Tuesday, August 25, 2009 (DT 25901)

This puzzle was originally published Monday, April 13, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

After the appearance yesterday of a mysterious puzzle of unknown origin substituting for DT 25900, we are back on track today with DT 25901.

Today's Glossary

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

dropout - rugby the restarting of play with a drop kick (noun, defn. 2)

Paignton - a coastal town in Devon, England

Today's Links

I found one question on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle. It (together with the clue to which it relates) is:

• AnswerBank [DT 25901]-a: 15ac

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25901].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

11ac Unsuccessful student making fresh start at Rugby (4, 3)

I note that Oxford shows "dropout" (in both senses used in this clue) as a single word. Although Chambers includes an entry only for the first sense of "dropout" given in the clue, it likewise shows it as a single word. Oxford and Chambers each have an entry for "drop out" (under the main entry for "drop" in each case) but show a somewhat different meaning for this spelling.

18ac The point of this device is not always apparent (6-3)

I quickly realized that the second part of this solution was P_N. Before additional checking letters made the answer clear, I was mulling over several possibilities. These included some type of retractable pen, some sort of pin, or even some kind of pun - any of which might have fit the clue.

21ac Got to the point - summed up without a word of hesitation (7)

I remain unconvinced that "taped" means "summed up".

1d Deposits frozen in banks (10)

Being in Canada, I suppose the solution should have readily popped to mind. However, for some reason, this clue elicited images of fertility clinics rather than shoveling snow.

14d Surrendered to another country (10)

There was a bit of a discussion on Big Dave's blog concerning whether 4d and 14d were truly cryptic clues. While I found 4d to be fairly obvious, I did think it had at least a modicum of cryptic meaning. However, I can see nothing at all cryptic about 14d.

19d Switches the films (6)

In addition to the meaning given by Tilsit in his review, switch (verb, defn. 5) can mean "flick or swing to and fro" as an animal does with its tail.

Signing off for today - Falcon