Wednesday, November 21, 2012 - DT 26964

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26964
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, September 6, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26964]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
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 managed to decipher some new British terms found in today's puzzle. However, there was nothing at all particularly British about the one clue where I needed help from my electronic assistants.

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.

5a   To sing and dance about a 5-0 rout is heartless (6)

I hope it is not heartless to point out that Pommers is a bit off the mark with his comment "the Roman numerals for 5 and 0". There was no zero in the numbering system used by the Romans. The symbol for zero^[7] was only introduced by the Arabs in the 10th century and Arabic numbers were not adopted by Europeans until the Middle Ages.

9a   It's common sense there's a purpose in feeling sick (8)

Nous^[5] is an informal British term meaning common sense or practical intelligence ⇒ if he had any nous at all, he’d sell the film rights.

10a   Copper approaching end of tether with hardly any time to be indoors (6)

Cu^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element copper.

12a   Insist a sure thing's sound (6)

Cert^[5] is an informal British expression meaning (1) an event regarded as inevitable ⇒ of course Mum would cry, it was a dead cert (2) a racehorse strongly tipped to win a race or (3) a person regarded as certain to do something ⇒ the Scottish [goal]keeper was a cert to play. Note that Pommers alludes to the second sense of the word in his hint.

13a   A chick originally in nest -- or older bird? (8)

Although Pommers comments that "... it’s a rather odd definition IMHO! ", I thought the clue was rather clever. A young woman is frequently called a chick and a more mature woman might well be referred to as an "old bird" (my mother would often refer to an eccentric elderly woman as "a queer old bird").

15a   Anorak from free catalogue? No thanks (7)

An anorak^[5] is a waterproof jacket, typically with a hood, of a kind originally used in polar regions.

The words anorak and parka have possibly been used interchangeably, but they are somewhat different garments. Strictly speaking, an anorak is a waterproof, hooded, pull-over jacket without a front opening, and sometimes drawstrings at the waist and cuffs, and a parka is a knee-length cold-weather jacket or coat; typically stuffed with down or very warm synthetic fiber, and with a fur-lined hood.^[7]

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒ ‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

In Britain, a cagoule^[5] is a lightweight, hooded, thigh-length waterproof jacket.

In his hint, Pommers refers to a trainspotter^[5], a British term for a person who collects train or locomotive numbers as a hobby. It is also often used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who obsessively studies the minutiae of any minority interest or specialized hobby ⇒ the idea is to make the music really really collectable so the trainspotters will buy it in their pathetic thousands.

In Britain, anorak^[5] is an informal, derogatory term for a studious or obsessive person with unfashionable and largely solitary interests ⇒ with his thick specs, shabby shoes, and grey suit, he looks a bit of an anorak. The term derives from the anoraks worn by trainspotters, regarded as typifying this kind of person.

26a   Regretting using Parisian street that's almost completely jammed (6)

The French word for street is rue^[8].

1d   What was afoot in 'Cakes and Ale'? (6)

Cakes and Ale: or, the Skeleton in the Cupboard^[7] (1930) is a novel by British author William Somerset Maugham.

As is usually the case, the National Post has dropped the quotation marks which appeared in the puzzle when it was originally published in the UK. I have chosen to leave them in.

3d   Sweet rice came cooked (3,5)

In Britain, sweet^[5] is another name for pudding or dessert.

6d   Sharpness of article combined with extremes of emotion (6)

Cum^[5] (the Latin word for with) is used in English as a preposition [usually in combination] meaning combined with or also used as (used to describe things with a dual nature or function) ⇒ a study-cum-bedroom.

7d   Kill hart and doe with clean shot away from the gaze of spectators (3-5)

I concluded that "clean shot" had to mean 'delete DO' but wasn't sure why this should be so. In Britain, do^[5] can mean to do the cleaning for a person or household ⇒ Florrie usually did for the Shermans in the mornings.

8d   Checked time Lawrence returned clutching fizzy water (8)

There was a fundamental flaw in the clue which was published in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph in Britain and which originally appeared on the website. A new clue was eventually posted to the website. You can read the saga on Big Dave's blog.

Fortunately for readers of the National Post, the revised clue has been included in the syndicated puzzle.

This was one of my last ones in as I tried desperately to force fit British army officer T. E. Lawrence^[7] (Lawrence of Arabia) into the solution instead of English novelist D. H. Lawrence^[7].

11d   Change the ending of popular fellow's talks with second half cut (7)

F^[2] is the abbreviation for Fellow (of a society, etc).

17d   To train fruit trees -- cultivated pears -- may take invention (8)

In addition to being (as Pommers mentions) "a frame or trellis where you train fruit trees", espalier^[5] can also be a verb meaning to train (a tree or shrub) to grow flat against a wall ⇒ fruit trees were espaliered some thirty feet apart.

18d   Happy student capers in party clothes (4,4)

In Britain, rag^[2] is a noun [usually used as a modifier] denoting a programme of stunts, parades, and other entertainments organized by students to raise money for charity : rag week.

23d   Spain and France keep striving (6)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Spain is E^[5] (from Spanish España) and that
France is F^[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