Friday, November 12, 2010 (DT 26316)

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26316
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26316]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - **	Enjoyment - ***

Introduction

Big Dave awards this puzzle only two stars for difficulty. It is a bit hard for me to comment on that rating as I have had a lot on my plate this weekend and, as a result, completed this puzzle in bits and pieces interspersed around solving and blogging a couple of other puzzles. After a while, the puzzles seem to all blur into one another.

I have also noticed that I seem to have neglected to change the publication date in The Daily Telegraph from July to August for the last several days. Oh well, yet something else to fix when I find time.

Solving Tip: Substitutions Masquerading as Abbreviations

Yesterday, I wrote about abbreviations. There are other substitutions (some of which appear in today's puzzle) that one often finds in cryptic crosswords that probably appear to be abbreviations to the uninitiated - but in reality are not.

Among these are words comprising the spelling alphabet. As can be seen at the foregoing link, various versions of spelling alphabets have existed in different languages and during different periods of history. The principal current version is that used by NATO and ICAO. Thus, in 3d, H is substituted for "hotel", not because it is an abbreviation for 'hotel' but because 'hotel' is the code word for H in the spelling alphabet. For a similar reason we substitute G for Golf, O for Oscar and R for Romeo. Seeing instances of clues incorporating these latter two examples has misled many newcomers into believing that any proper name can be abbreviated to its first letter. I speak from experience, as I laboured under this very misconception when I first took up this pastime.

Another substitution that one frequently sees is H for 'henry'. In this case, the substitution is based on H being the symbol used in physics for the henry which is 'the SI unit of inductance'. Setters often structure the clue in such a way that they can capitalise the word 'henry' so as to add an additional level of deception (making it look like a proper name). And, I swear, they sometimes just capitalise the word arbitrarily without any valid reason.

Another type of substitution are those of the 'looks like' variety. For example, in 10a we see the substitution of I for "single" because 'single' means 'one' and the letter I looks like 'one' when it is written as a numeral. Another example is found in 17d, where we must substitute O for "love". Here, 'love' is used in the sense of a score of zero in tennis, and the letter O looks like the number 0. In a similar manner, O might be substituted for 'duck' (a batsman's score of naught in cricket), or for the word 'nothing' or one of its synonyms. I have even seen OO appearing as a substitution for the word 'spectacles' (because the combination of these two letters looks like a pair of eye-glasses).

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle

Appearing in Solutions:

cap - [American Heritage Dictionary] verb 5. To follow with something better; surpass or outdo: [He] capped his last trick with a disappearing act that brought the audience to its feet.

carpet - verb 2 British informal reprimand severely: the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses

hole in the wall - noun informal

• 1 British an automatic cash dispenser installed in the outside wall of a bank
• 2 chiefly North American a small dingy bar , shop, or restaurant

hooter - noun 1 chiefly British a siren or steam whistle, especially one used as a signal for work to begin or finish; the horn of a motor vehicle

a storm in a teacup -  British great outrage or excitement about a trivial matter [presumably, a relatively minor tempest in a teapot]

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

3a Warning sound mainly preceding childminder's musical gathering (10)

I would presume that a warning sound may be a hooter, although I could only find this term defined as a device that makes a warning sound (such as a car horn), rather than the warning sound itself. [After writing this, I see that a visitor to Big Dave's blog makes a similar observation - so there may be a valid reason why may search came up empty].

By the way, the Brits both hoot and toot their horns. Oxford Dictionaries Online defines toot as "a short, sharp sound made by a horn" and hoot as "a raucous sound made by a horn, siren, or steam whistle". Perhaps, hooting is what we would refer to as blaring. In North America, a hoot is the sound made by an owl (which is sometimes informally called a hooter). Hooters is also the name of a chain of restaurants in North America, as well as being a slang term for a pair of large breasts (these latter two usages being not unrelated - as may be surmised from the accompanying shot of a group of Hooters' waitresses).

13a Cash from the hole in the wall? (3,5)

In the U.K., a hole in the wall is 'an automatic cash dispenser installed in the outside wall of a bank' - which is totally different from the meaning of this term in North America.

16a Toy gun found by base of target (6)

Using "base of target" to indicate the 'last letter in the word "target"' would certainly have worked much better in a down clue. In fact, I wonder if the clue maybe should have read "by rear of target" in an across clue.

6d A minor altercation over a brew? (1,5,2,1,6)

With tongue in cheek, I defined storm in a teacup as a relatively minor tempest in a teapot. In reality, the former is the British version of the idiom while the latter is the version used in North America.

Signing off for today - Falcon