Friday, October 12, 2012 - DT 26931

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26931
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, July 30, 2012
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26931]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
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 26930 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, July 28, 2012.

Introduction

Rufus provides a gentle end to the week — a welcome respite after a couple of challenging days.

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   Athlete who’s out of place on the track (4-3)

Unlike North America, where place^[3] means to finish second in a race, in Britain place^[4] means (1) in general, any of the best times in a race or (2) specifically in horse racing, the first, second, or third position at the finish.

25a   Hole in one, perhaps, for mariner’s dependant (9)

On Big Dave's blog, Jezza, in a reply to Brian (comment #14), says "One definition of ‘dependant’ is hanging down, which is effectively what the albatross was doing around the neck of the Ancient Mariner". Whether you buy that explanation depends on whether you are are adherent of the Chambers Church or the Church of Oxford.

The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition does not specifically list "hanging down" as a meaning for the adjective but it does show "to hang down" as being a rare meaning for the verb depend. Thus, one could reasonably surmise that the verb could give rise to an adjective with this meaning. Both The American Heritage Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary show one meaning of the adjective dependent^[3,4] as being hanging down — with the latter indicating that this is an obsolete usage. The American Heritage Dictionary shows the adjective and noun both being spelled dependent (with an -ent ending rather than -ant), with dependant being an alternative spelling only for the noun while Collins English Dictionary is somewhat ambiguous on the spelling question. The Chambers Dictionary, on the other hand, lists dependant as an alternative spelling for the adjective dependent and dependent as an alternative spelling for the noun dependant. Thus Jezza's comment survives the Chambers test — under which dependant can be an adjective meaning hanging down.

Turning to the other school of thought, Oxford Dictionaries Online (which is based on the Oxford Dictionary of English) is adamant that the adjective can only be spelled dependent. By this standard, Jezza's comment would not hold, and dependant^[5] could only be a noun meaning a person who relies on another, especially a family member, for financial support or, in other words, is a financial burden. 

Here is what Oxford Dictionaries Online has to say on the spelling issue.

Until recently the only correct spelling of the noun in British English was dependant, as in a single man with no dependants. However, the variant dependent is now standard, and indeed it is now as common as dependant in the Oxford English Corpus. In US English dependent is the standard form for the noun. The adjective is spelled -ent, not -ant, as in we are dependent on his goodwill.

28a   Time the bowler started? More than time! (7)

In cricket, an over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end. Thus, it would be time for the bowler to begin bowling when the over is due.

1d   Banger unfortunately overturned on motorway (6)

While the Oxford Dictionary of English may consider it to be a British expression, I believe that the term banger^[5] is also used on this side of the pond to refer to an old car in poor condition ⇒ they’ve only got an old banger. In addition, banger^[5] is an informal British term for a sausage  ⇒ bangers and mash.

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway (controlled access highway) in England connecting London to Leeds.

3d   Key workers seen in hairdressers? (10)

A double definition, with both definitions — especially the second (hairdressers?) — being whimsical.

5d   George can fly a kite unaided (9)

An autopilot^[7] is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. The autopilot of an aircraft is sometimes referred to as "George", after one of the key contributors to its development. Kite^[5] is dated British slang for an aircraft.

17d   One proverbially remains cool, though often framed (8)

"Framed" means to enclose in a frame (short for cold frame)^[3,4], an unheated wooden frame with a glass top, used to protect young plants from the cold.

23d   Girl’s firm provides entertainment (5)

Di certainly seems to be the most popular girl in Crosswordland.

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