Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - DT 26868

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26868
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, May 17, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26868]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
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

My performance today was rather poor considering that the puzzle merited only two stars for difficulty from Big Dave. I attribute my poor showing to my brain shutting down from crossword overload. Not only have I fallen a bit behind in doing the puzzles and writing the blogs, I also reviewed today's puzzle in The Daily Telegraph for Big Dave's blog.

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   Friendly fellow found in a story (7)

We often find abbreviations for very common words used in puzzles (such as F for fellow in this clue). This may lead novice solvers to conclude that virtually any word can arbitrarily be shortened to its first letter. However, that is not the case. Often these abbreviations for common words derive from a very specialized usage of the word. In this clue, F^[2] is an abbreviation for Fellow^[2] in the sense of a member of any of many learned societies. In general, for an abbreviation to be used in a cryptic crossword, it must appear in a recognized dictionary. I try to point out these specialized usages whenever I am aware of them.

11a   Foolish mistake made in road to Tyneside? (7)

The A1^[7] is the longest numbered road in the UK, at 410 miles (660 km). It connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Tyneside^[5] is an industrial conurbation (an extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of a central city) on the banks of the River Tyne, in NE England, stretching from Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast. While the construction of the clue does not require it be so, the A1 actually passes through Tyneside. The word "to" is used as a charade indicator in the sense of 'pressed against', as in the expressions "shoulder to the wheel" and "nose to the grindstone".

14a   Pass around ball for fan (4)

I must have gotten too preoccupied with the sporting imagery.

22a   Attendant’s element in book (4)

Like several visitors to Big Dave's blog, I fell into the trap of thinking that "element" referred to silver (whose symbol is Ag). That left me trying to figure out why PE should be a book.

27a   Surprised expression shown by gentleman harbouring a criminal at sea (7)

Cor^[5] is an informal British exclamation expressing surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm: Cor! That‘s a beautiful black eye you’ve got!

28a   Celebratory time in Florida, say, with figure getting about (7)

I, like many others it seems, failed to see that "time in Florida, say" clues Eastern Standard Time (EST) with the word "say" indicating that Florida just happens to be one of many places located in this time zone.

1d   Artist with conservationists below feature of college is part of a circle (8)

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. In Britain, the National Trust (abbreviation NT)^[5] is a trust for the preservation of places of historic interest or natural beauty in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, founded in 1895 and supported by endowment and private subscription. The National Trust for Scotland was founded in 1931.

7d   Model European with religious book (7) 

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious.

8d   In New York, fine snappily-dressed person (5)

In North America (including New York), swell^[5] is a rather dated slang expression meaning excellent or very good • you’re looking swell. On either side of the Atlantic, it is a informal, dated term for a fashionable or stylish person of wealth or high social position • a crowd of city swells.

20d   Province associated with Spice Girl, say, and a country (7)

Geri Halliwell^[7] is a British pop singer-songwriter, clothes designer, author and actress who came to international prominence in the late 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of girl group the Spice Girls.

In British cryptic crosswords, the word "province" often means Northern Ireland (abbreviation NI^[5]). Here is what Wikipedia has to say about terminology pertaining to the constituent parts of the United Kingdom.

Although the United Kingdom, as a sovereign state, is a country, England, Scotland, Wales and (more controversially) Northern Ireland are also referred to as countries, although they are not sovereign states and only Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government. The British Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences." Other terms used for Northern Ireland include "region" and "province".

25d   Jogger’s first set of exercises includes a source of light relief? (4)

I would say that PE^[5] is the abbreviation for Physical Education (rather than Physical Exercises), but I suppose it all amounts to the same thing.

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