Thursday, August 30, 2012 - DT 26893

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26893
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, June 15, 2012
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26893]
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

Although I finished without help, I thought the puzzle was a bit more difficult than the 1-2 stars awarded by Gazza. The difference is likely a few British terms that I hadn't previously encountered — but which I managed to figure out through the expenditure of a fair amount of brain power.

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   Local gusher as representative of village interests? (6,4)

In Britain, parish-pump^[5] is an adjective meaning of local importance or interest only; parochial • I looked down on parish-pump politics. I would guess that, at one time, people gossiped around the parish pump just as they do today around the water cooler.

9a   Show contempt for our monarch? Something bad, mischief (10)

By tradition, British monarchs use initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus Queen Elizabeth's initials are ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

12a   Abhor look given by unbelievers, not half (6)

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event • and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

13a   Maid flashing piece of jewellery showing love (8)

It seems that virtually any verb indicating motion can be used as an anagram indicator. Here, flash^[5] is presumably used in the sense of to move or pass very quickly. Thus "maid flashing" would be interpreted as '[the letters forming the word] maid moving quickly". While the same result would eventually be obtained if one were to move the letters slowly, it is undoubtedly more efficient to move them quickly!

18a   Author who could convey sly images with ink (8,4)

Kingsley Amis^[7] (1922 – 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism. He has been called "the finest English comic novelist of the second half of the twentieth century."

21a   Salesfolk carrying very good books — they’ve been given new coats (8)

According to Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, a repaint^[2] is a repainted golf ball. In Crosswordland, books are usually either the Old Testament (OT) or New Testament (NT). A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

25a   Land with extreme fear more established, as some might say (5,5)

This homophone clue only works when pronounced with  a British accent. Say the phrase TERROR (extreme fear) + FIRMER (more established) using a soft British R (rather than the hard North American R) and it sounds like TERRA FIRMA.

26a   Fish husband gets to cook? Not bass (4)

While it is a fish in the surface reading, bass (abbreviation B^[2]) becomes a musical term for purposes of the cryptic analysis.

1d   Oar to make progress in shallow water (6)

The second usage of paddle would seem to be British. Oxford Dictionaries defines paddle^[5] (as a verb) to mean to walk with bare feet in shallow water • the children paddled at the water’s edge. While this is not indicated to be a British expression, Oxford Dictionaries goes on to define paddle (as a noun) as a chiefly British term meaning an act of walking with bare feet in shallow water • I went for a paddle.

2d   Rogue artist’s beginning to collude with gangster (6)

It would seem that Al Capone has established himself firmly as the crime boss in Crosswordland. RA^[5] is the abbreviation for Royal Academician, a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

3d   Man who traditionally comes with a crook’s food? (9,3)

In the surface reading, it appears that the setter might be referring to someone who delivers a meal to a prisoner in jail. However, beneath the misdirection, he is actually talking about food that might be eaten by someone who traditionally carries a crook (hooked staff).

8d   One tiny lad turned up? Attendance ‘moderate’! (8)

Timothy Cratchit, called "Tiny Tim"^[7], is a fictional character from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He is a minor character, the young son of Bob Cratchit (the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge), and is seen only briefly, but serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices.

11d   Greedy folk given power knowing that just won’t happen! (4,5,3)

In Britain, fly^[5] can mean knowing and clever • she’s fly enough not to get tricked out of it.

16d   Runner is gathering fighting corps before hard battle (8)

The Royal Marines (RM)^[5] is a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) that was founded in 1664, and trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances. H^[5] is the abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead • a 2H pencil.

19d   Female on a lake in an imaginary land of old (6)

Faerie^[5] is an archaic or literary term for fairyland • the world of faerie.

20d   Claim made by theologian about revolutionary denomination (6)

Doctor of Divinity^[7] (D.D. or DD, Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects. In the United Kingdom, Doctor of Divinity has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction. In the United States the Doctor of Divinity is usually awarded as an honorary degree.

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