Puzzle at a Glance |
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Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26464 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, February 1, 2011 | |
Setter Shamus | |
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26464] | |
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza | |
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's puzzle was a good challenge, but I was able to complete most of it without outside help. However, I needed to call in the assistance of my Tool Chest to crack four clues in the northwest quadrant (9a, 12a, 1d and 4d). Like a number of the Brits, I also failed to notice the wordplay at 18a, supposing that the clue was merely a cryptic definition. And, finally, I did not detect that the puzzle is a pangram.
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.]
[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.
*brass - noun 4 British informal money: they wanted to spend their newly acquired brass.
Appearing in Solutions:
*a/c - abbreviation bookkeeping, etc 1 account. 2 account current.
chorizo - noun a spicy Spanish pork sausage.
Co. - abbreviation company: the Consett Iron Co
*E2 - abbreviation 3 East. 8 English. 10 European.
extractor - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 4 short for extractor fan, a fan used in kitchens, bathrooms, workshops, etc., to remove stale air or fumes. [In North America, this would likely be called an exhaust fan.]
F2 - abbreviation 3 Fellow (of a society, etc).
K3 - abbreviation 6 chess knight.
*L2 - abbreviation 1 lake.
*N2 - abbreviation 6 North.
*nob1 - noun British informal a person of wealth or high social position.
*OR - abbreviation [3rd entry] Military, British other ranks (as opposed to commissioned officers).
R2 or R. - abbreviation 5 River.
Tay - the longest river in Scotland, flowing 192 km (120 miles) eastwards through Loch Tay, entering the North Sea through the Firth of Tay.
true-bred - [The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition] adjective pure-bred; typical; of good breeding.
*U (5) - abbreviation 2 Education university.
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.
10d Compromise effectively disappointing customers? (5-3)
My interpretation of the wordplay here seems to have missed the mark by a bit. I had supposed that "off" (as an adjective) might mean 'disappointed'. Had this been correct, and since "trade" can mean customers, "trade off" would have signified 'disappointed customers'. It would appear that is not the case. Although "off" can take many meanings including annoying, unfair, unfriendly or hostile, it seems that the list does not include disappointed. Gazza points out in his review that "trade off" is "a semi-cryptic way of saying that a company is not open for business".
Signing off for today - Falcon
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