Wednesday, February 2, 2011 (DT 26386)

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26386
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, November 1, 2010
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26386]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - **	Enjoyment - **
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┐ ████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┘
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26385 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, October 30, 2010

Introduction

For the Brits, this was a gentle start to the week. On the other hand, for North Americans, it is a bit of a respite on 'hump day'. It is especially welcome, as a blizzard is raging and I will soon need to go outside and begin clearing snow.

Today's Glossary

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

Appearing in Clues:

fringe - 2 [1^st entry] chiefly British the front part of someone's hair, cut so as to hang over the forehead

Appearing in Solutions:

bowl² - noun 2 [1^st entry] Cricket (of a bowler) propel (the ball) with a straight arm towards the batsman, typically in such a way that the ball bounces once: Lillee bowled another bouncer; Sobers bowled to Willis

roe¹ - noun

• (also hard roe) the mass of eggs contained in the ovaries of a female fish or shellfish, especially when ripe and used as food; the full ovaries themselves
• (soft roe) the ripe testes of a male fish, especially when used as food

loth - adjective alternative spelling of loath

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.

25d   One covering end of chin in spots (4)

The definition is "spots" with ACNE being the solution (although teenagers would more likely consider it a problem). The wordplay is ACE (one) containing (covering) N (end of chin; i.e., final letter in "chin"). The rationale for "one" to mean 'ace' may relate to a hole in one in golf or, perhaps, to the value of an ace in some card games.

Signing off for today - Falcon