Wednesday, October 31, 2012 - DT 26946

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26946
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 16, 2012
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26946]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
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

RayT delivers a rather tame offering today. I would say that it barely makes it into three star territory for difficulty — more realistically, I would position it in the upper two star region. It is also noticeably short on innuendo, but does have the always-present mention of Queen.

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   ‘Smooth Criminal’ about one’s point of no return (7)

The Rubicon^[7] is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, about 80 kilometres long, running from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena. During the Roman republic, the river Rubicon marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul to the north-east and Italy proper. Under Roman law, Caesar — as a provincial governor and general — was forbidden to enter Italy in command of his army.

The idiom "Crossing the Rubicon" means to pass a point of no return, and refers to Julius Caesar's army's crossing of the river in 49 BC, which was considered an act of insurrection and precipitated a civil war in which Caesar emerged victorious..

10a   Finish cooking meat in iron container (6)

As our first chemistry lesson of the day, we learn that the symbol for the chemical element iron is Fe^[5].

22a   He is one, and I too! (7)

Continuing our chemistry studies, He^[5] and I^[5] are the symbols for the chemical elements helium and iodine respectively.

25a   Ass perhaps, Shakespearean character (6)

Nick Bottom^[7] is a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream who provides comic relief throughout the play, and is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of an ass by the elusive Puck within the play.

26a   The compiler’s connected to a certain degree (7)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, author, or writer to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must usually substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used  in the clue.

2d   Sale of uranium in warfare (7)

In our final chemistry lesson of the day, we discover that U^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element uranium.

5d   Publicity likely over Queen arranger (7)

The cipher (monogram) of Queen Elizabeth is comprised of the initials ER^[5] — from the Latin version of her name and title, Elizabetha Regina.

11d   See letter reproduced in daily newspapers once here (5,6)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7] is a British international business newspaper [conspicuously published on pink newsprint].

Fleet Street^[7] is a street in the City of London which was the origin and home of the British newspapers until the 1980s. Even though the last major British news office, Reuters, left in 2005, the term Fleet Street continues to be used as a metonym for the British national press.

18d   Demanding America supports old foreign leader (7)

Nero^[7] (37 – 68) was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68. In 64, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea.

19d   Fantastic woman’s plump for artist (7)

Plump for^[5] means to decide definitely in favour of (one of two or more possibilities) ⇒ offered a choice of drinks, he plumped for brandy.

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is 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 Greek mythology, Electra^[7] was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus princess of Argos. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father, Agamemnon.

21d   Hard to embrace alien deviation (6)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial^[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg that tells the story of Elliott, a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

23d   Issue raised on front of Sunday paper (5)

The Times^[7] is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register (it became The Times on 1 January 1788). The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News International, itself wholly owned by the News Corporation group headed by Rupert Murdoch. The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1967.

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

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - DT 26945

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26945
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26945]
Big Dave's Review Written By Scchua
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

Today Big Dave introduces a new contributor in the person of Scchua who becomes the regular Wednesday reviewer on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — with Pommers and myself moving to the Thursday slot.

As you will see when you visit Big Dave's site, Scchua introduces quite a different style to his review — somewhat pedantic and far less chatty than other reviewers. While I have not read ahead extensively in the postings on Big Dave's site (remember that the puzzles appear in the UK three months before they are published in the National Post), I have gleaned — as a result of reviews that I have written for Big Dave over that last few months — that the reaction from readers was not entirely positive. Over the next few weeks, I will be most interested to find out exactly what transpired and to see what adjustments Scchua makes in response to it. One innovation that he introduced — the underlining of the definition in the clue — seems to have been very well-received and other reviewers — including myself — have since adopted this practice.

Despite finishing with an error, I would concur with Scchua's two stars for difficulty as I completed this puzzle without resorting to help from my electronic assistants. However, his two stars for enjoyment was a bit harsh in my opinion.

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   Difficult task, with no hotel for the most loyal supporters (4,4)

Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.

16a   Seasoning for the girl’s starter of broccoli (4)

Starter^[5] is a chiefly [but certainly not entirely] British name for the first course of a meal.

