Monday, September 17, 2012 - DT 26908

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26908
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26908]
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

While overall not terribly difficult, there are a couple of clues in today's puzzle with quite tricky wordplay.

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.

7a  After breakdown, rev woeful hired vehicle (4-5,5)

A "breakdown" is what North Americans would be more likely to refer to as car trouble. In Britain, emergency roadside assistance would be called breakdown service^[10]. Sainsbury's^[7], mentioned by Gazza in his review, is the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom.

9a   Pine by hill starts to overshadow wood for poet (10)

A fell^[5] is a hill or stretch of high moorland, especially in northern England.

11a   Decrease inflexible element in club (4)

I was expecting maybe a double definition. Having concluded that one definition was [golf] club, I was desperately trying to make sense of the rest of the clue. While I have occasionally seen triple definitions in the past, I believe that this is the first time I have ever encountered a quadruple definition. The four meanings of iron are "decrease" (cryptic description of removing creases from articles of clothing), "inflexible" (e..g., iron will), "element" (as a chemistry term), and "club" (used in playing golf).

12a   Take in celebrity magazine bar cover (3)

Heat^[7] is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. As of 2004 it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip, beauty advice and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in other women's magazines. It also features movie and music reviews, TV listings and major celebrity interviews.

17a   Live in front of a filthy place round lake? That’s vile (7)

In Britain, beastly^[5] means very unpleasant ⇒ this beastly war.

23a   Face fool (3)

Mug^[5] is British slang for a stupid or gullible person ⇒ they were no mugs where finance was concerned.

25a   Care taken about poster with old racing driver subject to recruitment (10)

James Hunt^[7] (1947 – 1993) was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in 1976. Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman. Hunt died in 1993 at the age of 45, of a heart attack.

28a   Criminal behind top site around Spain? It’s irrelevant (6,3,5)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Spain is E^[5] (from Spanish España).

1d   Old fellow arranged to be with a person during time held up without a home (2,2,5,5)

Of no fixed abode^[5] is an expression [seemingly British] describing a person having no permanent residence ⇒ both defendants were said to be of no fixed abode. The North American equivalent would be no fixed address.

3d   Very sentimental daughter jumping out of river (4)

The Tweed^[5] is a river which rises in the Southern Uplands of Scotland and flows generally eastwards, crossing into NE England and entering the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed. For part of its lower course it forms the border between Scotland and England. Twee^[5] is a British expression denoting excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental (although the film’s a bit twee, it’s watchable).

4d   Office employee still getting uppity about a boy (3,4)

In Britain, a tea lady^[5] is a woman employed to make and serve tea in a workplace.

5d   Fair source of sprays etc? (6,4)

My Fair Lady^[7] is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a well-born lady.

15d   A large smoker’s resource seen around back of inn in event around the clock? (10)

The term all-nighter seems to have a different connotation in Britain than it does in North America. Collins English Dictionary defines all-nighter^[10] as an entertainment, such as a pop concert or film screening, that lasts all night (which is the sense in which it is used in the discussion on Big Dave's blog). Oxford Dictionaries (British and World English version) defines all-nighter^[5] as an event or activity that continues throughout the night [leaving the nature of the activity unspecified]. However, Oxford Dictionaries (US English) defines all-nighter^[6] as an event or task that continues throughout the night, especially a study session before an examination ⇒ he would do an all-nighter, the way he used to in school (which is the meaning with which I am familiar).

19d  Criticism curtailed by ambassador — or other member of embassy? (7)

HE^[2] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency^[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.

26d   Confidence shown by comic actor (4)

Bob Hope^[7] (1903 – 2003) was an English-born American comedian and actor. His name never came to mind and I ended up entering HYPE (perhaps attributable to having run out of letters).

27d   Expose as a lie Nationalist trouble (4)

Nail^[10] means to expose or detect (a lie or liar).

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