Monday, December 15, 2014 — DT 27541

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27541
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, July 14, 2014
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27541]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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

This is one of those rare weeks when the planets align and we are presented with a "Monday" puzzle on a Monday. Having been created by Rufus, the puzzle is not overly difficult — but, nevertheless, very enjoyable.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with 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.

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. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   A life of one's own (13)

10a   Big egg-producer /from/ nothing, on the way to get wealthy (7)

11a   Stand before the speaker (7)

A cryptic definition where the portion with the solid underline is a straight definition and the portion with the dashed underline provides some additional elaboration. This type of clue relies for its cryptic effect on the solver misreading the clue. In this case, the setter expects us to envision a listener or group of listeners standing in front of a speaker.

12a   Horses /and/ badgers (4)

13a   Start playing snooker, /getting/ a series of points (5)

In billiards, pool, or snooker, the verb break^[5] means to make the first stroke at the beginning of a game and the noun break^[5] means a player’s turn to make the opening shot of a game ⇒ whose break is it?.

In snooker and billiards, break^[5] means a consecutive series of successful shots, scoring a specified number of points ⇒ a break of 83 put him in front for the first time.

14a   Going to drop one // clanger (4)

Without a knowledge of British slang, the surface reading in this clue will have little meaning. Of course, that may actually make the clue easier to solve as one will not be distracted by the surface reading.

Clanger^[5] is an informal British term for an absurd or embarrassing blunder ⇒ the minister had dropped a massive political clanger. To drop a clanger^[10] is to make a blunder.

17a   Is stout possibly, /so/ doesn't dance (4,3)

18a   It controls the waves, /though/ the rain is wild (7)

The illustration in Miffypops' review is a picture of Ena Sharples^[5], one of the original characters from the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by Violet Carson.

19a   Talks a lot /with/ holy men going east and west (7)

As a noun, rabbit^[5] is an informal British term for a conversation ⇒ we had quite a heated rabbit about it. As a verb, rabbit^[5] is an informal British term meaning to talk at length, especially about trivial matters ⇒ stop rabbiting on, will you, and go to bed!.

The term comes from the Cockney rhyming slang "rabbit and pork" meaning "talk" [yes, 'pork' rhymes with 'talk' when pronounced in some English accents]. In Cockney rhyming slang, the slang word is obtained by replacing a word (in this case, "talk") by a phrase with which it rhymes ("rabbit and pork") and then dropping the rhyming word from the phrase. Through this process, "talk" becomes "rabbit".

In his review, Miffypops makes reference to Chas & Dave^[7] (often billed as Chas 'n' Dave), an English pop rock duo, most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled "rockney", which mixes "pub singalong, music-hall humour, boogie-woogie piano and pre-Beatles rock 'n' roll".

"Rabbit"^[7] is a song by Chas & Dave from the album Don't Give a Monkey's, which was released as a single in November 1980. The song, which stayed on the charts for 8 weeks and peaked at number #8 in January 1981, is about a relationship between a man and a woman, in which the man expresses his love for his girlfriend, but complains that she will not stop talking or, "rabbiting".

22a   The mantle /of/ sleep is disturbed (7)

Although both are cloaks, a mantle and a pelisse are rather different garments.

A mantle^[5] is a loose sleeveless cloak or shawl, worn especially by women ⇒ she was wrapped tightly in her mantle.

Historically, a pelisse^[5] was a woman’s ankle-length cloak with armholes or sleeves.

Mantle is something that envelops and covers, like a tree covered in a mantle of snow. The Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra said, “Blessings on him who invented sleep, the mantle that covers all human thoughts.” Here, sleep is described as a mantle blanketing over the mind.

24a   Toss coin /for/ a picture (4)

25a   With nod we // provide money (5)

In his review, Miffypops says "Here is an anagram with an unusual indicator or maybe without an indicator at all. It is a sort of all in one clue as well. Mmmm. Over to you lot, what do you think?".

I would say that, as an anagram indicator, with is likely used in the sense of using or by means of ⇒ he killed her with an axe.

True, the phrase "with nod we" only explicitly specifies the fodder and leaves the means of accomplishing the result to one's imagination — much like some of Miffypops' hints.

26a   Mean to grab one /or/ two (4)

29a   Beats // a London club side (7)

West Ham United Football Club^[7] is an English professional football [soccer] club based in Upton Park, East London, England currently playing in the Premier League, England's top tier of football. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. Because of the original "works team" roots and links (still represented upon the club badge), they are still known as 'the Irons' or 'the Hammers' amongst fans and the media.

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 his intro, Miffypops proclaims "Hurrah!! The oikball is over. Booo! The season is only a couple of weeks away." In his remarks on this clue, he adds "As if we have not had enough oikball over the last few weeks here is a footballing reference to prolong the agony."

Oik^[5] (also oick) is an informal British term for an uncouth or obnoxious person or, as Cambridge Dictionaries Online puts it, an oik is a rude and unpleasant man from a low social class ⇒ In his latest film he plays a racist oik from the East End of London.

Based on Miffypops' comment that "The oikball is over", I initially supposed that oikball must be a reference to preseason football [soccer] games. While his remarks would seem to suggest that the preseason had been completed, a bit of research shows that — at the time that Miffypops wrote his review — the lower ranking divisions of English football appeared to be in the midst of their preseason games while the Premiership (the top tier in English football) had yet to begin its preseason.

Although I could find no source that defined the term, oikball appears to be a derogatory term for football [soccer] used primarily by rugby fans — among whom we would number Miffypops, witness his remark "Roll on September 2015 when the real game has its world cup". The 2015 Rugby World Cup^[7] will be hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October 2015.

