Friday, November 2, 2012 - DT26949

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26949
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, August 20, 2012
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26949]
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 26948 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, August 18, 2012.

Introduction

Today's puzzle is the usual solid, but gentle, offering from Rufus. I did need to rely on a bit of electronic assistance and also needed a bit of help from Libellule.

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.

9a   One might aid camper that’s collapsed (9)

This is a semi all-in-one (also called a semi &lit.) clue. The entire clue serves as the definition, while the wordplay is comprised of only a portion of the clue.

19a   An ABC-man, say? (6)

I needed a gentle nudge from Libellule to help me decipher the wordplay in this clue which demands some careful surgery on the part of the solver. The definition is "an AB" and the wordplay is sounds like (say) C-man with the solution being SEAMAN.

In the Royal Navy, able seaman (abbreviation AB)^[5], is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

23a   RAF cooks getting help making chicken (6)

The Royal Air Force (RAF)^[5] is the British air force, formed in 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (founded 1912) and the Royal Naval Air Service (founded 1914).

26a   Sailor a short distance nearer the stern (5)

See comment for 19a.

27a   Double description of a batman? (2,7)

The "batman" here is not a comic book superhero. In the British armed forces, batman^[5] is a dated term for an officer’s personal servant.

1d   Court officials chaired on high (7)

Chair Umpire

The Championships, Wimbledon^[5], "The Wimbledon Championships" or simply Wimbledon (referenced by Libellule in his hint), is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and widely considered to be the biggest and the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877.

At a tennis match, the chair umpire^[7] is often situated in a tall chair at the center of the court, behind a net post.

3d   Suspect messenger is one craftily dodging duty (3,6)

Rum^[5] is dated British slang meaning odd or peculiar [or suspect or questionable] ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

4d   We hear it’s bound to be a current variation (4)

This clue is sort of a mirror image of yesterday's "4d   Restricted movement in the auditorium (4)".

16d   Incautious way the staff leave school assembly? (4-5)

In Britain, head is short for for headmaster (a man who is the head teacher in a school), headmistress (ditto for a woman), or head teacher (the teacher in charge of a school).^[5]

22d   Athenian garret (5)

Attica^[5] is a triangular promontory of eastern Greece. With the islands in the Saronic Gulf it forms a department of Greece, of which Athens is the capital. Attic^[2] is an adjective meaning relating to ancient Athens or Attica, or the form of Greek spoken there.

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