Wednesday, January 26, 2011 (DT 26380)

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26380
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, October 25, 2010
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26380]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ***	Enjoyment - **
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┐ ████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┘
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26379 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, October 23, 2010

Introduction

I found it difficult to find a starting point in today's puzzle. However, once I did, I managed to complete it without any electronic assistance - which made me feel pretty good. I felt even better, when I saw that Libellule had awarded three stars for difficulty. The opinions of the Brits were very polarized regarding this puzzle - some thinking it to be relatively easy, but the majority seemingly finding it on the more difficult side. Libellule, who had initially awarded it only two stars for difficulty, later increased that to three stars based on the feedback received from readers of the blog (thus explaining the reference to "two stars" found in many of the earlier comments.

Today's Glossary

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

Appearing in Solutions:

estate - noun 1 [1^st subentry] British an area of land and modern buildings developed for residential, industrial, or commercial purposes

ghost train - noun British a miniature train at a funfair designed to scare its passengers with eerie sights and sounds

Reader - noun 4 British a university lecturer of the highest grade below professor

Reynard - noun literary a name for a fox

tick¹ - noun 2 [2^nd entry] British informal a moment: I shan't be a tick; I'll be with you in a tick

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   Gathers and puts the sheep to bed? (7)

The full meaning of this clue does not appear to come through clearly in Libellule's hint. In this double definition type clue, the first definition is "gathers" which happens to be a sewing term:

• gather - verb 7 [with object] draw and hold together (fabric or a part of a garment) by running thread through it [note: thus creating folds]: the front is gathered at the waist

The solution is ENFOLDS, which means:

• enfold - verb 3. to form with or as with folds

The second definition is cryptic, and is a play on the word fold (an enclosure for sheep). If the shepherd puts the sheep in the fold for the night, he might be said to 'enfold' them!

Signing off for today - Falcon