Tuesday, February 22, 2011 (DT 26405)

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26405
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Setter Shamus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26405]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ***	Enjoyment - ***
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┐ ████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┘

Introduction

The planets have aligned and this 'Tuesday' puzzle is actually appearing here in Canada on a Tuesday. My thought processes must also have aligned with those of the setter, in that I was able to complete it without resorting to my Tool Chest. In part, this was imposed on me by necessity seeing that I finished the puzzle while sitting in my doctor's waiting room.

Today's Glossary

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

[Items marked with an asterisk are from a Cumulative Glossary of entries appearing, since the beginning of this year, in either this blog or its companion blog, the Ottawa Citizen Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Solutions:

chinless wonder - noun British informal an ineffectual upper-class man

dowager - noun

• a widow with a title or property derived from her late husband
  • [as modifier]: the dowager duchess
  • [postpositive]: the queen dowager
• informal a dignified elderly woman

* Financial Times (FT) - a British international business newspaper [conspicuously published on pink newsprint]

nick - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun 2. Chiefly British Slang A prison or police station

* nit¹ - noun informal 2 British a foolish person: you stupid nit!

sup¹ - noun

• a sip of liquid: he took another sup of wine
• Northern English & Irish alcoholic drink

takeaway - noun

• 1 British a restaurant or shop selling cooked food to be eaten elsewhere: 
  • a fast-food takeaway 
  • [as modifier]: a takeaway pizza
• a meal or dish bought from a shop or restaurant to be eaten elsewhere

taster - noun 2 British a small quantity or brief experience of something, intended as a sample: the song is a taster for the band's new LP

time - noun 2 [15^th entry] British the moment at which the opening hours of a pub end: the landlord called time

River Ure - river in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 119km long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse

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.

1a   Sort of dense and clownish with modicum of refinement? (8,6)

This clue undoubtedly merits dissecting, given that some of the Brits did not appear to understand it even after learning that it is an & lit. clue. In fact, judging by comments on Big Dave's Blog, it would seem that some Brits might have liked to have had the clue drawn and quartered.

The clue is a true & lit. (all-in-one) in which the entire clue serves as the definition as well as the wordplay. The solution, CHINLESS WONDER, is a British expression describing "an ineffectual upper-class man". Thus we have someone who, although possessing a bit (modicum) of refinement (presumably due to their upper class upbringing), is not too bright (sort of dense) and doesn't act in a very dignified manner (sort of clownish). The wordplay is an anagram of (sort of) DENSE + (and) CLOWNISH + first letter of (modicum of) R(efinement).

21a   Drunk holding paper, edition showing some parts of body? (4,6)

Those who follow Big Dave's Cryptic Crossword  Blog will no doubt recall an illustration accompanying the review of the previous puzzle, the one which appeared in the National Post last Friday - the puzzle, that is, not the picture (unfortunately). The picture showed a buxom young woman wearing North American braces (and precious little else). Well, not entirely true, she was wearing jeans.

The present clue had many Brits wondering what picture Big Dave might choose to illustrate it. Given the solution to the clue, I wonder if the ladies might have been suggesting that fairness dictated a picture of a male. I must say the comments triggered visions of Michelangelo's David standing in the Piazza della Signoria holding a bottle of Chianti while reading a newspaper. 

26a   Medical intervention that's important here's roughly done exposing hospital? (7,7)

The definition is "medical intervention" for which the solution is KEYHOLE SURGERY. The wordplay is KEY (important) + an anagram of {HERES ROUG[H]LY with the H (hospital) being deleted (exposing)}.

The rationale for using the word "exposing" as a deletion indicator may arise from the term "outing" (meaning exposing) which, in another context, could mean 'removing or ejecting'. In the fanciful world of cryptic crosswords, we sometimes see this sort of indirect establishment of 'equivalence' through the logic of 'If A = B¹, and B² = C, then A = C) - of course, ignoring the real world fact that B¹ does not equal B².

Signing off for today - Falcon