Tuesday, May15, 2012 - DT 26801

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26801
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26801]
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

I nearly finished without calling in my electronic helpers. However, the heaping helping of Briticisms in 1a were more than I could handle on my own.

If you experienced difficulties accessing Big Dave's Crossword Blog last evening, you were not alone. Big Dave explains what happened here. Everything seems to be back to normal today.

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   Old-fashioned drunk, say, outside holding forelock (7)

There are two new (to me) pieces of British slang in this clue. Squiffy^[2] is an old-fashioned (according to Chambers 21st Century Dictionary) word meaning slightly drunk or tipsy; while quiff^[5] is a chiefly British term for a piece of hair brushed upwards and backwards from a man’s forehead • (i) a boy with a floppy quiff; (ii) a quiff of white hair. Neither Collins English Dictionary^[10] nor the Oxford Dictionary of English^[5] characterised squiffy as being old-fashioned.

11a   Officer a lot of wardens ignore (6)

Ensign^[5] is the lowest rank of commissioned officer in the US and some other navies, above chief warrant officer and below lieutenant. Historically, it was also the lowest rank of commissioned infantry officer in the British army. However, in the later part of the 19th century the rank was, in most instances, replaced by second lieutenant^[7].

12a   Arrest made by head of security in front of tent (4)

A big top^[5] is the main tent in a circus, but I found no evidence that top, on its own, means tent.

14a   Anticipating long life, star played around (12)

My first thought was that forestall does not mean the same thing as anticipate. However, I concluded that anticipate^[5] is used in the clue not in the sense of simply expecting an event but in the sense of to guess or be aware of (what will happen) and take action in order to be prepared • they failed to anticipate a full-scale invasion.

22a   Speaking lines, actors might need them (4)

In Britain, people queue in a queue^[5] rather than line up in a line-up^[5] .

23a   Nearly closed inside — better count takings (4,2)

In Britain, takings^[5] is the amount of money earned by a business from the sale of goods or services • the big test for the shop’s new look is whether it’ll boost takings. In North America, one would likely use the term earnings in this situation, although income, revenue or receipts might also be used. As well, in Britain, cash up^[5] means to count and check takings at the end of a day’s trading • two staff were cashing up at one of the tills. According to the the Oxford Dictionary of English, the equivalent North American term is cash out, but I can't say that I have ever heard it used in that sense.

26a   Volunteers in a cottage in France cause trouble (7)

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. A gîte^[5] is a furnished holiday house in France, typically in a rural district.

15d   The writer’s back — crazy, pinching hotel cheese! (9)

As a cryptic crossword convention, the creator of the puzzle will often use terms such as setter, compiler, author, or (as today) writer to refer to himself or herself. To solve the clue, one must substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms is found in the clue. Today, we get an additional wrinkle with "back" indicating that the pronoun must be reversed (but that also pretty much narrows the choices to a single possibility).

16d   Supporter present for victory in Europe in period before Christmas (8)

I was going to say that this is a trademark Jay clue – but Pommers beat me to it!

19d   Mad dog could be! (7)

Barking^[5] is an informal British term meaning completely mad or demented • (i) we are all a bit barking; (ii) [as submodifier] has she gone completely barking mad? I think the latter instance of usage might be encountered in North America, but definitely not the former.

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