Monday, July 12, 2010 (DT 26207)

This puzzle, by Shamus, was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Introduction

While today's puzzle was not difficult on the whole, I had to fall back on Gazza's review for an understanding of the wordplay in one of the clues.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Solutions:

dep. - abbreviation 6 deputy.

EC (Eastern Central) postcode area - a group of postcode districts in central London, England encompassing almost all of the City of London and parts of several London Boroughs.

R - abbreviation recipe

tick¹ - noun 2 Brit colloq a moment • Wait a tick.

v. - abbreviation (presumably) verse [Note: I was unable to locate a source to validate this; however, it would not surprise me if it were to be found in the unabridged version of Chambers. ]

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26207].

Today, the Brits chat about the perceived (by some) issue of an excess number of anagrams in the puzzle. They also vent their spleen over technical difficulties experienced with The Daily Telegraph's online crossword site, known as Clued Up (or, not so affectionately, by many as Screwed Up).

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a City with little change in cost - it's naturally seen as steep? (9)

I saw the solution from the definition (it's naturally seen as steep) together with the checking letters. I also twigged to some of the wordplay - ECIP in PRICE (cost). I even figured that the P in ECIP likely stood for pence (little change). I was to discover from Gazza that I failed to see that EC is the postcode area for the City of London and that IP (1 pence) is little change. What is most galling is that I vaguely recall having seen similar wordplay in the past.

7d Key choice when playing sport (3,6)

Did I once comment that hockey never appeared in the British cryptics - only cricket, rugby, and football (soccer) - with the occasional mention of tennis, rowing and golf. It seems that Shamus is out to prove me wrong in this puzzle which appeared in the U.K. during the final week of the NHL regular season. A Canadian would almost never see the need to say "ice hockey" with the word "hockey" itself automatically carrying the connotation of a game played on ice. We would say "field hockey", "street hockey" or "roller hockey" to denote a game of hockey played on a surface other than ice involving footwear other than ice-skates. However, in much of the world, the reverse is true.

14d Clear connection shown around verse that's mournful (9)

I presume that V is an abbreviation for verse, although I was unable to find a source to confirm this. The definition is "mournful" with the solution being PLAINTIVE. The wordplay (as eventually dawned on me) is PLAIN (clear) + {TIE (connection) containing (shown around) V (verse)} [PLAIN|TI(V)E].

While I was solving the puzzle, I had thought that Ve might possibly be an abbreviation for verse, in which case the wordplay could have been PLAIN (clear) + TI {a reversal (shown around) of IT (connection)} + VE (verse?) [PLAIN|TI|VE]. I thought IT might mean connection in the sense of sex appeal (as in "I felt a strong connection from the moment I first met her"). However, as I began writing this item, the more plausible explanation jumped out at me (which happens quite often - I have found that having to write down one's thoughts often causes one to rethink a position).

Signing off for today - Falcon