Monday, December 21, 2009 (DT 26023)

This puzzle was originally published Wednesday, September 2, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

The National Post has skipped DT 26020, DT 26021, and DT 26022 published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, August 29, Monday, August 31, and Tuesday, September 1, 2009 respectively.

Introduction

A number of previously unheard of words made the north-east quadrant particularly difficult today.

Today's Glossary

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

John Dyer - painter and Welsh poet turned clergyman

Joseph Grimaldi - "the most celebrated of English clowns"

OTT - abbreviation, Brit. informal over the top

Today's Links

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 26023].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

22a Drive with crack on surface (3-2-3-2)

I did find the correct solution but relied on Tilsit to explain the wordplay. The solution is GET-UP-AND-GO which is given by the definition "drive". Tilsit does a good job of explaining the individual elements of the wordplay. However, if you are still wondering how the pieces fit together, the answer is AND (with) GO (crack) following (on) GET UP (surface).

13d Filming away from the studio, love scene around noon (2,8)

Yet another case where I arrived at the correct solution without getting the wordplay - perhaps because I was looking for something more substantial.

19d Handsome youth from Northern Ireland's giving support to a function (6)

The solution is ADONIS (handsome youth) with the wordplay being NIS (Northern Ireland's) following (giving support to) A DO (function). The wordplay works on two levels. At the first level, this being a down clue, the second part of the solution (NIS) supports the first part (ADO), as they are stacked one on top of the other. At the second level, "giving support to" can mean "following", as in the case of fans of a sports team. I note that Tilsit states, "NIS = “Northern Ireland is”". Perhaps I have misinterpreted his intent, but this could be seen to imply that N is an abbreviation for Northern Ireland [i.e., "N + IS = (Northern Ireland) + is"]. I have presumed that "NIS = NI'S" with NI being the abbreviation for Northern Ireland. Then again, perhaps he is really just trying to say the same thing as I am.

Signing off for today - Falcon