Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - DT 26951

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26951
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26951]
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

I completed today's puzzle in a single sitting without needing to call in my electronic assistants.

Note to Readers of Scchua's Review

For those who peruse Scchua's review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, be aware that he has used differing formats in his hints for the across and down clues respectively.

In the across clues, portions of the solution are hidden between the curly brackets. These can be revealed either by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the mouse across the space between the curly brackets or, alternatively, by double clicking (not single clicking) on the space between the curly brackets.

On the other hand, in the down clues, he has merely inserted blanks to represent the various bits of the solution. Try as you may, you cannot reveal these bits as there is nothing to reveal.

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.

10a   Observer magazine (9)

This double definition type clue plays on the names of two British publications — ones with widely divergent views. The Observer^[7], the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, is a sister paper to the daily The Guardian^[7] and takes a similar liberal or social democratic line on most issues while The Spectator^[7] is a conservative-leaning weekly British magazine owned by the same people who own The Daily Telegraph^[7].

The setter is able to capitalize the word "observer" by placing it at the beginning of the clue, thus making it appear to be the name of a publication (rather than just an ordinary noun). As a result, the surface reading would tend to direct the solver's attention to the left-leaning Sunday newspaper, whereas the solution is actually the right-leaning current affairs magazine from a rival publisher.

12a   Before much time has elapsed, peer angrily finishes working (5,2)

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.

13a   Best way after argument is rejected (5)

Best^[5] is a verb meaning to outwit or get the better of (someone) ⇒ she refused to allow herself to be bested. Worst^[5] is a verb meaning get the better of or defeat ⇒ this was not the time for a deep discussion—she was tired and she would be worsted.

23a   Release son caught by a foreign section on the way back (7)

Un^[8] is the masculine singular form of the French indefinite article.

25a   Yankee made money and felt nostalgia (7)

Yankee^[5] is a code word representing the letter Y, used in radio communication.

28a   Haggard's taken gun out (5)

Again the setter arranges to capitalize a word by placing it at the beginning of a clue, causing me to think (for a brief moment) that the solution might be RIDER (in reference to English writer H. Rider Haggard^[7]).

2d   Glass border (raised) runs right around ring (6)

On cricket scorecards, one would find R^[5] employed as an abbreviation for run(s).

3d   Sherlock ‘s personal view? (7,3)

Sherlock Holmes^[7] is a fictional detective created by author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.

5d   In France she welcomes one after vicar making early morning call (8)

In French, elle^[8] is a feminine pronoun that can mean either she (when used as a subject) or her (when used as an object).

6d   North’s leading light? (4)

Although Scchua characterizes this as a double definition, I would prefer to call it a cryptic definition. In any event, it is a play on the North Star (used for navigation) together with a term for someone prominent in their field of endeavour (leading light). If it is to be considered a double definition, then it would be a type of semi all-in-one clue where the entire clue provides one definition (North's leading light) and a portion of the clue (leading light) provides the other.

13d   Note during conflict targets barrels for collection (5,5)

A water butt^[5] is a large barrel used for catching and storing rainwater — a butt^[3,4] being a large cask, especially one with a capacity of two hogsheads, for storing wine.

Te^[5] is the British spelling for the seventh note of a major scale in the tonic sol-fa system of naming the notes of the musical scale. In North America, the name of this note is generally spelled ti.

A butt^[10] is a person or thing that is the target of ridicule, wit, etc. In shooting or archery, a butt^[10] is either (1) a mound of earth behind the target on a target range that stops bullets or wide shots or (2) the target itself. In the plural, it means the target range.

Note: Unless it has since been corrected, in Scchua's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, there is a typo in the clue (the word "conflict" is missing). However, the explanation is correct.

15d   Forward-looking, runs into new position of advantage (5-5)

For "runs", consult your cricket scorecard (see comment for 2d).

18d   One who acts in haste, perhaps, crossing head of police (8)

The wordplay is an anagram (perhaps) of IN HASTE containing (crossing) P {initial letter of (head of) Police}. [Note: As I read it, Scchua seems to have the containment reversed in his hint.]

26d   Assume goose finally to be cooked (4)

Apparently, assume^[3] can literally mean to put on or don ⇒ The queen assumed a velvet robe. However, I found this explicitly indicated only in The American Heritage Dictionary. Other dictionaries had usage examples that were figurative in nature, such as one from Collins English Dictionary where assume is defined as (1) to take or put on or (2) to adopt ⇒ the problem assumed gigantic proportions.

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