Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - DT 26824

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26824
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26824]
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

Today, we have an entertaining puzzle from an unknown setter. While of average difficulty, with UEFA Euro 2012^[7] currently underway, I got snookered into falling into a football trap on 1a.

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   In goal blocking shot (6)

This was my last one in – and I got it wrong. I put TWEEDY for George Tweedy^[7] (1913 – 1987), an English footballer who played goalkeeper and earned one cap for England. The correct solution is TRENDY (as Gazza explains in his review).

4a   Northerner once seen flying along the track? (8)

The Flying Scotsman^[7] is a railway locomotive, currently part of the collection of Britain's National Railway Museum, which was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). It was employed on long-distance express trains on the LNER and its successor, British Railways, notably on the 10am London to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman^[7] service after which it was named.

25a   Letters received after getting sack (7)

In Britain, postbag^[4] is another name for mailbag as well as being the name used for the mail received by a magazine, radio programme, public figure, etc.

26a   Turnips observed when turning over front of plot (5)

Neep^[5] is a Scottish and Northern English word meaning a turnip • haggis and neeps.

1d   Those in authority raised prize money (3,5)

Brass^[5] is British slang for money • they wanted to spend their newly acquired brass.

2d   A quote misconstrued by reading circle? (7)

Reading is one of 'the three Rs'. Wouldn't it be nefarious to clue R as arithmetic?

5d   Men feeling hurt must keep hold of special pipe dreams (7,2,5)

Castles in the air (or castles in Spain)^[5] are visionary unattainable schemes or daydreams • my father built castles in the air about owning a boat.

7d   Clergyman sacrificing second one in church (7)

Minster^[5] is a British term for a large or important church, typically one of cathedral status in the north of England that was built as part of a monastery • York Minster.

9d   Watch to understand origins of existence regarding early man? (6-8)

A hunter^[4] is a watch with a hinged metal lid or case (hunting case) to protect the crystal. Also called hunting watch.

16d   Disordered situation making sense in tram? Just the reverse! (5-4)

This a new twist on the use of this device. On several occasions, I have seen 'X in Y? Just the reverse' used to indicate 'Y in X'. However, here it means to put X in Y and then reverse the entire lot.

21d   Against health food being put in it to make one full of energy (7)

I believe that the definition is "one full of energy" which would be a noun. However, I was only familiar with the solution, VIBRANT, as an adjective. In his hint, Gazza also seems to suggest the solution is an adjective ("a description of someone full of energy"). I think the key is that the "one" who is full of energy is not a person. In linguistics, a vibrant^[4] is a vibrant speech sound, such as a trilled (r).

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