Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - DT 26952

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26952
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, August 23, 2012
Setter Philip Marlow (Shamus) *
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26952]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes * While Gazza and several others writing at Big Dave's Telegraph Blog express the opinion that the setter may be Shamus, the identity of the setter has not been definitively confirmed.

Introduction

I got through today's puzzle fairly quickly, leaving me time to reflect on double definitions and cryptic definitions — two clue types that often bear similar attributes. You will find my thoughts on this subject in my commentary on clues 5d, 9d and 21d.

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.

1a   Greek character getting into twist in practice (4-2)

Mu^[5] is the twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet (Μ, μ).

10a   Fantastic credit about workers beginning to exhibit integrity (9)

TU^[3,4] is the abbreviation for trade union.

13a   English chairman finally retained by board -- describing a sound principle? (7)

Board^[5] is an archaic term for a table set for a meal ⇒ he looked at the banquet which was spread upon his board.

14a   Playing area near a ground (5)

In the surface reading, ground^[2] is used as a noun in the sense of an area of land used for a specified purpose ⇒ football ground. However, in the cryptic reading, it is the past participle of the verb to grind (and serves as an anagram indicator).

15a   Shed, say, you once found fringed by river (8)

The River Ouse^[5] might refer to any of four English rivers. In Gazza's words, "There’s more than one river in the UK with this name but the most well-known one is in North Yorkshire.".

1. (also Great Ouse) a river of eastern England, which rises in Northamptonshire and flows 257 km (160 miles) eastwards then northwards through East Anglia to the Wash near King’s Lynn.
2. a river of NE England, formed at the confluence of the Ure and Swale in North Yorkshire and flowing 92 km (57 miles) south-eastwards through York to the Humber estuary.
3. a river of SE England, which rises in the Weald of West Sussex and flows 48 km (30 miles) south-eastwards to the English Channel.
4. (also Little Ouse) a river of East Anglia, which forms a tributary of the Great Ouse.

18a   Players in defence getting best extra support (8)

A back^[5] is a player in a team game who plays in a defensive position behind the forwards ⇒ their backs showed some impressive running and passing. This definition applies to games such as association football (soccer) and field hockey, but not to North American football where there are both offensive and defensive backs (who alternately take the field depending on which team has possession of the ball). In hockey (ice hockey for the Brits), the equivalent position is called a defenceman (in both men's and women's hockey).

20a   Trade commonly seen in road recalled in island (5)

Ibiza^[5] is an island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain.

The A1^[7] (which Gazza refers to as the "the Great North Road") is the longest numbered road in the UK, at 410 miles (660 km). It connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

23a   Salvo from an overheated local guest? (7)

A local^[5] is a pub [or bar] convenient to a person’s home. A salvo from someone who lost their cool in a pub might be described as bar rage.

26a   Opportune stance of a potter? (2,3)

The setter uses potter to mean someone who pots balls at a pool table. Gazza comments that "‘on [cue]’ doesn’t seem right " to describe the "stance of a potter". It certainly doesn't fit the picture he has chosen, but how about a player leaning on his cue while his opponent is shooting?

27a   Cut third of traditional curriculum before schooling (not advanced) (9)

In Britain, Advanced level^[10] (popularly known as A level^[10]) is (1) a public examination in a subject taken for the General Certificate of Education (GCE), usually at the age of 17–18 or (2) the course leading to this examination.

29a   View rental property, in part needed for trainer maybe (6)

In Britain, a let^[5] is a property available for rent ⇒ an unfurnished let.

2d   Engineers period of time to behave in an environmentally friendly way (7)

The Corps of Royal Engineers (RE)^[5] is the field engineering and construction corps of the British army.

5d   Suspect selection process? (8,6)

Identity parade^[5] is the British term for a group of people including a suspect for a crime assembled for the purpose of having an eyewitness identify the suspect from among them. This would be known in North America as a police lineup^[7].

I would say that this clue is quite clearly a cryptic definition. The entire clue provides the definition but is deviously worded in such a manner that we are misled as to its 'true' meaning. Here the setter misdirects our attention to a fraudulent election — rather than a procedure that the police might employ in a criminal investigation. As we see here, setters often use a question mark (or, alternatively, an exclamation point) to signal that a clue is a cryptic definition.