17a   Reject, with time for new jet (5)

The substitution in this clue is a quintessential Jay device, with "time for new" indicating that T (time) replaces N (new). Thus, starting with SPURN (reject) and replacing the N with a T, one obtains SPURT (jet). I had mistakenly come to the conclusion that the wordplay was SHUN (reject) + T (time), rationalizing that shunt must mean "new jet" in some sense known only to the Brits.

23a   Bad feeling gift wrapping new clock? (12)

In the cryptic reading, clock is used as a verb.

26a   One’s twice a goddess! (4)

In Egyptian mythology, Isis^[5] is a goddess of fertility, wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Her worship spread to western Asia, Greece, and Rome, where she was identified with various local goddesses.

27a   Go with European academic, excited (6,2)

A don^[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.

2d   Story of a code ten violation (8)

I searched in vain to identify what might be meant by a "code ten violation". In the end, I concluded that it is likely just a convenient invention by Jay. The only even remotely plausible explanation that I could find is the ten-codes^[7] set of code words used to represent common phrases in voice communication, particularly by US law enforcement and in Citizens' Band (CB) radio transmissions.

The development of the 10-codes began in 1937, when police radio channels were limited, to reduce use of speech on the radio. Credit for inventing the codes goes to Charles "Charlie" Hopper, communications director for the Illinois State Police, District 10 in Pesotum, Illinois. Hopper had been involved in radio for years and realized there was a need to abbreviate transmissions on State Police bands. Experienced radio operators knew the first syllable of a transmission was frequently not understood because of quirks in early electronics technology. Radios in the 1930s were based on vacuum tubes powered by a small motor-generator called a dynamotor. The dynamotor took from 1/10 to 1/4 of a second to "spin up" to full power. Police officers were trained to push the microphone button, then pause briefly before speaking; however, sometimes they would forget to wait. Preceding each code with "ten-" gave the radio transmitter time to reach full power.

Ten-codes, especially "ten-four", first reached public recognition in the mid- to late-1950s through the popular television series Highway Patrol, with Broderick Crawford. Crawford would reach into his patrol car to use the microphone to answer a call and precede his response with "10-4". Ten-codes were adapted for use by CB radio enthusiasts during its pop culture explosion in the late 1970s. The hit 1975 song "Convoy" by C. W. McCall depicting conversation among CB-communicating truckers put phrases like 10-4 meaning "understood" and what's your twenty? (10-20) for "where are you?" into common use in American English. A 1978 movie Convoy, loosely based on the song, further entrenched ten-codes in casual conversation.

3d   Runs off after teachers on beach to get the basic facts (4,3,5)

The National Union of Teachers (NUT)^[7] — a trade union for school teachers in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man — is the largest teachers' union in Europe. [I would imagine that British school children do not fail to avail themselves of the obvious possibilities presented by this acronym.]

5d   You and supporter of course may hold hands at first (4)

Here "supporter of course" is a fairly common cryptic construction which describes an object used on a golf course to support a ball — the word "of" meaning belonging to or associated with.

6d   Weaponry for a mother trapped in lease (8)

In British informal speech or dialect, mam^[5] denotes one’s mother ⇒ (i) my mam would have had a fit if I’d gone out dressed like that; (ii) [as name] it was better when Mam was alive.

19d   Couple of errors in a complex trial of major routes (8)

I tried hard to force fit ARTERIES in as the solution. This was based on mistakenly concluding that the definition would be "major routes" and that a "couple of errors" must be EE (but not necessarily together). I should have realized immediately that error^[3] is a baseball term and not likely to be used by the cricket-obsessed Brits.

It eventually dawned on me that, in reality — if cryptic crosswords can be considered to represent "reality", the definition is "of major routes" (making it an adjective) and a "couple of errors" refers to the first two letters of the word "ERrors".

24d   Country bearing anger (4)

Eire^[5] is the Gaelic name for Ireland, and was the official name of the Republic of Ireland from 1937 to 1949.

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

Monday, October 29, 2012 - DT 26944

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26944
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26944]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
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

Today's puzzle was not overly difficult but still managed to be very enjoyable.

