Tuesday, August 17, 2010 (DT 26242)

This puzzle, by Rufus, was originally published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, May 17, 2010

The National Post has skipped DT 26241 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, May 15, 2010

Introduction

I had a sense of déjà vu as I worked through this puzzle. I was sure I had seen some of these clues before - or, at least, very similar variations of them. I was able to track down one of them:

[DT 26040] 25a Backing – but not what driver wants? (11)

(published Tuesday, September 22, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph and Friday, January 8, 2010 in the National Post) which is very similar to clue 13d in today's puzzle. Perhaps I saw variations of the other familiar clues in puzzles from another paper.

In his review, Libellule asks, "How many of you were left with 18a and 19a as the last clues to go in?" Well, I managed to get 18a about midway through solving the puzzle, but 19a was definitely the last clue remaining - and I did not even come close with my attempt at a solution.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Clues:

drum¹ - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 4. an object that resembles a drum in shape, such as a large spool or a cylindrical container.

Used in Solutions:

baulk - verb & noun Chiefly British Variant of balk.

Cape Wrath - a cape in Sutherland, Highland, in northern Scotland. It is the most northwesterly point on the island of Great Britain.

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

earth - verb 1 British connect (an electrical device) with the ground: the front metal panels must be soundly earthed. [Note: the equivalent term in North America is "ground"]

endorsement - noun 2 (in the UK) a note on a driving licence recording the penalty points incurred for a driving offence.

Tote - noun (the Tote) British trademark a system of betting based on the use of the totalizator, in which dividends are calculated according to the amount staked rather than odds offered.

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26242].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a Son of Adam said to sound archaic (4)

Here is yet another homophone type clue that does not transport well across the Atlantic. In Britain, the word "saith" (an archaic word meaning says) is pronounced "seth", whereas in the United States, it is pronounced "say-eth". You can listen to both pronunciations here by clicking on the respective British and American flag icons. In Canada, it is often possible to find both British and American pronunciations in use - and that is no doubt the case with saith.

There is some debate amongst the Brits about whether saith is pronounced as one syllable or two. However, Big Dave provides a link to a web page that seemed to make all the two syllable proponents quickly back down. Unfortunately, as the link no longer works ("You have either reached a page that is unavailable for viewing or reached your viewing limit for this book"), I have no idea what evidence is provided there. Perhaps it saith that the word is pronounced as two syllables in America - which would surely cause the Brits to disown that pronunciation.

19a Wrath possibly shown by head (4)

I had never heard of Cape Wrath (or, if I had, I didn't recall it). As a result, I entirely missed the mark on this clue. The best of a poor lot of candidates seemed to be RAGE (which fit what I supposed was the definition, namely "wrath") but which failed miserably in satisfying the wordplay.

15d Bed for many a Russian (5)

In this clue, the word "many" is used by the setter to indicate a large Roman numeral - in this case, D (five hundred); ...

20d A large number put the charge on account (7)

... however, in this clue, the phrase "a large number" does not mean a large Roman numeral (which one might expect) but serves as the definition.

21d His mark was made in India (7)

I initially pegged this clue to be a cryptic definition and wasted copious amounts of time searching for a wealthy German who made his fortune in India.

Signing off for today - Falcon