Thursday, June 28, 2012 - DT 26837

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26837
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26837]
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

Judging by my performance, I would say that this puzzle only barely deserves the three stars for difficulty that Pommers awarded it.

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.

9a   Final check on form for an acquaintance (9)

In Britain, a form^[5] is a class or year in a school, usually given a specifying number. Thus the fifth form would be the linguistic counterpart to the fifth grade in North America and Form 1 would be like saying Grade 1.

10a   City mucker returns first-class (5)

Mucker^[5] is British slang for a friend or companion • we felt like old muckers. As Pommers points out, bud^[5] is used in a similar manner in North America.

13a   Cake and Vichy water on grant, oddly (6)

Gateau^[3,4], the French word for cake, seems to have been adopted into the English language (on both sides of the pond). Vichy^[5] is a town in south central France. A noted spa town, it is the source of an effervescent mineral water. The French word for water is eau^[8].

18a   Infer loyal politicians will have precedence (8)

In Britain [or Canada], Con.^[5] is an abbreviation for Conservative which is used to denote the political affiliation of a Member of Parliament • Teddy Taylor, MP (Con).

19a   Little time on board for confectionery (6)

SS^[5] is the abbreviation for steamship • the SS Canberra.

26a   Legal being executed? That’s terrible (5)

One should always keep in mind that executions in Crosswordland are almost invariably accomplished by means of beheading.

27a   Where those on the fiddle may know the score? (9)

I tried (without success) to make this an anagram. With THE SCORE we have one incorrect letter and one missing letter.

1d   Stretching top dog in support of motorists (7)

The Royal Automobile Club^[7] (RAC) is a British private club. Founded in 1897 with the aim of encouraging the development of motoring in Britain, today the Royal Automobile Club is one of London’s finest private members' clubs. Like many other "gentlemen's clubs" in London today, the Royal Automobile Club now has women as well as men as members.

3d   Retainer given to old boy for paying attention (9)

A retainer^[5] is a servant, especially one who has worked for a person or family for a long time • faithful family retainers.

4d   Open a beer (4)

Jar^[5] is British slang for a glass of beer • let’s have a jar.

7d   Fiddle around edges, flushed (7)

Fiddle^[5] is an informal, chiefly British term for an act of defrauding, cheating, or falsifying • a major mortgage fiddle.

16d   Retailer’s fresh green mint cut by half (9)

Sage green^[5] is a greyish-green colour like that of sage leaves.

17d   Expand hotel space after amount raised (8)

Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.

22d   Ticked over, investing old money in rising food store (5)

In Britain, tick over^[4] is another term for idle in the sense (said of an engine) to run at low speed with the throttle control closed and the transmission disengaged.

24d   Food for volunteers after bed (5)

In Britain, the name of the flat bread that North Americans know as pita is spelled pitta^[5]. 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. In Britain, pit^[4] is a slang word for bed.

25d   Single prisoner’s object of veneration (4)

In British slang, a lag^[5] [mentioned in Pommers' hint] is a person who has been frequently convicted and sent to prison • both old lags were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.

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