Friday, December 24, 2010 (DT 26352)

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26352
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26352]
Big Dave's Review Written By CrypticSue
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ***	Enjoyment - **
Falcon's Performance *****

Introduction

I had solved all but one clue before setting the puzzle aside. When I finally picked it up again, I managed to come up with the solution to the lone remaining clue. The solutions to a couple of clues would have to be described as educated -or perhaps just plain lucky - guesses. Those would include the Briticism 12a and the European plant at 13a (which was the last clue to be solved).

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle

Appearing in Solutions:
hum - noun 3 British informal smell unpleasant: when the wind drops this stuff really hums.

Liberal Party (abbreviation Lib) - one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party (the SDP) to form a new party which would become known as the Liberal Democrats.

NT - abbreviation Bridge no trump(s).

prop¹ - noun 2 (also prop forward) Rugby a forward at either end of the front row of a scrum.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712  – 1778) - major Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy heavily influenced the French Revolution, as well as the American Revolution and the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.

ragwort - noun a yellow-flowered ragged-leaved European plant of the daisy family, which is a common weed of grazing land and is toxic to livestock. Genus Senecio, family Compositae: several species, in particular S. jacobaea.

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.

2d Better sort of garden party? (5)

The definition is "better" (in the sense of 'perform better than') and the solution is OUTDO. If the numeration were (3,2) this could also be a reference to a DO (party) held in the garden (outdoors). In Britain, garden means all the property surrounding a home, what one would call a yard in North America. In North America, garden generally refers strictly to that area set aside specifically for growing flowers and vegetables.

Signing off for today - Falcon