Friday, February 1, 2013 - DT 27025

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27025
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, November 16, 2012
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27025]
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 thought that at least of couple of clues in this puzzle had a Rufus-like quality about them — namely, the cryptic definitions at 14a, 25a and 26a. Consequently, I would not have been surprised had I discovered that the National Post had skipped a couple of puzzles. However, that is not the case. The puzzle is from our regular "Friday" setter, Giovanni.

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   Vehicles with various escorts going round roundabout (8)

Using "roundabout" to clue the letter O is known as a visual clue^[7]. This is the first time that I have seen this particular usage (as also seems to be the case for Gazza). I have seen the letter O clued by other round objects, such as ring, doughnut and bagel. As Gazza indicates, spectacles is sometimes used to clue OO.

9a   How strife is re-enacted within well-marked battle site (8,5)

The Battle of Bosworth Field^[7] (or the Battle of Bosworth) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty by his victory. His opponent, Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed in the battle. Historians consider Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, making it one of the defining moments of English and Welsh history.

10a   African man embracing one of the Spice Girls (8)

The Spice Girls^[7] are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consists of five members, who each later adopted nicknames initially ascribed to them: Melanie Brown ("Scary Spice"), Melanie Chisholm ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham, née Adams ("Posh Spice"). Their debut album, Spice, sold more than 28 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in music history. They have sold over 80 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling female group of all time and one of the best-selling pop groups of all time, and also making them the most successful British band since the Beatles.

11a   Maybe I allowed Cockney woman to be heard (6)

A cockney^[5] is a native of East London [specifically the East End], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow^[7] church). Cockney is also the name of the dialect or accent typical of cockneys, which is characterised by dropping the H from the beginning of words and the use of rhyming slang^[5].

12a   Quote from a theologian attached to university church (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.

16a   Irish priest outside game joining worker gone off naughtily (8)

Father Ted^[7] is a comedy series set in Ireland that was aired by British broadcaster Channel 4^[7] from 1995 until 1998. Set on the remote fictional Craggy Island off Ireland's west coast, the show was about the titular Father Ted Crilly and two other priests who had all been exiled on the island for various past incidents. The priests live together in the Parochial House^[7] (Irish Catholic name for a clergy residence) with their housekeeper Mrs. Doyle.

 Rugby union (RU)^[5] is a form of rugby played in teams of fifteen, in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen. The latter game was originated by a group of northern English clubs which separated from rugby union in 1895. Besides having somewhat different rules, the game differed from rugby union in always allowing professionalism.

19a   After game, one of the nobs fell asleep (3,3)

Go^[7] is a board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,500 years ago (from whence it spread, first to Korea and Japan, and then worldwide). The game is noted for being rich in strategy despite its relatively simple rules. According to chess master Edward Lasker: "The rules of Go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play Go." The name Go is derived from the Japanese name of the game, "igo".

In British slang, toff^[5] is a derogatory term for a rich or upper-class person. Nob is a chiefly British slang term for a person of wealth or social standing^[3] or a person of social distinction^[4].

In Britain, get off^[5] can mean either (1) go to sleep, especially after some difficulty or (2) have a sexual encounter ⇒ Linda got off with the ski instructor. In North America, it is vulgar slang meaning to have an orgasm.

23a   Athenian at home in any element (8)

Timon of Athens^[7] is a play by William Shakespeare about the fortunes of an Athenian named Timon (and probably influenced by the philosopher of the same name, as well), generally regarded as one of his most obscure and difficult works.

25a   Noble work (6,7)

Burke's Peerage^[7] (founded in 1826 by Irish genealogist John Burke) is a publisher of authoritative, in-depth historical guides to the royal and titled families of the United Kingdom and many other countries, such as Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage [which, no doubt, is commonly referred to as simply Burke's Peerage).

3d   Run from street having been nipped by bird (5)

Pie^[4] is an archaic or dialect name for magpie.

4d   Eye-catching concert in part of St Mary's, Paddington? (9)

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.

St Mary's Hospital^[7] is a hospital located in Paddington, London, England that was founded in 1845. The most frequently visited area of the Crosswordland Hospital continues to be the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[2]) department.

6d   Waste material out from Cornish river (5)

The River Fal^[7] flows through Cornwall, United Kingdom, rising on the Goss Moor and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth.

7d   One escaping from a time immersed in river -- medical care needed (9)

The Trent^[5] is the chief river of central England, which rises in Staffordshire and flows 275 km (170 miles) generally north-eastwards, uniting with the River Ouse 25 km (15 miles) west of Hull to form the Humber estuary.

The primary indication (or "definition") is "medical care needed" indicates that [a synonym for] medical care is the solution (what is needed).

13d   Rental due to be changed or left alone? (9)

The first anagram that I came up with was UNRELATED which I convinced myself might mean "left alone" should one stretch one's imagination far enough. This, of course, greatly hampered progress in the southwest corner.

15d   Black attire torn with anger? (9)

"Black attire" is not necessarily NIGHTWEAR and NIGHTWEAR is not necessarily "black attire". I guess that is why there is a question mark at the end of the clue.

17d   Like the value of property Arab let out (7)

In Britain, ratable^[10] (in respect to property) means liable to payment of rates^[10], a tax levied on property by a local authority.

18d   A US lawyer keeps quiet in study, showing no emotion (7)

This lawyer is making his (or her) second appearance in two days. In the US, a district attorney^[5] is a public official who acts as prosecutor for the state in a particular district.

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).

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