Friday, February 12, 2010 (DT 26070)

This puzzle was originally published Tuesday, October 27, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I was able to work through most of today's puzzle before I had to resort to my Tool Chest in order to complete the north west quadrant.

Today's Glossary

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

old boy - noun 1 Brit a former male pupil of a school (abbreviation OB)

split - verb 5 (split on) Brit. informal betray the secrets of or inform on.

sup¹ - verb dated or N. English take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls. noun a sip.

Right Reverend - noun or adjective a title of a bishop (abbreviation RR)

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 26070].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a Where volume may be turned up? (9)

I immediately recognized that "volume" referred to a book. Unfortunately, I thought that "turned up" might mean lying flat and open on a bookstand (the kind that is similar to a lectern), as one might find a dictionary in the reference section of a library. However, it would appear that "be turned up" actually means "be found". In the location needed for this solution, the volume would probably more likely to be standing up than turned up.

By the way, isn't it rather ironic that books typically lie down on bookstands!

10a City of Italy in fashion (5)

I initially figured that this was a cryptic definition for Milan, the fashion capital of Italy. However, when I eventually solved some of the intersecting clues, I realized that the city must be TURIN. However, in the process I neglected to decipher the wordplay in the clue (which you can find in Gazza's review). In case you are wondering, I is the International Vehicle Registration Code for Italy.

12a Worth catching performance's run through (8)

Here is another case where my first stab at a solution (REHEARSE) proved to be incorrect. Although I was unable to find an explanation to make the wordplay produce that solution, I know from experience that that does not necessarily mean a solution is wrong. As was the case with 10a, solving the intersecting clues put me back on the right path.

13a Letting concrete set around middle of lintel (6)

Although the usage sounds very unnatural to my ear, a letting is apparently "property that is leased or rented out or let" [Ref: Thesaurus, noun 1]. I'm not sure if one would use the word as a straight substitute for RENTAL, or not. Instead of saying "The car I'm driving is a rental", would one would say "The car I'm driving is a letting."?

15a Carp about always getting agitated (8)

If, like me, your first thought was that "getting agitated" might be an anagram indicator, you should try another approach.

18d Train set (6)

My explanation varied from the one that Gazza gives in his review. We are pretty much in agreement on the first part (train = SCHOOL). However, for the second part, I relied the following definition from Oxford:

• set - verb 3 cause or instruct (someone) to do something.

However, Gazza must have the correct explanation as the setter, RayT, drops by Big Dave's blog to give him a seal of endorsement. I do recognize that if my explanation were to be correct, some might well argue that the double definition is exceedingly weak in that the meaning for set would be too close (in fact, virtually identical) to the meaning of train.

22d Sheets of novel in English (5)

If you are having a hard time seeing why "of" is a hidden word indicator, try replacing it by an equivalent phrase such as "belonging to" or "found in".

25d Man, say, hearing 'I will', shortly (4)

The surface reading suggests a bridegroom, standing at the front of the church, awaiting the imminent arrival of the bride. However, this being a cryptic crossword clue, the real message is entirely different (as Gazza explains in his review).

Signing off for today - Falcon