Thursday, March 24, 2011 (DT 26434)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26434
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Setter Anthony Plumb (aka Flimsy in the FT)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26434]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Despite the puzzle not being overly demanding (or, as the British would say, gentle), my electronic aids did not sit totally idle today - being called into action with four clues remaining to be vanquished.

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:

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.

eight - noun an eight-oared rowing boat or its crew

Swanage - a small coastal town in the south east of Dorset, England that is a popular tourist resort, drawing many thousands of visitors during the peak summer season to its sandy beaches and other attractions.

Appearing in Solutions:

diligence² - noun historical a public stagecoach [origin: (late 17th century) from French, shortened from carrosse de diligence 'coach of speed']

parade - noun 2 British a public square or promenade; a row of shops: a shopping parade

*private means - plural noun British income from investments, property, or inheritance, as opposed to earned income or state benefit

snaffle - noun (also snaffle bit)(on a bridle) a simple bit, typically a jointed one, used with a single set of reins verb British informal take (something) for oneself, typically quickly or without permission: shall we snaffle some of Bernard's sherry?

*Tommy - noun (plural Tommies) informal 1 a British private soldier [pet form of the given name Thomas; from a use of the name Thomas Atkins in specimens of completed official forms in the British army during the 19th century]

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.

15d   Watchman unhappy living at top of esplanade (9)

The definition is "watchman" with the wordplay being {an anagram (unhappy) of LIVING AT} + E {top [i.e., top letter (this being a down clue)] of E(splanade)}. The solution is VIGILANTE, in which (I believe) the setter is exercising a bit of licence by stretching the definition considerably. The rationale for this is likely that the word vigilante comes from the Spanish word meaning 'vigilant' or 'watchful'.

Signing off for today - Falcon