Monday, February 2, 2015 — DT 27576

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27576
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, August 23, 2014
Setter Cephas (Peter Chamberlain)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27576 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27576 – 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

I found this puzzle to be rather difficult, especially given that it was a "Saturday" puzzle in the UK — which are generally on the easier side. I messed things up royally by entering an incorrect word as the the first part of 4d based solely on gut feel and one checking letter. This made the three other intersecting clues extremely difficult until I twigged to my error.

You will see from the comments on Big Dave' blog that many of the Brit's also found this puzzle unusually difficult — although crypticsue was not among them. In fact, rarely have I seen such an outpouring of opprobrium for a puzzle. It seems that many of the Brits are just not up for a stiff challenge.

However, I do take solace in having recognized it as a pangram — a rare occurrence indeed [rare that I noticed not rare that it happened to be a pangram]. A pangram is a puzzle in which every letter of the alphabet appears at least once in the solutions.

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

4a   React to scrap /and/ join in? (4,4)

Take^[5] is used in the sense of to react to or regard (news or an event) in a specified way ⇒ (i) she took the news well; (ii) everything you say, he takes it the wrong way.

8a   Hit // second three-wheeler (6)

9a   Drunk sees unknown staff /in/ local, known for more money than sense? (5,3)

In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are customarily represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

Essex man^[10] is an informal, derogatory British term for a working man, typically a Londoner who has moved out to Essex, who flaunts his new-found success and status.

Digging Deeper

Essex man is a stereotypical figure which was popularised in 1990s England. As a political figure, "Essex man" is an example of a type of median voter and was used to help explain the electoral successes of Margaret Thatcher in the previous decade. After World War II, there was considerable social change in south-east England. Working-class families were encouraged to leave the war-damaged slums in inner London and move to newly built council-owned properties in the suburbs and "new towns" in the home counties [the counties surrounding London], including Basildon and Harlow in Essex. With the decline of manufacture and skilled manual work in the 1980s, this group increasingly looked to middle-class professions for employment or became self-employed. Their children enjoyed housing, education and employment opportunities far removed from the experiences of their parents. Margaret Thatcher's policies from 1979 to 1990 included lower taxation, control of inflation and sale of council housing stock at subsidised prices. These policies (in particular, the right to buy scheme) are thought to have caused many people who had traditionally voted Labour in Essex to switch their allegiance in the 1979, 1983 and 1987 elections. Owing to the similarities between the politics of Thatcher's Britain and Ronald Reagan's America, the contemporary term "Reagan Democrat" is roughly analogous to "Essex man". Judging by its usage, it would seem that the term "Essex man" may have evolved from political stereotype to class putdown.

Scratching the Surface
Local[5] is an informal British term for a pub convenient to a person’s home ⇒ a pint in the local.

10a   Junior will go round extraterrestrial route /in/ plane (8)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial^[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

11a   Believe /it's/ time one's got to pay (6)

As the solution to the first definition, credit^[10] is used in the sense of to accept as true or believe.

I was slightly off the mark with my presumption that the later part of the clue was alluding to "buying (something)"on time"^[10] [i.e., on credit in the case of a purchase made on an instalment plan]". However, this sense of "on time" would appear to be a North American usage.

Credit^[10] is actually used in the sense of the time allowed for deferred payment ⇒ an automatic 30-day credit on all orders.

12a   Being ready to accept // pound found in old cape (8)

"Pound" is neither a unit of currency or weight, but an enclosure for stray dogs.

Usually found in place names, ness^[5] means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

13a   Hurry back with bandage /for/ infant (8)

16a   Pamphlet by one getting paid /is/ to keep going (8)

19a   Waste /of/ energy, getting loud and talking freely (8)

Forte^[5] (abbreviation f^[5]) is a musical direction meaning (as an adjective) loud or (as an adverb) loudly.

21a   A palm's analysed /to reveal/ what's in the blood (6)

23a   Passenger // made upset when collected by chance (4,4)

Passenger^[5] is a chiefly British term for a member of a team or group who does far less effective work than the other members ⇒ he had been a superlative teacher but his health was gone and he was now a passenger.

A lame duck^[5] is an ineffectual or unsuccessful person or thing ⇒ most of her boyfriends have been lame ducks. I am only familiar with this term in the political context, which Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises  as a chiefly North American usage.