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   Working lunches with a macabre sort of lawyer (9-6)

There is agreement among most British dictionaries that the solution to this clue is either "US slang" (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2] and Collins^[10]) or "derogatory, chiefly North American" (Oxford^[5]). They also unanimously concur that there is no hyphen in the word. The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition, on the other hand, spells the term with a hyphen and also lists two senses of the term, only one of which it characterizes as being US:

ambulance-chaser n a lawyer on the lookout for accidents in order to instigate actions for damages (US); a person or firm offering to pursue a claim on behalf of an accident victim in return for a percentage of the sum obtained.^[1]

9a   Seldom encountered by British, Italian cheese dish (7)

Rarebit^[5] (also called Welsh rabbit) is a dish of melted and seasoned cheese on toast, sometimes with other ingredients. I interpret the wordplay to be RARE (seldom encountered) + (by) B (British) + IT (Italian); however, one could also possibly make a case for RARE (seldom) + (encountered by) B (British) + IT (Italian).

10a   Mutter curiously about piano and something to play (7)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).

13a   Escape of water from a lake, unfortunately, by outskirts of Grasmere (7)

Grasmere^[7] is a village, and popular tourist destination, in the centre of the English Lake District. It takes its name from the adjacent lake, and is associated with the Lake Poets. The poet William Wordsworth, who lived in Grasmere for fourteen years, described it as "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found".

17a   Saying name of dog, perhaps held by lead (7)

In the surface reading, lead^[3,4] is another name for a leash. In the cryptic reading, however, it is a chemical element having the symbol Pb^[5].

21a   Change flag once fellow leaves (5)

F^[2] is the abbreviation for Fellow (of a society, etc).

23a   Main place for the rest of the natives? (6-3)

With a few checking letters in place, I recognized that the second part of the solution was likely to be BED (place for rest) and "main" surely pointed to something having to do with the sea. However, I didn't twig to the meaning of "natives" (a usage I've encountered in at least one previous puzzle) until I saw OYSTER in a list of candidate words produced by a word finder program. In the UK, a native^[5] is an oyster reared in British waters.

25a   In conflict with commander this month (7)

Instant^[5] is a dated expression used in formal correspondence to indicate 'of the present month'. It is a postpositive adjective (i.e., it follows the noun it modifies) and almost always appears as an abbreviation (inst). Thus, one might write "In reference to your letter of the 7th inst ...".

26a   Put rings round the lines for play’s hero (7)

Othello^[7],  the title character in Shakespeare's Othello (c.1601–1604), ...

27a   Play’s hero overcome? Not he, if composed (3,4,2,6)

... is a Moorish prince living in Venice, an ambassador of the Moors.

2d   A gem of a girl? (5)

Pommers and I both seem to have been distracted by the wrong girls — while he was pursuing Ruby, I was chasing Pearl. I could boast that the object of my attention at least had the correct number of letters, but that only meant that it took me much longer to realize that I was after the wrong lass.

4d   Hazel, for example, one who’s crazy over old actor (3-4)

Fortunately, it was quite easy to decipher the solution to this clue without ever having heard of the English actor and theatre manager, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852 – 1917)^[7].

7d   Comic-strip character, perhaps getting petrol on her overalls initially (9)

I expect that it is generally well known to North American readers that petrol^[5] is the British term for gasoline^[5]. Super^[10] is petrol with a high octane rating (known in North America as premium or high-test gasoline).

8d   Train always holding one up (7)

I determined the correct solution fairly readily based on the definition, but needed a nudge from Pommers to see the wordplay which is a reversal (up) of {EER (always; contraction of ever) containing (holding) UNIT (one)}.

17d   Rustic worker after vegetables (7)

Don't be misled by Pommer's hint. The definition is merely "rustic" and not "rustic worker" making the solution, PEASANT, an adjective rather than a noun.

19d   Gradually disappear in route through mountains on holiday (4,3)

In what may possibly be a British turn of phrase, pass off^[10] can mean to come to a gradual end or disappear ⇒ eventually the pain passed off.

20d   Youngster in Po Delta, swimming? (7)

The Po^[7] is a river that arises in the Cottian Alps and flows eastward across northern Italy entering the Adriatic Sea through a delta near Venice. If you are puzzled by Pommers' comment ("At least I didn’t have to remember where the Po is – sorry gnomey!"), Gnomethang (one of the contributors to Big Dave's Crossword Blog) once identified the Po as being a Chinese river — and his fellow bloggers have never allowed him to live it down.

