] is an Argentine footballer [soccer player] who plays in La Liga for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a forward.

24d   New university students amounting to nothing (4)

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, February 23, 2012 - DT 26729

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26729
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26729]
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

We have yet another fairly gentle puzzle today. Are we being set up for a real humdinger?

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.

21a   Head of city might love reporter’s finish (5)

Hover your cursor over the picture that Pommers uses to illustrate this clue and you will see that it is of Boris Johnson^[7], the Mayor of London, England.

23a   Almost complete support for teacher exercising authority (9)

In Britain, a male schoolteacher is known as a master^[5].

I had a similar thought about this clue as Pommers - feeling that it may have begun life as a down clue and been forced into playing the role of an across clue.

25a   Joker comes back with shapeless formula for novel (7)

Dracula^[7] is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker^[7].

26a   Improve at university level (7)

In Britain, up^[5] means at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge : they were up at Cambridge about the same time.

4d   Attack yobbo hugging tree (4,3)

Yobbo^[5] is another term for yob^[5] (back slang for boy), both being informal British terms for a rude, noisy, and aggressive youth.

8d   Channels good for money in golf clubs? (7)

In Britain, pence^[5] is a plural form of penny. Oxford advises that both pence and pennies have existed as plural forms of penny since at least the 16th century. The two forms now tend to be used for different purposes: pence refers to sums of money (five pounds and sixty-nine pence; ) while pennies refers to the coins themselves (I left two pennies on the table; ). The use of pence rather than penny as a singular (the chancellor will put one pence on income tax) is not regarded as correct in standard English.

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] is a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound (and is abbreviated p). In the system formerly used, a penny was equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound (and was abbreviated d, for denarius).

14d   Takeaways that might spoil the canines? (5,4)

In Britain, takeaway^[5] can mean either (1) a restaurant or shop selling cooked food to be eaten elsewhere • (i) a fast-food takeaway; (ii) [as modifier] a takeaway pizza or (2) a meal or dish bought from a shop or restaurant to be eaten elsewhere • (i) he phoned for a takeaway; (ii) he is happy to eat Chinese takeaway. The equivalent North American term is takeout^[5].

16d   Herald compiler on ship turning green! (9)

By convention, the appearance of terms such as "compiler" or "setter" in a clue is often a reference to the creator of the puzzle, in which case these words generally must be replaced in the solution by a first person pronoun such as "I" or (as is the case today) "ME".

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - DT 26728

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26728
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26728]
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

I thought that this was a bit of an IKEA puzzle. You merely need to carefully follow the instructions and you can assemble the solutions. There is not a lot of lateral thinking required and I don't recall any of those "Oh ho!" moments when the penny finally drops. Other than the somnolent British politician, I didn't note any Briticisms in the puzzle - but maybe I'm just beginning to think like a Brit!

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.

30a   Makes prisoners trust Clarke’s first reforms (10)

Ken Clarke is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice - and who apparently gained notoriety for "falling asleep during the Chancellor’s budget speech".

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - DT 26727

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26727
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, December 5, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26727]
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 26726 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, December 3, 2011

Introduction

Today we have a fairly gentle offering from Rufus. I managed to find the solutions to all clues, save one, before calling in the electronic reinforcements. However, my overconfidence may have made me a bit careless, as I also had a couple of errors. I gave myself a gentle kick when I found the solution to the lone unsolved clue (18a), as it surely must have been one of the easier clues in the puzzle. I then gave myself a much more vigorous kick when I discovered that I had made a mistake at 9a. However, I was a bit more forgiving of myself in relation to the error at 7d (the solution being, after all, a Briticism).

The appeal of puzzles set by Rufus is that the clues, although rarely very difficult, are still immensely entertaining. It has been pointed out by several commentators - and I believe by Rufus himself - that it is often more difficult to put together a simple (but still entertaining) clue than it is to create a difficult one. Rufus is also renowned for his superb cryptic definitions, such as those found today at 23a and 27a.

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.

9a   Certainly not like Thomas (9)

I failed to recognize that the clue was in reference to the Apostle. I had put in DAUNTLESS, thinking that Thomas might be some timid character in Britain.

2d   Drinks and a sandwich (5)

In Britain, a round^[5] may mean (1) a slice of bread • two rounds of toast; or (2) the quantity of sandwiches made from two slices of bread.

7d   One who smashes cars — on the circuit? (7)

In Britain, a breaker^[5] is a person who breaks up disused machinery • those steam engines were now gone to the breaker’s yard. The North American equivalent would be a wrecker^[5] - ironically, a word that also fits the grid, if not the wordplay. However, opting for the latter choice did wreck my performance stats.

17d   He’s been willing to try to set up roster (8)

In Britain, a rota^[5] is a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job • a cleaning rota.

I think that there must be a typo in Libellule's hint which surely should read (with additional annotations in square brackets) "Someone who has made a legally valid will before death [he's been willing] is constructed from TEST (willing to try) and then another word for a register of names or duties [rota] reversed (set up)."

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon