Tuesday, November 24, 2009 (DT 25995)

This puzzle was originally published Friday, July 31, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

It was quite a challenging undertaking today - and especially so for a North American, due to the numerous Briticisms the puzzle contains. But even the Brits found it difficult - Big Dave's site awards it four stars for difficulty, so I feel quite a sense of accomplishment at not only having completed it, but at having understood the wordplay. In the words of Libellule, who writes the review of today's puzzle on Big Dave's blog, "Giovanni [the setter] returned with a vengeance today, and woke all of us up".

Today's Glossary

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

bob - Brit. shilling, a former unit of currency in the UK

boffin - Brit. a scientist or technical expert

gong - (noun, defn. 2) Brit. a medal or decoration

Hampshire - a county on the south coast of England

Maine Road - former stadium in Manchester, England and once home to Manchester City F.C. (Football Club)

maths - Brit. short for mathematics (the equivalent term in North America would be math)

John Stuart Mill - English philosopher

millpond - (noun, defn. 2) Brit. (?) a very still and calm stretch of water (a possible Briticism as I only found this sense of the word appearing in British dictionaries - Chambers, Oxford and Collins)

OBE - Brit. (Officer of the) Order of the British Empire, an award given to honour personal or professional excellence, or services to the country

Oberon - a legendary king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature

poly - (noun, defn. 2) Brit. a polytechnic: an institution of higher education offering courses at degree level or below (little used after 1992, when British polytechnics became able to call themselves ‘universities’)

post - Brit. letters and parcels delivered (or to be delivered) by the Post Office (i.e., mail in North America)

s - abbreviation (defn. 2) formerly in the UK: a shilling or shillings

scruff - Brit. a scruffy person

signpost - verb Brit. to indicate (a place or feature) with a signpost

Marie Stopes - Scottish campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of family planning

sundry - (Collins English Dictionary, noun, defn. 2) an Australian name for extra (while the definition in Collins points to definition [6] for extra "something that is better than usual in quality", Collins English Dictionary, noun, defn. 6, I would conclude from Libellule's remarks on Big Dave's blog that the cross-reference is incorrect and it should actually point to definition [5] for extra "Cricket a run not scored from the bat, such as a wide, no-ball, bye, or leg bye" Collins English Dictionary, noun, defn. 5)

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25995].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

11a Appear "lacking," as one might say, without a stitch on (8)

Here the wordplay is:

SEEM (appear) LESS (lacking) sounds like (as one might say) SEAMLESS

As for the meaning of the remainder, there is some discussion at Big Dave's site on that topic. Libellule wonders, "Hmmm, not sure if this works…." One writer suggests "If you “stitch on” a piece of cloth to another you form a seam. A piece of cloth with no seams has no “stitch on”."

I did check to see if "stitch on" might be a noun meaning something stitched on, but failed to find such a meaning in any dictionary that I consulted.

For me, "seamless material" would be "material with no stitch on it". Therefore the wording appears incomplete to me without the final pronoun "it". But including the "it" would mess up the surface reading, which evokes the image of nakedness ("without a stitch on").

Although unlikely, perhaps this an example of a regional dialect. People from the Lunenburg area of Nova Scotia typically omit final pronouns. I always find it a bit strange to hear them say things such as "If you're going downtown, can I come with?", dropping the pronoun "you".

21 Indicate what executive must do before letters can go out? (8)

One responsibility of an executive is to "sign post" before it is posted (mailed). The British also use "signpost" as a verb meaning "to indicate" - a meaning not common (if it exists at all) in North America. This is worth noting since Libellule, in his review, refers to "an indicator that displays information" (i.e., a noun). While this may be perfectly acceptable, given that it is merely intended as a hint, the clue actually calls for a verb, not a noun. North Americans should take note that "signpost" can also be a verb in the UK.

25a In Oz, an extra source of heat - what it will do! (6)

Libellule indicates that the Australian use of "sundry" in the sense of "extra" is a cricket term. Since I would never purport to contradict the Brits on anything to do with cricket, I must assume that the definition for this Australian term in Collins English Dictionary (see Today's Glossary) is cross-referenced to the wrong definition of "extra" as the the meaning to which one is referred has nothing to do with cricket. Assuming Libellule is correct, the cross-reference in Collins should point to meaning [5] of extra rather than meaning [6].

8d Tall building I look to go up in August? (8)

Libellule questions this clue "How you can equate a large block of stone with a “tall building” is I think pushing it a bit.". However, Chambers defines "monolith" as "1 a single, tall block of stone, especially one shaped like or into a column or pillar. 2 anything resembling one of these in its uniformity, immovability or massiveness. " Thus, under the latter definition, a tall building could certainly be a monolith.

While I had no problem with the definition, I did briefly question the arbitrary use of August to mean month. However, upon reflection I realized that August has been chosen to support the surface reading and the fact that it is capitalized should be a flag that it is the name of a month.

14d Monstrous guise ogre conjured up (9)

The principal hurdle here may be deciding whether "monstrous" is the anagram indicator and "conjured up" the definition or vice versa.

Signing off for today - Falcon