Puzzle at a Glance |
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Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26536 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, April 26, 2011 | |
Setter Unknown | |
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26536] | |
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 █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog | |
Introduction
Today's puzzle tends toward the easier side, although it is not without an ample dose of Briticisms.
If, on reading the comments posted on Big Dave's site, you are left scratching your head by the term Nina, you can find out more about it at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26044]. In brief, it is a message hidden in the crossword. Today's Nina is contained in the top and bottom rows of the grid and apparently relates to another puzzle published in The Daily Telegraph on the day that this puzzle appeared.
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.
daily - noun informal 2 (also daily help) British dated a woman who is employed to clean someone else's house each day.
Dunkel (or Dunkles) - a dark German beer. Dunkel is the German word meaning dark, and dunkel beers typically range in colour from amber to dark reddish brown. They are characterized by their smooth malty flavour.[
gen - noun British informal information: you've got more gen on him than we have
*leg - noun 5 (also leg side, on or on side) Cricket the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball. The opposite of off.
Appearing in Solutions:
broken reed - phrase a weak or ineffectual person.
char2 - noun British informal a charwoman, noun British dated a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office.
eggshell porcelain - noun a type of very thin translucent porcelain originally made in China
let1 - verb 3 [1st entry] chiefly British allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments: she let the flat to a tenant; they've let out their house
let2 - verb archaic hinder: pray you let us not; we fain would greet our mother
*mo - noun [in singular] informal, chiefly British a short period of time: hang on a mo!
*on side - (also on) noun Cricket the leg side (also leg) [see entry for leg in Appearing in Clues above]
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. [Usage: 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.]
RAF - abbreviation (in the UK) Royal Air Force.
*read - verb 5 chiefly British study (an academic subject) at a university: I'm reading English at Cambridge; [no object] he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.
Appearing at Big Dave's Site:
soldier - noun 3 British informal a strip of bread or toast, used for dipping into a soft-boiled egg.
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.
8a Duff gen put down leaving country (7)
In the cryptic reading of this clue, "duff" acts as an anagram indicator. However, as duff can take on a broad range of meanings, it is a bit unclear which meaning it takes in either the surface or the cryptic reading. Among the possible choices (as well as some other rather improbable meanings) are:
- duff1 - noun [usually with modifier] a flour pudding boiled or steamed in a cloth bag: a currant duff
- duff2 - adjective British informal [a] of very poor quality: duff lyrics [b] incorrect or false: she played a couple of duff notes noun North American & Scottish decaying vegetable matter covering the ground under trees.
- duff3 - verb informal 1 (duff someone up) British beat someone up. 2 Australian steal and alter brands on (cattle). 3 Golf, British mishit (a shot).
- duff4 - noun North American informal a person's buttocks: I did not get where I am today by sitting on my duff
- duff5 - noun (in phrase up the duff) British informal pregnant: it looks like he's got her up the duff
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