Tuesday, June 19, 2012 - DT 26829

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26829
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, April 2, 2012
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26829]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
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
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26828 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, March 31, 2012

Introduction

A couple of clues forced me to call my electronic assistants into action. One was a British highway structure and the second – although not British – is a type of flooring material with which I had not previously been acquainted.

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.

10a   After game, find Scrabble piece that’s on the floor (6,4)

I tried to make the game be MARBLES, even though it contained a superfluous S. Failing that, I then tried to make the solution start with RU (for rugby union). I had to haul out my Tool Chest before I cottoned on to the fact that I should be hunting a different type of game.

I must admit that I have never heard of this type of flooring. Quarry tile^[4] is a square or diamond-shaped unglazed floor tile. The name comes from quarry^[4] meaning a square or diamond shape and not – as I had supposed – an open surface excavation for the extraction of building stone, slate, marble, etc.

11a   Left one with a Shakespearean part (6)

Portia^[7] is the heroine of William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.

12a   Humorist better touring the South (7)

Punter^[5] is a chiefly British slang term for a person who gambles, places a bet, or makes a risky investment. It can also mean (1) a customer or client, especially a member of an audience, or (2) a prostitute’s client.

15a   Cracked up as a result of despair (7)

To be cracked up to be^[5], used with a negative, means to be asserted to be (used to indicate that someone or something has been described too favourably) • life on tour is not as glamorous as it’s cracked up to be.

18a   Lake where mill initially stands before the end (4)

Mere^[5] is a British (and chiefly literary) word meaning a lake or pond • the stream widens into a mere where hundreds of geese gather.

22a   Irregular deliveries (2-5)

In cricket, a no-ball^[5] is an unlawfully delivered ball, counting one as an extra to the batting side if not otherwise scored from : we also bowled far too many no-balls and wides. 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. A wide^[5] is a ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side.

28a   Forget to put it on order (4)

The Order of Merit^[7] (abbreviation OM^[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members.

The current membership consists of two members of the Royal Family (Prince Philip and Prince Charles), nineteen Britons, two Australians (one of whom is a British resident), and one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien). Past members from Canada are former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield, and former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. It would seem that being a former Liberal prime minister gives one a leg up in receiving this honour.

2d   Love to drink up after work (4)

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil • love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a number (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of love equating to this letter.

4d   Carriage upside-down on road crossing (7)

A flyover^[3,4] is another name for an overpass in Britain. A fly^[3,4] is a chiefly British term for a one-horse carriage, especially one for hire.

6d   May come to respect the royal staff (7)

A sceptre^[5] is an ornamented staff carried by rulers on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of sovereignty • imperial regalia of orb and sceptre.

14d   Posh vehicle for baker’s deliveries? (5)

Rolls is a shortened form of Rolls-Royce^[5], a luxury car produced by the British Rolls-Royce company.

15d   Don, still in bed, gets up (3,2)

In the surface reading, the Brits would likely see don^[5] meaning a university teacher, especially a senior member of a college at Oxford or Cambridge.

25d   Fifty stick around, looking far from pleased (4)

Gum^[2] as a noun is (1) any of various substances found in certain plants, especially trees, that produce a sticky solution or gel when added to water, used in confectionery, gummed envelopes, etc. or (2) this or any similar substance used as glue. As a verb, it means to to smear, glue or unite something with gum. However, this is not the meaning that came to my mind. I thought of a stick of (chewing) gum.

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