We will see a couple of other clues later in the puzzle which have a similar structure — but which are not necessarily of the same type.

7d   Major route followed by writer on American form of transport (7)

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway (multilane, divided highway) in England connecting London to Leeds.

8d   It's hot among swimming teams in river (6)

The Thames^[5] is a river of southern England, flowing 338 km (210 miles) eastwards from the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire through London to the North Sea.

9d   Sharp as a sketch artist? (5,2,3,4)

The structure of this clue is similar to that of 5d. However, is this clue a double definition (as Gazza describes it) or is it a cryptic definition? I would say that it might reasonably be considered to be either.

The role of the question mark may influence how we categorize a clue. Setters may employ question marks for a variety of purposes. As we saw at 5d, it may serve as a flag that the clue is a cryptic definition. A question mark is also commonly used to indicate the presence of a definition by example.

If we were to deem the present clue to be a double definition, then I would think that we should apply the underlining so as to show the two definitions as separate elements (which I note that Gazza hasn't done), as follows:

• 9d   Sharp as a sketch artist? (5,2,3,4)

In this case, the question mark could be considered to be indicating that "as a sketch artist" points to one (of possibly many) phrases that might be used to describe a sketch artist (i.e., it is a definition by example).

On the other hand, were we to consider the clue to be a cryptic definition, the entire clue would form the definition (and one would expect the entire clue to be underlined), as follows:

• 9d   Sharp as a sketch artist? (5,2,3,4)

In this case, the core of the definition is provided by the word "sharp" and the phrase "as a sketch artist" provides some additional information to the solver. In contrast to what we saw in 5d, the latter phrase is intended, not to misdirect us, but to provide an additional hint to narrow down the scope of the solution.

While I can see merit in either choice, I personally opt for cryptic definition in this case. This is largely based on my believe that, in a double definition, each definition should stand solidly on its own and I don't feel that "as a sketch artist" does so. It really only works when paired with "sharp".

Thus when confronted with the choice between what I see as a fairly clever cryptic definition and what I deem to be a rather poor double definition, I will go with the former.

16d   Oil developed by man entertaining companion in elitist state? (9)

Companion refers to Companion of Honour (abbreviation CH), a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour^[7], an order of the Commonwealth realms^[7] founded by King George V in June 1917 as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion.

21d   First element of signature? (7)

This is yet another clue which one might deem to be either a double definition or a cryptic definition.

In this case, I choose to call it a double definition as I consider it to be, at best, a very poor cryptic definition. On the other hand, it is a rather solid double definition.

As mentioned in the commentary for 9d,  a question mark can be used to indicate a definition by example. In this clue, I believe the question mark is being used for precisely that purpose — to show that an "initial" is something that may be part of a signature, but is not necessarily part of one. For instance, it would depend on whether one chose to sign one's name as J. Smith or John Smith.

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - DT 26951

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26951
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26951]
Big Dave's Review Written By Scchua
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I completed today's puzzle in a single sitting without needing to call in my electronic assistants.

Note to Readers of Scchua's Review

For those who peruse Scchua's review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, be aware that he has used differing formats in his hints for the across and down clues respectively.

In the across clues, portions of the solution are hidden between the curly brackets. These can be revealed either by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the mouse across the space between the curly brackets or, alternatively, by double clicking (not single clicking) on the space between the curly brackets.

On the other hand, in the down clues, he has merely inserted blanks to represent the various bits of the solution. Try as you may, you cannot reveal these bits as there is nothing to reveal.

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.

10a   Observer magazine (9)

This double definition type clue plays on the names of two British publications — ones with widely divergent views. The Observer^[7], the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, is a sister paper to the daily The Guardian^[7] and takes a similar liberal or social democratic line on most issues while The Spectator^[7] is a conservative-leaning weekly British magazine owned by the same people who own The Daily Telegraph^[7].

The setter is able to capitalize the word "observer" by placing it at the beginning of the clue, thus making it appear to be the name of a publication (rather than just an ordinary noun). As a result, the surface reading would tend to direct the solver's attention to the left-leaning Sunday newspaper, whereas the solution is actually the right-leaning current affairs magazine from a rival publisher.

