Friday, April 20, 2012 - DT 26781

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26781
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, February 6, 2012
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26781]
Big Dave's Review Written By Digby
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 came so close to finishing without any electronic help. I even had the first word in 28a correct, but for the life of me the second would not come to mind.

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.

13a   Corresponds with strikers (7)

Swan Vestas^[7] (mentioned by Digby in his hint) is a brand name for the most popular brand of 'strike-anywhere' matches currently available in the UK, shorter than regular pocket matches they are particularly popular with smokers. Originally made in England by a series of British companies, they are now manufactured by Swedish Match in Sweden.

22a   He helps those wishing to take cover (7)

In the UK, cover^[5] means protection by insurance against a liability, loss, or accident • your policy provides cover against damage by subsidence. This seems to be the equivalent of the North American term coverage^[5], the amount of protection given by an insurance policy.

23a   They marked the passing of horse-drawn vehicles (4)

In his hint, Digby uses tyre^[5], the British spelling of tire (in the sense of a component of a vehicle).

26a   The leading Catholic essayist (4)

Alexander Pope^[7] (1688 – 1744) was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson. His work, An Essay on Criticism, is written in the form of a poem. It is a response to an ongoing debate on the question of whether poetry should be natural, or written according to predetermined artificial rules inherited from the classical past.

27a   Parisian tour? (6,5)

"Tour"^[8] being the French word for tower, the clue is a cryptic definition (signalled by the question mark) of a famous tower in Paris.

28a   Unlawful gatherings? (6,5)

An allusion to the adage 'stolen fruit is sweetest'.

3d   Suffers, made to conclude certain changes are needed (7)

The definition is "suffers" and the wordplay is END (to conclude) + URES {an anagram (changes are needed) of SURE (certain)} to give ENDURES. I would say that "made" is a link word. British readers were quick to point out that this clue contains an "indirect anagram". That is, the anagram fodder (SURE) is not found in the clue but, rather, is a synonym of a word in the clue (certain). Apparently, such clues are not considered to be "cricket". Not knowing that, I solved the clue and never gave it a second thought.

However, this clue did raise a considerable outcry on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, with writers both in favour of and against the clue. Even Phil McNeill, the crossword editor of The Daily Telegraph, as well as Rufus, the setter of the puzzle, joined the discussion.

5d   Calms frequently seen on board (7)

The names of merchant ships include a prefix which designates the type of ship. In crossword puzzles, these seem always to be SS (Steam Ship)^[7]. However, in the real world, there are a number of other possibilities, including MV (Motor Vessel) and RMS (Royal Mail Ship). An example of the latter is the RMS Titanic which has been much in the news of late.

10d   Advisers are represented on opposing sides (11)

Digby makes reference to British Prime Minister David Cameron^[7] and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband^[7].

14d   Seat of battle? (5)

The Battle of Sedan^[5] was a battle fought in 1870 near the town of Sedan in NE France, in which the Prussian army defeated a smaller French army under Napoleon III, opening the way for a Prussian advance on Paris and marking the end of the French Second Empire.

19d   Wary, I’m raising new fund with a pound (7)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

25d   Family blunders? Not half (4)

To get a primarily Scottish word meaning "family", we must delete the last half of CLANGERS - clanger^[5] being an informal British term meaning an absurd or embarrassing blunder • the minister had dropped a massive political clanger.

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