Thursday, June 3, 2010 (DT 26165)

This puzzle, by Ray T, was originally published Tuesday, February 16, 2010 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I found today's puzzle to be definitely toward the more difficult end of the scale. I finished not understanding the wordplay for several clues - in fact, without even being sure that a couple of solutions were correct.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Clues:

anorak - a person, usually male, who has a very strong interest, perhaps obsessive, in niche subjects (with the prototypical example perhaps being the hobby of trainspotting)

bull¹ - noun 3 Brit. a bullseye

Harry Lauder - Scottish entertainer

lights - plural noun the lungs of an animal, used as food

Used in Solutions:

Desperate Dan - a character in the British comic The Dandy

inner - [Collins English Dictionary] noun Archery a. the red innermost ring on a target [Note: situated next to the bull's eye, which is gold]

potter² - [Collins English Dictionary] verb Chiefly Brit 2. to move with little energy or direction; esp US and Canadian, putter

RE - abbreviation religious education

RR - abbreviation Right Reverend: (in Britain) noun a title of a bishop

sprog - noun Brit. informal, chiefly derogatory a child

underseal - noun Brit. undercoat: [American Heritage Dictionary] 3c. (also undercoating) A tarlike substance sprayed on the underside of a vehicle to prevent rusting; [Collins English Dictionary] 4. the US name for underseal [i.e., undercoat is the US name for the British term underseal]

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26165].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

12a Fit plug to the point (5)

It seemed that there could be only one possible solution, namely ADAPT with the definition being "fit". As for the wordplay, I thought that "point" might give rise to PT. However, that left me with the problem of trying reconcile "plug" = ADA. As I was to learn from Gazza, a "plug" is an AD and "to the point" means APT. I must say that the latter is not a meaning with which I am familiar; I think of "to the point" as meaning "concise, getting directly to the core of an issue" (but perhaps one might stretch that far enough to encompass "suitable").

18a Lesser gods holding monsters back (5)

I initially thought that the lesser gods might be LARES (although I couldn't fathom the wordplay). Eventually, additional checking letters ruled out this possibility. This is one of those clues we sometimes see in British puzzles where the definition appears in the middle of the clue. The definition is monsters with the solution being OGRES. The wordplay tells us that the phrase "lesSER GOds" contains ([is] holding) a reversal (back) of the solution (OGRES).

25a Grabbed someone's booty! (9)

Being a North American, the double-entendre referring to a person's derrière came readily to mind. However, it does not seem to factor into the cryptic analysis of the clue - merely adding a slightly naughty overtone to the surface reading. To my way of thinking, though, the definition is poor. Booty is the proceeds of ransacking. Ransacked could be defined as "grabbed someone's valuables" - but it doesn't become booty until after it has been ransacked. Perhaps the setter is suggesting the case of one pirate stealing the loot of a second pirate.

21d Trespasser losing head close to bull (5)

Even though I had the correct solution and understood part of the wordplay, I failed to figure out the connection between INNER and "bull". Fortunately, I could count on Gazza for the explanation.

Signing off for today - Falcon