Thursday, September 26, 2013 — DT 27212

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27212
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, June 24, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27212]
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

As you can see, I needed a few gentle nudges from my electronic helpers today.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   One well-liked at work that will have plenty of backing? (4,9)

10a   Go ahead and give money maybe (7)

11a   Concentration that's required when driving in France (7)

Essence^[5] is an extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter and used for flavouring or scent ⇒ vanilla essence. Essence^[8] is also the French word for gasoline.

12a   Female union of the Spanish and the French (4)

This happens to be a variation on a clue that Rufus employed in DT 27027 [The Daily Telegraph: November 19, 2012; National Post: February 5, 2013]:

• 28d   She produces articles in Spanish and French (4)

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8] while la^[8] is the feminine singular form of the definite article in French.

13a   A game between two sides back in the country (5)

Rugby union (abbreviation RU)^[5] is a form of rugby played in teams of fifteen — in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen.

14a   Complaint that may be socially acceptable in time (4)

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words such as posh or superior — but today it merely adopts its straightforward meaning.

17a   They don't like to assume anything (7)

Assume^[3] is used in the sense of to put on or don ⇒ The queen assumed a velvet robe.

18a   About to get striker for return game (7)

In the surface reading, striker^[10] is most likely a reference to soccer. The term is also used in cricket, but the context does not seem to fit as well. In soccer, a striker is an attacking player, especially one who generally positions himself near his opponent's goal in the hope of scoring. In cricket, a striker is the batsman who is about to play a ball.

In cricket, batsmen bat in pairs with the two batsman positioned at opposite ends of the pitch. The bowler delivers the ball from one end of the pitch to the batsman at the far end. It would be this batsman — the one toward whom the ball is delivered — that is the striker.

19a   Stop vessel caught in swell (4,3)

Swell^[5] is dated slang for a fashionable or stylish person of wealth or high social position ⇒ a crowd of city swells. In British slang, toff^[5] is a derogatory term for a rich or upper-class person.

22a   Restaurant  cutlery (7)

In the UK, canteen^[3,4,11] can mean (1) a box in which a set of cutlery is laid out or (2) the cutlery itself.

24a   One of the first people named in Somerset House (4)

In the Old Testament, Seth^[10] is Adam's third son, given by God in place of the murdered Abel (Genesis 4:25).

25a   Makes eyes at the French on turning to leave (5)

In French, les^[10] is the plural form of the definite article.

26a   Company doctor's card (4)

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.

29a   Flatter most sincerely? (7)

In 1820, English writer Charles Caleb Colton^[7] (1780 – 1832) wrote "Imitation is the sincerest of flattery" which has since come to be phrased as "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".

30a   Four will make an appearance in test of little importance (7)

31a   Old coppers that went by foot (5-8)

A penny-farthing^[5] is an early type of bicycle, made in Britain, with a very large front wheel and a small rear wheel. It "went by foot" because it had to be pedalled. It was so-named because the relative sizes of the wheels was similar to that of a penny (in Britain, a large-diameter coin) in comparison to a farthing (a small-diameter British coin).

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] is a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound (and is abbreviated p). In the system formerly used, a penny was equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound (and was abbreviated d, for denarius).

The farthing^[5], a former monetary unit and coin of the UK, withdrawn in 1961, was equal to a quarter of an old penny.

Down

2d   One who is ill and not operable? (7)

3d   Large number -- doesn't matter which, a large number (4)

4d   A beautiful woman describes Eastern ways (7)

In Roman mythology, Venus^[5] is a goddess who was worshipped as the goddess of love in classical Rome. 

The use of the word "describe" as a containment indicator is a common cryptic crossword convention. This device relies on describe^[3] being used in the sense of to trace the form or outline of ⇒ describe a circle with a compass. Thus, in today's clue, we have VENUS containing (describing) E with the rationale for the wordplay being that the container (VENUS) forms an outline around the contained entity (E) in a similar manner to the circumference of a circle forming an outline around the circular area contained within it.  

5d   Begin song outdoors (4,3)

6d   Charge for plant (4)

7d   Thing to change into this evening (7)

8d   Such an action may make Ian pretty upset with outfit (9,4)

9d   Account for all that talking? (9,4)

Dog and bone^[5] (appearing in Big Dave's review) is British rhyming slang for a telephone.

15d   A Caledonian title of course (5)

Caledonia^[10], the Roman name for Scotland, is now used poetically and, sometimes, humorously to refer to Scotland.

Ascot Racecourse^[7] is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races. The course is closely associated with the British Royal Family, being approximately six miles from Windsor Castle.

16d   Surrounded by cultivated mango (5)

20d   Sailor climbs rope -- this one? (7)

21d   Natural cover in garden, originally (3,4)

Perhaps not really originally — rather, only after eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

22d   One who cribs in an exam upsets teacher (7)

23d   Feeling I'm one to get pushed around (7)

27d   Leading  sea  power (4)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term referring to the open ocean. Another archaic meaning of main^[2] is great strength, now usually found only in the phrase with might and main.

28d   Bearded Asian with head wound? (4)

Here, wound must be interpreted as the past participle of wind (to coil).

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