Wednesday, July 23, 2014 — DT 27434

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27434
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27434]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Gazza
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

Introduction

Today's puzzle was not too difficult, although I did stumble over the British robber at 5d. Even though I have had a least one previous encounter with him, his name did not readily come to mind.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

1a   Tool, rasp initially wrapped in cloth (6)

5a   Confront eccentric king, perhaps (4,4)

According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, face card^[5] is a chiefly North American name for what the Brits call a court card^[5] — but it would appear that the term must be reasonably well-known in the UK as well.

9a   Fetching article, number costing much less than it should (5,3,1,4)

10a   Find a way around spin and pace (8)

Side^[5] is a chiefly British term for spin given to the cue ball in snooker and billiards by hitting it on one side.

11a   Continue to imagine parking’s not available (6)

12a   Not as busy in class? (6)

14a   Ignore reduction (8)

16a   On a trip, identify most memorable moment (4,4)

The high spot^[5] is the most enjoyable or significant part of an experience or period of time ⇒ the high spot of the tour was to be an audience with the Pope.

19a   Being out-of-date, this should not be worn at Ladies’ Day! (3-3)

This clue consists of a definition (marked with a solid underline) followed by a cryptic definition (dashed underline). I hesitate to call this a double definition, as the numeration for the solution given by the cryptic definition (3,3) does not match that given for the clue (3-3). Perhaps we could think of this clue as a "quasi-" double definition [quasi-^[5] denoting 'apparently but not really'].

I have marked the first part of the clue as the definition (primary indication), as it provides a solution which matches the numeration given in the clue. I have marked the second part as a subsidiary definition, as it produces a solution which does not match the numeration given in the clue.

Had both parts of the clue resulted in solutions whose numeration matched that given in the clue, then both would be considered to be primary indications and I would have marked both with a solid underline .

The Royal Ascot^[5], held each year in June at Ascot Racecourse in England, comprises a series of horse races spread over a period of five days. It is a major event in the British social calendar, and press coverage of the attendees and what they are wearing often exceeds coverage of the actual racing. Day three (Thursday) is known colloquially (but not officially) as Ladies' Day.

The most prestigious viewing area is the Royal Enclosure which has a strictly enforced dress code. For women, only a day dress with a hat is acceptable, with rules applying to the length and style of the dress. In addition, women must not show bare midriffs or shoulders. For men, black or grey morning dress with top hat is required.

21a   Head croupier’s left to trade with diamonds (6)

23a   Start to suggest leaving out sinister controller (8)

A Svengali^[5] is a person who exercises a controlling or mesmeric influence on another, especially for a sinister purpose. The term comes from the name of a musician in George du Maurier's novel Trilby (1894), who controls Trilby's stage singing hypnotically.

25a   I know I want you to advise me on computers and stuff (4,2,5,2)

IT^[5] is the abbreviation for information technology.

26a   Husband, even more generous (8)

27a   Leave extremely disreputable character (6)

Down

2d   I’m great playing this style of piano music (7)

3d   Complaining cry from first of holidaymakers entering Bordeaux? (5)

Holidaymaker^[5] is a British term for a person on holiday [vacation] away from home.

Bordeaux^[5] is a red, white, or rosé wine from the district of Bordeaux in southwestern France.

4d   To calm down, use lift at college (7,2)

In Britain, up^[5] may mean at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ⇒ they were up at Cambridge about the same time.

5d   Highwayman may make one pay for protection (7)

Strictly speaking it would appear that a highwayman may not be a footpad.

A highwayman^[7] was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw usually travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads. Such robbers operated in Great Britain and Ireland from the Elizabethan era until the early 19th century.

The definitions in Collins English Dictionary are bit less restrictive. A highwayman^[10] is defined as a robber, usually on horseback, who held up travellers while a footpad^[10] is a robber or highwayman, on foot rather than horseback.

6d   Seat I must sit in daily (5)

Daily^[5] (also daily help) is a dated British term for a woman who is employed to clean someone else’s house each day.

Char^[5] is another name for a charwoman^[5], a dated British term for a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office.

7d   Brief conversation in support of bridge puzzle (9)

8d   A large number, nearly all in administration (7)

A regiment^[5] is a large array or number of people or things ⇒ the whole regiment of women MPs.

Regimen^[5] is an archaic term for a system of government.

13d   He’d put in cryptic clues and grid, finally programmed (9)

15d   Unpalatable character interrupting lecture? (5,4)

17d   Disinclination to act shown by one with damaged retina (7)

18d   Left over in seaport abroad (2,5)

20d   Made up of famous people, the whole side originally on pitch (3-4)

The surface reading takes on a sports context.

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage would seem to exist as well in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you..

In Britain, pitch^[5] is another term for field^[5] in the sense of an area of ground marked out or used for play in an outdoor team game ⇒ a football pitch.

In cricket, however, the pitch^[5] is the strip of ground between the two sets of stumps ⇒ both batsmen were stranded in the middle of the pitch.

22d   Lover of chrome, oddly (5)

Romeo^[5] is a name applied to an attractive, passionate male seducer or lover  ⇒ I saw her heading out the door with some rug-chested young Romeo [from the name of the hero of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet].

24d   Rise and dress (3-2)

Yet another "quasi-" double definition (see comment at 19a) where the numeration differs in the two definitions, (3,2) in the first and (3-2) in the second.

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