Thursday, August 12, 2010 (DT 26237)

This puzzle, by Ray T, was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Introduction

I needed to pop open the Tool Chest with three clues remaining to be solved in the north west quadrant. Once I had identified the builder's tool in clue 1a (which was previously unknown to me), the solutions to the remaining two clues became obvious.

As a footnote to my comments yesterday regarding the identity of the setters of the DT puzzles, I should perhaps clarify my remarks (in case I have inadvertently jumped to a false conclusion). I don't actually know that the pseudonyms used for the setters on Big Dave's site are, in every case, ones used by the setters in other publications. In some cases, such as Rufus, they are. In other cases, they may simply be pseudonyms that the setters have chosen to use as visitors to Big Dave's web site. As Big Dave says "today" in a response to a question from a reader, "strictly speaking, we don’t know the names [of the setters]. However the Telegraph uses the same setter(s) each day of the week and most of them have made themselves known to us".

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Clues:

jemmy - noun Chiefly British a jimmy (a short steel crowbar used, especially by burglars, for forcing doors and windows).

Lubango - the capital city of the Angolan province of Huíla.

performance - noun 5 derogatory an instance of outrageous behaviour, especially in public.

Used in Solutions:

bolster - noun 3 building a form of cold chisel, used in cutting stone slabs, etc.

nit¹ - noun informal 2 British a foolish person: you stupid nit!

RA - abbreviation (3^rd entry) (in the UK) Royal Academician.

rig - noun 2 (4^th subentry) a particular type of construction for fishing tackle that bears the bait and hook.

U² - adjective British colloquial said especially of language: typical of or acceptable to the upper classes [thus top class].

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26237].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

10a Tackle part, keeping mum for performance (9)

The wordplay here is {RIG (tackle) + ROLE (part)} containing (keeping) MA (mum) which produces RIGMAROLE. The definition is "performance". The meaning of performance that I have cited above in Today's Glossary ("an instance of outrageous behaviour, especially in public") may be a tad strong, but the setter does use the word performance in a sense meaning behaviour that, as the Brits might say, is at least a bit OTT (over the top).

18a Audacious break in using jemmy? (12)

"Audacious" is used in the sense of "bold and daring" - not "disrespectful or impudent".

26a Non-mainstream single, opening of 'Not Fade Away' (5)

Not Fade Away is a song co-written by Buddy Holly and released in 1957 by his band, The Crickets, as the B-side of Oh-Boy!. Ironically, it "was also the last song Buddy Holly ever performed, the night before his fatal plane crash". In his review, Gazza provides a link to a performance of the song.

2d People left solitary on ends of railways? (6)

I thought that the word "solitary" must be doing double duty today, with the definition being "people left solitary" or LONERS and the wordplay being "solitary on ends of railways" or LONE (solitary) + (on) RS (ends of railways; i.e., the first and last letters of the word "railways"). However, Gazza implies that "people left" could itself mean loners. Perhaps this is a British turn of phrase that is foreign to my ear.

5d Good Tories hug reformed characters (9)

I was fortunate to get the solution (RIGHTEOUS) from the definition (good) and checking letters. However, it took a lot of puzzling to figure out the wordplay. I got hung up supposing that the wordplay is RIGHTS (Tories) containing (hug) an anagram (reformed) of some word meaning "characters". In fact, that is not the case at all. The wordplay is an anagram (reformed characters) of TORIES HUG.

17d Knocking out? (8)

I was headed in the right general direction, but slightly off target with my initial attempt at a solution, STUNNING (although, in hindsight, I have to admit that it was perhaps a bit of a stretch). I was forced to backtrack when I discovered that this choice created an impasse at 21a. The two senses that struck me in the case of both words were an action (or result thereof) that might occur in a boxing ring and how one might describe an exceptionally beautiful woman. The meaning of a labour action completely escaped me.

19d Penny left on shelf giving commitment (6)

The word "left" would appear to be superfluous to the clue, not being necessary to either the surface reading or the cryptic reading.

By the way, I think Gazza must have intended to say "a synonym for shelf" in his review.

23d A cloudy, free bitter (5)

I didn't find the letter "C" as an abbreviation for "cloudy" in the online version of Chambers, but I trust that it appears in the unabridged version. However, if you search diligently, you will find it listed here - together with dozens (if not hundreds) of other meanings which it can have as an abbreviation or acronym. [Note: Its appearance in Chambers is confirmed by Libellule in a response to a comment on Big Dave's site. Gazza also states that it is "an accepted abbreviation" without citing a specific source. ]

Signing off for today - Falcon