Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - DT 26554

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26554
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Setter Shamus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26554]
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

After being called upon yesterday to do some fairly strenuous duty, my electronic assistants received a well-deserved rest today. Despite being relatively easy, the puzzle was still a very enjoyable solve. Like most North Americans, I expect, I tried desperately to work 'nativity' into the solution to 28a. However, it would seem that crèche has a totally different meaning in the U.K. than here. Finally, I do have one minor quibble - surely redundant (4d) means 'no longer needed' rather than 'no longer operational' (which are really two quite different scenarios).

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.

crèche - noun 1 British a nursery where babies and young children are cared for during the working day. 2 North American a representation of the nativity scene.

golf - noun 2 a code word representing the letter G, used in radio communication.

ground¹ - noun 2 [3^rd entry] an area of land, often with associated buildings, used for a particular sport: a football [or cricket] ground; Liverpool's new ground is nearing completion

over - noun Cricket a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

Appearing in Solutions:

Eindhoven - a city in the south of the Netherlands; population 210,333 (2008). The city is a major producer of electrical and electronic goods.

River Exe - an English river that rises in Somerset, near the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south (English Channel) coast of Devon.

NT - abbreviation [1^st entry] National Trust, a trust for the preservation of places of historic interest or natural beauty in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, founded in 1895 and supported by endowment and private subscription. The National Trust for Scotland was founded in 1931.

on drive - noun Cricket a drive [a ball hit hard] to the on side (also on), noun Cricket the leg side (also leg)

leg - (also leg side, on or on side) noun 5 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.

*or² - noun gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

Pl. - abbreviation used in street names: Place.

sister - noun 4 (often Sister) British a senior female nurse, typically in charge of a ward.

Tay - the longest river in Scotland, flowing 192 km (120 miles) eastwards through Loch Tay, entering the North Sea through the Firth of Tay.

und - German and

Signing off for today - Falcon