Thursday, February 9, 2012 - DT 26717

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26717
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26717]
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
Today we have a typical puzzle from Jay. Based on my performance, I would likely have opted for only two stars for difficulty. There were a few new words for me. However, not being familiar with things like the Spanish resort or the British radio band did not seriously impede me.

Today's Nina

A Nina is a hidden feature in the solution to a crossword puzzle. A common form of Nina is a "secret" message - often playing on some theme. Today, the setter has placed a series of words along the outer edges of the grid. The letters in the top row spell PAELLA, those along the left-hand side RIOJAS, those along the right-hand side ESPANA, and those in the bottow row SIESTA. These play into the Mediterranean theme established in the solutions to the clues where we saw ORANGE, OLIVES, VERMICELLI and PANCETTA. Perhaps Jay is offering a tip of his hat to Pommers – who reviews the majority of Jay's puzzles – who just happens to reside in Spain.

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.

17a   Recover couple of recipes requiring vessel to hold duck (6)

In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought • he was out for a duck. In cryptic crossword puzzles, duck often indicates O as the letter "O" looks like the number "0".

22a   Engineers can — with a bit of a looker (6)

The Royal Engineers (RE)^[5] is the name of the field engineering and construction corps of the British army.

4d   The frequency of an extended farewell? (4,4)

A long wave^[5] is a radio wave of a wavelength above one kilometre (and a frequency below 300 kHz). Long-wave radio^[5] refers to broadcasting using radio waves of 1 to 10 km wavelength • listening to BBC Radio 4 on long wave. Wavelength and frequency are inversely related with longer wavelengths corresponding to shorter frequencies and vice versa.

In contemporary usage, the term longwave^[7] (a spelling seemingly unique to Wikipedia) is not defined precisely and its meaning varies across the world. In the US, for example, the Longwave Club of America is interested in "frequencies below the AM broadcast band", i.e. all frequencies below 535 kHz.

In Europe, Africa and large parts of Asia (ITU Region 1), where a range of frequencies between 148.5 and 283.5 kHz is used for AM broadcasting (in addition to the medium wave band), the term long wave usually refers specifically to this broadcasting band.

The long wave band is not used for AM broadcasting in North America. Thus, when speaking of radio broadcasting, North Americans would need to distinguish only between the AM band and the FM band. In Britain, it would seem that there is a second AM band (long wave) that does not exist on radios in North America.

Long wave is also used to distribute time calibration signals to radio controlled clocks with built-in long wave receivers. Such devices use long wave because it propagates by groundwave. If medium wave or short wave were to be used for this purpose, the accuracy of the clocks would be affected by the time signal's travel from the transmitter to the ionosphere and to the receiver, as these frequencies propagate by skywave. I have a wristwatch which sets itself based on such a radio signal. However, since Ottawa is on the outer edge of the coverage area for the North American transmitter (WWVB) which is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, this is a bit of a hit and miss operation which is highly dependent on atmospheric conditions. Other such transmitters are located in Germany, Japan, Russia and the UK.

As for Pommers observation "I suppose that this is really a wavelength rather than a frequency but it’s OK by me", I think it is quite common to speak of the 'short wave frequency band' or 'long wave frequency band'.

5d   Desperate attempt to survive Benidorm? (4,6)

Benidorm^[7] is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean. Prior to the 1960s, Benidorm was a small village. Today it stands out for its hotel industry, beaches and skyscrapers, built as a result of its tourist-oriented economy.

8d   Source of lipids found in quickly-fried toast (6)

In addition to being a verb and a noun, sauté^[3] can also be an adjective meaning fried quickly in a little hot fat • sauté potatoes. While there does not appear to be anything particularly British about this usage, it is a revelation to me. Sauté is the past participle of the French verb sauter (to jump). I would almost certainly have used the anglicized past participle of the verb as an adjective (sautéed potatoes).

16d   Cause of breakdown in dull Lebanese port (4,4)

In Britain, the mechanical failure of a vehicle on a highway would be called a breakdown^[2]. What might be referred to as roadside assistance or emergency road services in North America would be known as breakdown services in the UK, and a wrecker^[4] or tow truck^[4] would be called a breakdown van^[4]. Tyre^[5] is the British spelling of tire (as an automobile part).

18d   African organisation in huff with volunteers getting meat from Italy (8)

The African National Congress (ANC)^[5] is a South African political party and black nationalist organization. Having been banned by the South African government 1960–90, the ANC was victorious in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 and its leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s President. In the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)^[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency. Pancetta^[10] is a lightly spiced cured bacon from Italy.

21d   Opens with love for one in pants (6)

For British readers, pants^[5] would mean underpants. The garment known in North America as pants would be called trousers in the UK.

22d   Game played with the girl’s zips (6)

I could not help but wonder if this clue was intended to have a touch of naughtiness - especially as it follows immediately on the heels of 21d? A zip (or zip fastener)^[5] is the British name for a zipper^[5].

Rugby union (RU)^[5] is a form of rugby played in teams of fifteen, in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen. The latter game was originated by a group of northern English clubs which separated from rugby union in 1895. Besides having a different number of players, the two games have somewhat different rules (sort of like US and Canadian football).

Note: Pommers' hint should obviously read "... a 15-a-side ball game ...".

24d   Fitting, just without right bit of timber (4)

For me, this was the last clue to be solved. Once I finally had the solution, I recalled having seen this meaning for meet on at least one previous occasion - but it certainly did not spring readily to mind. It turns out that it appeared nearly two years ago (July 24, 2010) in a Cox and Rathvon puzzle.

Collins English Dictionary defines meet^[4] as 'adjective Archaic proper, fitting, or correct' while the American Heritage Dictionary lists meet^[3] as 'adjective Fitting; proper: "It seems not meet, nor wholesome to my place" (Shakespeare).'

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