Tuesday, November 26, 2013 — DT 27257

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27257
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 15, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27257]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave
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

This proved to be an enjoyable puzzle. While I managed to solve very few clues on my first read through, that were enough to establish a foothold from which I was then able to work my way gradually through the remainder of the 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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

7a   Nothing stopping mobile phone use providing reception for everyone (4,5)

8a   Demonstrated this stitch used in embroidery? (5)

A satin stitch^[5] is a long straight embroidery stitch, giving the appearance of satin ⇒ embroider the thicker stems in satin stitch.

10a   Phoney conflict in the main? (3,3)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term referring to the open ocean.

Cod^[5] is an informal British term meaning not authentic or fake ⇒ a cod Mittel-European accent.

Cod war^[5] refers to any of several disputes between Britain and Iceland in the period 1958–76, concerning fishing rights in waters around Iceland. Britain and Iceland once again found themselves on opposite sides of a fishing dispute when Britain lined up behind Canada and Iceland supported Spain in the the Turbot War of 1995. Ironically, in this latter dispute, Britain and Iceland would each appear to find themselves on the opposite side of the issue from where they were in the Cod Wars.

11a   Tires and emission systems (8)

This clue would seem to work much better in North America than in the UK. The British spelling of tire (in the sense of an automobile component) is tyre^[5]. Thus, I presume that Brits — unlike North Americans — would probably not see the clue as a collection of auto parts. However, perhaps the North American spelling is well enough known in Britain that the clue might still work on this level.

12a   We are encouraged to like these  environmentalists (6)

Although I recognized the environmentalists, I didn't comprehend the wordplay until I saw Big Dave's pictorial. It certainly didn't help my cause that I tried to split the clue on the wrong side of the word "these".

A Green party^[7] is a formally organised political party based on the principles of Green politics, such as social justice, grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and environmentalism. In the UK, there are separate Green parties for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England and Wales.

The Green Party of England and Wales^[7] (GPEW) is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom. It currently has one Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, Caroline Lucas, who represents the constituency of Brighton Pavilion. Judging by the comments in his review, she has obviously not endeared herself to Big Dave [despite the encouragement alluded to in the clue].

14a   Note  comment (6)

A double definition is a style of clue in which each of the two definitions is synonymous with a third word without themselves being synonyms. In this case, note is intended in the sense of to take notice of or observe and comment in the sense of to express briefly and casually. However, the double definition is weakened somewhat by the fact that note itself can also mean comment.

16a   The opposite of legs being trim (4)

17a   Hum coming from adults welcoming return of easy listening (5)

In British and Irish slang, hum can be a verb meaning to smell unpleasant ⇒ when the wind drops this stuff really hums^[5,10] or (2) a noun meaning a bad smell^[2] or an unpleasant odour^[10].

The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate^[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate.

Note that the use of "adults" in the plural indicates that the letter A appears twice in the solution.

MOR^[5] (with reference to music) is an abbreviation for middle-of-the-road ⇒ he played dippy MOR ballads I was proud not to recognize.

18a   Side with running mate (4)

I think side is an example of a term that is not completely foreign to North Americans, but — at the same time — is a word that is not used as commonly here as it is in Britain.

In Britain, a side^[5] is a sports team ⇒ there was a mixture of old and young players in their side. In North America, while a sports team might be referred to as a side in certain contexts, the usage would be far more rare and the term would likely be used in a far more generic sense than in the UK. For instance, one might say "The two sides faced off in the deciding game." but likely not "The Toronto side reached the playoffs for the first time in many years".

19a   Turn air blue endlessly, resulting in sending-off (6)

21a   Light dress with short sleeves originally (6)

24a   Interrupt  barber? (3,5)

26a   Cocktail is magic without vermouth (6)

The setter uses "without" in the sense of 'on the outside of' rather than 'lacking'.

Mojo^[5] is a chiefly US term meaning (1) a magic charm, talisman, or spell ⇒ someone must have their mojo working over at the record company or (2) influence, especially magic power ⇒ the name has no mojo.

In the UK, it^[5] is an informal, dated term for Italian vermouth ⇒ <he poured a gin and it [a cocktail containing gin and Italian vermouth].

A mojito^[5] is a cocktail consisting of white rum, lime or lemon juice, sugar, mint, ice, and carbonated or soda water.

