Monday, March 5, 2012 - DT 26737

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26737
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, December 16, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26737]
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

After a sluggish start, I seemed to find the right wavelength and finished without needing to disturb my electronic assistants. I was mildly surprised to find that the puzzle rated as many as three stars for difficulty.

Oxford is Driving Me Nuts

While I have known for some time that there are two versions of Oxford Dictionaries Online (a World English version and a US English version), I have only recently become aware of some annoying idiosyncrasies of this site.

First of all, the entries vary between the two versions, with the information from the US English version tending to be more superficial - both with regard to the definitions as well as in the characterization of British versus American usage (a feature that I find particularly useful).

For instance, in the World English version, NT is listed as an abbreviation for National Trust, which in turn is defined as:

(abbreviation: NT)
a trust for the preservation of places of historic interest or natural beauty in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, founded in 1895 and supported by endowment and private subscription. The National Trust for Scotland was founded in 1931.

However, in the US English version, National Trust is not included on the list of terms for which NT can be an abbreviation and National Trust is defined merely as:

a trust for the preservation of places of historic interest or natural beauty in Britain.

As a second example, let's look at the word matt which is found today in the solution to clue 12a. According to the World English version, the main entry for this word is matt, with matte being shown as an alternative spelling and mat as a US spelling. On the other hand, in the US English version, matte is the principal entry, with matt and mat both being given as alternative spellings (with no indication that mat is specifically a US spelling).

While the inconsistency between the two versions is somewhat annoying, it is understandable. However, what is really annoying is the behaviour - or misbehaviour - of the web pages. Below the search tool in the top right hand corner is an indicator that purportedly shows which version is currently being displayed. I suppose that this works when one navigates via the search tool or the links on the page, but I have found that it may not always be accurate if one navigates via the browser address bar. Also note that one cannot switch between versions by merely clicking on this indicator. One must first navigate to the Oxford Dictionaries Online home page in order to make such a switch.

However, the most annoying thing that I have noticed is that the US English version can seemingly hijack the browser so that clicking on search results or even specific links to the World English version may actually bring up the corresponding page on the US English version. This happens not just in the case of links on Oxford Dictionaries Online web pages, but also in the case of links to Oxford Dictionaries Online from my own blog. Furthermore, once having arrived on the US English version one seems to stick there - clicking the browser back button does not appear to take one back to the World English version from whence one came but navigates back through the corresponding pages on the US English version. The only way out is to navigate to the Oxford Dictionaries Online home page and change the version there. This hijacking seems to be a one way process as I haven't noticed being similarly hijacked by the World English version (but then I am making a concerted effort to stay on the World English version).

It seems that - as Alice found out - having passed through the looking glass, it is no easy matter to return to the real world.

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.

12a   First book in series dull? Needs to get cut (7)

Matt (alternatively matte or, in the US, mat)^[5] is an adjective used to describe a surface or colour which is dull and flat or without a shine • (i) prints are available on matt or glossy paper; (ii) a matt black. In Canada, I am only familiar with this word being spelled matte.

16a   Syracusan wanderer heading west (5)

In Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias^[7] symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship. The two friends travel to Syracuse where Pythias manages to get himself sentenced to death by the tyrant Dyonysius I. Damon agrees to take Pythias' place in prison while his friend returns home to settle his affairs before his death. When Pythias does not return by the appointed time, Dionysius is prepared to execute Damon in place of his friend. At the last possible moment, Pythias arrives - having overcome tremendous obstacles to complete the return journey. Dionysius is so impressed by their friendship that he pardons them both.

17a   Weakling died — may he be at peace (4)

While still a pejorative term, the word drip seems to have a somewhat different connotation in the UK. There it means an an inane, insipid person^[4] or a weak and ineffectual person^[5] as compared to the North American meaning of a tiresome or annoying person^[3].

18a   Ring old PM on the phone (4)

Sir Robert Peel^[7] (1788 – 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846. While Home Secretary, Peel helped create the modern concept of the police force, leading to officers being known as "bobbies" (in England) and "Peelers" (in Ireland).

19a   Republican turning on President of yesteryear (5)

Juan Perón^[7] (1895 – 1974) was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term. He was elected to his first term in 1946 and re-elected in 1951, but was overthrown by a military coup in 1955. He would return to run for the presidency a third term in 1973 and served for nine months, until his death in 1974.

22a   Dearest being ditched is stunned (7)

While ditch^[4] in the surface reading clearly means to to abandon or discard (to ditch a girlfriend), I expect that, in the cryptic reading, it must mean to crash or be crashed, especially deliberately, as to avoid more unpleasant circumstances (he had to ditch the car). Presumably, crashing the fodder (DEAREST) into the ditch causes the letters to become rearranged so as to spell the solution (TASERED).

24a   Financial institution with millions ends with you upset, you needing a pound (6)

This is another example of the British propensity to promote adjectives into the position of nouns. A mutual^[5] is a mutual building society or insurance company • life insurance firms are mutuals, owned by their policyholders.

27a   Young female boss somewhere in Berks (10)

Berks^[5] is short for Berkshire^[5], a county of southern England, west of London. Maidenhead^[7] is a town in Berkshire. It lies on the River Thames and is situated 25.7 miles (41.4 km) west of Charing Cross in London.

28a   4 things to eat (4)

The number "4" in the body of the clue is a cross reference to clue 4d (there being no clue 4a today). In this relatively rarely seen type of clue, one must substitute the solution for the referenced clue into the clue which references it. Thus the present clue is to be interpreted as

• 28a   Cracked things to eat (4)

Another slang term for cracked or bats is nuts. Nuts are also "things to eat". Come to think of it, they may also be "cracked things to eat".

3d   Tongue endlessly manoeuvring round a sweet (6)

Sweet^[5] is the British name for a (piece of) candy^[5].

5d   Come down and brake audibly (4)

Think about slowing the progress of a horse, not an automobile.

8d   Young fellow seen as a ‘card’? (4,3,3)

Jack the Lad^[5] is an informal British term for a brash, cocky young man : (i) a cocky Jack the Lad who neglected academic study; (ii) [as modifier] a Jack the Lad sex symbol. The expression comes from the nickname of Jack Sheppard, an 18th-century thief.

13d   Journey, special treat around Italy, with three parties (10)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Italy is I^[5].

15d   Artist’s bed with yellow lining (5)

In his hint, Gazza refers to a cot as a "children’s bed". In the UK, a cot^[5] may be either a a small bed with high barred sides for a baby or very young child (called a crib^[5] in North America) or a plain narrow bed (as I am familiar with the use of the word in Canada). 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. However, it seems that coats of arms in Crosswordland are rarely any colour but yellow.

19d   Exert force on chap to become an author (7)

The first name to pop to mind was Russian author Alexander Pushkin^[7]. However, I very quickly realized that not only was I exerting force in the wrong direction, I was trying to move the wrong chap. Philip Pullman^[7] is an English writer whose novel known as The Golden Compass in North America (but titled Northern Lights in the UK) was turned into the film The Golden Compass.

26d   Worker may be bananas (4)

A hand^[9] is a bunch, cluster, or bundle of various leaves, fruit, etc., as a bundle of tobacco leaves tied together or a cluster of bananas.

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