Friday, November 23, 2012 - DT 26967

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26967
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, September 10, 2012
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26967]
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 26966 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, September 8, 2012.

Introduction

Puzzles set by Rufus are generally not difficult but they are always highly enjoyable. He is particularly regarded as a master of the cryptic definition. Such clues define the solution through the use of an unexpected or whimsical interpretation of the clue. Thus in 3d, the phrase "sent flying" conjures up the image of running into someone and knocking them off their feet. However, the solution relies on a totally different interpretation of the clue. Sometimes the effect that the setter is hoping to achieve depends on the reader being familiar with the common British usage of a term. Such is the case today with 2d. If the first thought that comes to mind when one reads the clue is a line of camels packing goods across the desert, then much of the effect is lost. The setter expects readers to think of a caravan as being what North Americans would call a trailer. I have been doing these puzzles long enough now that I am becoming familiar with many British expressions and actually find myself falling for the misdirection in cases where I would once have missed it entirely (and might very well have commented "Hardly very cryptic").

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   In fairness, breaking bail is a likelihood (11)

This may be a reference to cricket where a bail^[5] is either of the two crosspieces bridging the stumps of the wicket, which the bowler and fielders try to dislodge with the ball to get the batsman out ⇒ the Lancashire captain was at full stretch as the wicketkeeper took off the bails.

10a   Poet takes orders (5)

John Keats^[5] (1795–1821) is an English poet. A principal figure of the romantic movement, he wrote all of his most famous poems, including ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, and ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’, in 1818 (published in 1820).

11a   Cavalryman turns back not thinking about us (6)

A hussar^[3] is (1) a horseman of the Hungarian light cavalry organized during the 15th century or (2) a member of any of similar, ornately uniformed European units of light cavalry.

13a   Try, to prevent a try? (6)

In rugby, a try^[5] is an act of touching the ball down behind the opposing goal line, scoring points and entitling the scoring side to a kick at goal.

19a   Supplies rushed on board (6)

As is customary in cryptic crosswords, "on board" implies on board a steamship (abbreviation SS^[5]). The phrase "on board" acts as a containment indicator with the container being an implicit SS.

27a   Honour Seb Coe in a sculpting (9)

Sebastian Coe^[7], often known as Seb Coe, is a British former athlete and politician. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including the 1500 metres gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984. Following his retirement from athletics, he was a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party from 1992–97, and became a Life Peer in 2000. He headed the successful London bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics and became chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. He is currently a vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations as well as chairman of the British Olympic Association.

28a   Give a Royal Marine's guard order to salute (7,4)

The Royal Marines (RM)^[5] is a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) that was founded in 1664, and trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances.

2a   Well-equipped place for caravans en route (5)

Here, "well-equipped" literally means a place equipped with a well. In Britain, a caravan^[5] is a vehicle equipped for living in, typically towed by a car and used for holidays ⇒ they spent a fishing holiday in a caravan. In North America, such a vehicle would be known as a trailer^[5].

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