Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - DT 26565

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26565
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, May 30, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26565]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
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
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26564 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, May 28, 2011

Introduction

I completed the puzzle without assistance. However, the solution for one clue (31a) was an outright guess based on matching the checking letters. I did conclude from the wordplay that I needed the name of a fairground ride - but I had never heard of this one. I only knew the solution as the name of a song by The Beatles and also as being associated with Charles Manson. At 3d, I was torn between TUNE (adjust the pitch) and TONE (pitch).

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 Solutions:

box the compass - phrase chiefly Nautical 1 recite the compass points in correct order. 2 make a complete change of direction.

doublet - noun 2 a man’s short close-fitting padded jacket, commonly worn from the 14th to the 17th century: they were wearing red velvet doublets and hose

dun¹ - adjective [2^nd entry] literary dark or dusky: when the dun evening comes

Grand National - an annual horse race established in 1839, a steeplechase run over a course of 4 miles 856 yards (about 7,200 metres) with thirty jumps, at Aintree, Liverpool, in late March or early April.

helter-skelter - noun 1 British a fairground amusement consisting of a tall spiral slide winding around a tower.

*kirk - noun Scottish & Northern English 1 a church

*OB - abbreviation 1 old boy, noun 1 British [a] a former male student of a school or college: an old boy of Banbury County School [b] a former male member of a sports team or company: the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards 2 [a] informal an elderly man: he slipped a shilling into the old boy’s palm [b] chiefly British an affectionate form of address to a boy or man: ‘Look here, old boy,’ he said

proud - adjective 3 [predicative] British slightly projecting from a surface: balls standing proud of the fabric

*sup¹ - verb dated or Northern English take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls: [i] she supped up her soup delightedly; [ii] he was supping straight from the bottle noun [a] a sip of liquid: he took another sup of wine [b] Northern English & Irish alcoholic drink: the latest sup from those blokes at the brewery

Trot - noun informal, chiefly derogatory a Trotskyist or supporter of extreme left-wing views: [i] a band of subversive Trots; [ii] he declared that the Corporation was a ‘nest of long-haired Trots’

Wren - noun (in the UK) a member of the former Women’s Royal Naval Service. [Origin: (early 20th century) originally in the plural, from the abbreviation  WRNS]

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.

16a   Sadly drop out of university, though outstanding (5)

While I was able to find the correct solution based on the definition and checking letters, I had to think long and hard before the wordplay became clear. It is PROD {an anagram (sadly) of DROP} out[side] of U (university) giving PROUD (outstanding). It was the leap from "out" to "outside" that stymied me for such a long time. The word "though" is used to link the wordplay to the definition. Proud here is used in a British sense meaning "slightly projecting from a surface", such as a nail that hasn't been fully hammered in (or one that has "popped out").

Signing off for today - Falcon