Puzzle at a Glance
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Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26895 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, June 18, 2012 | |
Setter
Rufus (Roger Squires) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26895] | |
Big Dave's Review Written By
Libellule | |
Big Dave's Rating
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Difficulty - ★★ | Enjoyment - ★★★ |
Falcon's Performance
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███████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
Legend:
█ - solved without assistance
█ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
█ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
█ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools
█ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
█ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
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Notes
The National Post has skipped DT 26894 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, June 16, 2012. |
Introduction
Today, Rufus serves up a fairly easy puzzle and even goes light on the Briticisms.Notes on Today's Puzzle
This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.
13a He keeps an eye on the hands to avoid overtime (5-7)
This is not an boss monitoring the employees, but an employee watching the clock.
2d Soldiers are unable to withdraw (6)
The Corps of Royal Engineers (RE)[5] is the field engineering and construction corps of the British army.
3d We set about the final course (5)
In Britain, a sweet[5] may be either (1) a small shaped piece of confectionery made with sugar • a bag of sweets [in North America known as candy] or (2) a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; in other words, a pudding or dessert.
6d Steps — quiet ones (5)
Piano[3,5] (abbreviation p[5]), is a musical direction meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).
13d Big plunge on Swiss bank? (6,3)
The Cresta Run[5] is a hazardously winding, steeply banked channel of ice built each year at the Cresta Valley, St Moritz, Switzerland, as a tobogganing [sledding] course, on which competitors race on light toboggans [sleds] in a characteristic head-first position. Such a run was first built in 1884.
Toboggan is the British name for a sled and bears absolutely no resemblance to what would be known as a toboggan in North American. A Cresta sled is very similar – if not identical – to a skeleton sled.
For more on this subject, see my review of DT 26375.
15d Words are not about to stick (8)
Gum[2] as a noun is (1) any of various substances found in certain plants, especially trees, that produce a sticky solution or gel when added to water, used in confectionery, gummed envelopes, etc. or (2) this or any similar substance used as glue. As a verb, it means to to smear, glue or unite something with gum.
17d Rough cowl on chimney in Scotland (7)
In Scottish and Northern English, lum[5] means chimney.
18d Recover one’s possession? (6)
It seems that I was not alone in thinking that this clue is rather tenuous.
Key to Reference Sources:Signing off for today — Falcon
[1] - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
[2] - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
[3] - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
[4] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
[5] - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
[6] - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
[7] - Wikipedia
[8] - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
[9] - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)