Wednesday, February 6, 2013 — DT 27028

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27028
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27028]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
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

You certainly should not find this puzzle too taxing. It has received the lowest BD Rating (both in terms of difficulty and enjoyment) that I can recall ever having seen. I thought that it might turn out to be a pangram (a puzzle in which every letter of the alphabet appears at least once in the solutions), but it fell a couple of letters short.

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   Physio service adheres to European Union rule (7)

According to my British dictionaries, physio^[4] is an informal short form for either (1) physiotherapy (which is how I would understand the term) or (2) physiotherapist (which is how the setter chooses to use it).

From The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition:

r or r. abbrev: ... rule (law).

10a   More inexperienced guy, one out before end of over (7)

The surface reading relates to cricket, an over (abbreviation O)^[5] being 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.

11a   I joined 14's party to protest before race (5,4)

The numeral "14" is a cross-reference indicator. To obtain the full clue, substitute the solution to clue 14 [as there is only a single clue starting from square 14, the setter omits the directional indication] in place of the cross-reference indicator.

12a   Port -- sail from one over in Georgia (5)

Gazza points out that, in addition to the wordplay, there are two definitions in this clue — a fact that I had missed. Genoa^[5] is a seaport on the NW coast of Italy, capital of Liguria region; population 611,171 (2008). It was the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. A genoa^[5] (also called a genoa jib) is a large jib or foresail whose foot extends aft of the mast, used especially on racing yachts.

15a   The right side leading table (9)

Board^[5] is an archaic term for a table set for a meal ⇒ he looked at the banquet which was spread upon his board.

17a   Chief to censure bridge contract (5,4)

Grand^[3] is used in the sense of (1) having higher rank than others of the same category ⇒ a grand admiral or (2) having more importance than others; principal ⇒ the grand ballroom of a hotel.

In bridge, a grand slam^[5] is a contract involving the bidding and winning of all thirteen tricks.

22a   Last month leading artist identified as extremist (5)

Ultimo (abbreviation ult.)^[5] is a dated postpositive adjective meaning of last month  ⇒ the 3rd ultimo.

23a   Held back playing for second eleven? Not quite (2,7)

An eleven^[5] is a sports team of eleven players  ⇒ at cricket I played in the first eleven. At the time I solved the clue, I presumed that the "second eleven" would be players held "in reserve". However, that apparently is "not quite" the case.

In Britain, a reserve team^[10] is a second team of a sports club, such as a football club, made up of emerging and young players. As Gazza alludes to, "playing for second eleven" would be "in reserves" (2,8). So, "not quite" this would be "in reserve".

A reserve team would seem to be somewhat similar in concept to a North American farm team^[5] (a term which, despite what Oxford Dictionaries Online would have you believe, applies to hockey as well as baseball). However, in addition to "emerging and young players", a farm team usually includes veterans at the end of their career who can no longer play at a major league level as well as players who likely will never make it beyond the minors. Rather than a farm team, an American football team has a taxi squad^[5], a group of players taking part in practices and available as reserves for the team.

The Second XI Championship^[7] is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status.

26a   Busy person taking on board reorganisation of quiz game (7)

Bezique^[5] is a trick-taking card game for two, played with a double pack of 64 cards, including the seven to ace only in each suit.

28a   Old record with new inset showing pop group's manager (7)

Brian Epstein^[7] (1934 – 1967) was an English music entrepreneur, best known for being the manager of the Beatles until his death in 1967.

3a   Cavell, say, handled it heroically, imprisoned within (5)

Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park

Edith Cavell^[7] (1865 – 1915) was a British nurse and patriot. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested. She was subsequently court-martialled, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage. In 1916, a mountain in Canada's Jasper National Park was named in her honour.

5a   Movie star -- Rooney, for example (5)

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison) (1907 – 1979), better known by his stage name John Wayne^[7], was an American film actor, director and producer.

Wayne Rooney^[7] is an English footballer [soccer player] who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

Mickey Rooney^[7] (born Joseph Yule, Jr.; September 23, 1920) is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime.

6d   Boulanger playing in part of hotel, perhaps (6,3)

Boulanger^[8] (the French word for baker) is a common French surname. However, it would seem that the surface reading likely does not refer to anyone by that name in particular.

8d   Send on  attacking player (7)

The Brits likely interpreted this clue as a reference to football [soccer], but it works just as well if your favourite sport is hockey.

14d   Tea drinker making foolish threat, animatedly (3,6)

Here we meet the host of the party attended by the character at 11a. The Hatter^[7] (called Hatta in Through the Looking-Glass) is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll. The phrase "mad as a hatter" pre-dates Carroll's works and the characters the Hatter and the March Hare are initially referred to as "both mad" by the Cheshire Cat, with both first appearing in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in the seventh chapter titled "A Mad Tea-Party".

17d   Forest creature, a pig (7)

Glutton^[3,4] is another name for the wolverine.

We get the same clue that appeared in the paper edition of The Daily Telegraph. A different clue was substituted in the online version of the puzzle in the UK.

• 17d Gourmand has good time in Bedfordshire town (7)

Luton^[7] is a large town in Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles (50 km) north of London. It is the home of London Luton Airport, an international airport which is the fourth-largest airport serving the London area after Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, and one of London's six international airports along with London City and Southend.

18d   An American theatre award going to maiden opposite (7)

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known informally as the Tony Award^[7], recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre.

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.

21d   Spotted guarding ambassador and bishop in drinking den (7)

HE^[2] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency^[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.

A shebeen^[5] (especially in Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa) is an unlicensed establishment or private house selling alcohol and typically regarded as slightly disreputable.

23d   One politician the Spanish push forward (5)

In systems of parliamentary government, such as Britain and Canada, an elected representative is known as a Member of Parliament (or MP^[5] for short).

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

24d   Classifies courts as redundant (5)

The Courts of Assize, or assizes^[7], were periodic criminal courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the Quarter Sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes heard the most serious cases, which were committed to it by the Quarter Sessions (local county courts held four times a year), while the more minor offences were dealt with summarily by Justices of the Peace in petty sessions (also known as Magistrates' Courts).

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