Friday, July 23, 2010 (DT 26218)

This puzzle, a lovely creation from Rufus, was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, April 19, 2010

The National Post has skipped DT 26217 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, April 17, 2010

Introduction

Libellule characterises this puzzle as "Another fun crossword today, not difficult but certainly entertaining" and I couldn't have said it better myself. My favourite clue had to be 6d which brought a huge smile to my lips when the penny finally dropped.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Solutions:

AC - abbreviation 1 alternating current.

CE - abbreviation 1 Church of England.

Isis - the name given to that part of the River Thames which flows through the city of Oxford.

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26218].

When this puzzle was published in the U.K., the Brits were enduring the ash cloud produced by the Icelandic volcano.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

12a Current male desire (4)

I have to admit that I missed the correct wordplay for this clue, thinking (albeit with a high degree of uncertainty) that it might be A (ampere, a unit of electric current) + CHE (the South American revolutionary).

5d Man going to the match who couldn’t stop the salt pouring out (7,5)

My best attempt to explain this clue was to trace the salt reference to the Irish Wedding Salt Ceremony, an Irish wedding tradition in which the bride and groom each pour a container of pure salt into a larger receptacle, symbolizing their two lives being intertwined and inseparable, just as the salt is mixed together so that no one can separate the bride's grains of salt from those of the groom.

However, Libellule has done me one better - identifying a reference to the poem, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

15d Note reciprocation about a point of principle (5)

The definition is "principle" with the solution being TENET. The wordplay is TE (note [of the musical scale]) + ET (reciprocation; i.e., the same thing returned [which gives rise to a reversal]) containing (about) N (north; i.e., a point [of the compass]).

Signing off for today - Falcon