Wedneday, June 23, 2010 (DT 26186)

This puzzle, by Giovanni, was originally published Friday, March 12, 2010 in The Daily Telegraph

The National Post has skipped DT 26181 through DT 26185 which were published in The Daily Telegraph from Saturday, March 6, 2010 through Thursday, March 11, 2010

Introduction

Some - but probably not all - of the Brits would think that we are enjoying a rare treat, having been served up Giovanni puzzles now on two consecutive days.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Solutions:

fag end - noun informal, chiefly Brit. 1 a cigarette end. 2 a useless remnant.

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26186].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

25a Twin's position, one of twenty-one on the board (6)

Is this a reference to a scrabble board, or possibly to dominoes? Neither, we need to focus on a dart board. By the way, even the Brits argued over whether the true number is 20 0r 21.

22d High nest - end of the year and that is to come down (5)

Choosing the wrong spelling here caused a delay in solving 21a. My initial attempt was:

AERIE = AER {anagram (to come down?) of EAR (end of the year; i.e., latter portion of the word "year")} + IE (that is)

I did recognize that this hypothesis necessitated the existence of a somewhat unlikely anagram indicator (to come down).

The correct solution is:

EYRIE = E (end of the; i.e., last letter in the word "the") + YR (year) + (and) IE (that is)

I had supposed that the phrase "to come down" might be either (or, perhaps, both) superfluous padding for the surface reading or a statement of the obvious (i.e., this is down clue). However, Gazza identifies it as a charade indicator in a down clue.

Signing off for today - Falcon