Tuesday, January 11, 2011 (DT 26366)

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26366
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, October 8, 2010
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26366]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ***	Enjoyment - ***
Falcon's Performance ***

Introduction

Today, at least, my performance was much improved over yesterday's dismal result. I had to resort to my Tool Chest with a couple of clues left to be solved. It soon became evident that my difficulty with 9a was due to an incorrect solution at 1d. As for 4d, that is the type of  clue that one kicks oneself for failing to see. I also failed to comprehend the wordplay at 12a, despite finding the correct solution.

Today's Glossary

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

Appearing in Clues:

shambolic - adjective informal, chiefly British chaotic, disorganized, or mismanaged: the department's shambolic accounting.

Appearing in Solutions:

Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (1879 – 1964) - the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the British House of Commons.

brae - noun Scottish a steep bank or hillside.

Eleanor Bron - English stage, film and television actress and author.

Hertfordshire - a county in the East region of England. It is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London (to the south),

NI - abbreviation [2^nd entry] Northern Ireland, a province of the United Kingdom occupying the NE part of Ireland; population 1,775,000 (est. 2008); capital, Belfast.

on side - (also on) noun Cricket the leg side (also leg)

leg - (also leg side, on or on side) noun 5 the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch ) away from which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The opposite of off.

OR - abbreviation [3^rd entry] Military, British other ranks (as opposed to commissioned officers).

p - abbreviation [4^th entry] Music piano (softly [or quietly]).

read - verb 5 chiefly British study (an academic subject) at a university: I'm reading English at Cambridge; [no object] he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.

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.

12a   Detainee held by ship-owner briefly (8,2,3)

Although the solution was quite evident to me from the definition (detainee) and checking letters, the wordplay eluded me until I perused Big Dave's review. An abbreviation (as signalled by "briefly") of the solution is hidden in (held by) "shiP-OWner". Like a clue we saw yesterday, the entire clue constitutes wordplay with the definition being part of the clue.

17a   Half of the field - one in which little man is buried (6)

Surely, on side is two words which would make the numeration (2,4) - and Oxford would seem to support this position. Strangely, though, there was no objection from the Brits, so perhaps I am mistaken.

Onside is a term used in soccer, rugby and hockey but has nothing to do with dividing the field in half.

1d   No time in store to find item of clothing (4)

I had the wrong synonym for "store" (STASH) and consequently the wrong item of clothing (SASH). Being improperly dressed led to difficulty at 9a.

13d   A phonebox I vandalised, fearing strangers might appear? (10)

This clue has a rather unconventional structure. The definition (fearing strangers) is found in the middle of the clue, with the solution being XENOPHOBIA. While the phrase "might appear" could be considered merely padding to improve the surface reading, it actually fulfills the same role as a 'link word', although it is not positioned between the definition and wordplay. The sense of the clue is "If one were to rearrange the letters (create an anagram) of  A PHONEBOX I, what might be created (or appear) is XENOPHOBIA". This is equivalent to saying (but in a far more elegant fashion) "A phonebox I vandalised produces fearing strangers".

Signing off for today - Falcon