Thursday, August 4, 2011 - DT 26549

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26549
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26549]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
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

Although I found this puzzle a bit easier than a typical one from Jay, I created problems for myself by misspelling the float at 3d. Like several of the Brits, I had trouble with 1d (a double definition where both are Briticisms) and 9a (handicapped by the aforementioned error). Pommers awarded the puzzle four stars for difficulty, a rating which many of the Brits felt was undeserved. In his defence, not only was he solving it during the wee hours of the morning, but I find that a puzzle that one is reviewing always seems more difficult than one where the clock is not ticking.

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.

bowl² - verb 2 [2^nd entry] (also bowl someone out) dismiss (a batsman) by knocking down the wicket with the ball which one has bowled: Stewart was bowled for 33

Appearing in Solutions:

[give someone the] glad eye - phrase informal, dated look at someone in a flirtatious way.

Ming - noun [2^nd entry] [usually as modifier] Chinese porcelain made during the Ming dynasty, characterized by elaborate designs and vivid colours: a priceless Ming vase

OTT - abbreviation British informal over the top: presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT

out - adjective 9 Cricket & Baseball no longer batting or at bat; having had one's innings or at bat ended by the fielding side: England were all out for 159

rise - noun 2 [2^nd entry] British an increase in salary or wages. [the corresponding North American term is raise]

saddo - noun British informal a person perceived as contemptible or pathetically inadequate.

satay (also satai or saté) - noun an Indonesian and Malaysian dish consisting of small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer and served with a spiced sauce that typically contains peanuts.

Sky - brand name for satellite television providers and channels across the world, owned or partially owned by News Corporation, including British Sky Broadcasting, a British satellite broadcasting company.

tosh¹ - noun British informal rubbish; nonsense: it's sentimental tosh

tosh² - noun British informal used as a casual form of address, especially to an unknown person.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

1a   Negative response to request for lift? (6,4)

In North America, hitchhikers use a "thumbs up" gesture to request a lift. It made perfect sense to me that a negative response to this gesture by a driver might be a "thumbs down". However, Pommers' hint caused me to wonder whether British hitchhikers might employ a "thumbs down" gesture when he says "[thumbs down] is also a colloquial term for how a hitch-hiker gets his next ride". A Wikipedia article on hitchhiking comments "In North America, the gesture is to stick one of their thumbs upward. In other parts of the world, it is more common to use a gesture where the index finger is pointed at the road. This cultural difference stems partly from an alternate offensive meaning for the thumbs up gesture in parts of Europe and Asia.". However, Wikipedia goes on to say "The hitchhiker's method of signaling to drivers differs around the world. In the U.S. and UK, one would point one's thumb up ...". I am therefore left perplexed by Pommers comment - perhaps he merely 'misspoke' himself (as a former U.S. president was prone to do).

9a   Unfortunate person becoming strange when regressed (5)

Having misspelled the float at 3d by reversing the vowels, I was left with no option at 9a but SADHU. I rationalized this as a possible solution by taking "unfortunate person" to be SAD HUMAN, which when "regressed" by deleting (or rolling back, such as by using the backspace key) the last three letters becomes SAD HU. A sadhu is an Indian ascetic, someone who might be considered to lead a strange lifestyle (certainly one unlike that that most of us lead).

As I was to discover from Pommers review, the correct solution is actually a British expression that I had never heard of.

Signing off for today - Falcon