Thursday, March 10, 2011 (DT 26419)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26419
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, December 9, 2010
Setter Ray T
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26419]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
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 found this puzzle to be the most challenging that we have seen in a while, meaning my Tool Chest was called into service relatively early today. However, I did recall that, in Britain, porridge is not necessarily something one has for breakfast.

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.

porridge - noun 2 British informal time spent in prison: I'm sweating it out doing porridge

*rum² - adjective British informal, dated odd; peculiar: it's a rum business, certainly

Appearing in Solutions:

*duck⁵ - noun Cricket a batsman's score of nought: he was out for a duck

*ER - abbreviation Queen Elizabeth. [from Latin Elizabetha Regina]

eventing - noun an equestrian sport in which competitors must take part in each of several contests, usually cross-country, dressage, and showjumping

Ger. - abbreviation German

hairslide - noun British a clip for keeping a woman's hair in position

In typical fashion, the British dictionaries are at variance with regards to the spelling of this word - Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (Search Chambers): hair-slide; Collins English Dictionary (TheFreeDictionary.com): hair slide; Oxford Dictionaries Online: hairslide

press stud - noun British a small fastener on clothing, engaged by pressing its two halves together

• cf. snap - noun 8 (usually snaps) North American a press stud

*R² - abbreviation [13th entry] Cricket [not to mention baseball] (on scorecards) run(s)

rue - French street

vest - noun 1 British an undergarment worn on the upper part of the body, typically having no sleeves

• cf. undershirt - noun chiefly North American an undergarment worn under a shirt; a vest
  
  While I would say that undershirt is the much more commonly used term in Canada, the word vest is certainly also heard to some extent.
  

well² - noun 2 a plentiful source or supply: she could feel a deep well of sympathy and compassion verb (often well up) (of a liquid) rise up to the surface and spill or be about to spill: tears were beginning to well up in her eyes; (of an emotion) develop and become more intense: all the old bitterness began to well up inside her again

wellie (or welly) - noun British informal 1 short for wellington (also wellington boot) - noun British a knee-length waterproof rubber or plastic boot

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.

16a   Model bird put on slap (7)

Is a pat the same thing as a slap? Which would you opt for - a pat on the cheek or a slap on the cheek? One may either slap on makeup or pat it on - with the latter connoting far more care and attention to detail in the application. The two words perhaps come closest in meaning in the phrases 'a slap on the back' and 'a pat on the back' both of which are means of conveying congratulations - although the former certainly suggests a far more vigorous expression of feelings.

7d   Underwent again embracing sweetheart and broke up (8)

"Broke up" meaning "relieved" may be used in the sense found in the phrase "relieved (or broke up) the monotony"; for example, "As the train crossed the prairies, the occasional sight of a grain elevator relieved the monotony of the endless fields of wheat." Another possibility that occurred to me is that it may be used in the sense of a cold remedy relieving or breaking up a cough or congestion. Nora, writing on Big Dave's site, confirms that "Chambers has the example of ´relieved the tedium´, i.e. break up".

11d   Look up and down (4)

I quickly came to the conclusion that "look up" in this down clue meant that the solution is a word that when reversed would mean "look". There are three possible words that mean 'look' that match the checking letters (going up), PEEK, PEEP, and PEER. However, only one of these three would also mean 'look' going down.

Signing off for today - Falcon