Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - DT 26512

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26512
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26512]
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

Introduction

Despite having completed the puzzle, I didn't get around to preparing the review on Tuesday as it was my turn to write the review on Big Dave's blog for the puzzle that appeared in The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday. Like many of the Brits, I initially had the wrong cricket position at 5d. While I eventually realized the error, it did markedly prolong my solving time.

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.

Alvin Stardust (born Bernard William Jewry) - English pop singer and stage actor.

The Dandy Annual - current name of a book that has been published in the U.K. every year since 1938, to tie in with the British children's comic The Dandy.

[Rod] Hull - (1935 – 1999), a popular entertainer on British television in the 1970s and 1980s. He rarely appeared without Emu, a mute, highly aggressive arm-length puppet of the flightless emu bird.

Appearing in Solutions:

b - abbreviation [3^rd entry] Cricket (on scorecards) bowled by: AC Hudson b Prasad 146

c - symbol Physics the speed of light in a vacuum: E = mc²

Emu - a puppet emu that frequently appeared with British television entertainer Rod Hull (1935 – 1999). While on stage, the character had a mischievous persona and often attacked the celebrity guests for comic effect.

fine leg - noun Cricket [a] a fielding position behind the batsman on the leg side, between long leg and square leg. [b] a fielder at fine leg.

greatcoat - noun a long heavy overcoat.

lour (also lower) - verb look angry or sullen; scowl: the lofty statue lours at patients in the infirmary noun a scowl.

onze - French eleven

Taffy - noun British informal, often offensive a Welshman.

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.

3d   Pre-tax report on royal purveyor (6)

In his review, Gazza had a change of heart concerning the wordplay in this clue. The definition is "purveyor" which - in this case - happens to be a GROCER. It is a homophone clue in which something sounds like (report) GROSS (pre-tax). The something may be GROC or GROCE. Initially, Gazza had opted for the former, making the wordplay GROC + ER (royal; Elizabeth Regina). However, prompted by a comment from a reader, he subsequently changed his choice to the latter, making he wordplay GROCE + R (Rex [king] or Regina [queen]).

6d   Vivid constant scowl adopted by foul drink (9)

This is not the first time that I have seen "constant" used to denote the symbol c (the speed of light in a vacuum) - and also not the first time that the wording of the clue would seem to imply that the setter is unaware that this is not the only constant that exists in the fields of science and mathematics.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, June 20, 2011 - DT 26511

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26511
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, March 28, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26511]
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 The National Post has skipped DT 26510 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, March 26, 2011

Introduction

Time is at a premium these days. After what has been - for the most part - a cold, wet spring in Ottawa, we have been enjoying glorious summer-like weather for the past couple of weeks. Between traveling to a family get-together, working in the yard (garden to the Brits), and spending time at the golf course and the lake, there has been scarce time to devote to puzzles and the blog. I now have nearly a full week of partially completed puzzles awaiting my attention.

I found today's puzzle to be quite a challenge - and I had to take full advantage of my electronic tools to solve it. A couple of missteps contributed significantly to my difficulty. I had put 'DO ANY AND ALL' at 1a, then changed it to 'DO ALL AND ANY' to accommodate 3d. I was eventually to discover (prior to resorting to my electronic assistants) that this was also incorrect. It took longer to discover my other error (at 8d) where I entered DOWNFALL which I only realized only after having called my electronic assistants into action. I needed Gazza's explanation for the wordplay at 9a, as I failed to see past the cricket imagery.

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.

Bow - an area of London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located 4.6 miles (7.4 km) east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.

bowl² - verb 2 [1^st entry] [with object] Cricket (of a bowler) propel (the ball) with a straight arm towards the batsman, typically in such a way that the ball bounces once: Lillee bowled another bouncer; [no object] Sobers bowled to Willis

maiden over - noun 2 (also maiden) Cricket an over in which no runs are scored.

over - noun Cricket a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

mundane - adjective 2 of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one.

snick - verb [with object] 1 [a] cut a small notch or incision in (something): the stem can be carefully snicked to allow the bud to swell [b] Cricket deflect (the ball) slightly with the edge of the bat; deflect a ball delivered by (a bowler) in this way. noun 1 [a] a small notch or cut: he had several shaving snicks [b] Cricket a slight deflection of the ball by the bat.

wicket - noun 1 Cricket [a] each of the sets of three stumps with two bails across the top at either end of the pitch , defended by a batsman. [b] the prepared strip of ground between these two sets of stumps. [c] the dismissal of a batsman; each of ten dismissals regarded as marking a division of a side's innings: Darlington won by four wickets

Appearing in Solutions:

[David] Cameron - the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party.

