Friday, March 4, 2011 (DT 26414)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26414
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, December 3, 2010
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26414]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ***	Enjoyment - ***
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I seemed on course for a second straight unassisted finish, put pulled up one clue short. The lone holdout was 14a, and I kicked myself when I realized what the solution was. In compiling my score, I chose not to penalize myself for googling Irina Ratushinskaya. I thought she might be a ballerina, figure skater or tennis player. But no, I discovered that she is a Russian poet and was a Soviet-era political dissident. And, of course, I was at a loss to explain my solution to 24a until I had undertaken a bit of research into British rhyming slang.

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 Clues:

The meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

alternative vote - noun an electoral system whereby voters rank candidates in order of preference. In the event that one candidate fails to achieve a sufficient majority, the candidate with the fewest number of first-preference rankings is eliminated and these votes redistributed, the process being repeated until one candidate achieves the required majority: support for the alternative vote is now very strong; [as modifier] the alternative vote system

Appearing in Solutions:

*a/c - abbreviation bookkeeping, etc 1 account 2 account current

annal - noun [while the plural annals is commonly used in North America, the usage in the singular is possibly a particularly British variation, judging by the dictionaries in which it is found]

• a record of the events of one year: the annal for 1032
• a record of one item in a chronicle
  
 
Origin: (late 17th century) back-formation from  annals

annals - plural noun 1 a yearly historical records of events; b recorded history in general. 2 (annal) a single entry in a historical record or an entry relating to one particular year. 3 regular reports of the work of an organization

AV - abbreviation [1^st entry] alternative vote (or voting)

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846–1917) - American soldier, bison hunter and showman who was one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, and mostly famous for the shows he organized with cowboy themes

D² - abbreviation 3 cards diamonds

(Plymouth) Hoe (referred to locally as the Hoe) - a large south facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and it commands magnificent views of Plymouth Sound, Drake's Island, and across the Hamoaze to Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Hoe, a sloping ridge shaped like an inverted foot and heel.

Labour - noun 2 [treated as singular or plural] the Labour Party [a  political party in the UK]: [as modifier] the Labour leader

loo¹ - noun British informal a toilet

O² - symbol the chemical element oxygen

*OR - abbreviation [3^rd entry] Military, British other ranks (as opposed to commissioned officers)

sch. - abbreviation school

tea leaf - noun 2 British rhyming slang a thief


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.

18d   Labour lag behind with introduction of alternative vote? (7)

With 'proportional representation' yesterday and 'alternative vote' today, methinks the Brits must be preoccupied with changing  their system of voting.

20d   Girl of 5, dreadfully idle worm (7)

In this clue, the figure "5" is a cross-reference to clue 5d. Through this device, the setter is telling us that the solution to this clue involves the same girl's name as was used in 5d. A figure appearing in a clue is often a cross-reference. On rare occasions, I have also seen a cross-reference where the number was shown as a word rather than a figure.

Signing off for today - Falcon