Friday, October 22, 2012 - DT 26937

Note: Posted Monday, October 22, 2012 but backdated to maintain the puzzle sequence.

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26937
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, August 6, 2012
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26937]
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
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26936 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, August 4, 2012.

Introduction

For me, this puzzle seemed to be far more difficult than Gazza's two stars would indicate. I definitely needed far more support from my electronic assistants than is customary — especially considering that this is a Rufus puzzle. At least I was on the same page as Gazza with regard to the rather weak double definitions at 3d and 6d. I, too, had flagged these clues for this very reason as I worked through the puzzle.

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.

13a   Volunteer and party member leading strike — one receives contributions (9,3)

I quickly read this clue and immediately jumped to the conclusion that the solution must begin with TA (for Territorial Army). I eventually realized that that was an incorrect supposition. In hindsight, it strikes me that it is "volunteers" (in the plural) that is used to clue TA rather than "volunteer" (in the singular).

An offertory box^[10] is the box or container where worshippers' put their offerings (usually money).

16a   Demobbed and not working (3,2,7)

Demob^[5] is British slang meaning to demobilize (troops) ⇒ there were four million men being demobbed .

19a   Something like a rush on silver is accepted (6)

The symbol for the chemical element silver is Ag^[5].

24a   It ensures a good reception for some speakers (6)

I was surprised to see Oxford Dictionaries Online characterize aerial^[5] as a British term since it is commonly used in Canada and I also found it listed in The American Heritage Dictionary^[3].

25a  Also a VIP (2,4)

Swell^[5] is dated slang for a fashionable or stylish person of wealth or high social position • a crowd of city swells.

26a  Study, entering further exam, as a hospital doctor (8)

Resit^[5] is a British term which, as a verb, means to take (an examination) again after failing it  ⇒ she is resitting her maths GCSE [General Certificate of Secondary Education] and, as a noun, denotes an examination that is resat ⇒ the system allows the office to timetable all resits in a single block.

4d  Launches reports about cricket side (5-4)

Here "side" refers not to a team but to a side of the cricket field itself. In cricket, the off^[5]  (also off side) is the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) towards which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The other side of the field is known either as the leg^[5] (also leg side) or on (also on side).

In his review, Gazza uses the term wicket instead of pitch. As I wrote in yesterday's review of The Sunday London Times Crossword in the Ottawa Citizen:

It sometimes seems that everything in cricket is called a wicket. A wicket^[10] may be (1) either of two constructions, placed 22 yards apart, consisting of three pointed stumps stuck parallel in the ground with two wooden bails resting on top, at which the batsman stands; (2) the strip of ground between these [constructions] (i.e., the pitch); (3) a batsman's turn at batting or the period during which two batsmen bat ⇒ a third-wicket partnership; or (4) the act or instance of a batsman being got out ⇒ the bowler took six wickets.

5d   Penguin noted by Beethoven? (7)

The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, popularly known as the Emperor Concerto^[7], was the last piano concerto written by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was first performed in 1811.

13d   Reserved, but singularly partisan (2,3,4)

I initially put TO ONE SIDE based on my mistaken idea that 13a must begin with TA.

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