Wednesday, November 4, 2009 (DT 25976)

This puzzle was originally published Thursday, July 9, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I found today's puzzle moderately challenging but very enjoyable to do. I puzzled for quite some time over several clues with very clever (and, therefore, misleading) surface readings before the light bulb suddenly flashed on. Surely those "Eureka" moments are the source of much of the pleasure derived from doing a good puzzle. Finally, I wholeheartedly vote with Gazza on 15a being the clue of the day.

Today's Glossary

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

dab - (entry 3) an expert

dabs - (entry 1, noun, defn. 4) fingerprints

RE - the virtually ubiquitous Royal Engineers who appear so regularly in these puzzles that they scarcely deserve a spot in the glossary

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25976].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

10a Alarming sound in French pipe? (4)

I was a bit uncertain about the wordplay in this clue and, even after reading Gazza's review, I am left with questions. An "alarming sound" is a HORN. I had thought that perhaps "French pipe" might somehow be a reference to "French horn". While Gazza merely gives us a hint, "the sound of an alarm appears in both French HORN and HORNpipe" he does not provide an explanation of the wordplay - and I am still lacking a thorough understanding of the clue.

5d Kids may like them spare, for example (4)

Somehow I managed to completely overlook the fact that "kids" can mean "teases", which - while not preventing me from finding the solution - made the wordplay here rather incomprehensible.

Signing off for today - Falcon