24d   Little time in Indonesian island for a British-style type of curry (5)

The dictionaries^[2,5,10] are divided on both where this dish originated as well as on the origin of the name. A Balti^[7] is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed steel wok-like "balti bowl" which is served in many restaurants in the United Kingdom. The precise origins of the Balti style of cooking are uncertain; some believe it to have been invented in Birmingham, England while others believe it originated in the northern Pakistani region of Baltistan in Kashmir from where it spread to Britain.
Balti cuisine became known throughout the UK during the 1990s, after initial growth in Birmingham since the 1980s. One school of thought states that name 'Balti' for food may reflect the fact that an ethnic group living in that area of north Pakistan are called Balti. Alternatively, 'Balti' food may be named after the pot in which it is cooked (whose name may have come from an Urdu and Hindi word meaning "bucket").

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

Saturday, October 27, 2012 - Autumn Leaves

Introduction

We are well into the season of autumn leaves. Many have already fallen, but there are still plenty to be seen — including a fine display in today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   PERMISSIONS* — anagram (after changing) of IMPRESSIONS

7a   DEW~ — sounds like (sounds) DO (make)

9a   PLUM|PER — PLUM (fruit) + (before) PER (a pop; each)

10a   HO|RATIO — HO (laughter; à la Santa Claus) + RATIO (share)

Note: The cryptic definition really only becomes effective when it and its solution are each read as phrases, with 'HO RATIO' equating to "share of laughter".

Horatio^[7] is a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. An acquaintance of Prince Hamlet from university, he is often not identified as having any specific court position, but simply as "friend to Hamlet."

11a   RINGS — double definition; "calls" & "wedding necessities"

12a   STRAP<|PIN|G — reversal (turning) of PARTS (leaves) + PIN (sticker) + G (green)

13a   VA(MOO)SES — VASES (urns) containing (filled with) MOO (low; sound made by cattle)

15a   MEDIUM — double definition; "average" & "psychic"

18a   RECIPE* — anagram (misread) of PIERCE

20a   RAM|PAGES — RAM (batter) + PAGES (leaves)

23a   LI(BERT|I)ES — {BERT (†) + I (†)} contained in (put in) LIES (stories)

24a   NEVER* — anagram (novel) of VERNE

Jules Verne^[7] (1828 – 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travels before air travel and practical submarines were invented, and before practical means of space travel had been devised. [However, to the best of my knowledge, he never wrote about flying pigs.]

The phrase "when pigs fly"^[7] is an adynaton—a figure of speech so hyperbolic that it describes an impossibility. Here are a couple of interesting examples of its usage.

• American author John Steinbeck was told by his professor that he would be an author when pigs flew. When he eventually became a novelist, he started to print every book he wrote with the insignia "Ad astra per alia porci" (to the stars on the wings of a pig).
• In the UK BBC One series called ShakespeaRe-Told adaptation of Macbeth, the character Joe Macbeth's monologue "Is that a [police] helicopter? Is it landing on this building? Pigs will fly! Pigs will fly!" It is the film's translation of "The Birnam Wood" reference to the warning given to Macbeth in the Shakespeare play of the same name, in which he is warned that "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until / Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him."

26a   CHECKER — double definition; "examiner" & "plaid"

Note: The clue might also — and perhaps more appropriately — be categorized as a cryptic definition (as the question mark would seem to indicate). However, as such, it would still utilize the elements of the double definition as shown above.

For British readers, checker^[3,4] is the US spelling of chequer^[3,4], a pattern consisting of squares of different colours, textures, or materials.

27a   LI(A|IS)ON — {A (article) + IS (†)} contained in (going into) LION (Detroit player)

Seeing that Detroit is currently engaged in a showdown with San Francisco in the World Series, one might be tempted to think of a Tiger. However, it is a different jungle beast that we need to focus on.

The Detroit Lions^[7] are a professional US football team based in Detroit, Michigan that plays in the National Football League (NFL).

28a   DA|Y — DA (in Moscow — yes; Russian word meaning yes) + Y (yes)

29a   SABBATICAL* — anagram (scattered) of A BASIC BLAST

Down

1d   P(APE)R OVER — APE (†) contained in PROVER (shower; someone that shows — not a light rain)

2d   ROUE|N — ROUE (rake; libertine) + N {back (final letter) of lawN}

Rouen^[7], situated in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, it was here that Joan of Arc was executed in 1431.

