Monday, December 10, 2012 - DT 26980

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26980
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26980]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
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 became stuck with three clues remaining to be solved in today's puzzle from a mystery setter (aka Mysteron or Mr Ron for followers of Big Dave's Crossword Blog). Rather than continue to beat my head against a figurative brick wall, I set the puzzle aside and went outside to do battle with the layer of ice that had accumulated on my driveway from a night of freezing rain. Whether it was the time given to my subconscious to cogitate on the clues or the increased oxygen supply to the brain from the physical exertion, when I returned to the puzzle these three clues put up amazingly little resistance.

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   Turn down quantity of Chinese food (3,3)

The definition of dim sum^[3,4] found in British dictionaries seems to differ to some extent from the way we understand the term in North America. For instance, Collins English Dictionary defines it as a Chinese appetizer of steamed dumplings containing various fillings whereas The American Heritage Dictionary has it as a traditional Chinese cuisine in which small portions of a variety of foods, including an assortment of steamed or fried dumplings, are served in succession. In the North American use of the term, the emphasis is on small portions served in succession and the choice of dishes extends beyond dumplings.

13a   Pretty fine tune (4)

Although F^[5] as a abbreviation for fine would seem to be fairly obvious, Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises it as a British term used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ an F pencil.

18a   Left, sadly, with external injury -- a break (4-4)

In Britain, half-term^[5] is a short holiday about halfway through a school term  ⇒ (i) their sons are on half-term; (ii) I’m not coming home at half-term; (iii) [as modifier] his half-term report; the half-term holiday.

19a   Fix  dish of food (4)

As was the case for Gazza, this was also my last one in. This may also be another case of a word having a broader range of meaning in Britain than it does in North America. In The American Heritage Dictionary, stew^[3,4] is defined as mental agitation ⇒ in a stew over the lost keys whereas in the Collins English Dictionary it is seemingly given a more expansive meaning of a difficult or worrying situation or a troubled state (especially in the phrase in a stew) — with the latter part of this definition matching the North American usage.

21a   Think highly of other side having dropped foremost of strikers (6)

Strikers^[5] could be persons engaged in a labour action or they could be forwards in soccer (known as football in Britain — although I notice that Oxford actually uses the term soccer).

28a   Level, holding the Parisian football team (6)

Sports teams are often informally referred to by the number of persons making up a team. Thus a rowing crew might be called an eight (as in 11a) or a baseball team might be known as a nine. Here the solution refers to a British football (soccer) team. The clue would also work for an American football team, but not for a Canadian one (which has twelve players).

Le^[8] is the masculine singular form of the French definite article.

2d   Film director in trailer entered by soldiers (5)

In the British armed forces, other ranks (abbreviation OR)^[5] refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

James Ivory^[7] is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Their films won six Academy Awards.

7d   Acknowledge a senior policeman has seized millions over time (5)

A detective inspector (DI)^[5] is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector^[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

8d   Suddenly everyone's in agreement about leader of council (3,2,4)

In the surface reading, the 's is a contraction for is but, in the cryptic reading, it becomes a contraction for has (and thus a charade indicator). The wordplay is ALL (everyone) + (has; undoing the contraction) AT ONE (in agreement) containing (about) C (leader [first letter] of Council). I did have a bit of difficulty accepting that the expression at one^[5] could mean in agreement (or in harmony) until I saw it used in the proper context ⇒ they were completely at one with their environment.

14d   Legendary king soon bagged prey on top of mountain (9)

In Greek mythology, Agamemnon^[5] was king of Mycenae and brother of Menelaus, commander-in-chief of the Greek expedition against Troy. On his return home from Troy he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus; his murder was avenged by his son Orestes and daughter Electra.

16d   Contemptible money-grubber's up to it (9)

As in 8d, the 's changes from a contraction for is in the surface reading to a contraction for has in the cryptic reading.

17d   Be sure about subscriber (8)

In Britain, the term subscription^[4] is applied to the membership dues or fees paid to a society or club.

22d   Joint, minutes from Tobermory, perhaps, heading north (5)

I knew (having once visited the place) where Tobermory^[7] is to be found. It is the capital of, and the only burgh on, the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. However, I was not aware that Tobermory has also given its name to one of The Wombles^[7], fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. Wombles were created by author Elisabeth Beresford, and originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968. Although Wombles supposedly live in every country in the world, Beresford's stories are concerned with the lives of the inhabitants of the burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England. The characters became nationally famous in the UK in the mid 1970s as a result of a very popular BBC children's television show using stop motion animation.

24d   Inspector getting extra drop of Scotch in (5)

Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse (whom we've met in previous puzzles) was the central character in 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).

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