Monday, April 7, 2014 — DT 27355

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27355
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, December 7, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27355 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27355 - Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave - Hints gnomethang - Review
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 █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved
Notes
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

Judging by the number of miscues in gnomethang's review, it would appear that his mind was somewhere else when he wrote it. Given that this puzzle appeared in the UK in December, it can't be golf that was distracting him. Perhaps it was Christmas shopping.

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.

Definitions are underlined in the clue, with subsidiary indications being marked by means of a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

1a   Ship’s quarters divine on edges of lake (10)

6a   Charge Liverpool footballer once (4)

Ian Rush^[7] is a Welsh former footballer [soccer player]. Rush played for Liverpool F.C. from 1980-1987 and 1988-1996. As the club's all-time leading goalscorer, he is regarded as one of the greatest ever Liverpool players.

9a   Gangsters backing football people in goal (5)

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.

10a   Creepy-crawly ruining the marrow (9)

Luckily I quickly determined that HEARTWORM would not work and got back on the right path without too much delay.

12a   Break back penetrating London region’s crack spies (6,7)

London^[5] is the capital of the United Kingdom, situated in SE England on the River Thames; population (Greater London) 7,619,800 (est. 2008).

In general, secret service^[5] denotes a government department concerned with espionage. In the US, the Secret Service is a branch of the Department of Homeland Security responsible for providing protection to the president and investigating certain types of financial crime.

14a   Character in Shakespeare’s volume in African country finding love (8)

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

Malvolio^[7] is the steward of Olivia's household in English playwright William Shakespeare's comedy, Twelfth Night.

15a   Small fish making unpleasant smell (6)

The tench^[5] is a European freshwater fish (Tinca tinca) of the carp family, popular with anglers and widely introduced elsewhere.

17a   Conservative after Californian city means to get in assistant (6)

19a   Lots of trees well planted in craft area (8)

Bore^[5] is short for borehole^[5], a deep, narrow hole made in the ground, especially to locate water or oil.

21a   Top Gear producer’s vehicle bent as tyre burst (7,6)

This is the point where gnomethang starts to lose focus. Disregard his explanation of the wordplay which actually parses as CAR (vehicle) + an anagram (burst) of BENT AS TYRE.

Top Gear^[7] was a short-lived pop music show on the BBC in the mid-1960s. It was one of the Corporation's few attempts to compete with the pirate radio stations and Radio Luxembourg, who had attracted large audiences of young British pop music listeners in the absence of an "official" alternative. This was made explicit in the show's title, which evoked the 1960s fascination with fast cars, jet planes and high-speed travel, but also the use of "gear" to describe fashionable Carnaby Street clothes and the 1960s Liverpool term "fab gear", popularised by the Beatles as an expression of approval.

Top Gear^[7] is also the name of a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars, which is the world's most widely watched factual television programme. The programme is estimated to have around 350 million views per week in 170 different countries. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine programme but was relaunched with a new format in 2002. It has also spawned a number of spin-offs, including an entirely US-based version.

Carnaby Street^[5] is a street in the West End of London. It became famous in the 1960s as a centre of the popular fashion industry.

Tyre^[5] is the British spelling of tire (in the sense of an automotive component).

24a   Lead for one lame beast needs adjusting (4,5)

25a   Second elimination process produces row (5)

26a   Bridge player has to scoff, holding spades (4)

This is another case where gnomethang appears to have misspoke himself. The wordplay actually parses as EAT (to scoff) containing (holding) S (spades) to produce EA(S)T (one of the four bridge players).

27a   A lot of horses needing medical speciality for biting (10)

A string^[5] is a group of racehorses trained at one stable ⇒ A tax exile living in Geneva, McManus has a large string of horses trained in England, Ireland and France.

Down

1d   Celebrity girlfriend loses pounds (4)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound(s) is £, one often finds it written as L^[10].

2d   Turning down official, American left (7)

Once again, gnomethang has suffered a bit of a lapse. The wordplay is REF (official) + USA (American) + L (left).

It is not hard to forgive gnomethang on this one, as American is customarily used to clue US while America is used for USA.

3d   Gamble recklessly on a scene working — something lucky about it (6,4,3)

Here gnomethang has only accounted for ten out of the thirteen letters in the solution. The wordplay is CHARM (something lucky) containing (about) an anagram (working) of ON A SCENE.

Chance one's arm^[5] (or chance one's luck) is an informal British expression meaning to undertake something although it may be dangerous or unsuccessful ⇒ (i) the ferryman decided not to chance his luck in the storm; (ii) How about chancing your arm on a couple of spells?.

While the latter version of this expression is certainly familiar to me, I have never heard the former.

4d   Slough’s iniquity possessed woman (3-5)

5d   Test place with choice of old money (5)

In this clue, gnomethang has come up short with his underlining. The definition is "test place"; in other words, a place where Tests take place.

In Britain, especially formerly, L.S.D. (or £.s.d. or l.s.d.) stood for librae, solidi, denarii [Latin for pounds, shillings, and pence] — the principal monetary units used in the UK prior to the introduction of decimal currency in 1971.

A Test (short for Test match)^[5] is an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒ the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies.

Lord's Cricket Ground, generally known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. It was named after its founder, Thomas Lord. Lord's is widely referred to as the "home of cricket" and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum.

7d   Ideal university head, above Scotsman (7)

Without doubt, the most popular name for a Scotsman in Crosswordland is Ian.

8d   Beat principal marine predator (10)

While I thought of "principal" and "head" in an educational setting, gnomethang relies on more general meanings of these words to establish their equivalence.

In Britain, head^[5] is short for for headmaster^[5] (a man who is the head teacher in a school), headmistress^[5] (ditto for a woman), or head teacher^[5] (the teacher in charge of a school).

The word principal also appears to be used in this context in the UK, a principal^[5] being the head of a school, college, or other educational institution.

11d   Hero having lost limb so a hole torn in pants (7,6)

As an anagram indicator, pants^[5] is British slang for rubbish or nonsense ⇒ he thought we were going to be absolute pants.

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson^[7] (1758–1805) was a British admiral famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was wounded several times in combat, losing one arm in the unsuccessful attempt to conquer Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the sight in one eye in Corsica. Of his several victories, the best known and most notable was the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, during which he was shot and killed.

13d   One politician, the French cabinet minister, such as can’t be appeased (10)

Here, gnomethang has skipped one element of the charade. The wordplay is I ([Roman numeral for] one) + MP (politician) + LA (the French; i.e., a French word meaning 'the') + CABLE (cabinet minister).

Vince Cable^[7] is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the British cabinet since 2010.

16d   Publicity about conductor, a source of gossip (8)

Sir Simon Rattle^[5] is an English conductor. Principal conductor with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 1980–91, he became chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2000 and its artistic director in 2002.

18d   Goofs on stage, disconcerting process (7)

In theatrical slang [and, judging by the dictionary appearances of the term, that would likely be British theatrical slang], corpse^[5] means to spoil a piece of acting by forgetting one’s lines or laughing uncontrollably ⇒ Peter just can’t stop himself corpsing when he is on stage.

20d   Get passionate for luxury accommodation spurning P&O (7)

I would think that the definition is merely "get passionate" and not "get passionate for". One enthuses over something or gets passionate (over, for or about) something.

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company^[7], which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dates from the early 19th century. In 2006, the company was sold and became a subsidiary of Dubai Ports World, a company owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

22d   Mythical creatures still found on island (5)

23d   Pressure group are intriguing (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