Wednesday, March 16, 2011 (DT 26426)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26426
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, December 17, 2010
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26426]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I was pleased to be able to complete the puzzle without using any of the electronic aids in my Tool Chest. Then I was doubly pleased when I saw that Gazza had awarded it three stars for difficulty. Finally, I was quite disappointed to discover my solution for one of the clues to be incorrect.

In a couple of instances, I did have to 'invent' a word or place name, but the wordplay left little doubt as to what was needed.

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.

The Circle line - a line on the London Underground that forms a loop line around the centre of London on the north side of the River Thames with an extension to Hammersmith on its north-western side.

Appearing in Solutions:

Barrow-in-Furness (commonly known as Barrow) - an industrial town and seaport in the county of Cumbria, England.

char - verb British informal work as a charwoman

Hereward the Wake - (11th century), semi-legendary Anglo-Saxon rebel leader . A leader of Anglo-Saxon resistance to William I's new Norman regime, he is thought to have been responsible for an uprising centred on the Isle of Ely in 1070. Origin: the Wake apparently in the sense ‘the watchful one’

L - abbreviation lecturer [If you follow the link, you will see that I had to dig pretty deep to find a source for this abbreviation. Of course, it is almost certainly to be found in the big red Chambers.]

*RA - abbreviation [3^rd entry] (in the UK) Royal Academician, a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts, an institution devoted to the cultivation of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain

US - abbreviation British informal unserviceable; useless

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   Drink lacking colour, without head (3)

I obviously did not think enough about this one, quickly writing in ADE and overlooking the fact that FADE means 'lose colour' not "lacking colour". The correct solution is a more appropriate drink, although pale, flat beer may not be all that palatable.

Signing off for today - Falcon