Thursday, November 29, 2012 - DT 26971

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26971
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, September 14, 2012
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26971]
Big Dave's Review Written By Scchua
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

With one clue (10a) remaining to be solved, I was certain that I would have to throw in the towel and issue a call for assistance. However, just as I was about to do so, the penny dropped. Thus my electronic aids enjoy yet another day of idleness. For a change, I did notice that the puzzle is a pangram.

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   Lively person's lapse into sin involving anger against bishop (8)

The abbreviation B^[7] is used for bishop when recording moves in the game of chess. Thus, using algebraic chess notation^[7], Be5 indicates that the bishop is moved to the square designated as e5 .

5a   Encourage doctor having trouble in city (6)

Doctor Foster^[7] is the subject of an English nursery rhyme.

Doctor Foster went to Gloucester,

In a shower of rain;

He stepped in a puddle,

Right up to his middle,

And never went there again.

Gloucester^[7] is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately 32 miles (51 km) north-east of Bristol, and 45 miles (72 km) south-southwest of Birmingham.

9a   German graduate different, wasting time (8)

The Free State of Bavaria^[7] is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. It is the largest German state by area and the second most populous. Bavaria's capital and largest city is Munich, the third largest city in Germany.

10a   Clergy flats in which you'll get lessons on Bible etc? (6)

What is known as a flat in Britain would be called an apartment on this side of the Atlantic. The word apartment^[5] has a somewhat different meaning in the UK than it does in North America. In Britain, only a certain specific type of flat would be called an apartment – typically one that is well appointed or used for holidays (thus, seemingly, either an upscale flat or one used for temporary occupancy). In the plural, the term apartments refers to a set of private rooms in a very large house.

Religious education (abbreviation RE)^[10] is a subject taught in schools in the UK which educates about the different religions of the world. The question mark indicates that this is a definition by example, religious education being but an example of a place where one might receive such instruction (another perhaps being Sunday School).

12a   American gangster uses deceit to get supporters (6)

Although American gangster Al Capone^[7] maintains his control of the mob in Crosswordland ...

20a   Protection for old soldier, Irishman retreating (4)

... Pat is no longer the only Irishman residing there.

28a   Very good in performance as traveller Dick (6)

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious. Richard "Dick" Turpin^[7] (bap. 1705 – 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. In Britain, the word traveller^[5] (usually Traveller) also means a Gypsy or other nomadic person — which may, or may not, relate to its use in this clue. 

A highwayman^[7] was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw usually travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads. Such robbers operated in Great Britain and Ireland from the Elizabethan era until the early 19th century.

30a   Scraper of muck from verge by turning of road (6)

In the surface reading, "turning" may well be used in the British sense in which turning^[5] would mean a place where a road branches off from another ⇒ take the first turning on the right. North Americans would refer to this as a turn-off^[5] ⇒ Adam missed the turn-off to the village. Judging by the dictionary entries, both variants would seem to be in use in Britain.

31a   Nude mostly covered in mud? Not a recommended medical treatment! (5-3)

Starkers^[5] (a word used by Scchua in his review) is British slang (although it is likely not unfamiliar to many North Americans) meaning completely naked ⇒ he ran starkers across the pitch.

1d   Socialist prejudice all but admitted by enthusiast (6)

A Fabian is a member of the Fabian Society^[7], a British socialist organization whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means.

2d   Criticise former England football manager crossing line (6)

Don Revie^[7] (1927 – 1989) was an English footballer [soccer player] who played for several English teams as a deep-lying centre forward. He managed England [the English national team] from 1974 until 1977.

3d   A rude drunk carries around container for wine (8)

One should read this clue rather carefully. Had it been worded "a rude drunk carries container", the roles of container and contents could well be reversed.

4d   Almost memorise nonsense this man wrote (4)

The definition ("nonsense this man wrote") is an example of anastrophe^[7] (popularly known as Yoda Speak), a figure of speech in which a language's usual word order is inverted: for example, saying "smart you are" to mean "you are smart". Thus, converted to normal word order, the definition becomes "this man wrote nonsense".