3d   IMP|AS|TO — IMP (little rascal) + AS TO (regarding)

4d   STRESSED< — reversal (in return) of DESSERTS (sweet dishes)

5d   O(THE)RS — ORS (hospital rooms; operating rooms) containing (admitting) THE (†)

6d   STROP|HE — HE (†) preceded by (started with) STROP (barbershop band)

7d   DET|AILING — reversal (turning) of TED + AILING (sick)

Note: the definition is "explaining all about". The reversal indicator is "turning" and not "about".

8d   W|RON|G_ — W (with) + RON (†) + G {Goldman's head (first letter)}

Wrong — as in miscarriage of justic. Ron Goldman^[7] (1968 – 1994) was an American murder victim. He was killed along with Nicole Brown Simpson allegedly by her former husband O.J. Simpson, an actor and retired American football player. The subsequent criminal investigation and trial against O. J. Simpson was described as the "trial of the century." Although he was later held liable for Goldman's death and that of his ex-wife in a 1997 civil trial, Simpson was acquitted of the murders in the previous criminal trial.

14d   MACABRELY* — anagram (snapped) of ARMY CABLE

16d   MI|SPRINTS — MI ([Roman numeral for] 1001) + SPRINTS (runs)

17d   M(AU|SOLE)A — MA (mom) contains (keeps) {AU ([symbol for the chemical element] gold) + SOLE (fish)}

19d   PER(UK)ES — UK (Britain; United Kingdom) contained in (acquired by) PERES (Israel's Shimon)

Shimon Peres^[7] is the ninth and current President of the State of Israel.

21d   PUN|JAB|I — PUN (joke) + JAB (poke) + I ([Roman numeral for] one)

The Punjab^[7] comprises vast territories of eastern Pakistan and northern India. It includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India.

22d   {MI|DRIB}< — reversal (returning) of {BIRD (flyer) + IM (I'm)}

23d   LACED< — reversal (from the back) of DECAL (picture you can transfer)

25d   _VE|STA_ — hidden in (visible amid) fiVE STArs

If Venus is "the goddess pencils" (as I recall her being identified in an old Wayne and Shuster^[7] comedy sketch), then Vesta^[7] must surely be the goddess of matches (in the UK, at least).

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

Friday, October 26, 2012 - DT 26943

Posted Saturday, October 27, 2012 but backdated to maintain puzzle sequencing.

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26943
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, August 13, 2012
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26943]
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
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26942 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, August 11, 2012.

Introduction

At Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Big Dave himself takes over the reins from Libellule today. He characterises the puzzle as "The usual mix of clues with a couple of barely cryptic definitions thrown in for good measure." As I worked through the puzzle, the thought also occurred to me that some of the cryptic definitions were perhaps a bit thin. However, overall, it is the usual enjoyable fare that we have come to expect from Rufus. Although I surmised what the correct solution should be at 2d, I did need to consult a dictionary to confirm that the British slang term for a donkey actually exists.

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   Monday’s issue is said to be so attractive (4,2,4)

According to the nursery rhyme, "Monday's child^[7] is fair of face ..."

9a   Bait and line cast on river (4)

The River Ure^[7] is a stream in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse.

11a   Hard getting permit to worship (6)

H^[5] is the abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

24a   Score is two-love (6)

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a number (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of love equating to this letter.

28a   Lift and cut (4)

Nick^[5] is British slang meaning to steal ⇒ she nicked fivers from the till.

2d   A donkey almost berserk (4)

Moke^[5] is British slang for a donkey.

5d   A Frenchman meets a hospital nurse from China, originally (4)

Monsieur (abbreviation M)^[5] is a title or form of address used of or to a French-speaking man, corresponding to Mr or sir ⇒ Monsieur Hulot.

20d    Politician’s chosen — a Tory, partly towards the right (7)

The phrases "towards the left" and "towards the west" are often used to indicate a reversal. The contrary constructions, "towards the right" and "towards the east" naturally indicate the absence of a reversal — a condition that generally goes unstated.

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

Thursday, October 25, 2012 - DT 26941

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26941
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, August 10, 2012
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26941]
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

I did better with this puzzle than I might expect to on one with a four star difficulty rating. It did take some time to find a starting point, and progress was by no means swift. II was able to work out the solutions to several clues from the wordplay and then had to look them up in the dictionary to confirm that such words or expressions actually exist. Among these were the fish at 6a, the synonym for disappointing at 15a, the Burmese fighters at 7d, and the phrases at 22a and 3d. Moreover, the wordplay for 4d totally eluded me.