12a   Before much time has elapsed, peer angrily finishes working (5,2)

A peer^[5] is a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron ⇒ hereditary peers could still dominate the proceedings of the House of Lords.

13a   Best way after argument is rejected (5)

Best^[5] is a verb meaning to outwit or get the better of (someone) ⇒ she refused to allow herself to be bested. Worst^[5] is a verb meaning get the better of or defeat ⇒ this was not the time for a deep discussion—she was tired and she would be worsted.

23a   Release son caught by a foreign section on the way back (7)

Un^[8] is the masculine singular form of the French indefinite article.

25a   Yankee made money and felt nostalgia (7)

Yankee^[5] is a code word representing the letter Y, used in radio communication.

28a   Haggard's taken gun out (5)

Again the setter arranges to capitalize a word by placing it at the beginning of a clue, causing me to think (for a brief moment) that the solution might be RIDER (in reference to English writer H. Rider Haggard^[7]).

2d   Glass border (raised) runs right around ring (6)

On cricket scorecards, one would find R^[5] employed as an abbreviation for run(s).

3d   Sherlock ‘s personal view? (7,3)

Sherlock Holmes^[7] is a fictional detective created by author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.

5d   In France she welcomes one after vicar making early morning call (8)

In French, elle^[8] is a feminine pronoun that can mean either she (when used as a subject) or her (when used as an object).

6d   North’s leading light? (4)

Although Scchua characterizes this as a double definition, I would prefer to call it a cryptic definition. In any event, it is a play on the North Star (used for navigation) together with a term for someone prominent in their field of endeavour (leading light). If it is to be considered a double definition, then it would be a type of semi all-in-one clue where the entire clue provides one definition (North's leading light) and a portion of the clue (leading light) provides the other.

13d   Note during conflict targets barrels for collection (5,5)

A water butt^[5] is a large barrel used for catching and storing rainwater — a butt^[3,4] being a large cask, especially one with a capacity of two hogsheads, for storing wine.

Te^[5] is the British spelling for the seventh note of a major scale in the tonic sol-fa system of naming the notes of the musical scale. In North America, the name of this note is generally spelled ti.

A butt^[10] is a person or thing that is the target of ridicule, wit, etc. In shooting or archery, a butt^[10] is either (1) a mound of earth behind the target on a target range that stops bullets or wide shots or (2) the target itself. In the plural, it means the target range.

Note: Unless it has since been corrected, in Scchua's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, there is a typo in the clue (the word "conflict" is missing). However, the explanation is correct.

15d   Forward-looking, runs into new position of advantage (5-5)

For "runs", consult your cricket scorecard (see comment for 2d).

18d   One who acts in haste, perhaps, crossing head of police (8)

The wordplay is an anagram (perhaps) of IN HASTE containing (crossing) P {initial letter of (head of) Police}. [Note: As I read it, Scchua seems to have the containment reversed in his hint.]

26d   Assume goose finally to be cooked (4)

Apparently, assume^[3] can literally mean to put on or don ⇒ The queen assumed a velvet robe. However, I found this explicitly indicated only in The American Heritage Dictionary. Other dictionaries had usage examples that were figurative in nature, such as one from Collins English Dictionary where assume is defined as (1) to take or put on or (2) to adopt ⇒ the problem assumed gigantic proportions.

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Monday, November 5, 2012 - DT 26950

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26950
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Setter Unknown [possibly Petitjean (John Pidgeon)]
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26950]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I was able to complete the left hand side on the first sitting, but made limited headway on the right hand side. After putting the puzzle aside for several hours, the remaining clues succumbed to a renewed attack.

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.

1a   Production of Lear — the first of many in the area (5)

King Lear^[7] is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king.

4a   Passionate about pub, shortly getting blurry (9)

This was one of my last ones in, as I was trying to decode "pub shortly" as PU (pub with the final letter deleted). Pub^[5] itself is actually a shortened form of public house^[5] — which apparently can be abbreviated (shortened) as PH (although I failed to find it listed in any of several dictionaries that I consulted).

18a   Skin disease revealed in phone call by creep (8)

Gazza supposes that "creep" and "worm" are synonyms as verbs. True enough, but they also mean pretty much the same thing when employed as nouns. A creep^[5] is a detestable person  ⇒ I thought he was a nasty little creep; while a worm^[5] is a weak or despicable person (often used as a general term of abuse) ⇒ (i) it was unbearable that such a worm could be so successful; (ii) you ungrateful little worm!.

