Monday, December 3, 2012 - DT 26974

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26974
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26974]
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 started slowly, moved fairly smoothly through the middle section, and then struggled toward the finish. However, I did manage to complete the puzzle without calling out my electronic reinforcements.

Although the setter is not explicitly identified on Big Dave's blog, I had guessed that it might be Petitjean. I see that Gazza as well as several other visitors to Big Dave's site seem to share that view.

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   Old American who takes pledge? (6)

I would presume that the appellation "old American" alludes to the fact that members of this people have been residents of North America for a long time. My initial interpretation was that "old" might mean 'former', but that is certainly not the case as the Pawnee people^[7] still exist.

I had originally surmised that the second meaning might be a whimsical invention of the setter, but found that pawnee^[2] meaning someone who lends money in exchange for pawned articles actually does exist in Chambers — if nowhere else.

8a   Turn crimson about unknown Old Boy network (8)

In Britain, an old boy^[5] (abbreviation OB^[2])  is (1) a former male student of a school or college ⇒an old boy of Banbury County School or (2) a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards.

 In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

13a   Wanton petulance involving a caught and bowled is not to be tolerated (12)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviations c^[5] and b^[5] indicate caught (by) and bowled (by) respectively • ME Waugh c Lara b Walsh 19. Note that the three letters to be added are sprinkled throughout the solution rather than being inserted as a single block.

22a   Cold plain fish doctor's eaten (6)

An 's can be the contraction for either "has" or "is". In this clue, don't make the mistake of interpreting the wordplay as "fish [that] doctor has eaten". Rather, it is "fish; doctor is eaten". In deciphering the wordplay, it is often necessary to ignore punctuation that the setter has employed solely for purposes of the surface reading or (as here) to insert punctuation where none exists.

24a   Sharp bend in track before part of course (6)

Golfers might well think that the definition is "part of course". However, it is actually "sharp bend". Here, "course" refers to a racecourse and a leg^[2] of a race would be one lap around the course.

25a   Feature with old records reviewed in turn (6)

A turn^[3] is a brief theatrical act or stage appearance. If this meaning is not the first to pop into your mind, you are not alone. It is the 21st sense of the noun (out of 23 in total) listed by The American Heritage Dictionary.

1d   Norm twisted ankle here in Mayfair (4,4)

Park Lane^[7] is a major road in the City of Westminster, in Central London. It is about three quarters of a mile (1.2 km) in length, and runs north from Hyde Park Corner to Marble Arch, along the length of the eastern flank of Hyde Park. To the east of the road is Mayfair^[7] (originally called The May Fair), an area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassies and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and London's largest concentration of luxury hotels and many restaurants. Rents are among the highest in London and the world.

2d   Out-of-tune backing in 'God Only Knows' (5)

Once again today the quotation marks around the song title in the clue have not survived the journey across the Atlantic — although I have elected to display them. "God Only Knows"^[7] is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. It is the eighth track on the group's 11th studio album, Pet Sounds (1966).

The Collins English Dictionary characterises wonky^[3,4] as a British expression, but I would say that The American Heritage Dictionary is on target when it calls it chiefly British. It is certainly a term with which I am not unfamiliar.

3d   Gourmet wants large-scale curries now and then (7)

Here "now and then" is a rather imprecise indicator to take some of the letters of the word "curries". While it is not clearly specified, we are expected to take a regular sequence of letters (which could be either the odds or the evens).

5d   Following start of divorce violent brutish husband wanting to cause upset (7)

Whether intentional or not, Gazza has nicely illustrated the fact that the verb "want" can take on two diametrically opposite meanings as an indicator. It may mean need or require (as in Gazza's statement "we want an anagram ...") or it can mean to miss or lack (as it does in the wordplay in this clue).

14d   American fast food? Cool, I will get chow maybe (6,3)

It seems that in Britain a chilli dog comes garnished with an extra L, as compared to an American chili dog. Perhaps the question mark is indicating that the American spelling is not being used.

A chili dog^[7] is a hot dog that is served topped with chili con carne (usually without beans). Often, other toppings are also added, such as cheese, onions, and mustard. One popular variety of chili dog is the Coney Island hot dog, which despite its name originally came from Michigan and not Brooklyn. A Coney dog is a hot dog piled high with chili, onions and mustard. A Michigan dog is similar to a Coney, as is a Texas hot dog, which is actually from Pennsylvania.

18d   Guerrilla leader surrounded by dregs and hangers-on (7)

Ernesto "Che" Guevara^[7] (1928 – 1967), commonly known as El Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist who was a major figure of the Cuban Revolution.

21d   Conifers recorded in gorse (5)

Gorse^[5] (also known as furze^[5]) is a yellow-flowered shrub of the pea family, the leaves of which are modified to form spines, native to western Europe and North Africa. Several species exist, in particular the common European Ulex europaeus, which grows widely in heathy places. Heath is a chiefly British term for an area of open uncultivated land, typically on acid sandy soil, with characteristic vegetation of heather, gorse, and coarse grasses ⇒ horses were being exercised on the heath.

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