Tuesday, May 14, 2013 — DT 27113

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27113
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, February 28, 2013
Setter Petitjean (John Pidgeon)*
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27113]
Big Dave's Review Written By pommers
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 * Although the setter is not positively identified, there seems to be a clear consensus among the regulars at Big Dave's Crossword Blog that this puzzle can be attributed to Petitjean.

Introduction

Although I was able to advance far into the puzzle before calling in the electronic helpers today, progress was slow and painstaking. Nevertheless, I found it to be a highly entertaining puzzle.

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   Award for play (4)

3a   Dictator left abandoned in disgrace (5)

Joseph Stalin^[5] (1879 – 1953) was a Soviet statesman, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR 1922–53; born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili.

His adoptive name Stalin means ‘man of steel’. Having isolated his political rival Trotsky, by 1927 Stalin was the uncontested leader of the Communist Party. In 1928 he launched a succession of five-year plans for rapid industrialization and the enforced collectivization of agriculture; as a result of this process some 10 million peasants are thought to have died. His large-scale purges of the intelligentsia in the 1930s were equally ruthless. After the victory over Hitler in 1945 he maintained a firm grip on neighbouring Communist states.

6a   Uncovered empty bottle containing a cigar butt (4)

8a   Writer, unknown churchman, king and playwright in taxi? (7,8)

In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

Today, rather than a reigning monarch, we need a king from the chessboard or a deck of cards.

9a   Outlandish quote about bull recalled (6)

10a   Broadcast in support of right (8)

11a   Foolishness claiming Sun may provide lack of balance (8)

The Sun^[7] is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom by the News Group Newspapers division of News International, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

13a   Surprisingly silent Christmas show (6)

Panto^[5] (to which pommers refers in his review) is short for pantomime^[5], a British theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, which involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas.

15a   Exclamation of disgust about animal enclosure getting result (6)

Pah^[5] is an exclamation used to express disgust or contempt ⇒ ‘Pah! They know nothing.’.

17a   Domestic arrangement could be snug if he cleaned up (4,4)

In Chinese thought, feng shui^[5] is a system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy (chi), and whose favourable or unfavourable effects are taken into account when siting and designing buildings.

19a   Notice that man getting regular payment is hanger-on (8)

21a   Preserve from signs of ageing with store's ultimate male skincare product (6)

22a   The cause of flies being left undone? (6,9)

23a   Unhappy to be going over northern desert (4)

24a   A name some French may give mountains (5)

In French, des^[8] is a determiner^[5] meaning some.

25a   Current recession producing predatory type (4)

Down

1d   Like rabbit perhaps and rhubarb (9)

In Britain, rabbit^[5] is an informal term meaning to talk at length, especially about trivial matters ⇒ stop rabbiting on, will you, and go to bed!. It is also used as a noun meaning a conversation ⇒ we had quite a heated rabbit about it.

The origin of this expression is rabbit and pork, rhyming slang for 'talk' [spoken with a British accent, the words 'talk' and 'pork' rhyme with each other — but neither word rhymes with the North American pronunciation of that word].

In North America, rhubarb^[5] denotes a heated dispute ⇒ rhubarbs often broke out among these less than professional players. However, in Britain, the word means nonsense ⇒ it was all rhubarb, about me, about her daughter, about art. This meaning likely comes from British theatrical usage where rhubarb means the noise made by a group of actors to give the impression of indistinct background conversation, especially by the random repetition of the word ‘rhubarb’. 

2d   In France you can claim proof of wine's region and chateau ultimately void (7)

I could find no evidence to support AC as being a "proof of wine's region". The appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC)^[7], which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, as well as for cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products.

3d   Choice area infiltrated by the Spanish (9)

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

4d   Decline a prize (7)

The FA Cup (mentioned by pommers in his review) is the trophy awarded to the winner of The Football Association Challenge Cup^[7], also commonly known as the FA Cup^[5], which is the major annual knockout competition for soccer clubs in England and Wales, first held in 1872.

In North America, we tend to differentiate between the name of the competition and the name of the trophy. Thus we speak of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (the competition) and the Stanley Cup (the trophy). However, in Britain, the same term is used for the competition (FA Cup) and the trophy (FA Cup).

5d   Portion of banana chocolate chip (5)

6d   Beer and cocaine are what some musicians bring to the party (4,5)

The Bass Brewery^[7] was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton upon Trent, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the best selling beer in the UK. Bass became one of the top breweries in the UK, its pale ale was exported throughout the British Empire, the company's distinctive red triangle becoming the UK's first registered trademark.

The bassline^[7] [which, according to Oxford Dictionaries Online, is a single word] is the lowest part or sequence of notes in a piece of music.

7d   Accept genuine watches over the phone (7)

12d   Pick up software program about hospital closure (9)

13d   Tight-head showing nerves (9)

Usually found in place names, ness^[5] means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

14d   Theme of fancy tile design (9)

16d   Hide between back-to-back commercials for supplements (7)

In Britain, a hide^[10] is a place of concealment, usually disguised to appear as part of the natural environment, used by hunters, birdwatchers, etc. The equivalent term in the US and Canada is blind. Den^[5] is likely used in the sense of a room or hideout where a person can go to relax or be private.

17d   Key articles getting a D for dunce (7)

18d   Pull or push? (5-2)

In the UK, to give someone the push^[5] means to dismiss them from a job ⇒ (i) four PR people at head office are getting the push;  (ii) it’s hard to psych yourself up to get another job after you’ve been given the push.

20d   Run the majority of next race (5)

In cricket, an extra^[5] is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited to the batting side rather than to a batsman.

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