There is an old British adage "Football is a gentleman's game played by ruffians, and rugby is a ruffian's game played by gentlemen." This saying cleverly contrasts football (or soccer) with rugby. "Ruffian" is an old-fashioned word meaning a tough, violent, possibly criminal person. The saying shows the irony of the fact that a rough and dangerous game like rugby was played by polite, well-educated "gentlemen", while the much gentler and safer game of football was played by tough, lower-class men with a reputation for violence. Even today rugby players might seem to be very polite gentlemen when compared to many footballers, especially those seen swearing at referees and angrily abusing them when a decision goes against them. Some people might even say that this old British saying still applies today.

30a   Sped too much, /and/ exceeded the limit (7)

The second definition is solid ⇒ I missed recording the last few minutes of the hockey game as it overran its time slot.

The first definition may be somewhat of a whimsical invention of the setter where OVERRAN means RAN (sped) too much (in the sense of too fast).

Of course, one could interpret "too much" in the sense of 'too far' (see below) but then it effectively becomes the same as the second definition.

I found one of the usage examples at Oxford Dictionaries Online to be of interest from two perspectives. First, it is drawn from baseball and, second, it seems ironically appropriate given today's setter.

Overrun^[5] means to run over or beyond ⇒ Rufus overran third base.

31a   Yet it might result from inside information (5-4,4)

Down

2d   At university, drunk /and/ anxious (7)

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

3d   A newspaper's deadline, in short? (4)

4d   Succeed with a will // in their resolve (7)

The setter could have easily made the clue simply:

• Succeed in their resolve (7)

However, he has decided to give us an extra nudge ("with a will") to indicate that "succeed" is not being used in the sense of to be successful.

5d   Very big chap who went down to a stone! (7)

In the surface reading, a stone^[5] is a British unit of weight equal to 14 lb (6.35 kg) ⇒ I weighed 10 stone. Such a loss of weight definitely deserves an exclamation point!

6d   A feature of Perpendicular churches (4)

This is as an &lit.^[7] clue (sometimes called an all-in-one clue). The entire clue (when read one way) is the the definition, but under a different interpretation takes on the roll of wordplay.

Perpendicular^[5] is a term denoting denoting the latest stage of English Gothic church architecture, prevalent from the late 14th to mid 16th centuries and characterized by broad arches, elaborate fan vaulting, and large windows with vertical tracery ⇒ the handsome Perpendicular church of St Andrew.

7d   One who'd have to change /for/ the dance (7)

Hoedown^[5] is a North American term [as I suspected] for (1) a lively [country and western] folk dance or (2) a social gathering at which such dancing takes place.

8d   Evidently not turning to crime (5,8)

This is a classic Rufus clue — one that conveys meaning on different levels. The entire clue is a cryptic definition referring to someone who rejects a life of crime. However, the portion of the clue with the solid underline could also be the definition — in a more general sense.

In his review, Miffypops refers to the television show Porridge^[7], a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977. The show ran for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film also titled Porridge (the movie was released under the title Doing Time in North America). Widely considered to be one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time, the show's protagonists are two inmates at the fictional HMP [Her Majesty's Prison] Slade in Cumberland. "Doing porridge" is British slang for serving a prison sentence, porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight.

9d   Champions away from home? (7,6)

Historically, a champion^[5] was a a knight who fought in single combat on behalf of the monarch.

A knight errant^[5] (plural knights errant) is a medieval knight wandering in search of chivalrous adventures.

15d   Subject // of a Canaletto picture (5)

As a hidden word indicator, think of the word "of" as meaning 'belonging to'.

Canaletto^[5] (1697–1768) was an Italian painter; born Giovanni Antonio Canal. He is famous for his paintings of Venetian festivals and scenery.

16d   Name /is/ right (5)

20d   Rose/'s/ mistake? (7)

Bloomer^[5] being a dated informal British term for a serious or stupid mistake ⇒ he never committed a bloomer.

21d   Takes Mickey to prison? (5,2)

This clue is a play on two different meanings for the phrase "send up".

According to Collins English Dictionary, send up^[10] is (1) slang meaning to send to prison or (2) an informal British expression [although one that I would say is also much in use on this side of the pond] meaning to make fun of, especially by doing an imitation or parody of   ⇒ he sent up the teacher marvellously.

Collins was the only English dictionary to list send up in the sense of send to prison. Several comments from the Brits objected strenuously to this usage as an Americanism. I must say that I find that Collins does tend to include expressions that are not entirely British.

In Britain, one would say send down^[10] when referring to being sent to prison.

Up the river^[5] is an informal North American expression meaning to or in prison ⇒ we were lucky not to be sent up the river that time boy [with allusion to Sing Sing prison, situated up the Hudson River from the city of New York].

Take the mickey^[5] is an informal British expression meaning to tease or ridicule someone ⇒ they would take the mickey out of me with sickening enthusiasm.

Apparently, according to the chatter on Big Dave's site, this is another instance of Cockney rhyming slang (see comment at 19a). Mickey is short for Mickey Bliss which rhymes with piss, so to take the mickey out of someone means to take the piss out of them. No one seems to know who Mickey Bliss was — or even if there really ever was such a bloke.

22d   Stretch // a point and look inside (7)

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

23d   A couple of scraps /for/ bird (7)

27d   Cut down // when damaged (4)

28d   Eager // to know about the Orient (4)

Ken^[5] is a Scottish and Northern English term meaning (1) know [in the sense of to be aware of] ⇒ d’ye ken anyone who can boast of that? or (2) recognize or identify ⇒ that’s him—d’ye ken him?.

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