CR - abbreviation King Charles (Charles Rex)

do¹ - verb 5 [4^th entry] British informal swindle: a thousand pounds for one set of photos — Jacqui had been done

*MB - abbreviation Bachelor of Medicine [from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus], the professional degree held by medical practitioners in Britain [equivalent to a North American MD (Medical Doctor, from Latin Medicinae Doctor]

scenic railway - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 1. a miniature railway used for amusement in a park, zoo, etc. 2. a roller coaster

Note: Oxford Dictionaries Online (Oxford Dictionary of English) and Search Collins (Collins 21st Century Dictionary) each list only the former of these definitions.

Sten [gun] - noun a type of lightweight British sub-machine gun.

*U³ - adjective British informal (of language or social behaviour) characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes: U manners. [consequently posh]

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.

9a   One may bowl a maiden over, or get a wicket (4,5)

Having failed to see past the cricket imagery, I needed Gazza's explanation to understand the wordplay here. On the surface the clue indicates that a cricket player may bowl an over in which no runs are scored (bowl a maiden over) or may dismiss a batsman (get a wicket). In the cryptic reading, the first part of the clue has nothing to do with cricket. Rather it indicates that we are looking for a term that would be someone who might very favourably impress a young lady. The second part of the clue tells us that this term must also mean to dismiss a batsman. One way to dismiss a batsman is to catch a ball hit by the batsman. Thus a GOOD CATCH satisfies both definitions.

13a   Subject matter about right for a mundane circle (6)

The wordplay is TOPIC (subject matter) containing (about) R (right) to give TROPIC. I believe the setter stretches the meaning of "mundane" (in the sense 'of this earthly world') such that "mundane circle" means a circle on the earth, namely tropic, 'the parallel of latitude 23 ° 26ʹ north ( tropic of Cancer ) or south ( tropic of Capricorn ) of the equator'.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, June 18, 2011 - A Puzzle with Panache

Introduction

One might be tempted to pan today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon - but that would hardly be fair. I actually quite enjoyed the puzzle.

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.

Rolaids - a brand of antacid produced by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Inc.

Appearing in Solutions:

de- - prefix signifying 2 reversal or removal • decriminalize.

fun fair [two words, American spelling] - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun Chiefly British An amusement park.

funfair [one word, British spelling] - [Oxford Dictionaries Online (Oxford Dictionary of English)] noun chiefly British a fair consisting of rides, sideshows, and other amusements.

*Lorelei - [a] a rock on the bank of the Rhine, held by legend to be the home of a siren whose song lures boatmen to destruction [b] the siren said to live on the Lorelei rock

Pan - Greek Mythology a god of flocks and herds, typically represented with the horns, ears, and legs of a goat on a man's body. His sudden appearance was supposed to cause terror similar to that of a frightened and stampeding herd, and the word panic is derived from his name.

pan¹ - noun 5 US informal a person's face.

[King] Tut or Tutankhamun (alternately spelled with Tutenkh-, -amen, -amon); approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (ruled c.1333 BC – 1323 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. His original name, Tutankhaten, means "Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamun means "Living Image of Amun". ... He ascended to the throne in 1333 BC, at the age of nine or ten.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

1a   PAN|ICKIEST - PAN (Greek god) + ICKIEST (most disgusting)

6a   S|CAR - S (front of Swedish; i.e., first letter in Swedish) + CAR (auto)

9a   TICK OFF - double definition; "check" & "anger"

10a   R(AFT)ING - AFT (back) contained in (in) RING (boxing venue)

12a   ODE~ - sounds like (heard) OWED (outstanding [as a debt])

13a   PAN|A|MA C|ANAL* - PAN (face) + A + MAC (computer) + ANAL {an anagram (tossed) of ALAN}

14a   LORELEI~ - sounds like (mumbled) LAUREL I

16a   ABOLISH*  - anagram (doctor) of HAS BOIL

18a   DEFENCE - a cryptic definition in which the setters playfully imagine that the word 'defence' might mean 'put a stop to swordfighting (fencing)'.

