Thursday, September 1, 2011 - DT 26573

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26573
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26573]
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

While the puzzle was not overly difficult, I did need to seek assistance from my Tool Chest on 20d (one I should have easily solved without such assistance) and 16a. On the latter, I was aware that pasture could be used as a verb in the sense of "put animals out to graze", however I did not know that it could also mean simply "to graze".

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:

domino - noun 2 historical a loose cloak, worn with a mask for the upper part of the face at masquerades.

knock [something] off - phrasal verb 3 [a] British informal steal something. [b] North American informal rob a shop or similar establishment. [c] informal make an illegal copy of a product.

pull the other one (it's got bells on) - phrase British informal used to express a suspicion that one is being deceived or teased: Your boat was sunk by a swordfish? Pull the other one!

As I correctly surmised, the "one" in the phrase refers to the leg of the person who is the target of the teasing. As one observer puts it "Basically the phrase in a more pure form is 'pull the other leg, it's got bells on'. The meaning is the person saying it thinks they're having their leg pulled, or being thought of as a fool. The 'fool' aspect is emphasized by saying their other leg has bells on it, part of a jester's traditional costume".

[Doctor] Who - a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC [also broadcast in North America]. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS, whose exterior appears to be a blue police box. Along with a succession of companions, he faces a variety of foes while working to save civilisations, help people, and right wrongs.

Appearing on Big Dave's Blog

lounge - noun 1 [3^rd entry] British a sitting room in a house: Pommers says, "the ‘box’ in the lounge where you watch Eastenders [a British television series]"

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.

1d   Knock off article covering one case of vice (6)

The definition is "knock off" with the solution being THIEVE (which works well in Britain, but not so well in North America). The wordplay is {THE (article) containing (covering) I (one)} plus VE {case (outer letters) of V(ic)E}.

There appears to be a slight difference in the way the expression "knock off" is used in Britain compared to here in North America. Whereas we would say "knock off a bank" (meaning steal money from a bank), it appears that the Brits might say "knock money off" (meaning steal money). Thus, in Britain, knock off would be a synonym for steal or thieve. However, that is not the case in North America.

Signing off for today - Falcon