Thursday, December 27, 2012 - DT 26995

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26995
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, October 12, 2012
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26995]
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 would agree with Gazza's assessment of this puzzle. I would say the needle on the difficulty meter was centred in three star territory — making the puzzle no walk in the park but definitely doable with a bit of concentration.

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   Gong given to performer who tried to bring reform? (8)

Gong^[5] is an informal British term for a medal or award. A Companion of Honour (abbreviation CH) is a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour^[7], an order of the Commonwealth realms^[7] founded by King George V in June 1917 as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion. A Chartist is a proponent of Chartism, a UK parliamentary reform movement of 1837–48, the principles of which were set out in a manifesto called The People’s Charter and called for universal suffrage for men, equal electoral districts, voting by secret ballot, abolition of property qualifications for MPs, and annual general elections.

Here one can read the definition as being the question "Who tried to bring reform?" with the answer to the question being the solution to the clue.

11a   Name given to complete crackpot (6)

Nutter^[5] is British slang for a mad or eccentric person.

16a   In the course of fights thrash Greeks (8)

A Spartan^[5] is a citizen of Sparta^[5], a city in the southern Peloponnese in Greece, capital of the department of Laconia; population 14,400 (est. 2009). It was a powerful city state in the 5th century BC, defeating its rival Athens in the Peloponnesian War to become the leading city of Greece.

21a   Idiot journalist blabbered (6)

Prat^[5] is British slang for an incompetent or stupid person or, in other words, an idiot. This usage is relatively recent, dating from the 1960s. An older meaning of prat is as an informal term for a person’s buttocks — which may suggest where the first mentioned usage originated.

26a   Name of nurse in Italian city (8)

Florence Nightingale^[5] (1820–1910) English nurse and medical reformer. In 1854, during the Crimean War, she improved sanitation and medical procedures at the army hospital at Scutari, achieving a dramatic reduction in the mortality rate. She was born in Florence in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now part of Italy)^[7].

2d   What's used for painting sacred building, with pounds spent on artist (7)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].  A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

4d   Country club joined by academic, international ace (9)

A don^[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge. Macedonia^[5] is a landlocked republic in the Balkans; population 2,066,700 (est. 2009); official language, Macedonian; capital, Skopje. Formerly a constituent republic of Yugoslavia, Macedonia became independent after a referendum in 1991. M

17d   Soldier only briefly gets overhead protection (7)

In the UK, para^[5] is used as an informal short form for paratrooper.

18d   Block a series of steps with two pianos? That looks dotty! (7)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).

20d   Drunk sat in a part of the wine cellar -- to kick his habit? (7)

For some reason, Oxford seems to think that the word bin is British in every sense. However, the word is certainly in use in Canada in some senses. One meaning of bin^[5] is a partitioned stand for storing bottles of wine.

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