Thursday, July 21, 2011 - DT 26537

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26537
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26537]
Big Dave's Review Written By Falcon
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 █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

When I originally reviewed this puzzle on Big Dave's site, I wrote that it "... lacks any real “Aha!” moment". That probably explains why it took me a surprisingly long time today to realize that I had actually seen this puzzle before. However, the realization gradually dawned on me that the clues looked vaguely familiar. The answers certainly didn't come automatically, and a few of them required a good deal of thought - even on the second time around. Nevertheless the few British expressions in the puzzle must have been firmly embedded in the recesses of my brain as they popped fairly readily to mind once a few checking letters were in place.

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.

Geordie - British informal noun [a] a person from Tyneside, an industrial conurbation on the banks of the River Tyne, in NE England, stretching from Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast. [b] the English dialect or accent typical of people from Tyneside. adjective relating to Tyneside, its people, or their accent or dialect: Geordie humour

Appearing in Solutions:

quid¹ - noun (plural same) British informal one pound sterling: we paid him four hundred quid

quids in - phrase British informal in a position where one has profited or is likely to profit from something.

*steam radio - chiefly UK informal radio, as opposed to television; a radio set, especially an old fashioned one; a radio broadcast.

Steam radio is a British name for radio which seemingly came into use in the 1950s as television made its appearance. The idea behind the phrase is that radio would be obsoleted by television in the same way that steam engines were replaced by diesel locomotives. Today, apparently, some commentators in the U.K. refer in a similar manner to steam television which they see being superseded by programming broadcast over the Internet. For a more complete discussion, see the entry on steam radio at World Wide Words.

Signing off for today - Falcon