Thursday, July 29, 2010 (DT 26222)

This puzzle, by Giovanni, was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Friday, April 23, 2010

Introduction

Based on the relative ease with which I completed today's puzzle, I thought that it might get a two-star rating from Big Dave's crew. However, my sense of accomplishment got a bit of a boost on finding that it actually rated three stars, although Gnomethang does state that he "was wavering between two and three stars for difficulty".

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Solutions:

Gawain - (in Arthurian legend) one of the knights of the Round Table who quested after the Holy Grail. He is the hero of the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

mate - noun 1 British informal a friend or companion: my best mate Steve.

ripping - adjective British informal, dated splendid; excellent: she's going to have a ripping time.

Ven. - adjective Venerable (as the title of an archdeacon): the Ven. William Davies.

Today's Links

A review of today's puzzle by guest reviewer Gnomethang may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26222].

Today's puzzle appeared in the U.K. on St. George's Day and the English seem to be grasping at straws trying to find a reference in the puzzle to their patron saint, while the Welsh commiserate with them as St. David was similarly ignored on his day.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

23a Insect gets to scamper around little old vegetable (8)

To add a small detail to Gnomethang's analysis, the setter here uses the phrase "little old" to signify O; that is, a "little" bit (the first letter, in fact) of the word "old".

Signing off for today - Falcon