Thursday, September 15, 2011 - DT 26585

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26585
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26585]
Big Dave's Review Written By Falcon
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

Although I had reviewed this puzzle for Big Dave's Crossword Blog when it first appeared in June in the U.K., I failed to recognize it this morning until I was well into it. Even more disconcerting, I even needed to call upon my electronic assistants to help out with three clues (12a, 14a, and 1d).

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.

pile¹ - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun 5. A very large building or complex of buildings. [Collins English Dictionary] noun 5. a large building or group of buildings

post² - noun 1 [a] chiefly British the official service or system that delivers letters and parcels: [i] winners will be notified by post; [ii] the tickets are in the post [b] letters and parcels delivered: she was opening her post [c] [in singular] a single collection or delivery of mail: entries must be received no later than first post on 14 June [d] used in names of newspapers: the Washington Post

tick¹ - noun 2 [2^nd entry] British informal a moment: [i] I shan’t be a tick; [ii] I’ll be with you in a tick

Appearing in Solutions:

air hostess - noun British a stewardess in a passenger aircraft.

domestic - noun 2 British informal a violent quarrel between family members, especially husband and wife: they are often called to sort out a domestic

Ind. - abbreviation 2 India or Indian.

ransom - noun [2^nd entry] the holding or freeing of a captive in return for payment of a ransom: the capture and ransom of the king

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.

22a   Country post in which one gets demoted (4)

In Britain the word "post" is synonymous with MAIL. If we demote the I (one) - i.e., move it to a lesser position (from 3^rd to 4^th) - we get MALI (a country [in West Africa]).

In typical Canadian fashion, we tend to use a mishmash of British and American English. Thus, while some of us might post a letter, the majority of us would be far more likely to mail one. We would almost certainly receive a letter in the mail (rather than in the post). Nevertheless, the organization responsible for delivering the mail is called Canada Post.

Signing off for today - Falcon