Thursday, May 17, 2012 - DT 26803

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26803
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, March 2, 2012
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26803]
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
I was able to solve about three quarters of this puzzle without much difficulty. However, the final quarter proved very resistant and I needed to use virtually every tool at my disposal to crack them.

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.

5a   Stars seen after second drink — and letters all mingled? (8)

In the UK, mo^[5] is an informal term for a short period of time (hang on a mo!) [abbreviation of  moment].

12a   Take back worker to sports ground (6)

In Britain, rec^[5] is an informal shortened form for recreation ground^[5], a piece of public land used for sports and games..

14a   Criticise a business community’s greed (8)

According to Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, the City^[2] refers to the business centre of a city, especially London.The Oxford Dictionary of English narrows the definition for the City^[5] considerably, saying that it is (1) short for the City of London or (2) the financial and commercial institutions located in the City of London • (i) the Budget got a stony reception from the City; (ii) [as modifier] a City analyst. Note that the City of London^[5] is not the city of London, but merely the part of London situated within the ancient boundaries and governed by the Lord Mayor and the Corporation^[5] (which, in Britain, is a group of people elected to govern a city, town, or borough • the City of London Corporation).

The City of London^[7] is an area in central London, England. In the medieval period it constituted most of London, but the conurbation has grown far beyond it. As the City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, it is now only a tiny part of the metropolis, though it remains a notable part of central London, holds city status in its own right, and is a separate ceremonial county.

It is often referred to as the City (often written on maps as "City") or the Square Mile, as it is just over one square mile (1.12 sq mi/2.90 km²) in area. These terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's financial services industry, which continues a notable history of being based in the City.

The term London now refers to a much larger conurbation roughly corresponding to Greater London, a local government area which includes 32 London boroughs including the City of Westminster as well as the City of London. The local authority for the City, the City of London Corporation, is unique in the United Kingdom, and has some unusual responsibilities for a local authority in Britain, such as being the police authority for the City. It also has responsibilities and ownerships beyond the City's boundaries. The Corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, an office separate from (and much older than) the Mayor of London.

19a  Not interesting, attention-grabbing? (6)

As Gazza points out, this is an all-in-one clue. I saw the wordplay clearly enough but I did not have the full picture with respect to the definition until I read Gazza's review.  To properly interpret the definition (which constitutes the entire clue), one must treat it as a list ("interesting, attention-grabbing") with the word "not" applying to all items in the list. Thus the definition could be restated as "Neither interesting nor attention-grabbing". The wordplay is DRY (not interesting) containing (grabbing) EAR (attention) to produce DREARY.

25a   It’s a mess? Maybe setter’s needing short holiday, quick! (4,9)

"Setter" often is a reference to the compiler of the puzzle – but sometimes it is merely a canine animal.

26a   What makes us think of a naughty jumper? (3,5)

I figured out the traffic violation connotation but had dismissed the brothel-related connection – apparently too quickly. Gazza's statement "jump being slang for to have sexual intercourse" prompted me to do a bit of research to see if this new-to-me meaning might specifically be British slang. The results were inconclusive. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary says merely that it is a taboo term that (said of a male) means to have sexual intercourse with someone^[2].  Collins English Dictionary gives the same meaning but states that it is British slang^[10]. On the other hand, the Oxford Dictionary of English specifies that it is vulgar North American slang meaning to have sexual intercourse with (someone)^[5].

6d   Famous but unable to make the final decision? (5)

I figured that "unable to make the final decision" meant NOT ED. However, I was unsure whether "Ed" referred to editor or to someone named Ed (perhaps British Opposition Leader Ed Miliband^[7]). Apparently, it is the former.

The Leveson Inquiry^[7] (mentioned by Gazza) is an ongoing public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal.

15d   Home on top of Downs occupied by philosopher secure from invaders? (9)

A down^[5] (usually appearing in the plural, downs) is a British name for a gently rolling hill. In particular, the Downs^[3] are two roughly parallel ranges of chalk hills in southeast England. The North Downs extend about 161 km (100 mi) from west to east; the South Downs, about 105 km (65 mi). Both are sheep-rearing areas.

John Locke^[5] (1632–1704) was an English philosopher, a founder of empiricism and political liberalism.

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