20a   PM not working with Coalition’s third image-maker (6)

David Cameron^[7] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the British Conservative Party.

23a   This’ll slay you : a wag less than sincere! (7)

Gazza seems to raise an eyebrow (inferred from his question mark) at "wag" being used as an anagram indicator. While I wondered about this as well, I concluded that "wag" does make a good anagram indicator. Wag means to shake — thus "wag less than sincere" indicates that we shake (wag) the letters SINCER {sincere with the final letter deleted (less than)}.

1d   Cream endlessly perform American smash (4-5)

The solution is a term that is used in North America, but not in the UK — thus explaining why the definition is "American smash". A rear-ender^[3] is known in Britain as a shunt^[5], a motor accident, especially a collision of vehicles travelling one close behind the other ⇒ a lorry [truck] shed its load, causing an eight-vehicle shunt.

Cream^[7] were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker. Their sound was characterised by a hybrid of blues rock, hard rock and psychedelic rock, combining the psychedelia-themed lyrics, Eric Clapton's blues guitar playing, Jack Bruce's voice and prominent bass playing and Ginger Baker's jazz-influenced drumming. The group's third album, Wheels of Fire, was the world's first platinum-selling double album. Cream are widely regarded as being the world's first successful supergroup.

3d  Hopelessly romantic with no time for big name in radio (7)

Guglielmo Marconi^[7] (1874 – 1937) was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun "in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy". As an entrepreneur, businessman, and founder of the The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company in Britain in 1897, Marconi succeeded in making a commercial success of radio by innovating and building on the work of previous experimenters and physicists.

Marconi is probably known in North America primarily as an historical figure. In Britain, on the other hand, the name would likely be well known as a result of the operations of the company which bore his name. The company would be far less well known on this side of the Atlantic, as its North American operations were acquired by RCA in 1920. Although branches of the company involved in supplying telecommunications carriers and the military did operate in North America more recently, these would certainly not have had the same public profile as would a consumer electronics company.

The Marconi Company^[7] was a British telecommunications and engineering company that existed from 1897 until 2006, undergoing numerous changes, mergers and acquisitions during that time. The company was founded by the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi and was originally known as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company. The company was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming one of the UKs most successful manufacturing companies. In 1999, its defence manufacturing division, Marconi Electronic Systems, merged with British Aerospace to form BAE Systems. In 2006, extreme financial difficulties led to the collapse of the remaining company, with the bulk of the business acquired by Ericsson.

4d   River Thames is empty following bitter warnings (6)

The Thames^[5] is a river of southern England, flowing 338 km (210 miles) eastwards from the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire through London to the North Sea.

In Britain, bitter^[5] is beer that is strongly flavoured with hops and has a bitter taste ⇒ a pint of bitter.

6d   Front of horse in Christmas show followed by James Bond character in musical? (7)

The Phantom of the Opera^[7] is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux. It is considered by many to be the most successful musical of all time and is also the longest running show in Broadway history.

Panto^[5] is short for pantomime^[5], a British theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, which involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas.

M^[7] is the code name of a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series; the character is the Head of Secret Intelligence Service—also known as MI6.

7d   Timely piano in poor composition and melody (9)

The piano must surely be, by far, the most popular musical instrument in Crosswordland as it seems to make an appearance virtually every day. Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).

22d   Structure of sporting body with British in charge (6)

The Football Association^[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of association 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.

25d   I made clear home help’s back (5)

India^[7] is a code word representing the letter I, used in radio communication. Thus, the letter "I" is made clear in radio communication by substituting the word "India" in its place.

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Saturday, November 3, 2012 - If It's Not Pink, It's Bad

Introduction

I must admit that I had trouble discerning the theme of today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon. It was only when I sat down to write the review that I thought, "The setters are being very unimaginative in their choice of anagram indicators today". Doh! So the theme seems to be 'bad' — although the "pink" clue doesn't appear to fit the pattern. They may have compensated for this "oversight", though, by incorporating a couple of the down clues into the theme. Nevertheless, I cannot help but think that I have missed some subtle - or perhaps not so subtle - aspect of the theme.

