Thursday, July 8, 2010 (DT 26198)

This puzzle, created by Giovanni, was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Friday, March 26, 2010

Introduction

I have to admit that I got a bit careless today. Having encountered difficulty with 13a, I set the clue aside intending to revisit it at the end. However, in scanning the puzzle for completeness, I somehow failed to notice the unfinished solution at 13a (I had the SHAW part plus a couple of additional letters). I only realized my oversight as I was reading Gazza's review. Had I taken another crack at solving it, it is difficult to know if I might have found the correct solution. Like a number of the Brits, I had entered TRAILS at 6d - which explains - at least, in part - my problems at 13a.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Clues:

bedsitting-room (formal) and bedsit or bedsitter (informal) - noun British a single room used as a combined bedroom and sitting-room usually with basic cooking facilities, especially as cheap accommodation for a lodger or tenant.

Used in Solutions:

cockle² - noun a cornfield weed, especially the corncockle.

cor - exclamation colloquial expressing surprise or pleasure.

Hull - (full name Kingston upon Hull) a city in Yorkshire, England.

Rugby Union - noun 1 an association of rugby clubs formed in 1871. 2 (usually rugby union) a formerly amateur now partly professional form of rugby, played with teams of 15 players according to Rugby Union rules (abbreviation RU).

George Bernard Shaw - Irish playwright.

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26198].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

15a Look after maiden perhaps going to 24? (7)

I totally missed the cricket connection in this clue. I presumed that there might be a convent in Exeter and that the maiden perhaps was going there to become a nun, in which case a sister would oversee her novitiate.

30a Tea's in - this herbal infusion's out (6)

This is not a straight anagram nor a reverse anagram (like 11d), but something in between. The definition is "this herbal infusion" which appears in the middle of the clue (which is seen from time to time in British cryptics). The solution is TISANE. The wordplay tells us that an anagram (out) of the solution would produce the phrase TEA'S IN. That is, "Tea's in - tisane out".

1d Bird with left foot hidden in weed (6)

The definition is "weed" and the wordplay is COCK (bird) + LE {LEFT minus FT (foot hidden)}. The solution is COCKLE.

4d Bird regularly spotted in the fall (4)

The definition is "bird" and the wordplay is "regularly spotted in the fall". The indicator "regularly spotted" tells us to take every second letter from the phrase "ThE fAlL", in this case starting with the first letter. Since "regularly" could mean either the odd numbered letters or the even numbered ones, the solver must decide from the context which regular set of letters the setter intends. This clue could equally have been worded "Bird oddly found in the fall", in which case there would be no doubt that the odd numbered letters are intended. A setter may also signify the even numbered letters by saying something like "Bird evenly distributed in (a phrase in which the even numbered letters spell the solution)".

11d Break item possibly? (4,3)

This is a reverse anagram clue - a type of clue that in my experience is quite rare. The definition is "break" with the solution being TIME OUT. The wordplay (item possibly) tells us that the solution is itself a bit of wordplay which would produce the result ITEM. Viewed as an anagram, "time out" [an anagram (out) of TIME] can produce ITEM. It can also produce the word EMIT, but I don't think that "possibly" is alluding to the fact that there is more than one anagram of TIME.

Signing off for today - Falcon