Thursday, August 18, 2011 - DT 26561

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26561
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26561]
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
Notes: This puzzle is a pangram.

Introduction

I needed a bit of help from my Tool Chest today. In retrospect, the clues that eluded me (12a, 23a, 3d, and 9d) do not appear to be any more difficult than others in the puzzle. Nevertheless, I sometimes seem to have a mental block with respect to certain clues - where, if I don't see the solution immediately, I may never see it. It did not help that I had entered STILL SHOTS at 10a. Although it seemed to satisfy the wordplay, the term did not ring entirely true. However, that is not always a reliable indicator as the British often use expressions that I have never heard of. I also had NIGHTSHOWS at 5d (another questionable - and eventually found to be incorrect - attempt). At least that error did not affect the checking letters for the intersecting across clues. Finally, I failed to notice that the puzzle is a pangram (i.e., the solutions to the clues include every letter of the alphabet).

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.

tinker - verb attempt to repair or improve something in a casual or desultory way: he spent hours tinkering with the car

Appearing in Solutions:

boot¹ - noun 3 British [North American trunk] an enclosed space at the back of a car for carrying luggage or other goods.

hare - verb British run with great speed: he hared off between the trees

Jericho - [The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition] (humorous) noun a remote out-of-the-way place, to which one is consigned. [Supposed to refer to Bible, 2 Samuel 10:4-5]

laird - noun (in Scotland) a person who owns a large estate.

off-licence - noun British a shop selling alcoholic drink for consumption elsewhere.

potter¹ - [British] (North American putter) verb [a] occupy oneself in a desultory but pleasant way: I'm quite happy just to potter about by myself here [b] [with adverbial of direction] move or go in a casual, unhurried way: I might potter into Nice for the day

Signing off for today - Falcon