As always, if you happen to see something that I have overlooked, please leave a comment.
 

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   LED|A — LED (escorted) + A (†)

In Greek mythology, Leda^[5] is the wife of Tyndareus king of Sparta. She was loved by Zeus, who visited her in the form of a swan; among her children were the Dioscuri, Helen [known as Helen of Troy], and Clytemnestra.

3a   MONSIGNORI* — anagram (bad) of MOON RISING

10a   GENDARMES* — anagram (bad) of EMS GARDEN

Bad Ems^[7] is a town in Germany well known as a bathing resort on the river Lahn. A gendarme^[5] is a paramilitary police officer in France and other French-speaking countries.

11a   EVER|T — EVER (always) + T (true)

Chris Evert^[7] is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships and three doubles titles.

12a   BAG|EL — BAG (sack) + (in front of) EL (train)

In the US, the El^[5] is (1) an elevated railway, especially that in Chicago or (2) a train running on an elevated railway ⇒ the El rumbled by.

13a   SHEA|RED — SHEA (N.L. stadium) + (and) RED (N.L. player)

Shea Stadium^[7] was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball's National League from 1964 to 2008. The stadium was named in honor of William A. Shea, the man who brought National League baseball back to New York. It was demolished in 2009 to furnish additional parking for the adjacent Citi Field, the current home of the Mets.

The Cincinnati Reds^[7] are a professional baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States. They are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

15a   HALITOSIS* — anagram (sadly) of LOIS HAS IT

17a   L|EDGE — L ([Roman numeral for] fifty) + EDGE (inch; move furtively)

18a   NOVA|K_ — NOVA (big star) + K {initial letter (in the lead) of Kim}

Kim Novak as Jeanne Eagels (1957)

This is at least a semi & lit. (all-in-one) clue — if not a full-blown & lit. clue. The entire clue provides the wordplay. If one considers the entire clue to also be the definition, it is an & lit. clue. On the other hand, if one deems the definition to be merely "big star Kim", then it is a semi & lit. clue. The question mark signals that there is something a bit out of the ordinary about this clue — in this case, that this is an all-in-one clue of some description.

Kim Novak^[7] is an American film and television actress.

20a   CAR|NATION — double definition (the second being cryptic — as flagged by the question mark); "pink" & "land of automobiles"

23a   {ERA|SMUS}< — reversal (in retrospect) of {SUMS (math problems) + ARE (†)}

Desiderius Erasmus^[7] (circa 1469–1536), was a Dutch humanist and scholar; Dutch name Gerhard Gerhards. He was the foremost Renaissance scholar of northern Europe, paving the way for the Reformation with his satires on the Church, including the Colloquia Familiaria (1518). However, he opposed the violence of the Reformation and condemned Luther in De Libero Arbitrio (1523).

24a   CUFFS — double definition; "sleeve features" & "hits"

26a   PIN(O)T — PINT (beer order) containing (with ... in it) O (nothing; letter that looks like a zero)

27a   L|AN|DOWNER — L (left) + (before) AN (one) + DOWNER (bad experience)

28a   NAME BRANDS — anagram (awfully) of BAD MANNERS

Adidas^[7] and Nike^[7] are brands of sports clothing, equipment and accessories — in particular, athletic footwear.

29a   A|YES — A (one) + YES (positive)

Down

1d   LAGS BEHIND — anagram (marred) of BAD ENGLISH

2d   DONE|GAL — GAL (lass) following (chasing) DONE (over)

Donegal^[5] is a county in the extreme north-west of the Republic of Ireland, part of the old province of Ulster.

4d   OS|MOSES — OS (Baltimore's team) + MOSES (prophet)

How many thought that the solution was ORIOLES?

The Baltimore Orioles^[7] are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Nicknames for the team include the O's and the Birds.

Moses^[5] (fl. circa 14th-13th centuries bc) was a Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, brother of Aaron. According to the biblical account, he was born in Egypt and led the Israelites away from servitude there, across the desert towards the Promised Land. During the journey he was inspired by God on Mount Sinai to write down the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone (Exod. 20).

Osmose^[5] is a literary term meaning to pass by or as if by osmosis ⇒ publishing companies osmose like amoebae into ever larger conglomerates.

