Thursday, July 30, 2009 (DT 25883)

This puzzle was originally published Monday, March 23, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Back from vacation - but still struggling to get back into my regular routine.

Today's Links

I did not find any questions on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle.

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25883].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

23ac A figure of speech satisfied a figure in speech (8)

I easily found the solution but was unable to crack the wordplay, having missed the fact that "in speech" is a homophone (sounds like) indicator. Thus, the solution is:

23ac A figure of speech [MET|A|PHOR] /\ satisfied [MET] A {figure in speech (homophone indicator) [PHOR~] (sounds like "four")} (8)

4d Father goes over Minorca having trip that's all-inclusive (9)

My reading of this clue matches that of Nigel and Mike in their posts on Big Dave's blog.

15d Building material for many on a Greek island (8)

This clue utilizes a commonly encountered cryptic crossword device where "many" must be replaced by a large Roman Numeral (e.g., L, C, D, or M); in this case, it is C :

15d Building material [C|ON|CRETE] /for\ many [C] ON {a Greek island [CRETE]} (8)

20d Bearing the right number (5)

Here is another frequently encountered cryptic crossword device, where "number" means something that causes numbness.

20d Bearing [E(ast)] THE right [R] /\ number [E|THE|R] (5)

Signing off for today - Falcon