Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - DT 26777

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26777
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26777]
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

This puzzle bore the unmistakable style of Jay. Some of it actually looked so familiar that more than once I thought I might even  have reviewed it for Big Dave's Crossword Blog. That turned out not to be the case, as I discovered that it had been reviewed by Pommers.

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.

11a   Foreign divorcee gets zero credit in hearing (6)

In Britain, tick (used in the phrase on tick) is an informal term for on credit • the printer agreed to send the brochures out on tick. [Origin: ( mid 17th century) apparently short for ticket in the phrase on the ticket, referring to an IOU or promise to pay]

19a   Son’s put on short 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.

28a   Matching frock? (7,5)

It occurred to me that the solution might be EVENING DRESS. Fortunately, I already had 22d which ruled out that possibility. Nevertheless, I still think it would be a good fit.

2d   Throw out travel game (5)

Oxford Dictionaries online would seem to suggest that, in Britain, the noun bin^[5] (used without a modifier) means a receptacle in which to deposit rubbish but may also be used with a modifier to mean a capacious receptacle for storing a specified substance. The word can also be used as a verb meaning to  throw (something) away by putting it in a bin • piles of junk that should have been binned years ago. In North America, the word bin^[3,4] might refer to a receptacle for trash but is just as likely - if not more likely - to refer to a container or enclosed space for storage. In either case, North Americans would be likely to prefix a modifier to specify the type of bin (e.g., trash bin, coal bin, etc.) unless the meaning were obvious from the context.

5d   Hot-headed youth’s rip-off? (8)

In Britain, a tearaway^[5] is a person who behaves in a wild or reckless manner : some young tearaways set fire to the house.

6d   Where darts players stand is about right colour (5)

Another British term, oche^[5] is the line behind which darts players stand when throwing.

8d   Short breaks in adult employment covered by note (6)

A (Adult)^[10] is a former British film certification category^[70] (discontinued in 1982, being replaced by the PG rating) denoting a film certified for viewing by anyone, but which contains material that some parents may not wish their children to see

20d         The misery of winter? (7)

Even though I found the correct solution, I have to admit that I did not understand the wordplay until I read Pommers review.

25d   Part of Europe without one bridge (4)

Regular readers will know that Pommers resides in Spain. 

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