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   Go round with Kingsley in haze as one distinctly single-minded? (10)

Kingsley Amis^[7] (1922 – 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher who 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.

6a   Fish not happy — caught to be eaten (4)

Scad^[5] is another name for the jack^[5], a marine fish that is typically laterally compressed with a row of large spiky scales along each side, important in many places as food or game fish. Also called pompano. On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] indicates caught (by) ⇒ ME Waugh c Lara b Walsh 19.

9a   Computer work? Some of the French start to kill time before it (7)

Des^[8] is the form of the French word for some that is used with a plural noun.

10a   English newspaper has stories about socialists maybe (7)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7] is a British international business newspaper [conspicuously published on pink newsprint].

14a   Sequence by that old American writer (6)

Damon Runyon^[7] (1880 – 1946) was an American newspaperman and author. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era.

15a   Disappointing architectural city? Call back (8)

Bath^[7] is a city in Somerset in South West England. The city was first established as a spa by the Romans sometime in the AD 60s about 20 years after they had arrived in Britain (AD43), although oral tradition suggests that Bath was known before then. Much later, it became popular as a spa town during the Georgian era, which led to a major expansion that left a heritage of exemplary Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.

22a  Period associated with madness? Ages and ages (4,3,2,4)

Time out of mind^[10] means from time immemorial.

24a  Distinguished artist starts to envisage new things (7)

Tracey Emin^[7] is an English artist and part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs (Young British Artists).

Highlights of her work include Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995, a tent appliquéd with names, exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and My Bed (shown at right), an installation at the Tate Gallery consisting of her own unmade dirty bed with used condoms and blood-stained underwear.

26a  Pudding — last item for dinners in the past (4)

Sago^[5,7] is an edible starch which is obtained primarily from the sago palm as well as from any of a number of other palms or cycads. The pith inside the trunk is scraped out, washed, and dried to produce a flour or processed to produce the granular sago (sago 'pearls') used in the West. Sago pudding (which may also be called simply sago) is a sweet dish [dessert] made from sago and milk. While I am personally not familiar with sago, I am certainly well acquainted with tapioca which is apparently very similar.

2d  Support American army when environment is evil (7)

In the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)^[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency.

3d  Sinus-clearing drops will irritate you (3,2,4,4)

Get up someone's nose^[5] is British slang meaning to irritate or annoy someone ⇒ I bet it really gets up your nose that I’ve been so successful.

4d  Very enthusiastic about university course being planned (6)

Perhaps I didn't know this university course because I didn't study the subjects which it covers. More likely, though, my ignorance is due to not having studied at Oxford. PPE^[5] is the abbreviation for philosophy, politics, and economics (a degree course at Oxford University). However, despite this, I managed to get the correct solution (with a little help from my electronic friends) based on the definition and checking letters.

5d  English composer having a very bad upset featured in tabloid (8)

Sir Arthur Sullivan^[7] (1842 – 1900) was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.

The Sun^[7] is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom by the News Group Newspapers division of News International, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

7d  Indian brought into court, one who fought in Burma (7)

A Chindit^[5] is a member of the Allied forces behind the Japanese lines in Burma in 1943-5.

13d  Bringer of fire could make me ‘super-hot’ (10)

In Greek mythology, Prometheus^[5] is a demigod, one of the Titans, who was worshipped by craftsmen. When Zeus hid fire away from man Prometheus stole it by trickery and returned it to earth. As punishment Zeus chained him to a rock where an eagle fed each day on his liver, which grew again each night; he was rescued by Hercules.

16d  List goes up after match — one plans for the next generation maybe (8)

In Britain, a rota^[5] is a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job ⇒ a cleaning rota.

A Test (short for Test match)^[5] is an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒ the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies.

18d  I am beginning to plough into heather, making progress with difficulty (7)

Ling^[5] is another name for the common heather of Eurasia.

20d  American state with fashionable princess sadly departed (7)

Diana, Princess of Wales^[7] (1961 – 1997), was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne and those of the Commonwealth realms.

23d  Money in the post, as you might say? (4)

A cent^[10] is a monetary unit of American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United States, the Vatican City, the Virgin Islands, and Zimbabwe. It is worth one hundredth of their respective standard units.

