Friday, August 23, 2013 — DT 27188

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27188
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, May 27, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27188]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
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

Introduction

I did manage to complete the puzzle without the use of electronic aids — but with more effort than Libellule's one star rating for difficulty might suggest is necessary.

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   Circulates counterfeit US money, but shifts responsibility (6,3,4)

10a   Hit century, made fast (7)

The surface reading is likely related to cricket. In cricket, a century^[5] is a batsman’s score of a hundred runs. In cricket, each player on a team gets to bat once during an innings (unless the innings is declared to be over early) and a batsman remains batting until put out. During the time the batsman is batting, he may score a hundred runs or more. That undoubtedly explains why it may take a week to complete a game!

11a   Man taking in some tennis, returning kind of cross (7)

12a   Order a gin for Swedish girl? (4)

The question mark in the definition indicates that we need an example of a "Swedish girl".

13a   A charming French accent (5)

14a   Sneer? I beg to differ! (4)

17a   Appeared to act? (7)

The script of a play will contain directions for the actors such as "Enter, stage right" and "Exit, stage left".

18a   Minister provides framework for a nuclear establishment (7)

In the Church of England, a rector^[5] is the incumbent (the holder of an ecclesiastical benefice) of a parish where all tithes formerly passed to the incumbent. A vicar^[5] on the other hand, is an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman. A benefice^[5] is a permanent Church appointment, typically that of a rector or vicar, for which property and income are provided in respect of pastoral duties. The terms rector and vicar are also used in the Roman Catholic Church, but with a different meaning in each case.

19a   Eastern politician, Queen or ruler (7)

In many Commonwealth countries (including Britain and Canada), a member of the House of Commons or similar legislative body is known as a Member of Parliament^[10] (or MP^[5] for short).

The ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina — and that of King George was GR^[5] — from the Latin Georgius Rex.

22a   Fear led to riot concerning central government (7)

24a   Look in half a dozen directions (4)

25a   Placing of the winner may create rifts (5)

26a   It may be used to lift  a football side (4)

In soccer [football to the Brits], rugby, and hockey [either field hockey or ice hockey], wing^[5] refers to the part of the field [or ice surface] close to the sidelines.

In the UK, a sports team is commonly known as a side^[5] and the setter has constructed the clue to make the solver think of that sense of the word.

29a   I keep going round part of Spain (7)

Castile^[5] is a region of central Spain, on the central plateau of the Iberian peninsula, formerly an independent Spanish kingdom.

30a   Pardons and releases (7)

31a   Could be a circular  plug (13)

Down

2d   In the midst of anxiety, a case for doctor (7)

3d   Asian to look for, by the sound of it (4)

4d   Deduces it is wrong to be led astray (7)

5d   Pet's held in arms -- the stray (7)

6d   Run away from  a flash of lightning (4)

7d   One needs a regular supply of drugs to keep going (7)

Chemist^[5] is the British term for either (1) a shop where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold, and in which toiletries and other medical goods can be purchased (known as a drugstore^[5] in North America) or (2) a person authorized to dispense medicinal drugs (a druggist^[5] in North America).

8d   Soldiers may see it as a moving religious ceremony (6,7)

9d   No doubt one's aware of the pressure we're under (13)

15d   Tour arranged around mid-April somewhere in Cornwall (5)

Truro^[5] is the county town of Cornwall^[5], a county occupying the extreme south-western peninsula of England.

16d   They work around the clock (5)

20d   Happy and relaxed after record rise (7)

21d   Object when going into rent is investment (7)

Investments^[1] is an archaic term for clothes. According to The Chambers Dictionary (the only source in which I found this meaning), it would appear that the word carries this meaning only when used in the plural. Thus the word in the clue likely should have been "investments" rather than "investment".

22d   FA's receiving nets to mount ties (7)

The Football Association^[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of football [soccer] in England. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

23d   Sinner I reformed pulls up, perhaps (5,2)

27d   It may be sucked or blown (4)

28d   Rogue quietly abandoned swindle (4)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

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