Wednesday, April 27, 2011 (DT 26460)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26460
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, January 27, 2011
Setter Ray T
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 264xx]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Today we have quite an enjoyable exercise served up by Ray T. It is perhaps a bit less challenging than his typical fare and he seems to be a bit more restrained than is sometimes the case - there being no blatantly risqué entries. However, read carefully and you will find a hint of his unmistakable style in clues such as 3d and 6d.

Today's Glossary

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

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the Ottawa Citizen Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues:

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.

The Independent - a newspaper in the United Kingdom owned since 2010 by the former KGB officer Alexander Lebedev. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition; The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily newspapers.

rhubarb - noun

• 3 British informal the noise made by a group of actors to give the impression of indistinct background conversation, especially by the random repetition of the word ‘rhubarb’.
• nonsense: it was all rhubarb, about me, about her daughter, about art
• 4 North American informal a heated dispute

Appearing in Solutions:

antipodes - plural noun (usually the Antipodes) two points on the Earth's surface that are diametrically opposite each other, especially Australia and New Zealand as being opposite Europe

cheroot - noun a cigar with both ends open

diabolo - noun a game in which a two-headed top is thrown up and caught with a string stretched between two sticks; the wooden top used in the game of diabolo

dosser - noun British informal, derogatory 1 a person who sleeps rough; a tramp 2 an idle person

Electra complex - noun Psychoanalysis old-fashioned term for the Oedipus complex as manifested in young girls

ide - noun another term for orfe (a silvery freshwater fish of the carp family, which is fished commercially in eastern Europe; Leuciscus idus, family Cyprinidae)

*mo - noun [in singular] informal, chiefly British a short period of time: hang on a mo!

*ness - noun [usually in place names] a headland or promontory: Orford Ness

Signing off for today - Falcon