Thursday, August 26, 2010 (DT 26250)

This puzzle, by Jay, was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Introduction

I found this puzzle relatively easy, completing it without needing to haul out my Tool Chest. I was surprised to see that many of the Brits found it so difficult. I guess I must have been tuned into the right wavelength today.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Solutions:

Desperate Dan - a wild west character in the British comic The Dandy.

DI - abbreviation (in the UK) Detective Inspector.

Oxbridge - noun Oxford and Cambridge universities regarded together: [as modifier] Oxbridge colleges.

p - abbreviation British penny or pence.

rt - abbreviation right.

u - abbreviation British universal (denoting films classified as suitable without restriction).

Today's Links

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26250].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

It would almost appear that Jay has set out today with the deliberate intention of providing us with a lesson on partial word indicators, as there is an extensive collection of them present in today's puzzle. Here is a list (abbreviations and contractions not included):

• 2a TRAN - I (one) dropping out of TRAIN (school)
• 8a WE - case of WASTE [outside letters of the word "waste"]
• 13a EXT - TEXT (script) that lacks start [what remains after the first letter of the word "text" is deleted]
• 16a D - start drinking [first letter of the word "drinking"]
• 21a T- originally thought [first letter of the word "thought"]
• 25a GENE - GENERALS (senior officers) cut by half [the first half, in this case, of the word "generals" or, more precisely, what is left after the second half is deleted (cut)]
• 6d V - value initially [first letter of the word "value"]
• 7d T - source of trouble [first letter of the word "trouble"]
• 14d TRAPPINGS - STRAPPING (robust) start to finish [remove the first letter from the word "strapping" and append it to the end of the remaining letters]
• 19d LIO - LION (beastly king) mostly [what remains after the final letter of the word "lion" is deleted]

One might argue that 14d does not belong in this list, but it is close enough that I decided to toss it in. The wordplay does start by deleting a letter from the beginning of the fodder.

Signing off for today - Falcon