Introduction
Today we have a much easier puzzle than the rather challenging one which was presented to us in our last outing. After a vigorous workout yesterday, my Tool Chest sat unopened on the shelf today. However, I did struggle to understand the wordplay on a few clues and had to resort to peeking at Big Dave's review to comprehend one of them.
Error in Today's Puzzle
3d Restict penalty given to one in jail (7)
I guess my internal spell checker kicked in and I never noticed the spelling error in this clue until I read about it on Big Dave's site. The clue should read:
- 3d Restrict penalty given to one in jail (7)
Today's Glossary
Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle
Used in Solutions:
ER - Queen Elizabeth [from Latin Elizabetha Regina]
Sten gun - noun a type of lightweight British sub-machine gun.
skittle - verb [British] knock over as if in a game of skittles: she put her hand out and skittled a row of bottles.
- skittles - noun 1 [British] (treated as singular) a game played with wooden pins, typically nine in number, set up at the end of an alley to be bowled down with a wooden ball or disc.
Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26256].
Commentary on Today's Puzzle
1a Virtually unique service and comfort ... (6)
I got the correct solution from the definition (comfort) but ended up spending an inordinate amount of time trying to decipher the wordplay. Taking a peek at Big Dave's site, I had barely started to read his hint when the answer hit me like a flash. "Virtually" is a synonym for "nearly or almost" and indicates that (as the first element of this charade) we need a string of letters that almost forms a word meaning "unique" or, in other words, we must find a word meaning "unique" and drop the final letter.
4a ... service and structured care, making a killing (8)
The only reason for the ellipses in the first two clues, as far as I can see, is that both contain the word "service". Otherwise, they appear to be unrelated. At Big Dave's site, Barrie complains "I just don’t think [the use of ellipsis] adds much to the clue other than to confuse". I guess my reply to Barrie would be that the setter seems to have achieved his end (a conclusion that Barrie eventually seems to reach himself!).
I noted that the solution to this clue might also have been clued something along the lines of "Service with a rite and service with a right", where a MASS could perhaps be seen to be a service during which one or more rites are performed (if not considered to be a rite in itself) and ACRE would be an ACE (service) containing (with) R (right). Some variation on this theme has surely appeared somewhere, but I don't recall ever having encountered it.
27a A winning tune from the home help (2,4)
I have always wondered about the origin of the term au pair. I think the origin can be deciphered from an entry in Collins English Dictionary which provides, as one definition of au pair, "a young person who lives temporarily with a family abroad in exchange for a reciprocal arrangement with his or her own family" in combination with this note on the origin of the term from Oxford "Origin: late 19th century; from French, literally 'on equal terms'. The phrase was originally adjectival, describing an arrangement between two parties paid for by the exchange of mutual services; the noun usage dates from the 1960s". It would appear that this term, originally applied to a reciprocal arrangement, is now also being applied to similar arrangements even though they are not reciprocal in nature.
Signing off for today - Falcon
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.