5d   _SY|STEMS — SY {last couple of [letters in] grassSY} + STEMS (stalks)

6d   GUERRILLA~ — sounds like (outspoken; spoken out loud) GORILLA (ape)

7d   O(VERDI)D — VERDI (Italian composer [Giuseppe Verdi]) contained in (breaking into) OD (Old Dutch)

Old Dutch^[10] (abbreviation OD) is the Dutch language up to about 1100, derived from the Low Franconian dialect of Old Low German.

8d   IOT|A< — reversal (returned) of A TOI (to you in Quebec)

"À toi" means "to you" in French, the Official Language of Québec.

9d   H|AIL — AIL (trouble; as a verb) following (†) H (hot)

14d   {TENNIS PROS}* — anagram (bad) of SPORTS NINE

16d   {TAKE A STAB}* — anagram (dances) of STAB AT SKA

Ska^[5] is a style of fast popular music having a strong offbeat and originating in Jamaica in the 1960s, a forerunner of reggae.

19d   VI(ETNA)M — VIM (life) containing (around) ETNA (volcano; Mount Etna^[5] in eastern Sicily)

20d   {CAMI|LLA}< — reversal (sent back) of {ALL (whole) + IMAC (Apple computer; iMac^[7] is a brand of computer manufactured by Apple Inc.)}

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall^[7] is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and a member of the British Royal Family. Although she is the Princess of Wales because of her marriage to the Prince of Wales, she prefers to be known by the secondary title of Duchess of Cornwall (Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland) out of respect for her husband's first wife, the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

21d   RO(SINE)D — ROD (fishing pole) containing (includes) SINE ([trigonometric] function)

22d   IN|FANCY — IN (amid) + FANCY (daydream; as a verb)

24d   C(L)OG — COG (machine part) containing (jammed with) L (large)

25d   S|PAN — S (small) + PAN (skillet)

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Friday, November 2, 2012 - DT26949

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26949
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, August 20, 2012
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26949]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26948 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, August 18, 2012.

Introduction

Today's puzzle is the usual solid, but gentle, offering from Rufus. I did need to rely on a bit of electronic assistance and also needed a bit of help from Libellule.

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.

9a   One might aid camper that’s collapsed (9)

This is a semi all-in-one (also called a semi &lit.) clue. The entire clue serves as the definition, while the wordplay is comprised of only a portion of the clue.

19a   An ABC-man, say? (6)

I needed a gentle nudge from Libellule to help me decipher the wordplay in this clue which demands some careful surgery on the part of the solver. The definition is "an AB" and the wordplay is sounds like (say) C-man with the solution being SEAMAN.

In the Royal Navy, able seaman (abbreviation AB)^[5], is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

23a   RAF cooks getting help making chicken (6)

The Royal Air Force (RAF)^[5] is the British air force, formed in 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (founded 1912) and the Royal Naval Air Service (founded 1914).

26a   Sailor a short distance nearer the stern (5)

See comment for 19a.

27a   Double description of a batman? (2,7)

The "batman" here is not a comic book superhero. In the British armed forces, batman^[5] is a dated term for an officer’s personal servant.

1d   Court officials chaired on high (7)

Chair Umpire

The Championships, Wimbledon^[5], "The Wimbledon Championships" or simply Wimbledon (referenced by Libellule in his hint), is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and widely considered to be the biggest and the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877.

At a tennis match, the chair umpire^[7] is often situated in a tall chair at the center of the court, behind a net post.

3d   Suspect messenger is one craftily dodging duty (3,6)

Rum^[5] is dated British slang meaning odd or peculiar [or suspect or questionable] ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

4d   We hear it’s bound to be a current variation (4)

This clue is sort of a mirror image of yesterday's "4d   Restricted movement in the auditorium (4)".

16d   Incautious way the staff leave school assembly? (4-5)

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

22d   Athenian garret (5)

Attica^[5] is a triangular promontory of eastern Greece. With the islands in the Saronic Gulf it forms a department of Greece, of which Athens is the capital. Attic^[2] is an adjective meaning relating to ancient Athens or Attica, or the form of Greek spoken there.

