Friday, May 15, 2009 [DT 25823]

Puzzle originally published Monday, January 12, 2009 in the Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I found today's puzzle to be a bit tricky, but I did manage to complete it on my own.

Today's Links

Solutions to all clues can be found at Crossword Ends in Violence [DT 25823].

Cryptics.co.uk has entered an extended hiatus.

There is some activity on AnswerBank [DT 25823] concerning today's puzzle.

Today's Puzzle

There are a number of Cryptic Definition clues in today's puzzle, among them:

15ac Flight circling before coming to a landing (6,9) [SPIRAL STAIRCASE]

24ac Barely beat the opposition (8) [OUTSTRIP]

25ac Royal estates (8) [KINGDOMS]

2d Paper thrown at the match (8) [CONFETTI]

5d A disposition of arms (6) [AKIMBO]

Cryptic Definition clues are essentially a pun, riddle or similar form of wordplay. They do not conform to the convention followed by other types of cryptic crossword clues in which a clue is comprised of two parts, each of which provides a hint to the solution. As such, Cryptic Definitions are generally not subject to my rigorous parsing procedure. While some setters place question marks or exclamation marks at the end of such clues to indicate that they are Cryptic Definitions, such is apparently not the practice for the setter of today's puzzle.

For the second day in a row, we see (in 21ac) the use of "at university" as a clue meaning UP.

That's all for today.