Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - DT 26934

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26934
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 2, 2012
Setter Ray T (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26934]
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 brings a relatively gentle challenge from Ray T, but one with plenty of innuendo — and two references to Queen. I must say that Pommers has shown great restraint in his choice of illustrations — much more self-control than I was able to exercise when I blogged my first Ray T puzzle (which you should see in about five to six weeks from now).

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.

10a   Big cuddle by sweetheart (4)

Here we see a fairly common cryptic crossword device in which a compound word in the surface reading must be split into separate words in the cryptic reading. Thus "sweetheart" clues the letter E, the middle letter (heart) of swEet. Another common instance of this device is the use of "redhead" to clue the letter R which is the initial letter (head) of Red.

15a   ‘Crazy Gang’ nearly great (6)

The Crazy Gang^[7] is a nickname used by the English media to describe the now defunct Wimbledon Football Club [an English soccer club] during the 1980s and 90s. The name, originally that of a well known group of British comedy entertainers popular in the late 1930s, was used because of the often eccentric and boisterously macho-behaviour of Wimbledon's players, who were in the habit of playing frequent and outrageous practical jokes on each other and on the club's manager Dave Bassett. Their general approach to the game was derided as amateurish and their playing style was often accused of being basic and unsophisticated in comparison to the stylish brand of football played by most leading clubs at the time. Regardless of the criticism they were subject to, the team was very successful in the English league for more than a decade.

25a   One may gush over bloke, say (6)

This is a homophone clue that does not transport well across the Atlantic. The definition is "one may gush over", which happens to describe a GEYSER, which (to a Brit) sounds like (it's reported) GEEZER (bloke). You can judge the similarity in pronunciation of these words (and contrast them with the North American pronunciations) by listening to the pronunciation examples found here: geyser, geezer.

Pommers comments "Bit of a chestnut I think!". I would say so:

• DT 25945 (Setter Unknown):  12a   Spring bloke, it's reported (6)
• DT 26506 (Setter Unknown):  24a   Sounds like old man is a spouter (6)
• DT 26381 (Shamus):  29a   Old man's mention of hot spring (6)

4d   Jumper and anorak go in a jumble (8)

An anorak^[5] is a waterproof jacket, typically with a hood, of a kind originally used in polar regions. The words anorak and parka have possibly been used interchangeably, but they are somewhat different garments. Strictly speaking, an anorak is a waterproof, hooded, pull-over jacket without a front opening, and sometimes drawstrings at the waist and cuffs, and a parka is a knee-length cold-weather jacket or coat; typically stuffed with down or very warm synthetic fiber, and with a fur-lined hood.^[7]

In Britain, a jumper^[5] is a knitted garment typically with long sleeves, worn over the upper body (in North American terms, a sweater). What we would call a jumper, the Brits would call a pinafore^[5] (a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or [British] jumper [i.e., North American sweater]). Thus if a British lass wore a pinafore over her jumper and a North American gal wore a jumper over her sweater, they would be dressed identically.

13d   Second in charts perhaps for Queen supporter (10)

In the UK, mo^[5] is an informal term for a short period of time (hang on a mo!) [abbreviation of moment].

19d   Man is one, or no man is one? (6)

The Isle of Man (abbreviation IOM)^[5] is an island in the Irish Sea which is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system. The island was part of the Norse kingdom of the Hebrides in the Middle Ages, passing into Scottish hands in 1266 for a time, until the English gained control in the early 15th century. Its ancient language, Manx, is still occasionally used for ceremonial purposes.

In 1624, English writer John Donne^[7] wrote:

No Man is an Island

No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

MEDITATION XVII
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions 

21d   French to eat from trough (6)

Manger^[10] is the infinitive of the French verb meaning to eat.

22d   Genesis, unfashionable band (6)

Queen^[7] is definitely Ray T's favourite band which is likely why it appears in two clues and Genesis in only one. Genesis^[7] is an English rock band that formed in 1967 and continues to perform today (albeit with a lengthy hiatus at the turn of the millennium).

24d   Caught and everybody supporting appeal (4)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] indicates caught (by) ⇒ ME Waugh c Lara b Walsh 19.

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