Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - DT 26583

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26583
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, June 20, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26583]
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 26582 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, June 18, 2011.

Introduction
I must have been well tuned into Rufus' wavelength today, as I was able to complete this puzzle (judged by Libellule to be "a bit more difficult than usual") without assistance from my Tool Chest.

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.

des res - noun British informal a desirable residence (used as a humorous allusion to the language used in housing advertisements): they are converting a Victorian schoolhouse into a des res

Appearing in Solutions:

*AB² - abbreviation [1^st entry] able seaman, noun a rank of sailor in the Royal Navy above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman

bit¹ - noun 2 British, old use, in compounds a coin, especially a small coin • threepenny bit.

*ER - abbreviation Queen Elizabeth. [from Latin Elizabetha Regina]

*form - noun 6 chiefly British a class or year in a school, usually given a specifying number: the fifth form.

Iron Cross - noun the highest German military decoration for bravery, instituted in 1813.

lift - noun 1 [1^st entry] British [North American elevator] a platform or compartment housed in a shaft for raising and lowering people or things to different levels: [i] Alice went up to the second floor in the lift; [ii] [as modifier] the lift door opened

locum - noun British a person who stands in temporarily for someone else of the same profession, especially a cleric or doctor.

*or² - noun gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

postern - noun a back or side entrance: [as modifier] a small postern door

*rum² - adjective British informal, dated odd; peculiar: it's a rum business, certainly

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.

19a   Leave one's pad, having to use the stairs? (4-3)

The definition is "leave one's pad" (as the space shuttle might have done), which is LIFT-OFF. In Britain, one would have to use the stairs should the lift (elevator) not be working (of which building management, perhaps, might inform tenants by posting a sign indicating LIFT OFF).

Although I failed to find it in any of the sources that I consulted, lift-off can also be used as an informal term meaning to move out of the parental home. It is often used pejoratively in the negative in reference to an adult child still living at home; Their 28-year old son, Ben, had failed to achieve lift-off. However, this usage may be a North American expression and, in any event, might not apply here as I am not sure that "one's pad" would necessarily describe a room in your parent's house.

22a   Old-fashioned engine-driver set out before morning (5)

The definition is "old-fashioned engine-driver" with the solution being STEAM. The wordplay is an anagram (out) of SET + (before) AM (morning). While this clue certainly works well enough in North America, it would work even better in Britain, where steam is used as an adjective meaning old-fashioned in expressions such as steam radio, a term 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