27a   Oasis embraced by chav endearingly (5)

Chav^[5] is an informal and derogatory British term for a young lower-class person typified by brash and loutish behaviour and the wearing of (real or imitation) designer clothes.

28a   Bullying's both right and good among corrupt matrons (9)

Down

1d   Bogus Foreign Office procedures arising (5)

Most of the dictionaries that I consulted listed spoof only as a noun or verb. However, The Chambers Dictionary also shows spoof^[1] as an adjective meaning bogus.

2d   Sun presently lower -- an early sign of spring? (8)

The snowdrop^[5] (Galanthus nivalis) is a bulbous European plant which bears drooping white flowers during the late winter. Snowdrops are a common flower in Canada.

3d   Beginning dressing for the audience (6)

I quickly recognized that "for the audience" must be a homophone indicator. However, it took me a long time to twig to what the sound-alike words might be. Apparently, the Brits — or, at least, some of them — pronounce source (beginning) and sauce (dressing) in a similar manner. I presume that the former is pronounced with a soft British "R" making it sound somewhat like the latter.

I have often used the speech samples found at TheFreeDictionary website to compare British and American pronunciations. However, I went there today only to discover that this feature appears to have been discontinued.

The foregoing statement seems not to be true. Either this feature was missing earlier today and has now reappeared, or its earlier absence is yet another symptom of my flaky desktop computer (I am currently using my laptop). In any event, I invite you to listen to the British speech samples at TheFreeDictionary website and hear for yourself why source and sauce would be homophones for the Brits — and anything but for North Americans!

4d   Man maybe using lipsalve regularly (4)

The Isle of Man (abbreviation IOM)^[5] is an island in the Irish Sea which is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system. The island was part of the Norse kingdom of the Hebrides in the Middle Ages, passing into Scottish hands in 1266 for a time, until the English gained control in the early 15th century. Its ancient language, Manx, is still occasionally used for ceremonial purposes.

5d   Gap holiday before university with mother going topless! (6)

Vac^[5] is an informal British term for vacation. In Britain, the word vacation^[5] means a fixed holiday period between terms in universities and law courts ⇒ the Easter vacation. Here, holiday^[4] is used in the sense of a day on which work is suspended by law or custom, such as a religious festival, bank holiday, etc.

The Brits use the term holiday^[4] (often holidays), rather than vacation (as in North America), to refer to a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation. As is often the case in Canada, the British term (holidays) and the American term (vacation) are used virtually interchangeably ⇒ I am planning to take my summer holidays (or vacation) in August this year.

6d   Hard work so I ran it past expert (9)

H^[5] is the abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

9d   Doctor perhaps ignoring one pressure or another -- he'll work his way to the top (6)

13d   Kisses and cuddles eventually working up good head of steam (5)

This would work as either a noun or a verb. As a noun, snog^[5] is an informal British term for a long kiss or a period of amorous kissing and cuddling • he gave her a proper snog, not just a peck. As a verb, it means to kiss and cuddle amorously • (i) the pair were snogging on the sofa; (ii) he snogged my girl at a party.

15d   New Bulgarian's missed header overshadowing United debut (9)

17d   Sailor left low about coming out completely (6)

In the Royal Navy, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

18d   'Time!' Getting busy, jog drunk for beer mugs (4-4)

Toby jug^[5] is a chiefly British term for a beer jug or mug in the form of a stout old man wearing a three-cornered hat.

20d   We stand on this  together (6)

Obviously, Big Dave intended to write "... if split (2,4) ...".

22d   Strict disciplinarian runs a place to sleep over (6)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

23d   It's clear introduction of traffic is choking Channel Island (5)

The Channel Islands^[5] (abbreviation CI^[5]) are a group of islands in the English Channel off the NW coast of France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. Formerly part of the dukedom of Normandy, they have owed allegiance to England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and are now classed as Crown dependencies.

Sark^[5] is one of the smaller Channel Islands, a small island lying to the east of Guernsey.

25d   Betting pool is drag (4)

Tote^[4] is short for totalizator^[4] (known in North America as pari-mutuel), a system of betting on horse races in which the aggregate stake, less an administration charge and tax, is paid out to winners in proportion to their stake.

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