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Thursday, November 1, 2012 - DT 26947

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26947
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, August 17, 2012
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26947]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I appreciated that Giovanni did not make today's puzzle overly difficult as I was recovering from a late night blogging today's puzzle in The Daily Telegraph. I get the puzzle at midnight local time in London (which is normally 7:00 p.m. here, a five hour time difference). However, since Britain has already reverted to Standard Time and we have not yet done so, the time difference is only four hours and I did not receive the puzzle until 8:00 p.m. — meaning a later night than usual for me.

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.

6a  Artist manages to capture the male bird (4)

Crosswordland's favourite artist pays a visit again today — after having dropped by as recently as yesterday. A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

9a   Cleaners put off attending public toilet (10)

The Gents^[5] is a [chiefly, but (I would hazard to say) not exclusively] British way to refer to a men’s public toilet.

10a   A small river? Certainly not! (4)

The Arno^[5] is a river which rises in the Apennines of northern Italy and flows westwards 240 km (150 miles) through Florence and Pisa to the Ligurian Sea.

12a   Story to introduce the German songs (6)

Der^[7] is a form of the German definite article which may be found in any of several declensions. When used in the nominative case, it is the masculine singlular form. In the dative case, it is the feminine singular form. In the genitive case, it may be either the feminine singular form or, in the plural, either masculine, feminine or neuter.

 A lied^[5] (plural lieder) is a type of German song, especially of the Romantic period, typically for solo voice with piano accompaniment.

13a   Amateur in front of elders, cross and impertinent (8)

I had the same reaction as Gazza to Giovanni's choice of the word "impertinent" to clue PERT.

15a   Like worker in dining room who lets table out (5,3,4)

To sit below the salt^[5] is to be of lower social standing or worth ⇒ paperback publishers used to be considered people who sat below the salt. In his review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza explains the origin of the phrase.

18a   Fashionable goddess with sophistication not hard to find in American city (12)

In Roman mythology, Diana is an early Italian goddess associated with hunting, virginity, and, in later literature, with the moon. The equivalent goddess in Greek mythology is Artemis. 

H^[5] is the abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

25a   Bringing to light university event that almost went wrong? (10)

It took a long time for the light to dawn — and I needed a gentle nudge from my electronic friends. The wordplay is U (university) + NEAR THING (event that almost went wrong; or, in other words, a narrow escape).

26a   Writer in bad mood about nothing (4)

The word strop^[5] (used by Gazza in his review) is British slang for a bad mood or a temper^[5] (in the sense of an angry state of mind) ⇒ Nathalie gets in a strop and makes to leave.

1d   Let loose having drunk rum, walk unsteadily (6)

Rum^[5] is dated British slang meaning odd or peculiar.

8d   A humourless condition evident in ex-believer (8)

Po-faced^[5] is a British expression meaning humourless and disapproving • don’t be so po-faced about everything. The Chambers Dictionary would have us believe that po^[1] is a shortening of po-faced. However, it appears to stand alone among dictionaries in this position.

11d   Erstwhile beautiful female gets mad trying out new styles (12)

In Persian mythology, a peri^[5] is a mythical superhuman being, originally represented as evil but subsequently as a good or graceful genie or fairy. According to WordNet (a large lexical database of English developed at Princeton University), in Persian folklore, a peri is a supernatural being descended from fallen angels and excluded from paradise until penance is done. Despirte a fairly exhaustive search I was unable to find any evidence whatsoever that the peris of Persian mythology or folklore are necessarily female.

However, several dictionaries do provide a secondary definition for peri. WordNet defines peri as a beautiful and graceful girl; Infoplease (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary) defines peri^[9] as any lovely, graceful person and Collins English Dictionary broadens this secondary definition of peri^[10] to any beautiful fairy-like creature.

Therefore, the only source which would seem to substantiate this aspect of the clue is WordNet. I was unable to find support in either the printed or online versions of Chambers.

23d   Crazy cricketers (4)

In cricket, the term bat^[5] can have any of several meanings, namely (1) a cricket bat, (2) a turn at playing with a bat [an instance of batting], or (3) a person batting (or, in other words, a batsman) ⇒ the team’s opening bat. In this usage example, the "opening bat" would be the first batsman for a team in the match (a term somewhat akin to a leadoff batter in baseball).

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon