Introduction
In accordance with its practice of recent weeks, the National Post has skipped over DT 25990 which was published in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, July 25, 2009.
It was, on the whole, a somewhat easier puzzle today. However, I got stuck it the northeast quadrant with a series of intersecting clues that defied solution. To break the gridlock, I peeked at a hint at Big Dave's site. Once I had the answer to that clue, the remainder of the puzzle fell into place quite easily.
Today's Glossary
Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle
Sir Donald Bailey - English civil engineer who invented the Bailey bridge
fly - (entry 3) Brit. cunning, smart
half - (noun, defn. 3) Brit. half a pint of beer
Old Bailey - the Central Criminal Court in London, where the most serious cases are usually tried
scene-shifter - a person who changes the scenery in a theatre (similar the reference cited, most sources spell this word without a hyphen)
Today's Links
Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25991] (apologies for the incorrect link that was originally posted and thank you to Big Dave for bringing the error to my attention - Falcon).
In case you are wondering, B&Q is "a British retailer of do-it-yourself and home improvement tools and supplies".
Commentary on Today's Puzzle
20a A bit to drink? (4,2,6)
Whereas I would order "half a pint of beer" to drink, the Brits would ask for "half a bitter". In the wordplay, of course, "bit" is also "half of bitter". Not being familiar with this expression, I struggled to find the solution here. I was fairly confident that the answer was of the form HALF XX BITTER, but I had trouble figuring out what XX is. The intersecting entry (5d) was of no help as it was causing me grief also.
24a Go in for chips without fish (5)
The wordplay, which is explained by Tilsit in his review, relies on the "fact" that Chips is apparently a common nickname for a carpenter - something I would never have guessed in a month of Sundays.
25a Low joint where a cap is worn (4)
I thought this clue might have been more effectively worded "Low joint where a cap may be worn" (i.e., damaged). The clue, as worded by the setter, seems to be merely suggesting that a cap exists on the knee (but does a knee "wear" a cap?). Altering the wording ever so slightly, allows the wordplay to encompass the idea of damage to the kneecap.
31a Exclude crafty frequenter of pubs (6)
Tilsit identifies fly as "a word more often used in the USA to mean 'crafty'". However, I have no idea from where he draws this notion. I have certainly never encountered the word used in this sense and several dictionaries clearly indicate that this meaning for the word is of British origin:
- The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition: fly adj. 1. Chiefly British Mentally alert; sharp.
- Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 6th Edition: fly adj Slang 1. Chiefly Brit knowing and sharp; smart 2. Chiefly Scot furtive or sneaky 3. Chiefly Scot in secret; sneakily
- Random House Unabridged Dictionary: fly adj. Brit. Informal. 1. clever; keen; ingenious. 2. agile; nimble.
I saw through the wordplay, but I had never heard of a "scene-shifter" (or sceneshifter, as it would appear to be more commonly spelled). I initially thought that the first part might be STAGE, but later was also considering SCENE. STAGE-MANAGER for a while seemed to be a pretty good fit; and then, for a time, I thought it might be SCENE-CHANGER. When I got really desperate, I even briefly considered STAGE-WHISPER.
7d Bridge expert in court (6)
With 7d, 8d and 10a unsolved, I was at an impasse. A hint from Tilsit allowed me to solve 7d, and the other two clues were then easily solved. I think that knowing the solution to any one of these three clues would have made the remaining two solvable.
By the way, there is a fair amount of discussion on Big Dave's blog concerning this clue - including a contribution from the setter himself. However, in the end, the reader may be left a bit confused as there appears to be no clear outcome to the discussion. My conclusion, after having read through it all, is that this is a cryptic definition that takes the form of an indirect hidden word clue with the word "in" being the hidden word indicator. The "bridge expert" is BAILEY (Sir Donald Bailey, inventor of the Bailey bridge) and "court" is Old Bailey. Consequently, BAILEY (the bridge expert) is clearly found "in" Old Bailey (the court).
Signing off for today - Falcon
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