Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - DT 26542

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26542
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26542]
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

It is a fairly easy puzzle today. Gazza comments that "It seems to have a North American bias". Well, there may be a few North American references - but they are sprinkled lightly over a solid base of Briticisms.

As for biotechnology meaning ergonomics, this is a new usage for me. As Gazza observes, Chambers shows this as a North American usage. On the other hand, the Collins English Dictionary identifies this meaning of biotechnology as terminology specific to the field of Psychology (where it has quite a different meaning from the better known one from the field of Biochemistry).

By the way, Gazza responds to a comment dealing with the themed puzzle published in the U.K. on Easter Monday (and in the National Post on July 19) with the suggestion "... in the case of a themed puzzle based on a specific date I think if/when it’s syndicated there’ll be a note printed with it saying something like: This puzzle first appeared in the UK on Good Friday/ St. Patrick’s Day or whatever." No, Gazza, that doesn't happen. Solvers of the syndicated puzzle (at least subscribers to the National Post) are left to figure that out for themselves. While it is not a major issue for me as I track (for the purpose of my blog) the date when the puzzle was originally published, many solvers would certainly not have a clue. Keep in mind that the puzzle is not identified by number and - in fact - is not even identified as having originated with The Daily Telegraph.

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.

assume - [American Heritage Dictionary] verb 4. To put on; don: The queen assumed a velvet robe.

drawing room - noun [1^st entry] a room in a large private house in which guests can be received and entertained. [Origin: mid 17th century (denoting a private room attached to a more public one): abbreviation of 16th-century withdrawing-room ‘a room to withdraw to’]

fellow - noun 3 [2^nd entry] British an incorporated senior member of a college: a tutorial fellow

Appearing in Solutions:

*char³ - (also cha or chai) noun British informal tea.

*don¹ - noun 1 British a university teacher, especially a senior member of a college at Oxford or Cambridge

emmet - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 1. British an archaic or dialect word for ant 2. Cornish dialect a tourist or holiday-maker

Guthrie - a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex.

Woody Guthrie - (1912 – 1967) American singer-songwriter and folk musician (born in Okemah, Oklahoma) whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works.

*it¹ - pronoun 8 (usually ‘it’) informal sexual intercourse or sex appeal

lounge - noun 1 [3^rd entry] British a sitting room in a house.

sitting room - noun chiefly British a room in a house in which people can sit down and relax.

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

vert¹ - noun green, as a heraldic tincture: [postpositive] three piles vert

Signing off for today - Falcon