Thursday, January 3, 2013 - DT 27001

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 27001
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, October 19, 2012
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27001]
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

Giovanni delivers a very enjoyable puzzle today — one which doesn't push the needle on the difficulty meter too high.

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   Time to get a round in concert -- find the bar (7)

In Britain, as well as being a short form for promenade^[5] (a paved public walk), prom (also Prom)^[5] is short for promenade concert ⇒ the last night of the Proms; a promenade concert^[5] being a concert of classical music at which a part of the audience stands in an area without seating, for which tickets are sold at a reduced price. The most famous series of such concerts is the annual BBC Promenade Concerts (known as the Proms), instituted by Sir Henry Wood in 1895. By the way, the word paved^[5] in the preceding definition would likely mean covered with with flat stones or bricks rather than covered with asphalt.

Prom^[5] meaning a school dance is apparently primarily a North American usage and itself is a shortened form of promenade^[5] (with the long form now considered to be archaic when used in this sense).

9a   One embraced by enthusiast at church -- he may go there to get wed (6)

The Church of England (CE)^[10] is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

11a   Warning politician, I'd moan terribly at the start (10)

We are looking for an adjective (and a word which is new to me) rather than a noun. Fortunately, knowing the noun, I was able to guess the existence of the adjective.

13a   I proceed to grab a villain (4)

Iago^[7] is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello (c. 1601–04). The play's main antagonist, Iago is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago hates Othello (who is also known as "The Moor") and devises a plan to destroy him by making him believe that his wife is having an affair with his lieutenant, Michael Cassio.

17a   New car with Cellnet that can deal with phone messages (4,6)

Mobile phone operator Cellnet^[7] was formed in 1985 as a joint venture between the British multinational telecommunications services company BT Group and the UK security company Securicor plc. Securicor sold its share in the company to British Telecom in 1999, resulting in the formation of BT Cellnet, which was later spun off as O₂.

19a   Canons in cold form of worship look retrogressive (8)

The word canon has a variety of meanings in the church and is also a musical term. However, the meaning here is a basis for judgment; a standard or criterion^[3] or a principle or accepted criterion applied in a branch of learning or art^[4].

22a   Male on water? Yes, yes! (5)

Sir Francis Drake^[7], Vice Admiral (1540 – 1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the second circumnavigation of the world, from 1577 to 1580. Of course, he is not the only drake on the water.

1d   Second joke presented by someone using words craftily? (4)

The definition is "presented by someone using words craftily" meaning that the solution must be the past participle of a verb. Alastair Campbell^[7] (mentioned by Gazza in his review) is a British journalist, broadcaster, political aide and author, best known for his work as Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003. Campbell describes himself as a "Communicator, Writer and Strategist" on his website, while others have described him as Labour's "unelected, but ... hardly underscrutinised" spin doctor.

4d   Finally throw end of loaf that is black in recycling container? (7,3)

In the UK, wheelie bin (or wheely bin)^[5] is a slang term for a large refuse bin set on wheels.

5d   Chord one gets in a type of jazz (5)

Trad^[10] is a mainly British term for traditional jazz, as revived in the 1950s.

6d   Joan takes Isle of Man road the wrong way (4,2,7)

Perhaps Joan was competing in the Tourist Trophy (TT)^[5], a motorcycle-racing competition held annually on roads in the Isle of Man since 1907.

Joan of Arc^[7] (French: Jeanne d'Arc; ca. 1412 – 1431), nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (French: La Pucelle d'Orléans), is a folk heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. She was born a peasant girl in what is now eastern France. Claiming divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII of France. She was captured by the Burgundians, transferred to the English in exchange for money, put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon for charges of "insubordination and heterodoxy", and was burned at the stake for heresy when she was 19 years old.

The Isle of Man (abbreviation IOM)^[5] is an island in the Irish Sea which is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system. The island was part of the Norse kingdom of the Hebrides in the Middle Ages, passing into Scottish hands in 1266 for a time, until the English gained control in the early 15th century. Its ancient language, Manx, is still occasionally used for ceremonial purposes.

8d   Special corner, a bright spot (7)

Spangles^[7] (mentioned by Gazza in his review) was a brand of boiled sweets [candy, in North American parlance], manufactured by Mars Ltd in the United Kingdom from 1950 to the early eighties.

When Spangles were first introduced in 1950, sweets were still on ration, and the price of sweets had to be accompanied by tokens or points from one's ration book, but Spangles required only one point instead of the two required for other sweets and chocolate. This bonus, accompanied by effective marketing, made Spangles even more popular. American actor William Boyd was chosen to front the advertising campaign as a character he made famous in numerous films, Hopalong Cassidy, along with the slogan "Hoppy's favourite sweet".

15d   After sign of approval maiden perhaps becomes idle (4,4)

In cricket, a maiden^[5], also known as a maiden over, (abbreviation M)^[5] is an over in which no runs are scored. An over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

Tick over^[10] is a British expression meaning to idle (with regard to an engine); that is, to run at low speed with the throttle control closed and the transmission disengaged.

17d   Former President in vehicle with Her Majesty (6)

By tradition, the ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs use initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

Jimmy Carter^[7] is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States (1977–1981).

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