20a   HIS|TORY - HIS (the man's) + TORY (Conservative)

22a   PAN|TO|MIMI|ST - PAN (bad review) + TO + MIMI +ST (street)

25a   TUT - double definition; "that was naughty" & "young king"

26a   T|RAINED - T (tennis at first; i.e., first letter of Tennis) + RAINED (showered)

27a   TITANIC* - anagram (shot) of INTACT I

28a   HARE~ - sounds like (in the ears) HAIR (fur)

29a   PAN|CREASES - PAN (camera shot) + CREASES (wrinkles)

Down
1d   PA|TROLLED - PA (dad) + TROLLED (fished)

2d   NU|CLEAR - NU (Greek character; i.e., the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet) + CLEAR (certain [of])

3d   C(RO)UP - RO (couple of Rolaids; i.e., first two letters of ROlaids) contained in (in) CUP

4d   IN|F(ANT)ILE - IN FILE (queued up) containing (around) ANT (crawler)

5d   S|CRAM - S (small) + CRAM (stuff)

7d   _CHI|ANTI_ - hidden in (contributing to) mariaCHI ANTIcs

8d   REGAL< - reversal (brought back) LAGER (beer)

11d   F|ACTORS - F (female) + ACTORS (thespians)

15d   LINCOLN~ - sounds like (in speech) LINKIN' (makin' connections) {slurred pronunciation of LINKING (making connections)}

16d   A|T(HEIST)IC - HEIST (rip-off) contained in (penned by) {A + TIC (jerk)}

17d   HAYST|ACKS~ - sounds like (reportedly) {HASTE (rush) + (and) AXE (chop down}

19d   F|UN FAIR - F (failing; as a grade in school) + UNFAIR (not just)

21d   OUTINGS* - anagram (convertible) of GOT US IN

22d   PITCH - double definition; "asphalt" & "slope"

23d   _IN|DIA_ - hidden (including) in begIN DIAlogue

24d   TI(T)LE - Tile (Scrabble piece) containing (bearing) T

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - DT 26506

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26506
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26506]
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

Introduction

Today's puzzle contained a few new British expressions - not to mention a fair number of old ones. As you can see from the chart above, it presented considerably more of a challenge for me than Gazza's two stars for difficulty would seem to suggest.

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.

dish - verb 2 informal, chiefly British utterly destroy or defeat: the election interview dished Labour's chances

host² - noun 2 archaic an army.

ladder - noun  2 British a vertical strip of unravelled fabric in tights or stockings.

Appearing in Solutions:

*B³ - symbol 1 chess bishop.

barmy - adjective British informal mad; crazy: I thought I was going barmy at first; extremely foolish: this is a barmy decision

chunter - verb [no object] British informal 1 talk or grumble monotonously: she chuntered on about her problems; 2 [with adverbial of direction] move along slowly and noisily: the car came chuntering up the track

dummy run - noun British a practice or trial.

gorgon - noun [a] Greek Mythology each of three sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, with snakes for hair, who had the power to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. Medusa was killed by Perseus. [b] a fierce, frightening, or repulsive woman.

Gorgonzola - noun a type of rich , strong-flavoured Italian cheese with bluish-green veins.

hunter - noun 2 a watch with a hinged cover protecting the glass.

OTT - abbreviation British informal over the top: presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT

[Emile] Zola - (1840–1902), French novelist and critic; full name Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola. His series of twenty novels collectively entitled Les Rougon - Macquart (1871–93), including Nana (1880), Germinal (1885), and La Terre (1887), attempts to show how human behaviour is determined by environment and heredity.

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.

24a   Sounds like old man is a spouter (6)

The definition is spouter, for which the solution is GEYSER. The wordplay is "sounds like GEEZER (old man)".

While 'geezer' and 'geyser' are not pronounced the same in North America, they are in Britain - as you can hear for yourself by comparing the British and American pronunciations at TheFreeDictionary.com (geyser, geezer).

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, June 11, 2011 - Let's Go Exploring

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon presents four prominent explorers of the territory that was to become Canada.












Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

1a   B|O|SWELL - B (British) + O (love) + SWELL (nice)

5a   IS|TH(M)US - IS + THUS (hence) containing (accommodating) M (1000)

9a   CHAMP|LAIN - CHAMP (titleholder) + LAIN (rested)

10a   R|ICED - R (last of flouR) + ICED (chilled)

11a   INFER|NO - INFER (conclude) + NO (I won't)

12a   SATIRIC* - anagram (snarled) of RACIST I

13a   GAB|ON - GAB (chat) + ON (about)

15a   F(ROB)ISHER - FISHER (angler) containing ROB (stick up)

17a   VAN|CO(U)VER - U (up) contained in (in) {VAN (truck) + COVER (shelter)}

20a   S|PRIG - S (small) + PRIG (self-righteous sort)

22a   B(AWL) OUT - AWL (puncher) contained in (in) BOUT (boxing match)

