Wednesday, June 24, 2009 (DT 25857)

This puzzle was originally published Friday, February 20, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I personally found today's puzzle to be considerably more difficult than yesterday's. In fact, I nearly capitulated with four clues left to solve, but luckily I did stumble upon the correct Spanish resort - after which the solutions to the remaining clues fell rapidly into place.

Tip of the Day - Postscript

I see xwd_fiend has left a comment regarding my musings yesterday on the possible structure of a clue that references a second clue in the particular case where there are two possibilities for the referenced clue (i.e., both a down and an across clue). It seems that I was being far too creative in my imaginings and that the structure of such a clue would actually be much simpler than I had supposed.

I also should have pointed out that, in any clue which references another clue by clue number, one should expect the reference (i.e., the number of the referenced clue) to be written as a numeral (e.g., it should be written as "10" rather than "ten"). I do recall one case where it appeared that this was practice was not followed which led to a large hue and cry on the blogs regarding the failure by the setter (or editor) to observe this convention.

Update:

I note that Big Dave has recently left a comment to yesterday's post that "Some setters have been known to put the clue reference in words, not digits!" While this doesn't necessarily refute my own experience that I described above, it may indicate that such an occurrence may not be the isolated incident that I had assumed it to be.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

crumbs - colloq an expression of mild surprise, dismay, etc.

lam - Brit. slang to thrash or strike

palinode - a poem in which the poet retracts a view or sentiment expressed in a former poem

Rees - a Welsh name

Today's Links

I found three questions on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle. They (together with the clues to which they relate) are:

AnswerBank [DT 25857]-a: 1ac

AnswerBank [DT 25857]-b: none

AnswerBank [DT 25857]-c: 26ac

Some of the chatter on AnswerBank concerned problems with the online version of the puzzle.

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25857].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

3d British leader, one held to be a stupid leader (8)

The wording of this clue seems a bit awkward to my ear. I also felt - similar to Peter Biddlecombe writing on Big Dave's blog - that one does not need to be a leader to be a BONEHEAD. However, Peter does appear to (somewhat grudgingly) accept the wording within the context of the clue. For a brief moment I had the thought that the wording might be improved by changing the word "leader" to "one" - then I realized that idea was pretty well precluded by fact that the word "one" already appeared in the clue.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

I have not produced a solution today, as Big Dave's review seems more than adequate. If you have difficulty deciphering any of the clues, please leave a comment asking for an explanation and I will be more than happy to oblige.

Signing off for today - Falcon