Friday, July 30, 2010 (DT 26224)

This puzzle, by Rufus, was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, April 26, 2010

The National Post has skipped DT 26223 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, April 24, 2010

Introduction

Although I finished this puzzle relatively quickly and had little need to resort to my Tool Chest, the wordplay for several clues left me a bit perplexed.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Clues:

take silk - [Phrases] British become a Queen‘s (or King’s) Counsel.

Who Killed Cock Robin? - English nursery rhyme

Used in Solutions:

giro - noun

• [mass noun] a system of electronic credit transfer used in Europe and Japan, involving banks, post offices, and public utilities
• [count noun] British a cheque or payment by giro, especially a social security payment: any chance of a pound till the giro comes?

lag³ - British informal noun a person who has been frequently convicted and sent to prison: both old lags were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.

narrow boat - [Collins English Dictionary] noun a long narrow bargelike boat with a beam of 2.1 metres (7 feet) or less, used on canals.

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26224].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

11a Country boy holds map (7)

Lapland, it would appear, can mean many things - but it is definitely not a country.

13a Always on the go, is Ivy! (9)

Libellule reviews this clue as if it were a down clue, stating that "on" signifies "above". My interpretation is that the clue implies that if a traffic light, for example, were set (or became stuck in its change cycle) such that it was "always on the go", it would be "ever green".

24a Self-banking type of aircraft (8)

This is one of the clues where the wordplay left me puzzled. Although Libellule's review did not fully resolve the issue - it did clearly indicate that "giro" is synonymous with (or at least a variant of) banking. It seems that giro is an electronic funds transfer system used in Europe and Japan.

25a Serving men and women operate from behind it (4,4)

Another one for which I failed to completely comprehend the wordplay. I missed the tennis connection, instead focusing on men and women serving either in the armed forces (perhaps accounting for the "base" part of the solution) or in bars and restaurants.

5d Observing what comes from a dumb-bell? (6)

I thought SILENCE would be an excellent solution - too bad it doesn't fit. However, I was definitely on the right track.

6d They take silk before becoming high fliers (6)

If one does not know the British expression "take silk" meaning to become a Queen's Counsel (presumably because these lawyers wear silk robes), the surface reading is completely lost. In fact, without this knowledge, the clue is almost gibberish.

Signing off for today - Falcon