Thursday, July 12, 2012 - DT 26851

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26851
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, April 27, 2012
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26851]
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 This puzzle is a pangram (i.e., every letter of the alphabet appears at least once in the solutions.

Introduction

Given that Libellule awarded this puzzle four stars for difficulty, I suppose my performance was not too shabby. Nevertheless, I might well have done better had I recognized that the puzzle was shaping up to be a pangram.

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   Composer and tot meeting woman outside church (8)

Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. Regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era, Schumann turned his musical energies to composing when a hand injury ended this dream of a career as a virtuoso pianist..

5a   Sailor is positioned the wrong way round in descent (6)

In the Royal Navy, able seaman (abbreviation AB)^[5]. is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

In Britain, to abseil^[5] is to descend a rock face or other near-vertical surface by using a doubled rope coiled round the body and fixed at a higher point. Another term for this (and the one which is commonly used in North America) is rappel^[5].

10a   Careless agent has left work to be collected (6)

An opus (abbreviation op.)^[10] is a an artistic composition, especially a musical work.

20a   God of old, big noise (4)

In Scandinavian mythology, Odin^[5] (also known as Woden or Wotan) is the supreme god and creator, god of victory and the dead. Wednesday is named after him.

21a   Knave with bundle returning, a proverbial thief (7)

A jackdaw^[4] is a large common Eurasian passerine bird (Corvus monedula) from the crow family, in which the plumage is black and dark grey. It is noted for its thieving habits.

26a   Dog’s getting about square after four (6)

I am sure that this clue will have special appeal for those who are mathematically inclined.

30a   Presumably one who has found football player? (6)

The game referred to here is association football (soccer). The clue would work just as well if a hockey player were to be substituted for the soccer player. However, the clue would be meaningless if a North American football player were to be sent in.

31a   Medieval cleric finished being embraced by one of Henry’s wives (8)

Catherine Parr (1512 – 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England [and the only one to outlive him].

Prior to the Reformation, a pardoner^[10] was a person licensed to sell ecclesiastical indulgences.

2a   Gardeners keeping quiet as optimistic folk? (6)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).

3a   Fancy a lady going after fellow in foreign city! (8)

Mandalay^[5] is a port on the Irrawaddy River in central Burma (Myanmar). Founded in 1857, it was the capital until 1885 of the Burmese kingdom. It is an important Buddhist religious centre.

6d   Lout turning up, unable to say much and stroppy (6)

According to The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition:

lob /lob/ n ... a clumsy person; a lout; ...

Stroppy^[5] is British slang for bad-tempered and argumentative • Patricia was getting stroppy. When used as an adjective, bolshy (an alternative spelling of bolshie^[5] ) is British slang meaning (in reference to a person or attitude) deliberately combative or uncooperative • policemen with bolshie attitudes. As a noun, Bolshie^[5] is a dated British term meaning a Bolshevik or socialist.

23a   Mechanical device — power is coming with great speed (6)

Ton^[5] is British slang for a hundred, in particular a speed of 100 mph, a score of 100 or more, or a sum of £100 • he scored 102 not out, his third ton of the tour [the example describes the performance of a cricket player].

24d   Money given to the German who supplies grub? (6)

Der^[8] is a German definite article. That much I got correct. However, after that (or, actually, before that) I went sadly astray. I thought that the money was a TEN (ten pound note) and reasoned that a TENDER (either in the sense of a baby-sitter or a naval logistical support ship) might supply grub.

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