Friday, February 25, 2011 (DT 26408)

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26408
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, November 26, 2010
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26408]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ***	Enjoyment - ***
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┐ ████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┘

Introduction

After being subjected to an especially strenuous workout yesterday, my Tool Chest got a bit of a reprieve today and was only called upon to help with two or three clues.

In a couple of cases today, I have posted entries for a word from more than one dictionary as the dictionaries either have different - though equally applicable - meanings or provide details concerning different aspects of the meaning of the word.

Today's Glossary

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

[Items marked with an asterisk are from a Cumulative Glossary of entries appearing, since the beginning of this year, in either this blog or its companion blog, the Ottawa Citizen Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues:

The meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

eleven - cardinal number [6^th entry] a sports team of eleven players: at cricket I played in the first eleven

*leg - noun 5 (also leg side, on or on side) Cricket 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.

soft soap - noun 2 informal persuasive flattery

Appearing in Solutions:

en croute - adjective & adverb in a pastry crust: [as postpositive adjective] salmon en croute

flannel - [Oxford Dictionaries Online] noun

• 2 British a small piece of towelling used for washing oneself.
• 3 British informal bland fluent talk indulged in to avoid addressing a difficult subject or situation directly: a simple admittance of ignorance was much to be preferred to any amount of flannel

flannel - [Search Chambers] noun 2 (also face flannel) Brit except Scotland a small square of towelling for washing with. Compare face cloth. 3 colloq flattery or meaningless talk intended to hide one's ignorance or true intentions

flannel - [Collins English Dictionary] noun

• 4. Brit a small piece of cloth used to wash the face and hands; face cloth; US and Canadian equivalent washcloth [the term face cloth is also common in Canada - and is certainly the term that I would be most likely to use]
• 5. Brit informal indirect or evasive talk; deceiving flattery

front - noun 4 boldness and confidence of manner: he's got a bit of talent and a lot of front

hack¹ - [Collins English Dictionary] verb 3. (in sport, esp rugby) to foul (an opposing player) by kicking or striking his shins

hack¹ - [Oxford Dictionaries Online] verb 1 kick wildly or roughly: he had to race from his line to hack the ball into the stand

*on - (also on side) noun Cricket the leg side (or, simply, leg), 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.

*p - abbreviation [4^th entry] Music piano (softly)

*or² - noun gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture

*RE - abbreviation religious education (as a school subject)

Sussex - a former county of southern England [south of London, bordering the English Channel]. It was divided in 1974 into the counties of East Sussex and West Sussex.

tum - noun, Brit colloq the stomach

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.

21a   Kicks overworked hirelings (5)

I had to smile upon reading Kath's comment on Big Dave's blog, in reference to the word 'hack' meaning 'to kick', when she says "Was almost beginning to wonder if it could be yet another strange sporting term!" It seems no one had the heart to inform her how right she was, as 'hack' means '(in sport, especially rugby) to foul (an opposing player) by kicking or striking his shins'.

Signing off for today - Falcon