Friday, August 20, 2010 (DT 26245)

This puzzle was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Thursday, May 20, 2010

Introduction

I didn't feel that this puzzle was quite as gentle as Big Dave seemed to find it. Then again, having fallen behind in my blog postings, I was working under a bit of pressure to complete it.

Americanisms and British English

Are some Americanisms slipping into British English. In his review, Big Dave asks "don’t you go to the movies these days?" to which Vince replies "No, Dave, Americans go to the movies – I still go to the pictures!". However, there was nary a peep concerning the use of the word mezzanine to mean balcony. According to Collins English Dictionary, the word mezzanine in Canada and the U.S. is "the first balcony", while in Britain it is "a room or floor beneath the stage".

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Clues:

Cathay - the name by which China was known to medieval Europe.

Fair Isle - an island in northern Scotland, lying midway between the Shetland and the Orkney islands.

Used in Solutions:

chaser - noun 2 a horse for steeplechasing.

china - noun 2 British informal a friend [from rhyming slang china plate ‘mate’].

dice - [Collins English Dictionary] verb 3. (intransitive) to take a chance or risk (especially in the phrase dice with death).

Guillemot - the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family (part of the order Charadriiformes). In British use, the term comprises two genera: Uria and Cepphus. In North America the Uria species are called "murres" and only the Cepphus species are called "guillemots".

mezzo - adverb music moderately, quite or rather, as in mezzo-forte rather loud, and mezzo-piano rather soft.

outsize (abbreviation os) - adjective (also outsized) over normal or standard size. noun anything, especially a garment, that is larger than standard size. [Note: in North America, such clothing may be referred to as plus size or, in the case of menswear, as big and tall]

River Lune - either of two English rivers, the River Lune in Cumbria and Lancashire, or the River Lune in County Durham.

River Ouse - any of several English rivers, the River Ouse in Yorkshire, the River Great Ouse or the River Little Ouse in East Anglia, or the River Ouse in East Sussex.

Today's Links

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26245].

There is a fair bit of discussion on Big Dave's site today concerning the Cockney rhyming slang reference in 15a.

And I must tip my hat to gnomethang for his complimentary reference to my own blog.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a Birds moult - one's leg is broken (10)

The definition is "bird" with the solution being GUILLEMOTS. The wordplay is an anagram (is broken) of MOULT IS LEG. The IS in the anagram fodder actually comes from "one's" (I + S) rather than from the word "is" in the clue.

25a In France, it is Moon River (4)

It is not a French river that we are seeking, but an English one. In this double definition, the two parts are "In France, it is moon" and "river". The capitalization of "Moon River" in the clue is a ploy to deceive.

8d Being 16, mad on the church (9)

A numeral appearing in a clue is usually a cross reference to the solution of another clue. However, that is not the case today. In this clue, we have to replace the numeral "16" by the word "sixteen". The definition is "being" having the solution EXISTENCE. The wordplay is {an anagram (mad) of SIXTEEN} + (on) CE (the Church; this being a British puzzle, the Church is the Church of England).

Signing off for today - Falcon