Monday, April 16, 2012 - DT 26776

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26776
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26776]
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

Given the low level of difficulty of today's puzzle, my performance was certainly less than stellar. In the case of 23a, 28a and 13d, I can at least use the excuse that they involve some British expressions. However, I really have no explanation for missing 14d and 24d.

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   Italian aristocrat not implicated in unseemly cases (8)

Another way to say "implicated" would be 'mixed up in' which should easily be seen to qualify as both an anagram indicator and a containment indicator.

11a   Short memo to be written about volunteers, each one? Forget it! (3,2,3)

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.

17a   Sappers left in charge of historical object (5)

In general, a sapper^[5] is a soldier responsible for tasks such as building and repairing roads and bridges, laying and clearing mines, etc.. In Britain specifically, the term is used for a private soldier in the Corps of Royal Engineers (RE)^[5], the field engineering and construction corps of the British army.

19a   Greek leaving Scottish village for high peak (4)

The town of Gretna^[7] is undoubtedly less well known than the nearby village of Gretna Green^[7], both of which are located in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Because they are near the Anglo-Scottish border, Gretna Green and to a lesser extent Gretna, are historically linked to weddings because of the more liberal marriage laws in Scotland. "Gretna" has become a term for a place for quick, easy marriages.

23a  Crazy shot gaining trophy (8)

Having got the two middle checking letters provided by 16d and 21d and seeing the words "gaining" and "trophy" in the clue, I attempted to insert CUP into the middle of the solution. However, I was eventually to figure out that while this "trophy" might be a cup, the word that I was looking for is pot^[5] — an informal term (perhaps British) for a prize in a sporting contest, especially a silver cup.

25a   Subtle difference in tone used by sister describing a church (6)

The use of "describe" as a containment indicator is a common cryptic crossword convention. This device relies on describe^[3] being used in the sense of to trace the form or outline of • describe a circle with a compass. Thus, in today's clue, we have NUN (sister) containing (describing) A (found explicitly in the clue). The idea is that the container (NUN) forms an outline around the contained entity (A) in a similar manner to the circumference of a circle forming an outline around the circular area contained within it.

28a   Boiler suit complete with latest in wellingtons (8)

In Britain, a boiler suit^[5] is  a one-piece suit worn as overalls for heavy manual work and wellingtons^[5] (also wellington boots) are knee-length waterproof rubber or plastic boots. Judging by Gazza's illustration, I should be frequenting a different mechanic for service.

1d   Penny adrift, so pull a face (4)

In Britain, adrift^[4] may be used informally to mean off course or amiss which would be synonymous to out^[4] in the sense of inaccurate, deficient, or discrepant • out by six pence.

2d   Strength and determination shown by English rock ‘n’ roll star (6)

Tommy Steele^[7] (born Thomas William Hicks) is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.

3d   Hand on knight, a chess piece (4)

In algebraic notation, the usual modern way of recording chess games, the letter N stands for the knight^[7] (K is reserved for the king); in descriptive chess notation, Kt is sometimes used instead, mainly in older literature. In chess problems and endgame studies, the letter S, standing for the German name for the piece, Springer, is often used (and in some variants of fairy chess N is used for the popular fairy chess piece, the nightrider).

4d   Display shabby articles also (6)

Tat^[5] is British slang for tasteless or shoddy clothes, jewellery, or ornaments • the place was decorated with all manner of gaudy tat.

13d   Complaint about food raised — something in a bun? (10)

Beefburger^[5] is another name for a hamburger in Britain.

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