Thursday, June 17, 2010 (DT 26177)

This puzzle, set by Ray T, was originally published Tuesday, March 2, 2010 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I thought that today's puzzle was a bit less taxing than the one yesterday, although Gazza does rate it four stars for difficulty. In any event, after getting virtually all of the northwest quadrant and scattered clues elsewhere throughout the puzzle, I did have to resort to the use of a couple of instruments from my Tool Chest in order to complete the puzzle.

Errors & Variations in Today's Puzzle

9a Relate gets adult forward in anguish (9)

In the U.K., this clue appeared in the printed version as:

9a Relate gets adult forward in anguish (9)

and on The Daily Telegraph's Clued Up website as:

9a 'Relate' gets adult forward in anguish (9)

where Gazza says "The quotes around Relate are to indicate that it is the Marriage Guidance and Counselling Service [see Today's Glossary] which you are supposed to think about in the surface reading."

Minus the italics or quotation marks and without ever having heard of the British charity Relate, the surface reading of the clue is pretty nonsensical.

16d A dish served cold could mean his revenge! (9)

Two variants of this clue appeared in the U.K., with the version above being used in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph, while the online Clued Up site had the following:

16d A dish served reheated could mean his revenge! (9)

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Clues:

Mum - the first brand of commercial deodorant, developed in the U.S. and patented in 1888. According to Wikipedia, the brand is still popular in the United Kingdom and a number of other countries around the world.

Relate - a U.K. charity providing relationship support services such as counselling for couples, families, young people and individuals, sex therapy, mediation and training courses.

Used in Solutions:

Herm - the smallest of the Channel Islands that is open to the public and is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

real² - noun 2 a former coin and monetary unit of various Spanish-speaking countries.

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

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26177].

Signing off for today - Falcon