Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - DT 26589

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26589
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, June 27, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26589]
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 26588 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, June 25, 2011.

Introduction

This puzzle may have been easy (Libellule awards it two stars for difficulty), but I still managed to mess up. I misinterpreted "flog" in 15d to mean 'promote or talk about (something) repetitively or at excessive length' (leading me to an incorrect solution, PITCH) rather than a form of corporal punishment. Of course, I was at a loss to explain the "what might be silver" portion of the clue.

In yet another flub, I put TELEPHONE BELL at 8d reasoning that with fewer calls the telephone would ring less often. The actual solution TELEPHONE BILL likely rings truer in Britain where I believe they have usage sensitive pricing for local calls (i.e., the amount of the bill depends on the usage, similar to wireless and long distance service in Canada). [In Canada, we pay a flat monthly charge for unlimited local calling on landline phone service.]

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.

assume - [American Heritage Dictionary] verb 4. To put on; don: The queen assumed a velvet robe.

best - verb outwit or get the better of (someone): she refused to allow herself to be bested

birch - verb chiefly historical beat (someone) with a bundle of birch twigs as a formal punishment: the school would attempt to birch them into submission

Odile - a character in the ballet Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Odile, the Black Swan, is the daughter of the evil genius von Rothbart and closely resembles Odette, the White Swan. The two roles are traditionally danced by the same ballerina.

St Odile of Alsace - (c. 662 - c. 720), a saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, although according to the current liturgical calendar her feastday (13 December) is not officially commemorated. She is a patroness of good eyesight.

savoury (US savory) - noun chiefly British a savoury snack: refreshments include cakes and savouries

worst - verb get the better of; defeat: this was not the time for a deep discussion — she was tired and she would be worsted

Appearing in Solutions:

[Anton] Chekhov - (1860–1904), Russian dramatist and short-story writer; full name Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Chekhov’s work , portraying upper-class life in pre-revolutionary Russia with a blend of naturalism and symbolism, had a considerable influence on 20th -century drama. Notable plays: The Seagull (1895), Uncle Vanya (1900), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

gaga - adjective informal slightly mad, typically as a result of old age, infatuation, or excessive enthusiasm.

[Lady] Gaga - stage name of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, an American pop singer-songwriter.

rarebit (also Welsh rarebit) - noun a dish of melted and seasoned cheese on toast, sometimes with other ingredients. [Origin: (late 18th century) alteration of rabbit in  Welsh rabbit; the reason for the use of the term rabbit is unknown]

Truro - the county town of Cornwall in SW England; population 23,700 (est. 2009).

Signing off for today - Falcon