Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - DT 26957

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26957
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26957]
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

Try as I might, I could not crack the final unsolved clue without some prodding from my electronic helpers.

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.

6a   Dancing permitted by graduate student? (6)

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

9a   Short introduction to short shorts (in the USA) (6)

The clue is premised on different terminology being used for men's underpants in Britain and North America (and specifically the US). However the definitions here seem not to be as "clear-cut" as they are in 1a.

From looking at a number of dictionaries, I conclude that, in Britain, tight-fitting underpants are called briefs^[5] and loose-fitting ones are known as boxer shorts^[5] or simply boxers. So far there is no distinction as the exact same terminology is used in North America. However, in North America one might use the term shorts to refer to men's underpants in cases where the answer to the proverbial question "Boxers or briefs?" is unknown. It seems that shorts^[5] would not be used in this sense in Britain.

16a   Childminders put on warning mostly for parties with singing (12)

In Britain, one may either hoot or toot a warning. A hoot^[5] is a raucous sound made by a horn, siren, or steam whistle whereas a toot^[5] is a short, sharp sound made by a horn, trumpet, or similar instrument ⇒ (i) an accidental toot from the saxophonist; (ii) the blue van’s familiar toots. As a verb, hoot^[5] means (with reference to a car horn, siren, etc.) to make or cause to make a hoot ⇒ a car horn hooted, frightening her; (ii) [with object] Sam hooted his horn and toot^[5] denotes (1) [with object] to sound (a horn or similar) with a short, sharp sound ⇒ an impatient motorist tooted a horn or (2) [no object] make a toot ⇒ a car tooted at us. While the term toot is used in North America, we don't use the word hoot in this way. In fact, I'm not sure if we have an equivalent term.

21a   Son chilled outside hotel, getting educated (8)

Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication. The definition is "educated" with the word "getting" serving as a link word between the wordplay and the definition.

24a   Working with team's situation in field (6)

Onside^[5] is an adjective or adverb that means (said of a player, especially in soccer, rugby, or hockey) occupying a position where playing the ball or puck is allowed or, in other words, not offside ⇒ (i) [as adjective] an onside position; (ii) [as adverb] he was trying to get back onside, but Williams shoved him. [Since Jay specifically mentions "field", he obviously doesn't have ice hockey in mind.]

25a   Offer for sale held department back somewhat (6)

In hindsight, this is far from the most difficult clue in the puzzle. However, for some unknown reason, I seem to have developed a mental block with respect to it. Even though the correct solution did cross my mind, I initially rejected it when I was not able to decipher the wordplay. When my electronic assistants subsequently suggested it as a possibility, I felt compelled to re-evaluate the situation and the penny finally dropped.

26a   Morse, involved in link, gets boring (8)

The Brits may interpret the surface reading as being a reference to Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse from the British detective drama television series, Inspector Morse^[7]. The series, based on a series of novels by Colin Dexter, ran for seven seasons from 1987 to 1993 (with 5 follow-on specials).

6d   Jolts minister, possibly in public transport (5)

In the Westminster system^[7] of Parliamentary democracy (as exists in Britain and Canada), ministers are usually drawn from the ranks of the elected Members of Parliament (MPs)^[7].

7d   Peers in support of country letters of property (9)

Letters are people who let (rent) property. A peer^[5] is a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron ⇒ hereditary peers could still dominate the proceedings of the House of Lords.  In the broadest sense, a lord^[5] is a man of noble rank or high office; in other words, a nobleman ⇒ lords and ladies were entertained here. In the UK, Lord^[5] is a title given formally to a baron, and less formally to a marquess, earl, or viscount (prefixed to a family or territorial name) ⇒ Lord Derby. The Lords^[5] (in the UK) refers to the House of Lords (the upper chamber of the British Parliament), or its members collectively.

8d   Treatments making ophthalmologist work shifts, initially (8)

In the discipline of music, Op. (also op.)^[5] is an abbreviation meaning opus (work). It is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication.

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