Wednesday, March 31, 2010 (DT 26109)

This puzzle by Giovanni was originally published Friday, December 11, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I came close to completing this puzzle unaided but was forced to open my Tool Chest to solve the final four or five clues. It turned out to be mainly a few British expressions and geographical references that I needed help with. However, I felt somewhat consoled on reading the comments on Big Dave's site to find that even some of those from Southern England seemed to have trouble with Northern English geography.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

Bury - a town in Greater Manchester, England

D² - abbreviation 2 IVR (International Vehicle Registration code): Deutschland (German), Germany

Charles Lamb - English essayist

opener - noun 2 a person or thing that opens or begins, for example the first goal in a match or a cricketer who opens the batting

Sir Karl Popper - British philosopher

(Corps of) Royal Engineers - (abbreviation RE) a corps of the British Army

ripping - adjective Brit. informal, dated excellent

side - noun [15] Brit. informal boastful or pretentious manner or attitude (Note: although explicit numbering vanishes after 9, this is the fifteenth definition listed for side as a noun)

trews - plural noun chiefly Brit. trousers

Venus de Milo - ancient Greek statue on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris - especially renowned for its missing arms

Today's Links
Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26109].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

28a Dispute's terrible - this examiner makes an appearance (6)

Keep in mind that British setters do not necessarily adhere to the American convention that requires a definition to be either the initial or final element of the clue.

29a Side on journey given somewhere to land (8)

I have to admit that I had no idea why "side" might mean AIRS until I read Gazza's review.

10d Horticultarists must get across lake? They sound angry (8)

I hadn't noticed the spelling mistake in the clue, so when Gazza mentioned it in his review I thought maybe it had been corrected when the puzzle was syndicated. However, that is not the case - the National Post has dutifully reproduced the clue exactly as it appeared in The Daily Telegraph.

19d Person providing the property, he having departed? (7)

This clue can be read in two ways. In one reading, it is a cryptic definition of a person who has died bequeathing property in his will. In the other reading, we see "the property" being THE ESTATE with "HE having departed" instructing us to delete the letters HE from this to get TESTATE.

Signing off for today - Falcon