Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - DT 26572

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26572
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Setter Shamus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26572]
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 █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes This puzzle is a pangram (i.e., every letter of the alphabet appears in the solutions to the clues.

Introduction

Sometimes British expressions drive me round the twist - especially today. Not to mention words that are their own antonym like the one at 7a which can mean either superior (which I knew) or subject (which I didn't know). I also needed Gazza's explanation of the wordplay at 6d (which I should have seen) and 8d (tripped up by a cricket term). At 21d, I didn't believe that crocheting and knitting were the same thing - and a chorus of British ladies supported that view on Big Dave's blog. Finally, as usual, I failed to recognize that the puzzle is a pangram.

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.

bottle - noun 2 British informal the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous: I lost my bottle completely and ran

*Home Counties - the English counties surrounding London, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire [which are located in south-eastern England].

*on - (also on side) noun Cricket the leg side (or, simply, leg) [see Appearing in Clues section below for a definition of leg]

riddle² - verb 2 [a] pass (a substance) through a large coarse sieve: for final potting, the soil mixture is not riddled [b] remove ashes or other unwanted material from (something, especially a fire or stove) with a sieve: she heard Mr Evans riddling the fire noun a large coarse sieve, especially one used for separating ashes from cinders or sand from gravel.

Appearing in Solutions:

D or D. - [The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition] abbreviation Dutch

K³ - abbreviation 6 chess knight.

If we are to take Chambers at face value, then K is used in chess both as the abbreviation for knight (K³) and as the symbol for king (K⁴), while N is used as the symbol for knight (N³). Next question - how does one distinguish an abbreviation from a symbol?

Lab. - abbreviation British (following a politician’s name) Labour [a British political party].

*leg - noun 5 (also leg side, on or on side) Cricket 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.

liege - noun [a] (also liege lord) a feudal superior or sovereign: the Scots obeyed him as their liege lord [b] a vassal or subject: the king’s lieges

round the twist - phrase British informal out of one’s mind; crazy: the games she plays drive me round the twist

salsa verde - noun 1 an Italian sauce made with olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovies, vinegar or lemon juice, and parsley. 2 a Mexican sauce of finely chopped onion, garlic, coriander, parsley, and hot peppers.

six - cardinal number [5^th entry] Cricket a hit that reaches the boundary without first striking the ground, scoring six runs: he hit a six and seven fours Compare with four

four - cardinal number [5^th entry] Cricket a hit that reaches the boundary after first striking the ground, scoring four runs: he hit a six and seven fours

*South East - in popular British parlance, a vaguely defined region consisting of London and surrounding areas, located in the south-eastern portion of England.

Officially, South East England is one of the nine regions of England, designated in 1994. It comprises counties situated to the south and west of London, but does not include London. As Wikipedia observes, "Before the creation of the current region, the idea that London was not in the south-east of England would have seemed ridiculous."

[Tom] Thumb - a character of English folklore. The History of Tom Thumb was published in 1621, and has the distinction of being the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tangling with giants, and becoming a favourite of King Arthur.

[General Tom] Thumb - stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838 –1883), a dwarf who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum.

Signing off for today - Falcon