Thursday, May 16, 2013 — DT 27115

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27115
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, March 2, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27115 - hints]* Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27115 - review]*
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave - hints gnomethang - review
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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
Notes * As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two postings related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — one on the date of publication containing hints for selected clues as well as a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

I thought that this puzzle approached three star difficulty level — mainly due to 2d where I spent an inordinate amount of time, stymied by a British term that is new to me. I eventually worked out the correct solution from the wordplay before consulting a British dictionary to determine if such an expression really exists.

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.

Across

1a   Range for cooking crumpets (8)

While this detail is not necessary to finding the solution to the clue, it may be interesting to note that the Brits think of a range a bit differently than do North Americans. On this side of the Atlantic, a range can be a cooking stove using any type of fuel (wood, coal, oil, gas, electricity, etc.). However, in Britain, a range^[4] is specifically a large stove with burners and one or more ovens, usually heated by solid fuel. A cooking device that does not use solid fuel would be known over there as a cooker^[5].

6a   Wish to throw gentleman in river (6)

The Dee^[5] is a river in NE Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen. Another river of the same name rises in North Wales and flows past Chester and on into the Irish Sea.

9a   Thanks poet for herald's costume (6)

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

A tabard^[5] is (1) a sleeveless jerkin consisting only of front and back pieces with a hole for the head ⇒ (i) the caretaker with her pale blue nylon tabard on; (ii) riders wear the same numbered tabard for each event or (2) a herald’s official coat emblazoned with the arms of the sovereign.

10a   Chapter owns tatty blue robe for priest (8)

Another sleeveless garment, a chasuble^[5] is an ornate sleeveless outer vestment worn by a Catholic or High Anglican priest when celebrating Mass.

11a   Officer after lover for dance (8)

12a   Military display also includes advanced bike races (6)

In the UK (with the exception of Scotland), A level^[5] (advanced level^[5]) is a qualification in a specific subject typically taken by school students aged 16-18, at a level above GCSE^[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education). O level^[5] (ordinary level)^[5] is a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE.

13a   Traveller on wheels, hog, streaked madly around (12)

16a   Feel warmth or get tanned -- it's a scorcher (5-7)

The anagram indicator is "get tanned". I suspect that the rationale for this usage is that a severe beating might rearrange one's features.

19a   Hunger sends king into bar (6)

Rex^[4] (Latin for king, abbreviated as R^[5]) is part of the official title of a king, now used chiefly in documents, legal proceedings, and inscriptions on coins. It may be used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, or GR, for King George^[5]) or in the titles of lawsuits, e.g. Rex v. Jones: the Crown versus Jones^[5] (which would often be written simply as R. vs Jones). 

 Stave^[5] is another term for a staff or cudgel^[3]; any stick, staff, etc.^[4]; or a stick, rod, pole, or the like^[11].

Stave also has a musical meaning, but I don't believe that a stave is the same thing as a bar (although the terms would appear to be used differently by musicians in North American and Britain). A discussion of this point can be found on my March 21, 2013 posting [DT 27072].

21a   Representative of Indian political scandal being talked of? (8)

The suffix -gate^[5] is appended to words to form a noun denoting an actual or alleged scandal, especially one involving a cover-up ⇒ Irangate. The term was suggested by the 1972 Watergate scandal in the US.

23a   Material making newspaper close down (8)

Organdie^[5] is the British spelling of organdy.

24a   Inbred local put away (6)

A local^[7] is a pub convenient to a person’s home.

25a   Poles getting independence -- Communist turns more spiteful (6)

26a   Condemn one to be removed from consciousness (8)

Down

2d   Like some kings and queens having power advanced (6)

In British English, a pearly king^[5] (or pearly queen) is a London costermonger^[5] [a dated British term for a person who sells goods, especially fruit and vegetables, from a handcart in the street] wearing traditional ceremonial clothes covered with pearl buttons.

3d   Attractiveness of cleaner maiden (5)

Char^[5] is  short for charwoman^[5], a dated British term for a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office. 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.

4d   Scrap dud tanner no longer needed (9)

5d   Nick beset by vermin, getting germ (7)

Nick^[5] is British slang meaning to steal ⇒ she nicked fivers from the till.

6d   Doctor behind rough outline (5)

7d   Poor speaker must utter erratically to some extent (9)

8d   Almost part with sweetheart -- it offers a bigger prize (8)

For a change, this clue does not invoke the common cryptic crossword convention whereby "sweetheart" is used to clue the letter E [in which "sweet heart" signifyies the middle letter (heart) of swEet].

13d   Ancient Asian city, a spot in desert (9)

In a British lottery, the rollover^[5] is the accumulative carry-over of prize money to the following draw ⇒ the lottery jackpot rollover is close to £4 million.

14d   Like Big Brother, nail lower masses (9)

George Orwell^[5] (1903 – 1950) was a British novelist and essayist, born in India; pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair. Orwell’s work is characterized by his concern for social injustice. His most famous works are Animal Farm (1945), a satire on Communism as it developed under Stalin, and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), a dystopian account of a future state in which every aspect of life is controlled by Big Brother — from which the term Orwellian has emerged to denote oppressive government actions.

Here, I would think that "masses" (the anagram indicator) must be used in the sense of assembles.

15d   One's used to press that'll get even and club together (4,4)

Samarkand^[5] is a city in eastern Uzbekistan; population 312,900 (est. 2007). One of the oldest cities of Asia, it was founded in the 3rd or 4th millennium BC. It grew to prominence as a prosperous centre of the silk trade, situated on the Silk Road, and in the 14th century became the capital of Tamerlane’s Mongol empire.

17d   After Bible study, habit is to make amends (7)

"Bible study" is used here as a stand-in for 'Religious Education' (RE). Wikipedia, in an article on Religious education^[7],  says "In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in England the term religious instruction would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with religious education referring to teaching about religions in general) and its varied aspects —its beliefs, doctrines, rituals, customs, rites, and personal roles.". A former article entitled Religious Education (note the subtle difference in capitalization of the titles of the two articles) has now been removed from Wikipedia. It stated "Religious Education (RE) is a compulsory subject in the state education system in the United Kingdom. Schools are required to teach a programme of religious studies according to local and national guidelines."

18d   Part of Jacques Tati comedy is not moving (6)

Jacques Tati^[5] (1908 – 1982) was a French film director and actor; born Jacques Tatischeff. He introduced the comically inept character Monsieur Hulot in Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953), seen again in films including the Oscar-winning Mon oncle (1958).

20d   Bush is important person in church (5)

22d   Film star Richard embracing new style (5)

Richard Gere^[7] is an American actor who rose to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol.

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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon