Wednesday, June 22, 2011 (DT 26513)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26513
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26513]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
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 █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

It is a rainy day in Ottawa which provides an opportunity to catch up on some unfinished puzzles and missing blog posts. There were at least two solutions that I worked out solely from the wordplay without having the slightest idea of the word - those dealing with the Cornish expression at 2d and the British Monopoly board at 20d.

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.

oligarch - noun 1 a ruler in an oligarchy. 2 (especially in Russia) a very rich businessman with a great deal of political influence.

Word trends: If it‘s true that money is power, then oligarch is the perfect name for the new breed of ultra-rich businessmen. Originally, an oligarch was one of a very small group of leaders of a country. Most of today’s oligarchs gained their fortunes very quickly after the fall of the former Soviet republics, and though they do not have any official political power their massive fortunes can mean they have influence over governments and politicians. Unsurprisingly, the word oligarch has acquired some negative associations, reflected in the examples seen in the Oxford English Corpus — corrupt, exiled, and jailed are all common collocates, as is so-called, a sign of anger at the assumption of political influence the name oligarch implies: millions of citizens revile the so-called oligarchs. See also tsar (Word trends)

Appearing in Solutions:

avast - exclamation Nautical stop; cease: a sailor is expected to keep hauling until the mate hollers‘ Avast!’

emmet - noun 2. Cornish dialect a tourist or holiday-maker.

hen - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 3. Informal a woman regarded as gossipy or foolish

Mayfair - a fashionable and wealthy district in the West End of London that replaces Boardwalk in the British version of the popular board game Monopoly.

pacy (also pacey) - noun moving or progressing quickly: a pacy thriller

poly - noun informal 2 British historical a polytechnic, noun an institution of higher education offering courses at degree level or below , especially in vocational subjects. [In Britain the term polytechnic has largely dropped out of use. In 1989 British polytechnics gained autonomy from local education authorities and in 1992 were able to call themselves universities.]

plutocrat - noun often derogatory a person whose power derives from their wealth.

prat - noun informal 1 British an incompetent or stupid person; an idiot. 2 a person's buttocks.

RU - [3^rd entry] abbreviation rugby union.

S² - symbol [1^st entry] the chemical element sulphur.

Sky - brand name for satellite television providers and channels across the world, owned or partially owned by News Corporation.

sky pilot - noun, slang a clergyman, especially a military chaplain.

tend² - verb intransitive 2 to move slightly, lean or slope in a specified direction.

tout¹ - noun 1 [1^st entry] (also ticket tout) British a person who buys up tickets for an event to resell them at a profit.

Signing off for today - Falcon