Thursday, May 5, 2011 (DT 26470)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26470
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26470]
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
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26467 through DT 26469 which were published in The Daily Telegraph from Friday, February 4, 2011 through Monday, February 7, 2011

Introduction

I was compelled to resort to seeking help from my Tool Chest on one clue (10a) that I suspected might be some sort of British expression. However, that turned out not to be case at all. It was more than a little ironic that I had difficulty solving that clue after having successfully figured out the identity of the obscure Welsh town.

Today's Glossary

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

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, 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.

fell³ - noun a hill or stretch of high moorland, especially in northern England.

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

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.

Appearing in Solutions:

*B³ - symbol 1 chess bishop.

barrack² - verb

1. [with object] British jeer loudly at (someone performing or speaking in public) in order to express disapproval or to distract them: opponents barracked him when he addressed the opening parliamentary session
2. [no object] (barrack for) Australian/NZ give support and encouragement to: I take it you'll be barracking for Labour tonight?

C - [The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition] abbreviation Catholic

china - noun 2 British informal a friend. [from rhyming slang china plate ‘mate’]

Ebbw Vale - a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River, south Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough.

*extra - noun [4^th entry] Cricket a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited to the batting side rather than to a batsman.

H² - abbreviation [1^st entry] hard (used in describing grades of pencil lead): a 2H pencil

K² - abbreviation [6^th entry] king (used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess): 

• declarer overruffed with ♦K and led another spade 
• 18.Ke2

*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.

*MB - abbreviation Bachelor of Medicine [from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus], the professional degree held by medical practitioners in Britain [equivalent to a North American MD (Medical Doctor, or Doctor of Medicine), from Latin Medicinae Doctor]

moor¹ - noun chiefly British a tract of open uncultivated upland, typically covered with heather.

tea dance - noun an occasion consisting of afternoon tea with dancing, originating in 19th-century society.

tack¹ - noun 7 Nautical a. a course sailed by a sailing vessel with the wind blowing from forward of the beam. b. one such course or a zigzag pattern of such courses.

tick⁴ - noun (in phrase on tick) British informal on credit. [Origin: (mid 17th century) apparently short for  ticket in the phrase on the ticket, referring to an IOU or promise to pay]

Titian¹ - (circa 1488–1576), Italian painter; Italian name Tiziano Vecellio. The most important painter of the Venetian school, he experimented with vivid colours and often broke conventions of composition. He painted many sensual mythological works, including Bacchus and Ariadne (circa 1518–23).

Signing off for today - Falcon