Monday, September 5, 2011 - DT 26575

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26575
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, June 10, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26575]
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
Notes This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page of the Saturday, September 3, 2011 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

I solved three quadrants without assistance, but I was totally unable to make inroads in the south-west quadrant until I popped open my trusty Tool Chest. I did learn a few new words today. I also learned that I must read the clues more carefully - I carelessly entered STRAP at 9a, merely because it was a good match for the definition. I also missed the reversal contained in the wordplay at 22a, thinking that the clue was simply a cryptic definition.

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.

bottle - noun 2 British informal the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous: I lost my bottle completely and ran

charity - noun 3 [a] kindness and tolerance in judging others: she found it hard to look on her mother with much charity [b] archaic love of humankind, typically in a Christian context: faith, hope, and charity

Appearing in Solutions:

chaplet - noun 2 a string of 55 beads (one third of the rosary number) for counting prayers, or as a necklace.

Czech - noun 1 a native or inhabitant of the Czech Republic or (formerly) Czechoslovakia, or a person of Czech descent.

*ER - abbreviation Queen Elizabeth. [from Latin Elizabetha Regina]

innings - noun (plural same or informal inningses) 1 Cricket [a] each of two or four divisions of a game during which one side has a turn at batting: the highlight of the Surrey innings [b] a player’s turn at batting: he had played his greatest innings [c] the score achieved during a player’s turn at batting: a solid innings of 78 by Marsh

la place - French the place (position)

[Pierre Simon, Marquis de] Laplace - (1749–1827), French applied mathematician and theoretical physicist. His treatise Mécanique céleste (1799–1825) is an extensive mathematical analysis of geophysical matters and of planetary and lunar motion.

Franz Liszt - (1811–86), Hungarian composer and pianist. He was a key figure in the romantic movement; many of his piano compositions combine lyricism with great technical complexity, while his twelve symphonic poems (1848–58) created a new musical form.

mate¹ - noun 3 British informal [a] a friend or companion: my best mate Steve [b] used as a friendly form of address between men or boys: ‘See you then, mate.’

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

orpine (also orpin) - noun a purple-flowered Eurasian stonecrop. [Sedum telephium, family Crassulaceae]

osier - noun [a] a small Eurasian willow which grows mostly in wet habitats. It is usually coppiced, being a major source of the long flexible shoots (withies) used in basketwork. [Salix viminalis, family Salicaceae] [b] a shoot of a willow. [c] dated any willow tree.

recollection - cryptic crossword convention read this as re-collection, i.e., to collect again (the inference being that one collects the letters again, but in a different order)

rien - French nothing

SA - abbreviation [2^nd entry] informal, dated sex appeal.

[Edmund] Spenser - (circa 1552–99), English poet. He is best known for his allegorical romance The Faerie Queene (1590; 1596), celebrating Queen Elizabeth I and written in the Spenserian stanza.

SS¹ - abbreviation [4^th entry] steamship: the SS Canberra

table - noun 1 [[2^nd entry] [in singular] food provided in a restaurant or household: he was reputed to have the finest French table of the time

tent³ - [Collins English Dictionary] noun Obsolete a red table wine from Alicante, Spain

Appearing on Big Dave's Site

sub - noun 2 British a subscription [fee or dues]: the annual sub for the golf club will be £200

Gazza employs "... someone who has paid his or her subs in a club ..." as a hint for 'member'.

Signing off for today - Falcon