Introduction
While I didn't find this puzzle to be quite as easy as Gazza seems to have found it, I did complete it - albeit after resorting to a hint from him to help solve one of the clues.
Today's Glossary
Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle
crew - colloq, usually derog a bunch of people (noun, defn. 4)
drill - a thick strong cotton cloth (entry 2)
flash - colloq smart and expensive (adj, defn 3)
rating - Brit an ordinary seaman (defn 2)
ring - a group of people who act together to control an undertaking for their own advantage or profit (noun, defn 11)
Today's Links
I found two questions on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle. They (together with the clues to which they relate) are:
- AnswerBank [DT 25866]-a: 22ac, 19d
- AnswerBank [DT 25866]-b: 1ac, 7d
Gazza's review of today's puzzle is found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25866].
Commentary on Today's Puzzle
14ac Turns over flash car (5)
This meaning of "flash" was not at all familiar to me, but as soon as I read Gazza's hint, the solution immediately came to me. In North American, I might expect to see a car described as "flashy" but that would mean "ostentatious" rather than "elegant". The checking letter provided by this solution also proved to be the key in clearing a mental block that was preventing me from finding the solution to 8d.
23d End of locks on very French braid (5)
There was a scathing discussion on Cryptics.co.uk regarding the use of "on" in this clue as a positional indicator meaning "follows". Those engaged in the discussion did not like this usage in general and found its use particularly inappropriate in a down clue - where "on" should indicate "preceding" rather than "following".
Signing off for today - Falcon
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