24a   Complaint // -- fruit's repeating, we hear (4-4)

Beriberi^[5] (or beri-beri^[1])  is a disease causing inflammation of the nerves and heart failure, ascribed to a deficiency of vitamin B1.

25a   Injury /needs/ no lies concocted (6)

26a   Animal /in/ stall with another animal (8)

The hedgehog^[5] is any of several species of small nocturnal Old World mammal with a spiny coat and short legs, able to roll itself into a ball for defence.

Down

1d   A short-term worker's put in double time /and/ endeavour (7)

2d   Player /and/ musician eating in (9)

3d   Meeting /with/ party of South Africans in area round cathedral (6)

The African National Congress^[5] (abbreviation ANC) is a South African political party and black nationalist organization. Having been banned by the South African government 1960–90, the ANC was victorious in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 and its leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s President.

A see^[10] is the diocese of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral or procathedral is situated.

4d   Nobody knows // what happens on bank holidays! (6,2,7)

Initially putting in SECRET as the first word (which matched the single checking letter that I had at the time) really messed up my efforts in the northeastern quadrant.

Although crypticsue has not done so, I have marked this clue as a double definition with the latter definition being cryptic.

Bank holiday^[5] is a British term for a day on which banks are officially closed, kept as a public holiday. I would presume that the term is at least roughly equivalent to what we would call a statutory holiday. In the UK, the last Monday in August is a bank holiday, so this puzzle was published on the Saturday of the bank holiday long weekend.

Digging Deeper

According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, tell[5] is an archaic term meaning to count (the members of a group) ⇒ the shepherd had told all his sheep. Collins English Dictionary says that tell[10] can mean to count (votes). From The American Heritage Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, we learn that tell[3,11] can mean to enumerate or count ⇒ (i) telling one's blessings; (ii) 16 windows, all told. Presumably, this is the origin of the word teller — a bank employee who counts money.

5d   Eddy needs light touch to open // lock at the front (4-4)

Kiss curl^[5] is the British name for a circular curl of hair pressed flat against the cheek or forehead. In North America, this is apparently known as a spit curl. I am not familiar with either name — but I must say that I definitely favour the British terminology!

6d   Little person/'s/ pictures, in other words (5)

Pic^[3,4,11] (plural pics or pix) is a slang term for a photograph or, in North America, a movie.

7d   Clearing ground, but not about // to put in new order (7)

As an anagram indicator, ground is the past tense or past participle of the verb grind^[5]. An anagram indicator is a word that denotes movement or transformation. Grind denotes transformation in the sense of wheat being ground into flour.

14d   £51 perhaps is extortionate initially /for/ puree (9)

Quid^[5] (plural quid) is an informal British term for one pound sterling ⇒ we paid him four hundred quid.

Had sterling existed in Roman times, 51 pounds (£51) would have informally been referred to as "LI quid".

15d   Tarzan, he is out of place /in/ Middle East town (8)

Tarzan^[5] is a fictitious character created by American novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950). Tarzan (Lord Greystoke by birth) is orphaned in West Africa in his infancy and reared by apes in the jungle. The first book in the series, Tarzan of the Apes, appeared in 1914.

Nazareth^[5] is a historic town in lower Galilee, in present-day northern Israel; population 66,400 (est. 2008). Mentioned in the Gospels as the home of Mary and Joseph, it is closely associated with the childhood of Jesus and is a centre of Christian pilgrimage.

17d   Take over /from/ king attended by two Biblical characters (7)

Rex^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

In the Bible, Eli^[5] is a priest who acted as a teacher to the prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 1-3) and Eve^[5] is the first woman, companion of Adam and mother of Cain and Abel [not to mention Seth and their other sons and daughters^{[Gen 5:4]}].

18d   Criticise cricket side/'s/ clanger in Rugby (5-2)

In cricket, the on^[5] (also known as on side) is another name for the leg^[5] (also called leg side), the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman’s feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg. The other half of the field is known as the off^[5] (also called off side).

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.

In rugby, knock on^[5] (also knock the ball on) means to illegally drive the ball with the hand or arm towards the opponents' goal line.

20d   Household // pest -- I am unfortunately being circled (6)

22d   Music /from/ southern side of stage (5)

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