Friday, November 8, 2013 — DT 27243

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27243
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27243]
Big Dave's Review Written By Deep Threat
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 got off to a fast start today, bogged down in the middle, and then — just as I thought that I had hit a brick wall — the solutions to the remaining clues fell into place.

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

3a   Swinging gate -- to advance, step on it (3,1,4,2)

8a   Two articles carried by French priest (6)

9a   Firm forged our steel (8)

10a   I've a trunk that's to be brought out of the plane (8)

11a   Reach Ottawa's centre in a vessel (6)

12a   Prizes left, causing misery (10)

Misery^[5] is used in a British sense meaning a person who is habitually depressed ⇒ he is such a misery.

14a   Ergo ant, perhaps? It's insignificant (2,5,6)

It may appear that the wordplay is an anagram (perhaps) of ERGO ANT. That would give you the start of the solution, but there is nothing left to give you the remainder of the solution. Thus, we have to look for another possibility.

The wordplay is, in fact, an inverse anagram (indicated by "perhaps"). The wordplay tells us that ERGO ANT is the result of an anagram (rather than the fodder for an anagram). In this type of clue, the solution contains the anagram indicator and its fodder that would produce the result found in the clue (in this case, ERGO ANT). The solution to the clue is NO GREAT SHAKES where an anagram (shakes) of NO GREAT produces ERGO ANT.

20a   Nerve and audacity shown in hold-up (10)

In British slang, bottle^[5] means  the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous. Also, in Britain, have the neck to do something^[5] means to have the impudence or nerve to do something ⇒ he had the neck to say I wasn’t going to marry the man.

22a   Tricky question trapping university show-off (6)

23a   Nail extracted from console leg (5,3)

Panel pin^[5] is a British term for a light, thin nail with a very small head. I wonder if this might be what we call a finishing nail.

24a   Piece, soft piece (8)

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.

25a   Modest teas prepared after church (6)

26a   Bluster by Anthony Burgess character dropping English porcelain (5,5)

Anthony Burgess^[5] (1917–1993) was an English novelist and critic; pseudonym of John Anthony Burgess Wilson. One of his best-known novels is A Clockwork Orange (1962), a disturbing, futuristic vision of juvenile delinquency and violence. Other notable works: Earthly Powers (1980).

Enderby^[7] is the protagonist in a quartet of comic novels by British author Anthony Burgess.

Crown Derby^[5] is a kind of soft-paste porcelain made at Derby (a city in the Midlands of England) and often marked with a crown above the letter ‘D’ ⇒ [as modifier] displays of Crown Derby china.

Down

1d   Follows page in state of panic (8)

2d   Huge part of London, according to report (8)

Wapping^[7] (pronounced WOP-ing) is a district in East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway.

3d   Greek food for important people (6)

4d   Cutting  pastry (4)

5d   Male is lighter in unfair sporting contest (8)

6d   Gentleman's gentleman needed before a dance (6)

A valeta^[5] is a ballroom dance in triple time, faster than a waltz and with partners side by side.

7d   Abroad, suitable firm (6)

13d   Group round court, extremely elegant (5)

15d   Eastern pair hugged by doctor? Yes, hugged (8)

American dictionaries define brace simply as a pair of like things ⇒ three brace of partridges^[3] or a pair or couple ⇒ a brace of grouse^[11] — although you may detect a bit of a theme in the usage examples. Collins English Dictionary emphasizes this point by defining brace as a pair or two, especially of game birds ⇒ a brace of partridges^[10], a definition that is very similar to the one found in Chambers 21st Century Dictionary [a pair or couple, especially of game birds^[2]]. It would appear that the entry in The Chambers Dictionary may expand the definition beyond game birds [a pair or couple (especially of game shot)^[1]]. There is absolutely no doubt that the definition found at Oxford Dictionaries Online broadens the scope beyond game birds [a pair of something, typically of birds or mammals killed in hunting ⇒ thirty brace of grouse]. [Not only does Oxford expand the scope of the definition, it greatly increases the bag limit.]

16d   Play card, beyond doubt wanting clubs (4,4)

Wanting is used in the sense of lacking. In his review, Deep Threat makes reference to a court card — the British name for a face card.

Lear^[5] was a legendary early king of Britain, the central figure in Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear.

17d   Room in church -- it's scary, somehow (8)

A sacristy^[5] is a room in a church where a priest prepares for a service, and where vestments and articles of worship are kept.

18d   Recent tune? Nonsense (3,3)

19d   Give worst cry of pain (6)

Two words that one usually thinks of as antonyms turn out to be synonyms in this clue. Worst^[5] is used as a verb meaning to get the better of or defeat ⇒ this was not the time for a deep discussion—she was tired and she would be worsted. Best^[5] is also a verb meaning to outwit or get the better of (someone) ⇒ she refused to allow herself to be bested.

21d   Folly of girl crossing North America (6)

It is a refreshing change to encounter a girl in Crosswordland who is not named Di.

23d   Fruit partly ripe, a raspberry (4)

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