24a   B|A|SEMAN< - reversal (the wrong way) of NAMES (calls) + A + B (ball)

26a   AR(GO)T - GO (run) contained in (into) ART (painting)

27a   MAC(K)E|NZ|IE - {MACE (club) + (linked with) NZ + IE (that is)} containing (hosting) K (king)

28a   {TUNE|D IN}~ - sounds like (voiced) {TOON (animated film) + DIN (commotion)}

29a   NE(T)W|_ORK - T (time) contained in (in) {NEW + yORK (York, after the premiere; i.e., with the first letter deleted)}

Down

1d   BA(C|KIN)G - {C (100) + KIN (relatives)} contained in (in) BAG (avocation)

2d   SNARF< - reversal (retrospective) of FRANS ([Frans] Hals)

3d   ESPERANTO* - anagram (foreign) of TENOR APES

4d   LEA|DOFF - LEA (where sheep may graze) + DOFF (remove)

5d   I(ONE)S|CO - {IS + CO (conscientious objector)} containing (about) ONE (single thing)

6d   T(A)ROT - TROT (run) containing (carrying) A

7d   _MA|CART|HUR_ - hidden in (riding in) lamMA CART HURt

8d   SIDECAR* - anagram (prepared) of CIDER AS

14d   B|AND|WAG|ON - B (bishop) + AND + WAG (joker) + ON (aboard)

16d   IN(SIS)TENT - INTENT (purpose) containing (about) SIS (member of the fam)

17d   V|I|BRANT - V (bunch of geese) + (ahead of) I ([Roman numeral for] one) + BRANT (Arctic goose)

18d   VITAMIN* - anagram (mixing) of IN VAT IM

19d   RUB|ICON - RUB (polish) + ICON (symbol)

21d   GUN (DEC)K - DEC (December) contained in (covered with) GUNK (sludge)

23d   OP(T)ED - OP ED (newspaper section) containing T (theatre, at first; i.e., first letter of Theatre )

25d   {MEZ|ZO}~ - sounds like (audible) {MET (Metropolitan Opera House) + SO (quite)}

Signing off for the moment - Falcon

Friday, June 10, 2011 - DT 26503

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26503
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, March 18, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26503]
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

Introduction

I was a bit unsure about how to score my performance today. I came up with solutions to 1d and 11a but did not feel confident with either one. However, my electronic assistants did not provide any better options. With a bit more thought, I did became more confident with my solution to 11a, but the solution to 1d still seemed a bit questionable in my mind. As I confirmed from Gazza's review, both solutions turned out to be correct.

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.

Hampshire¹ - a county on the coast of southern England; county town, Winchester.

Appearing in Solutions:

decree nisi - noun English Law an order by a court of law stating the date on which a marriage will end unless a good reason not to grant a divorce is produced.

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

Hants - abbreviation Hampshire.

muckle (variant of mickle) - archaic or Scottish & Northern English noun a large amount. adjective very large. determiner & pronoun much ; a large amount. phrase many a little makes a mickle proverb many small amounts accumulate to make a large amount.

Op. (also op.) - abbreviation Music opus (before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication).

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, June 9, 2011 - DT 26502

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26502
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, March 17, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26502]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
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

Although Big Dave awarded this puzzle only two stars for difficulty, there are enough British references in it to make it a bit more difficult for solvers on this side of the Atlantic. However, having seen most of them in previous puzzles, they did not present me with a significant impediment.

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.

clump - verb 2  another term for clomp, [no object, with adverbial of direction] walk with a heavy tread: she clomped down the steps

L. S. Lowry - (1887 – 1976), English artist famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of Northern England during the early 20th century. He had a distinctive style of painting and is best known for urban landscapes peopled with human figures often referred to as "matchstick men".

Appearing in Solutions:

des res - noun British informal a desirable residence (used as a humorous allusion to the language used in housing advertisements).

River Exe - an English river that rises near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, near the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south (English Channel) coast of Devon.

R² - abbreviation Regina [Queen] or Rex [King]: Elizabeth R

ripped - [American Heritage Dictionary] adjective slang 2. Intoxicated by alcohol or a drug.

trouser - verb [with object] British informal receive or take (something, especially money) for oneself; pocket: they claimed that he had trousered a £2 million advance

winkle - noun 1 a small herbivorous shore-dwelling mollusc with a spiral shell.  Also called periwinkle. Family Littorinidae, class Gastropoda: many genera and species, including the common and edible Littorina littorea

Signing off for today - Falcon