Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - DT 26892

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26892
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, June 14, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26892]
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

Big Dave says that he enjoyed today's puzzle "even if some of the wordplay needed a bit of thought". I would say that I enjoyed it precisely because some of the wordplay demanded a bit of thought.

I managed to solve most of the puzzle on my own, but needed lots of electronic help in the northwest quadrant. I failed to identify the Scottish Island — despite once having been as close as Skye.

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   A mean rib I cooked in this French contraption (4-5)

A bain-marie^[10] is a a vessel for holding hot water, in which sauces and other dishes are gently cooked or kept warm.

12a   Nurse’s nouveau riche second husband (7)

The fact that nurse could be a synonym for cherish was news to me. However, according to Collins English Dictionary, one meaning of the verb nurse^[10] is to attend to carefully; foster, cherish • (i) he nursed the magazine through its first year (ii) having a very small majority he nursed the constituency diligently. Furthermore, Chambers Thesaurus lists the following synonyms for nurse: preserve, sustain, support, nourish, cherish, harbour, entertain, encourage, keep, foster, boost, promote, advance, further, nurture, help, aid, assist.

19a    Run through 20% of repertoire with Electric Light Orchestra very loud (4,3)

Fortissimo (abbreviation ff)^[5] is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very loud  or (as an adverb) very loudly.

27a   Iconic Italian biscuit (9)

Giuseppe Garibaldi^[5] (1807–82), Italian patriot and military leader of the Risorgimento. With his volunteer force of ‘Red Shirts’ he captured Sicily and southern Italy from the Bourbons in 1860-61, thereby playing a key role in the establishment of a united kingdom of Italy. In Britain, a garibaldi^[5] is a biscuit [cookie] containing a layer of compressed currants.

30a    Free? Then go see round new tourist attraction (10)

Stonehenge^[5] is a megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Completed in several constructional phases from circa 2950 bc, it is composed of a circle of sarsen stones surrounded by a bank and ditch and enclosing a circle of smaller bluestones. Within this inner circle is a horseshoe arrangement of five trilithons with the axis aligned on the midsummer sunrise, an orientation that was probably for ritual purposes.

1d   Island’s unexpectedly busiest but not best time (4)

Uist^[5] consists of two islands in the Outer Hebrides, North Uist and South Uist, lying to the south of Lewis and Harris and separated from each other by the island of Benbecula.

11d   MG catching Lotus before second of Mercedes in mix-up (7)

The Elan^[7] is an automobile model manufactured by Lotus Cars.

16d   Pride member displayed in avoidance of praline centre in second of two chocolate bars (4,3)

A Lion Bar^[7] is a chocolate bar made by Nestlé, and is primarily marketed in the UK. Club^[7] is a chocolate bar sold under the Jacob's brand in the UK by United Biscuits.

20d   Fixed rent for cosy accommodation (7)

A flatlet^[10] is a flat [apartment] having only a few rooms.

21d   Cusp of Aquarius rising fortuitously? Or Gemini? Or Libra? (3,4)

In Astrology, each of the twelve signs is associated with one of the four classical Greek elements of Fire, Earth, Air and Water. The Air signs^[7] are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius.

23d   Stuff oneself with Cheddar or similar (5)

Cheddar Gorge^[7] is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be over 9,000 years old, was found in 1903. Cheddar Gorge^[7] will also be familiar to the Bris as the name of a recurring segment on the BBC radio comedy game show, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue^[7].

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