Friday, August 10, 2012 - DT 26877

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26877
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, May 28, 2012
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26877]
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 26876 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, May 26, 2012.

Introduction

I found today's puzzle to be a bit more difficult than Libellule's two stars would indicate. I am sure that this can be attributed, at least in part, to some British terms that I am seeing for the first time 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.

9a   Holiday with one’s bride, darling Cynthia! (9)

Despite getting the solution fairly readily, I had no idea who Cynthia might be. I just assumed that Cynthia Moon must be some British celebrity who is unknown on this side of the pond. However, in Greek mythology, Cynthia^[10] is another name for Artemis^[10], the virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon and the twin sister of Apollo.

10a   A period return to, say, Wembley (5)

As I was solving this clue, I supposed that it was a reference to Wembley Stadium. However, while composing the blog, I discovered that there is also an arena by that name.

Wembley Arena^[7] is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium. It was built for the 1934 Empire Games, and originally housed a swimming pool, as reflected by its former name, "Empire Pool". The pool itself was last used for the 1948 Summer Olympics. The building is used for music, comedy and family entertainment and for sport. With 12,500 seats it is London's second largest indoor arena after The O2 arena and third largest indoor concert venue after the O2 and Earls Court, an exhibition hall which regularly stages concerts.

13a   Bird gets morsel — a choice one (6)

The British name for a chickadee is tit^[5] (or titmouse).

15a   Benevolence of sort shown by head (8)

Usually found in place names, ness^[5] means a headland or promontory • Orford Ness.

19a   Tramp meets toff — without love they rarely do this (6)

In British slang, toff^[5] is a derogatory term for a rich or upper-class person. Nob is a chiefly British slang term for a person of wealth or social standing^[3] or a person of social distinction^[4].

23a   Terrible, but not initially loud, stream of abuse (6)

In musical notation, the direction for loud is forte (f)^[5].

27a   Lots are involved in education (9)

The definition is "lots are" which conveys the idea of "lots may be described as such". We need to find an adjective that might describe "lots".

28a   Let Jack be seen to supply a military presence (4,3,4)

A jack^[5] is a small version of a national flag flown at the bow of a vessel in harbour to indicate its nationality.

2d  Police constable held up in a state of terror (5)

In Britain, PC^[5] is an abbreviation for a police constable • PC Bartholomew made his report.

3d   Normality restored in money-making organisation (5,4)

The Royal Mint^[5] is the establishment responsible for the manufacture of British coins. Set up in 1810 in London, it moved in 1968 to Llantrisant in South Wales.

5d   Nobel Prize winner for Nineties engineering (8)

Albert Einstein^[5] (1879–1955) was a German-born American theoretical physicist, founder of the special and general theories of relativity. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.^[7]

20d   Sort of clip that’s found at the end of a lead (7)

In Britain, a lead^[5] is a strap or cord for restraining and guiding a dog or other domestic animal • the dog is our constant walking companion and is always kept on a lead. Bulldog clip^[5] is a British trademark for a strong sprung metal device with two flat plates that close so as to hold papers together.

22d   Through which Hamlet drove home his point (5)

An arras is a wall hanging made of a rich tapestry fabric, typically used to conceal an alcove • he pulled back the arras on the far wall and went into his secret chamber.

In Hamlet^[7] , a play written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet — on hearing a sound from behind an arras — stabs wildly through the cloth, killing Polonius who had been hiding there.

24d   The latest thing in ties? (5)

The answer could scarcely be anything else, but I certainly did not understand the cryptic element of the clue. Libellule's hint provided an inkling of the meaning.

In Britain, a tie^[5] is a sports match between two or more players or teams in which the winners proceed to the next round of the competition • Swindon Town have won themselves a third round tie against Oldham. The rounds of competition continue until only two players or teams remain, and they meet in the final (the latest, or last, round of competition).

In Britain, as in North America, a tie can also mean a result in a game or other competitive situation in which two or more competitors or teams have the same score or ranking; a draw • there was a tie for first place.

In cricket, a tie is a game in which the scores are level and both sides have completed their innings, as distinct from a draw (a game left incomplete through lack of time).

25d   National tax (4)

Scot^[5] is an archaic term for a payment corresponding to a modern tax, rate, or other assessed contribution.

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