Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - DT 26933

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26933
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26933]
Big Dave's Review Written By Falcon
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 reviewed today's puzzle for Big Dave's Crossword Blog when it was first published in the UK in early August. I introduced it then by saying "Today’s puzzle has a good mixture of clue types with varying levels of difficulty – a few easy ones to get you started and a few challenging ones to make you think." And there is no reason to change my opinion now.

I am always surprised by how little I remember of a puzzle when I see it again after three months. They are often quite challenging the second time around. Today, I feared for a while that I might actually need to resort to peeking at my own review to understand the wordplay in a couple of clues. Fortunately, it did not come to that.

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.

11a   Tax from character initially doing under ten years (5,4)

In the solution, stamp^[5] is used in the sense of a characteristic or distinctive impression or quality ⇒ (i) the whole project has the stamp of authority (ii) even the least expensive movie bore the stamp of the studio’s plush style.

14a Gruff-sounding enthusiast hugging box tree (5,8)

In Britain, the hard, shiny dark brown nut of a horse chestnut tree.is called a conker^[5] [a term which appears in my review on Big Dave's site].

1d   Nonsense about public transport being in a healthy state (6)

The illustration that I used for this clue on Big Dave's blog is a bit of a visual pun ("Roe bust"). It is a picture of Erica Roe^[7], also known as the Twickenham Streaker, whose topless run across the pitch of Twickenham Stadium during an England vs. Australia rugby union match on 2 January 1982 has been described by the BBC as "perhaps the most famous of all streaks".

3d   Tool required if rep’s car breaks down (7)

This clue is rather more timely today than it was it early August. I've actually had occasion to use the said tool recently.

5d   Accept responsibility and bear prison (5,3,3)

In Britain, gaol^[3,4] [a term which appears in my review on Big Dave's site] is a variant spelling of jail.

7d   Packs up for some serious students (5)

In Britain, swot^[5] is a derogatory term for a person who studies very hard. The word is also used as a verb meaning to study hard ⇒kids swotting for GCSEs [General Certificates of Secondary Education^[7]].

15d   Nut messed around as the occasion demands (5,4)

Needs^[5] is an archaic term meaning of necessity. It is used in the phrase needs must meaning it is or was necessary or unavoidable ⇒  if needs must, they will eat any food.

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