Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 (DT 26112)

This puzzle, set by Shamus, was originally published Tuesday, December 15, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

It is probably no more than a coincidence, but The National Post (by not publishing on Good Friday and Easter Monday) has caused the publication day of the puzzle in Canada to coincide with what it was in the U.K. - temporarily at least.

Introduction

While not an especially hard puzzle today, some British expressions and geographical references in the southwest quadrant caused me to put out a bit of extra effort.

Today's Glossary

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

W. H. Auden - Anglo-American poet

blini - plural noun (sing. blin) pancakes made from buckwheat flour (ORIGIN Russian)

bran tub - noun Brit. a lucky dip (see below) in which items are buried in bran

DI - abbreviation 2 Detective Inspector [Note: The rank of Inspector exists in police services around the world; however, the level of seniority denoted by the title varies greatly from one service to another.]

IOW - abbreviation Isle of Wight

ken - noun (one’s ken) one’s range of knowledge or sight

kerb - British spelling of curb

lucky dip - noun Brit. a game in which small prizes are concealed in a container and chosen at random by participants

stodge - noun informal, chiefly Brit. 1 food that is heavy, filling, and high in carbohydrates

Ventnor - a seaside resort on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26112].

There is a lot of discussion on Big Dave's site regarding blini being a Russian pancake. Actually blini is the plural of blin, so blini are Russian pancakes.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

13d Hole is found on this instrument for novice (9)

Not only is it true to say that "hole is found on this" but one would be equally correct to observe that "this is found on hole". That is, not only is there a hole on every green, but there is a green on every hole on a golf course.

Signing off for today - Falcon

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