Edward Lear^[7] (1812 – 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, author and poet, and is renowned primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.

Lear's nonsense books were quite popular during his lifetime, but a rumour circulated that "Edward Lear" was merely a pseudonym, and the books' true author was the man to whom Lear had dedicated the works, his patron the Earl of Derby. Supporters of this rumour [forerunners of today's cryptic crossword aficionados?] offered as evidence the facts that both men were named Edward, and that "Lear" is an anagram of "Earl".

17d   This writer's to be given role, paper's boss communicated (8)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, author, or writer to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must usually substitute a first person pronoun (I or me, depending on whether the clue implies a subject or an object respectively) for whichever of these terms has been used  in the clue. In today's clue, the setter uses the word "writer" as a subject and appends a third person contraction for the verb to be. Thus, in the solution, we must similarly append to the pronoun a first person contraction for the verb to be (I'm).

18d   Near orb I melted, like Icarus? (8)

More Yoda Speak in this clue. In Greek mythology, Icarus^[7] was the son of Daedalus, who escaped from Crete using wings made by his father but was killed when he flew too near the sun and the wax attaching his wings melted. Again, I would say that the question mark is flagging a definition by example.

19d   Being artistic, chucked in a money-oriented job (4-4)

Not recognizing the British usage of the term "chuck in", I was left to flounder here. Working from the checking letters, I deduced that the second word in the solution might be TASK (job). The most viable candidate that I could come up with for the first word was SEAT, thinking that "seat task" might possibly be a British variant of the expression "desk job". As I was to learn from Scchua, I was far off the correct course.

If I were to use the term chuck in, it would either be in the phrase "chuck in the towel" (although I would be more likely to say "throw in the towel") or to denote — in what Collins English Dictionary characterises as an Australian usage — to contribute to the cost of something^[4]. Oxford Dictionaries Online defines chuck in^[5] as meaning to give up (a job or activity) ⇒ Richard chucked in his course — a usage which Collins English Dictionary characterises as British^[4].

The Left Bank^[5] is a district of the city of Paris, situated on the left bank of the River Seine, to the south of the river. It is an area noted for its intellectual and artistic life. The term might be employed as an adjective in a phrase such as "a Left Bank sensibility".

22d   Good person to lasso a number of horses? (6)

In this clue, "to" serves as a charade indicator based on the meaning "pressed against", as in the expressions "nose to the grindstone" and "shoulder to the wheel". The word "lasso" is used as a visual clue, as a lasso when fully deployed looks like the letter O.

The question mark, as we've already seen several times today, indicates that this is a definition by example, where horses are but one type of collection that could constitute a string. This is amply illustrated by the usage examples in two dictionaries. The American Heritage Dictionary defines string^[3] as a set of animals, especially racehorses, belonging to a single owner; a stable. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that a string^[4] is a number, chain, or group of similar things, animals, etc., owned by or associated with one person or body ⇒ a string of girlfriends.

23d   One's probably spotted maiden in love after party (6)

In cricket, a maiden^[5], also known as a maiden over, (abbreviation M)^[5] is an over in which no runs are scored. An over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of love equating to this letter.

24d   Church has authentic stuff for harvest festival? (6)

The Church of England (CE)^[10] is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head. Once again, the question mark indicates a definition by example.

27d   Religious adherent is a plain girl from what we hear? (4)

A Jain^[5] is an adherent of Jainism^[5], a non-theistic religion founded in India in the 6th century BC by the Jina Vardhamana Mahavira as a reaction against the teachings of orthodox Brahmanism, and still practised there. The Jain religion teaches salvation by perfection through successive lives, and non-injury to living creatures, and is noted for its ascetics. To further emphasize the point, the question mark yet again signals a definition by example — this time indicating that the solution is an example of a girl's name.

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