Friday, February 22, 2013 — DT 27040

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27040
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27040]
Big Dave's Review Written By Deep Threat
BD 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

Today, we have a rather unremarkable offering served up by an unknown setter.

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.

9a   Eccentric back with university, the French count (7)

In French, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

10a   Ram a truck's rear wheels and this may be broken (5)

Although I got the correct solution from the definition, I was at a loss to explain the wordplay — having failed to recognize "wheels" as a reversal indicator.

Tup^[10] is a mainly British term for an uncastrated male sheep. It also means the head of a pile-driver or steam hammer.

19a   Hurry to one at Skegness, rearranged (3,4,6,2)

Wouldn't you expect this to be a Canadian expression, rather than a British one? To get one's skates on^[5] means to hurry up ⇒ I’ll tell him to get his skates on.

Skegness^[7] is a seaside town in Lincolnshire, England. Located on the coast of the North Sea, it is one of the better known seaside resorts in the United Kingdom.

23a   Fashionable boy's name, reportedly? Seriously (2,7)

In his hint, Deep Threat makes reference to The Importance of Being Earnest, an 1895 play by Irish playwright Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900).

26a   Channel Islands firm demonstrating a tank (7)

The Channel Islands (abbreviation CI)^[5] are a group of islands in the English Channel off the NW coast of France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. Formerly part of the dukedom of Normandy, they have owed allegiance to England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and are now classed as Crown dependencies.

1d   Duly pick out fair game? (5,3)

In the UK, a lucky dip^[5] is a a game in which small prizes are concealed in a container and chosen at random by participants. "Fair" is used in the sense of a bazaar.

5d   Country record includes live song (8)

The test for the acceptability of an abbreviation is usually whether it is found in The Chambers Dictionary. Well, L (or l) as an abbreviation for live is not to be found there.

8d   Excellent management, but lacking foresight (5)

I easily got the solution from the definition, and even understood the mechanics of the wordplay. Nevertheless, it took me nearly forever to twig to the fact that the required synonym for "foresight" is vision.

9d   Wealthy old lady's flutter after function (7)

Flutter^[5] is British slang for a small bet ⇒ a flutter on the horses.

14d   Go beyond  social welfare? (8)

Outreach^[5] is an organization’s involvement with or influence in the community, especially in the context of religion or social welfare ⇒ (i) the growth of evangelistic outreach; (ii) [as modifier] outreach centres.

17d   Cook, perhaps, posed with flag on roof of theatre (8)

Peter Cook^[7] (1937 – 1995) was an English actor, satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. Cook has been described as "the funniest man who ever drew breath", although his work was also controversial. Cook was closely associated with anti-establishment comedy that emerged in Britain and the United States in the late 1950s.

18d   Number Ten upset about empty emporium, large building in Scotland? (8)

Don't overlook the fact that a "number" might be ten!

The solution is a word that apparently is not commonly used in the UK outside of Scotland. Oxford Dictionaries Online defines tenement^[5] (especially in Scotland or the US) as (1) a room or a set of rooms forming a separate residence within a house or block of flats [apartments in North America] or (2) (also tenement house) a house divided into and let as separate residences.

"Number Ten" might possibly be intended as a reference to the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and official residence of the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street^[7] in London, England. However, the address is usually written as "Number 10".

21d   Tackle school producing tasteless art (6)

Tackle^[3] is used in the sense of the equipment used in a particular activity, especially in fishing; gear. A kit^[3] is a set of articles or implements used for a specific purpose.

22d   Reprimand son towards the end (5)

Slate^[5] is British slang meaning to criticize severely ⇒ his work was slated by the critics.

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