Thursday, May 10, 2012 - DT 26797

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26797
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, February 24, 2012
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26797]
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

My electronic assistants enjoyed a rare day off today. As was the case for Gazza, the northwest corner held out to the end. One of my favourite clues, 10a, was also the last one in. I also very much enjoyed 9d.

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.

1a   TV presenter is given a new job that’s dull mostly (6)

In Britain, the anchor of a news broadcast or the host of television or radio programme is known as a presenter^[5].

4a   Wine or tot knocked back by trainee (8)

Muscadet^[5] is a dry white wine from the part of the Loire region in France nearest the west coast.

10a   Religious individual before day’s begun (9)

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious.

11a   Bloke has no time for a meanie (5)

Bloke^[5] is a well-known (even on this side of the Atlantic) informal British term for a man • he’s a nice bloke.

14a   Run as one of a crowd? (5)

In cricket, an extra^[5] is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited to the batting side rather than to a batsman.

15a   Set of problems with tax engaging lady of much wealth! (8)

Elizabeth II^[7] is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms (one of which is Canada), and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. In her specific role as the monarch of the United Kingdom, one of her 16 realms, she is also Supreme Governor of the Church of England. She is also head of state of the Crown Dependencies. By tradition, British monarchs use initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus Queen Elizabeth's initials are ER^[5] - from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

18a   Yon American singer was once the No.2 female in UK? (8)

Margaret Thatcher^[7] is a British politician and the longest-serving (1979–1990) British prime minister of the 20th century, and the only woman ever to have held the post. A Soviet journalist nicknamed her the "Iron Lady", which later became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As prime minister, she implemented conservative policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.

28a  Make new sketch for merchant ship’s flag, omitting one of the names (8)

British Red Ensign

The Red Ensign^[7] is a flag flown by ships of the British Merchant Navy. Various Commonwealth countries (including Canada) also have Red Ensigns modeled on this flag. Various versions of the Canadian Red Ensign served as Canada's national flag up until 1965 when the Maple Leaf flag was adopted. The provincial flags of Ontario and Manitoba are also based on the Red Ensign.

I hadn't realized until now that the maple leaves on the Red Ensign (just like real maple leaves) had turned from green to red in 1957.

Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957)

Canadian Red Ensign (1957-1965)

3d  Arrangement with bank manager finally accepted by maiden? Silly! (9)

In cricket, a maiden^[5], also known as a maiden over, (abbreviation M)^[5] is an over in which no runs are scored. An over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

5d   Government official needing to sort out nerdy creatures (5-9)

The title of Under-Secretary^[7] is used in two different contexts in the British political system. A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is a junior member of the government, always an MP from the governing party, who is appointed to assist a Secretary of State or other government minister. They rank between a Minister of State and a Parliamentary Private Secretary; the rank is usually seen as a stepping-stone to higher political office. In contrast, a Permanent Under-Secretary is a civil servant employed to head part of a government department and oversee the implementation of policy.

6d   Sounds like it’s not goin’ to be a plant (5)

This may be one of those rare instances where a homophone clue actually works better on this side of the Atlantic than it did in Britain – as you may judge for yourself from these examples of American and British pronunciation found at TheFreeDictionary.com (cumin, coming).

17d   Playwright hinders a play (8)

Richard Brinsley Sheridan^[7] (1751 – 1816) was an Irish-born playwright and poet and, for thirty-two years, a Whig Member of the British House of Commons. He is buried at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

22d  A loud blonde in extramarital relationship (6)

In musical notation, the direction for loud is forte (f)^[5].

24d   Periods defined for school fees (5)

I suspect that the word 'terms' may carry a specific meaning in Britain that it does not have in North America. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines terms as "fixed charges for work or a service"^[2], Collins English Dictionary as "a sum of money paid for a service or credit; charges"^[4], and the Oxford Dictionary of English as "conditions with regard to payment for something; stated charges"^[5]. Definitions in American dictionaries appear to indicate that the word has a more general sense. For example, the American Heritage Dictionary defines it merely as "One of the elements of a proposed or concluded agreement; a condition. Often used in the plural."^[3] and a definition in the Random House Dictionary, although financially related, also seems less specific than the British definitions "conditions with regard to payment, price, charge, rates, wages, etc. • reasonable terms."^[5]. The North American usage would seem to relate primarily to the conditions under which  the charges are levied and not to the amount of the charges.

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