It is not a term used in the United Kingdom, where one hundredth of a pound is known as a penny^[5].

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

Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - DT 26940

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26940
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 9, 2012
Setter Petitjean (John Pidgeon)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26940]
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

I was far more successful with today's three star degree of difficulty puzzle (as rated by Gazza) than I was with yesterday's two star puzzle (so rated by Big Dave).

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.

5a   Tears shed before Tevez finally makes substitute (6)

Carlos Tévez^[7] is an Argentine professional footballer [soccer player] who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City. The incident to which Gazza refers in his review is covered at some length in the afore referenced Wikipedia article. On 27 September 2011, Tévez was named as a substitute for City's game at Bayern Munich. City manager Roberto Mancini claims that Tévez refused to come on as a substitute in the second half, when City was 2–0 down to the German club, although Tévez denies this and calls it a misunderstanding. The incident led to suspensions, internal club investigations, fines, and attempts to trade Tévez. However, after failing to secure a transfer, Tévez eventually returned to Manchester City.

My interpretation is that the word shed^[5] is used in the British sense of to accidentally allow (something) to fall off or spill ⇒ a lorry [truck] shed its load of steel bars. Thus if the letters comprising the word TEARS were to fall off the back of a truck, they might land in such a way as to form the pattern ERSAT.

8a  Cheryl’s regulation salad (8)

Cheryl Cole^[7] is an English recording artist, songwriter, dancer and model. Unfortunately, I have never made her acquaintance.

10a  One of four players with some flair in golf (5)

Richard Starkey, known by his stage name Ringo Starr^[7], is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles.

13a  He’s left to invest independent capital (8)

While the 's is a contraction for is in the surface reading, it changes its function to become a contraction for has in the cryptic reading. In this altered role, it serves as a charade indicator. Thus, the wordplay is HE (from the clue) + (has) L (left) + SINK (to invest) + I (independent).

14a  Row with the French causing anger (6)

Le^[8] is the masculine singular form of the French definite article.

17a  After end of concert run out of time to get something to drink (3)

On cricket scorecards, R^[5] appears as an abbreviation for run(s).

20a  Wader at cove is floundering (6)

The avocet^[7] is not a bird with which I am familiar, likely due to it not being native to eastern North America. There are four species of this wading bird, which are native to Europe and parts of Asia, western North America, Australia, and South America respectively.

23a  In relating to vision artist is prophetic (8)

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

26a  Outline faintly in umber a tad carelessly (9)

The solution is a new word to me, although I did manage to decipher it from the anagram and some of the checking letters. Adumbrate^[5] means to represent in outline  ⇒ Hobhouse had already adumbrated the idea of a welfare state or indicate faintly  ⇒ the walls were only adumbrated by the meagre light.

28a  Personal magnetism low around outskirts of Plymouth (5)

Plymouth^[7] is a city on the south coast of Devon, England. It has long been a major seaport and naval base.

2d  Ignore extremes of lunacy without showing one’s feelings (7)

Even after concluding that BLANKLY was the the likely solution, uncertainty about the choice lingered in my mind. However, a bit of research showed that blank^[10] can mean to ignore or be unresponsive towards (someone) ⇒ the crowd blanked her for the first four numbers. I have to say that I am not familiar with this usage which is to be found at the Collins Dictionaries website but not at TheFreeDictionary.com which is based on an earlier edition of the Collins English Dictionary. Thus it may be a British expression that is of relatively recent vintage.

3d  Colleague having a small tossed lettuce. I scoffed (9)

Cos^[4] is the name by which romaine lettuce is known in Britain.

5d  He’s getting married in record time — they won’t last (8)

Unlike 13a, the 's does not change roles here. The wordplay is {HE (from the clue) + (is getting) M (married)} contained in (in) {EP (record) + ERA (time)}.

18d  Forever losing her head, Hetty cuddles short straight man (8)

Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise^[7], or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. They have been described as "the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever produced".

27d  End up with expression of pain in response to spiteful remark (5)

Just as their masters and mistresses speak with accents that differ from those of us on this side of the Atlantic, so too do British cats. Whereas North American cats meow^[6] (Oxford American Dictionary; pronunciation: /mēˈou/), those in the UK miaow^[5] (Oxford English Dictionary; pronunciation: /mɪˈaʊ/).

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