Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - 26939

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26939
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26939]
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

Introduction

This seemed to be a puzzle of two parts. I was able to solve the right hand side side without too much difficulty. However, I was scarcely able to make a dent in the left hand side until I called in the electronic reinforcements. Consequently, it was more than a little disconcerting to see that this puzzle rated only two stars for difficulty from Big Dave. My performance would certainly seem to place it at the far upper end of three star territory. I must be losing my edge.

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   Something worn around house that’s good for density in carpeting (8,4)

Carpet^[5] is British slang meaning to reprimand severely ⇒ the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses. Thus a "carpeting" is a dressing down.

13a    Daughter on border gets nicked (5)

Nick^[3,4] is British slang meaning (1) to steal or (2) to arrest. Therefore, in the surface reading, the daughter has been arrested (or, possibly, kidnapped!). According to The Chambers Dictionary, one meaning of nick^[1] is to hit with precision. In cricket, edge^[2] means to strike with the edge of the bat (which presumably requires some considerable degree of precision as it would seem to be a far more difficult play to execute than hitting the ball with the flat face of the bat). In fact, the usage example ("he nicked the ball to first slip") that Big Dave employs in his review is a reference to cricket, first slip^[5] being a fielding position in cricket.

I would use the word nick with a somewhat different meaning (although I was unable to find it defined this way in any of my dictionaries). If I were to say of an attempt to hit a baseball, "I barely nicked it", I would mean that I nearly missed the ball completely, with the bat scarcely more than brushing the ball as it passed by it. Such an outcome does not result from precision, but from an utter lack of precision!

16a    Drink making engineers more alert? (9)

The Corps of Royal Engineers (RE)^[5] is the field engineering and construction corps of the British army.

21a    Parrot flies off pinching one from John Lennon, perhaps (7)

Liverpool John Lennon Airport^[7] is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England.

23a    There’s nothing fine in yobbo, causing concern (7)

Yobbo^[5] is a variant of the British slang term yob^[5] which means a rude, noisy, and aggressive youth [the latter being 'boy' spelled backwards].

2d    Demanded and got accurate wingers from England (7)

The wingers^[5] in the surface reading are certainly more likely to be football (soccer) players than hockey forwards.

3d    Laggard finally leaves blue train (9)

In the UK, slowcoach^[5] is a informal term for a person who acts or moves slowly ⇒ ‘Come on, slowcoach,’ urged George. In North America, such a person would be known as a slowpoke^[5].

6d    Part of capital investment ultimately put into restructure of Sweden (4,3)

The definition is "part of capital" referring to London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The West End^[7], located to the west of the historic Roman and Mediaeval City of London, was long favoured by the rich elite as a place of residence because it was usually upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded City. The name "West End" is a flexible term with different meanings in different contexts. It may refer to the entertainment district around Leicester Square and Covent Garden; to the shopping district centred on Oxford Street, Regent Street, and Bond Street; or, less commonly, to the whole of that part of central London (itself an area with no generally agreed boundaries) which lies to the west of the City of London.

7d    Scab caused by blow wave (13)

Apparently blow wave is a hairdressing term, although one which does not seem to have made its way into any of my dictionaries (one of which helpfully suggested that I might have mistyped bow wave).

8d    Resolution to discourage people crossing motorway (13)

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

15d    Marries outside Sumerian city, in religious garments (9)

Jay gets very specific today; Ur is often clued as merely "ancient city". Ur^[5] was an ancient Sumerian city formerly on the Euphrates, in southern Iraq. It was one of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, dating from the 4th millennium BC, and reached its zenith in the late 3rd millennium BC.

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