Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26321 | |
|---|---|
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 17, 2010 | |
Setter Ray T | |
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26321] | |
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza | |
| Big Dave's Rating | |
| Difficulty - **** | Enjoyment - **** |
Introduction
Given that Gazza awarded this puzzle four stars for difficulty (as well as a similar number for enjoyment), I felt more than satisfied with my solving time. The bottom right-hand corner was the last part of the puzzle to be completed, and 27a and 21 down were the final two clues to be solved. Interestingly, they share a similar clue structure - perhaps that is an indication that this type of clue is my bête noire.
Today's Glossary
Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle
Appearing in Solutions:
bent - adjective 2 British slang a dishonest; corrupt • bent officers in the force; b obtained dishonestly; stolen • bent goods.
blackleg - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun 4. Chiefly British A worker who is opposed to trade unions; a scab.
CID - abbreviation Criminal Investigation Department, the detective branch of the British police force
detective inspector (abbreviation DI) - an officer holding the rank of inspector in the Criminal Investigation Department of a British police force
Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).fishmonger - [Collins English Dictionary] noun Chiefly British a retailer of fish
ling 1 - noun any of a number of long-bodied edible marine fishes:
- a large East Atlantic fish related to the cod (genus Molva, family Gadidae), in particular M. molva, which is of commercial importance
- a related Australian fish (Lotella callarias, family Gadidae)
- a similar but unrelated Australian fish (Genypterus blacodes, family Ophidiidae)
Commentary on Today's Puzzle
This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.
24a Amazon I leapt bridging river (4)
In a recent post containing a primer on cryptic crosswords, I wrote about the surface reading of clues. Here is a clue with a very awkward surface reading - one I am sure would not be found in everyday speech. I presume we are supposed to interpret the surface reading along the lines of 'I leapt over the Amazon thereby bridging the river'. The meanings given in the British dictionaries for the verb bridge are "to build or provide a bridge over something" and "to connect or reduce the distance between". American dictionaries also add a slightly different meaning that does include the idea of crossing a gap, "to cross by or as if by a bridge". However, jumping across a river hardly seems to be the same as crossing it on a bridge.
27a Obtain fortune without getting praise (10)
I spent considerable time trying to solve this clue as "a word meaning "obtain" containing (outside) a synonym for "getting praise" - only to eventually discover that it is just the opposite. It is one of those recipe-type clues, where one must:
Step 1 - Start with: ELICIT (obtain)
Step2 - Add: FATE (fortune) outside (without) the interim result from Step 1
Result (getting): FELICITATE (praise)
21d Violent Labour leader's in recovery (7)
This is yet another recipe-type clue on which I fruitlessly expended a lot of effort before seeing the light.
Step 1 - Start with: SAVAGE (violent)
Step 2 - Add: L (Labour leader; i.e., the first letter of "Labour") inside (in) the interim result from Step 1
Result: SALVAGE (recovery)
Signing off for today - Falcon
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