Monday, November 12, 2012 - DT 26956

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26956
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26956]
Big Dave's Review Written By Crypticsue
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

After spending more than six hours behind the wheel today, I would have to believe that my brain was not at the top of its form. Nevertheless, I was able to complete the puzzle without a great deal of difficulty — and without the aid of my electronic assistants.

I suspected that the setter might be Petitjean (John Pidgeon). Although one comment at Big Dave's Crossword Blog also suggested this possibility, the identity of the setter remains unconfirmed.

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   Novel -- book in four parts (later, when revised) (9,6)

As I attempted to decode the word "book" in the clue, a number of possibilities occurred to me, including BK, OT (Old Testament), and NT (New Testament) — none of which were correct. As usual, when something is to be found nowhere else, one can always rely on it being in The Chambers Dictionary^[1].

b or b. abbrev: barrel(s); billion; book; born; bowled (cricket).

Flaubert's Parrot previously made an appearance in DT 26928 [The Daily Telegraph: July 26, 2012; National Post: October 10, 2012]. Fortunately, having correctly deduced that the clue is an anagram and blessed with sufficient checking letters, I was able to trigger some dim recollection of it buried somewhere in the deepest recesses of my mind.

Flaubert's Parrot^[7] is a novel by Julian Barnes which recites amateur Flaubert expert Geoffrey Braithwaite's musings on his subject's life, and his own, as he tracks a stuffed parrot that once inspired the great author. Gustave Flaubert^[7] (1821 – 1880) was a French writer who is counted among the greatest novelists in Western literature. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary (1857), for his Correspondence, and for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style.

9a   Novel reveals exploits involving sly criminal (7)

Ulysses^[7] is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce^[7].

12a   Greek character volunteers after article appears (5)

Theta is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet (Θ, θ). In the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)^[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency.

19a   Local fare? (3,4)

I initially inserted PUB FOOD here. Only when I realized my error was I able to make progress in the southeast quadrant. In Britain, a local^[5] is a pub convenient to a person’s home.

21a   Some of the Bay City Rollers in part of Austria (5)

The Bay City Rollers^[7] were a Scottish pop band whose popularity peaked in the 1970s. Dubbed the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", they were — for a brief period — worldwide teen idols.

Tyrol^[7] is an historical region in Western Central Europe. Following World War I the region was divided with the southern part being ceded to Italy and the northern part being retained by Austria.

23a   Criticise the Spanish willing to make a TV show (5,4)

The masculine, singular form of the Spanish definite article is el^[8].

25a   Assorted pages written about us backing fabulous horse (7)

In Greek mythology, Pegasus^[7] is a winged divine horse that was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits. His rider, however, falls off his back trying to reach Mount Olympus. Zeus transformed him into the constellation Pegasus and placed him up in the sky.

27a   Informally try out chow mein in a new way while touring East (7,8)

As is the case in this clue, it is not uncommon to see "touring" used as a containment indicator. It is a bit of a playful stretch of tour used as a verb in the sense of "to go around".

1d   Female, 50, say, makes a modest bet (7)

Flutter^[5] is British slang for a small bet ⇒ a flutter on the horses.

3d   Dance master leading a bright star (5,4)

Bossa nova^[5] is (1) a style of Brazilian music derived from samba but placing more emphasis on melody and less on percussion or (2) a dance to this music.

7d   Dog, note, by entrance to Downing Street, barking (3,6)

The use of the word barking^[5] as an anagram indicator likely stems from its British slang meaning of completely mad or demented ⇒ (i) we are all a bit barking; (ii) [as submodifier] has she gone completely barking mad?.

Downing Street^[7], located in Whitehall in the central part of London, England, has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British Cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer [a position equivalent to Minister of Finance or Secretary of the Treasury]. The Prime Minister's official residence is 10 Downing Street; the Chancellor's official residence is next door at Number 11. The Government's Chief Whip has an official residence at Number 12, though the current Chief Whip's residence is at Number 9. The houses on the west side of the street were demolished in the nineteenth century to make way for government offices, now occupied by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

8d   Caterer tripped leaving balcony (7)

Trip^[5], which serves here as an anagram indicator, is used (in the cryptic reading) in the sense of to perform (a dance) with quick light agile steps. The Chambers Dictionary provides a lengthy list of meanings for terrace^[1], one of which is a balcony.

17d   Hitch in musical? Chess piece shortened (4-3)

Cats^[7] (stylized as CATS) is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. The show, which first opened in the West End in 1981 and then on Broadway in 1982, is the second longest-running production in Broadway history (eighteen years), and the fourth longest-running West End musical (twenty-one years).

As often happens, the quotation marks in the clue failed to survive the Atlantic crossing. In the UK, the clue appeared as:

• 17d   Hitch in musical? 'Chess' piece shortened (4-3)

clearly showing that "Chess" was meant to refer to a theatrical production in the surface reading.

Chess^[7] is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other; all in the context of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, during which both countries wanted to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes.

19d   Follow, with a camera, a revolutionary with style (7)

It would seem that there is room for only one of everything in Crosswordland. The only mobster is Al Capone, the only Scot is named Ian, the only Irishman is called Pat, and the only revolutionary is Che Guevara^[7].

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