Tuesday, December 30, 2014 — DT 27552

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27552
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, July 26, 2014
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27552 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27552 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (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

In her review on Big Dave's blog, crypticsue writes "I was  slow to get started with this one,  but, in the end, thought it a  fairly typical Saturday Prize Puzzle" which pretty well sums it up.

I made a guess at one British expression, but failed to nail it.

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 (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

1a   Settle on a posh // carriage (6)

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).

9a   On the map, going up in the world (10)

10a   Assured of success // in having got off the booze? (4,3,3)

I incorrectly guessed that the solution might be DONE AND DRY based on parsing the clue as:

• Assured of success /in/ having got off the booze? (4,3,3)

Home and dry^[5] is a British expression denoting having successfully achieved or being within sight of achieving one’s objective ⇒ at 3-0 up they should have been home and dry. The equivalent expression in North America is home free, while in Australia and New Zealand it is home and hosed (which sounds like it might indicate 'home and wet').

11a   Those doing wrong often do it inside (4)

12a   Express grief /having/ very small amount of money (4)

Wee^[5] is a chiefly Scottish adjective meaning little ⇒ (i) when I was just a wee bairn; (ii) the lyrics are a wee bit too sweet and sentimental. The word may be of Scottish origin but, like the Scots themselves, the word has migrated around the world.

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] (plural pennies [for separate coins] or pence [for a sum of money]) is a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound. The abbreviation for penny or pence is p^[5].

14a   Melting tar -- closure /required in/ part of London (5,5)

Earls Court^[7] is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in central London, bordering the sub-districts of South Kensington to the east, West Kensington to the west, Chelsea to the south and Kensington to the north. It is home to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, one of the country's largest indoor arenas and a popular concert venue.

17a   Cleaner with little energy's given notice // that needs to be worked out (7)

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

18a   Want rotten // fielder far away from the wicket! (4,3)

In cricket, long off^[5] denotes (1) a fielding position far behind the bowler and towards the off side or (2) a fielder at this position.

The off^[5]  (also known as off side) is the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) towards which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The other half of the field is known as either the leg^[5] (also called leg side) or on (also called on side).

20a   Good circular pan covers beginning to require // basic preparation (10)

The abbreviation G^[10] for good likely relates to its use in grading school assignments or tests.

21a   Ordered // without water (4)

22a   Information /coming from/ all directions (4)

23a   Change of accent is // appropriate (10)

In her review, crypticsue comes up a couple of letters short on the fodder. The wordplay is an anagram (change) of OF ACCENT IS.

25a   Gold phone is carried over to // car (10)

The symbol for the chemical element gold is Au^[5] (from Latin aurum).

Mobile^[5] is a British term for a mobile phone [North American cell phone^[5]] ⇒ we telephoned from our mobile to theirs.

26a   Bold // lover not liked initially (6)

Down

2d   Catch the girl singer appearing first? // Absolutely (10)

3d   River // port unfinished (4)

The River Dove^[7] is the principal river of the southwestern Peak District, in the Midlands of England and is around 72 kilometres (45 mi) in length. It rises on Axe Edge Moor near Buxton and flows generally south to its confluence with the River Trent at Newton Solney. From there, its waters reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. For most of its way it forms the boundary between the counties of Staffordshire (to the west) and Derbyshire (to the east).

The river is a famous trout stream. Charles Cotton's Fishing House, which was the inspiration for Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, stands in the woods by the river near Hartington.

The river's name is now usually pronounced to rhyme with "love", but its original pronunciation rhymed with "rove". This pronunciation is still used by some residents of the lower reaches of the river.

Dover^[5] is a ferry port in Kent, in England, on the coast of the English Channel; population 35,200 (est. 2009). It is mainland Britain’s nearest point to the Continent, being only 35 km (22 miles) from Calais, France.

4d   A Parisian fiance/'s/ chance (10)

In French, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un^[8].

5d   Snoop's full of insulting // primness (7)

6d   For what reason put round fifth-rate // nursery rhyme fare? (4)

"Little Miss Muffet"^[7] is a nursery rhyme.

Little Miss Muffet

Sat on a tuffet,

Eating of curds and whey;

Along came a spider,

Who sat down beside her

And frightened Miss Muffet away.

7d   One's musical // tongue? (5,5)

8d   Now opening /for/ a season (6)

In Christian theology, Advent^[5] denotes the coming or second coming of Christ. Advent^[5] is also the name of the first season of the Church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

13d   Instruments /of/ supersonic potential (10)

15d   Accumulated // capital used on mansion and diamonds (10)

A pile^[5] is a very large building or complex of buildings. This is apparently not a Briticism as the definition is taken from The American Heritage Dictionary.

16d   Engineers taking part /in/ light diversion (10)

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers^[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

19d   Local authority // advice is announced (7)

20d   Very pleasant // in gale, getting blown about! (6)

23d   Bobby's pocketed ring /and/ pen (4)

In Britain, bobby^[5] is an informal name for a police officer. The name comes from a nickname for Robert, the given name of Sir Robert Peel^[5] (1788–1850), British Prime Minister 1834-5 and 1841-6, who as Home Secretary (1828–30) established the Metropolitan Police [perhaps better known as Scotland Yard].

24d   Dear French // singer (4)

The French word for dear is cher^[8].

Cher^[7] (born Cherilyn Sarkisian) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Known for her distinctive contralto singing voice, she has been nicknamed the Goddess of Pop.

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