Monday, January 14, 2013 - DT 27010

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27010
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27010]
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

Crypticsue's prescription worked for me today. Those of you who follow Big Dave's Crossword Blog will recognize her as one of my fellow bloggers there. She often counsels that, in the event of reaching an impasse when solving a puzzle, one should set it aside for a time and allow the subconscious mind to cogitate on the clues while the conscious mind focuses on something else. Today with five clues remaining, I was bogged down and making no progress. Rather than activate my electronic troops, I instead went to the gym for a couple of hours. Upon picking up the puzzle following my workout, the solutions to the remaining clues quickly fell into place.

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   Fruit, queen's choice (8,4)

In Britain, a Victoria plum^[5] is a plum of a large red dessert variety.

8a   Produce mostly stiff undergarment (7)

In Britain, an undershirt is is known as a vest^[10] (and what North Americans think of as a vest would be called a waistcoat).

9a   A gauzy fabric under discussion (2,5)

If, like myself, you find yourself a bit confused by Gazza's hint, it will undoubtedly help to know that Collins English Dictonary defines tissue^[10] as a woven cloth, especially of a light gauzy nature, originally interwoven with threads of gold or silver.

11a   Copper is at home with English style of cooking (7)

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

12a   Revolving handle getting a note to emerge (7)

A musical note that you might "drink with jam and bread".

13a   United aware of Everton's lead (2,3)

Manchester United Football Club^[7] (often referred to as simply United) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system). Everton Football Club^[7] is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool.

14a   Band of gold artist put round part of the trunk (9)

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture. In heraldry, a tincture^[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

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. 

19a   Daily delivery, primarily beet (5)

In Britain, daily^[5] (also called daily help) is a dated term for a woman who is employed to clean someone else’s house each day and char^[5] is another name for a charwoman^[5], a dated term for a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office. 

21a   Ailment comes from cool headland, blowing cold and hot (7)

Usually found in place names, ness^[5] means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

24a   Cocky type rounded hill, was almost captured (4-3)

In Britain, a a person who behaves as if they know everything might be called a know-all^[5] • (i) you’re a bumptious little know-all at times; (ii) [as modifier] a know-all panellist. I am only familiar with this term in its alternative form, know-it-all^[5].

1d   Dizziness? I turn green first (7)

Vert^[5] is green, as a heraldic tincture [see 14a] ⇒ [postpositive] three piles vert.

2d   Before start of Easter, dispenser's short shift (7)

Chemist^[5] is the British term for either (1) a shop where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold, and in which toiletries and other medical goods can be purchased (known as a drugstore^[5] in North America) or (2) a person authorized to dispense medicinal drugs (a druggist^[5] in North America).

3d   Honest one managed to win (2,3,4)

In horse-race betting (in Britain, at least), on the nose^[10] refers to a bet to win only [the bet has a payout only if the horse wins the race]  ⇒ I bet twenty pounds on the nose on that horse. In North America, the term signifies precisely or exactly and, in Australia, it denotes bad or bad-smelling.

17d   Number giving support to revolutionary Labour prime minister (7)

Arthur Balfour^[7] (1848 – 1930) was a British Conservative politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from July 1902 to December 1905. The British Labour Party^[5] is a left-of-centre political party which arose from the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century and replaced the Liberals as the country’s second party after the First World War.

18d   A classic article on timber trees (3,4)

In horse racing in Great Britain, the British Classics^[7] are a series of five horse races run over the flat (i.e., without jumps) for thoroughbreds. Each classic is run once each year and is restricted to horses that are three years old. The third of these races is the Epsom Oaks^[7] (apparently commonly referred to as The Oaks), a race for fillies run at Epsom Downs each June.

19d   Excellent  Havana, for example (7)

I was able to solve this clue once I got the idea of cigars out of my mind.

22d   Conductor turned up in Kuwait, lost (5)

Sir Georg Solti (1912 – 1997) was a Hungarian-born British orchestral and operatic conductor, best known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-serving music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

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