Thursday, September 8, 2011 - DT 26579

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26579
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26579]
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

In today's session, we receive a brief review of yesterday's lesson on English geography. We then move on to a survey of British exclamations.

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.

blimey (also cor blimey) - exclamation British informal used to express surprise, excitement, or alarm.

Geordie - British informal noun [a] a person from Tyneside. [b] the English dialect or accent typical of people from Tyneside. adjective relating to Tyneside, its people, or their accent or dialect: Geordie humour

Tyneside - an industrial conurbation on the banks of the River Tyne, in NE England, stretching from Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast.

Appearing in Solutions:

conservatory - noun 1 British a room with a glass roof and walls, attached to a house at one side and used as a sun lounge or for growing delicate plants: keep plant cuttings in a frost-free conservatory or greenhouse 2 North American  another term for conservatoire

conservatoire - noun British a college for the study of classical music or other arts, typically in the continental European tradition: she studies piano and violin at the Paris Conservatoire

*cor - exclamation British informal expressing surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm: Cor! That‘s a beautiful black eye you’ve got!

docusoap - noun [likely British] a documentary following people in a particular occupation or location over a period of time: the docusoap Airport reminded many of us exactly why we stay put

drongo - noun 2 informal, chiefly Australian/NZ a stupid or incompetent person: I gave that drongo fifty dollars and he only gave me change for ten!

neck - noun 12. [likely British] informal impudence; audacity: he had the neck to ask for a rise [North American raise]

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

OT - abbreviation [3^rd entry] Old Testament [and, as a cryptic crossword convention, books]

pud - noun British informal short for pudding

pudding - noun chiefly British 1 [a] a cooked sweet dish served after the main course of a meal: [i] a rice pudding [ii] a good helping of pudding [b] the dessert course of a meal: what’s for pudding? [c] North American a dessert with a soft or creamy consistency. 2 [a] a sweet or savoury steamed dish made with suet and flour: a steak and kidney pudding [b] the intestines of a pig or sheep stuffed with oatmeal, spices, and meat and boiled. [c] informal a fat or stupid person: away with you, you big pudding!

ta - exclamation British informal thank you: ‘Ta,’  said Willie gratefully

wigeon (also widgeon) - noun a dabbling duck with mainly reddish-brown and grey plumage, the male having a whistling call. [Genus Anas, family Anatidae: three species, in particular the European wigeon (A. penelope) and the American wigeon (A. americana)]

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 - DT 26578

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26578
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26578]
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

It was the south-west quadrant which gave me difficulty today. While the clues there do not seem overly difficult in hindsight, it was the interlinking of them that was the problem. With just one or two more letters in any one of those clues, the whole corner would probably have fallen in rapid succession. But because I could not make headway on any one clue, the entire corner remained unsolved (until I called my electronic assistants into action). I guess that a person finding themselves in such a situation could correctly say that they were faced with gridlock. The puzzle proved to be a bit of an English geography lesson - not to mention being a primer on British musical notation.

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.

beau - noun dated 2 a rich, fashionable young man; a dandy.

Appearing in Solutions:

broad - [The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition] (in East Anglia) a lake-like expansion of a river

broad - noun 2 (the Broads) a series of low-lying shallow lakes connected by rivers in E Anglia. 

crit - noun informal (short for criticism or critic) British a review of a literary or artistic work or production: a theatre crit

crotchet - noun 1 Music, British a note having the time value of a quarter of a semibreve or half a minim, represented by a large solid dot with a plain stem.  Also called quarter note

dandy - noun 1 a man unduly concerned with looking stylish and fashionable: his floppy handkerchiefs and antique cufflinks gave him the look of a dandy

Dorset¹ - a county of SW England; county town, Dorchester.

*it² - noun British informal, dated Italian vermouth: he poured a gin and it

le - French the

nigh - adverb, preposition, & adjective 2 almost: [as adverb] a car weighing nigh on two tons

painter² - noun a rope attached to the bow of a boat for tying it to a quay.

slip¹ - noun 4 Cricket [a] a fielding position (often one of two or more in an arc) close behind the batsman on the off side, for catching balls edged by the batsman: [i] he was caught in the slips for 32 [ii] King is at first slip [b] a fielder at slip.

off - noun 1 (also off side) Cricket the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch ) towards which the batsman’s feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The opposite of leg.

 *st - abbreviation [1^st entry] stone (in weight), noun 4 (plural same) British a unit of weight equal to 14 lb (6.35 kg): I weighed 10 stone

Staines - [Collins English Dictionary] a town in SE England, in N Surrey on the River Thames. Pop.: 51,167 (1991)

Sunday - noun 1 the first day of the week and for most Christians the day of worship and rest. 2 colloquial a newspaper that is on sale on this day.

Sunday - noun [2^nd entry] (the Sundays) British informal the newspapers published each Sunday: she wrote human-interest pieces for the Sundays

Sunday painter - noun [likely British] an amateur painter, especially one with little training.

*TA - abbreviation (in the UK) Territorial Army, a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

26a   Beau's extremes of depravity? (5)

The definition is "beau" (but it takes a different meaning than that with which I am familiar). Here it means "a rich, fashionable young man" (DANDY) rather than "a boyfriend or male admirer". The wordplay ("extremes of depravity") introduces a twist on the standard construction. We need to use D AND Y rather than the normal D + Y.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 - DT 26577

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26577
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, June 13, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26577]
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 26576 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, June 11, 2011

Introduction

This puzzle is pretty well what we would expect from Rufus - enjoyable without being too difficult. While I was able to complete three of the quadrants without assistance, my electronic aids saw extensive action in the south-east region.

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.

kit¹ - noun 1 a set of articles or equipment needed for a specific purpose: a first-aid kit

While the word kit is commonly used in North America in expressions such as first-aid kit or model airplane kit, it would not be used in the context found in this clue (and apparently common in Britain) to mean the gear or equipment used by a touring band.

square cut - noun Cricket a cut hit square on the offside.

vest - noun 1 British [North American undershirt] an undergarment worn on the upper part of the body, typically having no sleeves.

Appearing in Solutions:

gaol - British alternative spelling of jail

jumble sale - noun British a sale of miscellaneous second-hand articles, typically held in order to raise money for a charity or a special event.

*lo - exclamation archaic used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event: and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them

*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)]

oval - noun [2^nd entry] an oval sports field or racing track.

The Oval - the former (and still commonly used) name of The KIA Oval, an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth which  is the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club, and also traditionally hosts the final Test match of each English summer season in late August or early September.

quid¹ - noun British informal one pound sterling: we paid him four hundred quid

quid² - noun a lump of tobacco for chewing.

singlet - noun 1 chiefly British a sleeveless garment worn under or instead of a shirt; a vest [see definition in Appearing in Clues].

*tar² - noun informal, dated a sailor.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, September 5, 2011 - DT 26575

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26575
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, June 10, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26575]
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 This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page of the Saturday, September 3, 2011 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

I solved three quadrants without assistance, but I was totally unable to make inroads in the south-west quadrant until I popped open my trusty Tool Chest. I did learn a few new words today. I also learned that I must read the clues more carefully - I carelessly entered STRAP at 9a, merely because it was a good match for the definition. I also missed the reversal contained in the wordplay at 22a, thinking that the clue was simply a cryptic definition.

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.

bottle - noun 2 British informal the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous: I lost my bottle completely and ran

charity - noun 3 [a] kindness and tolerance in judging others: she found it hard to look on her mother with much charity [b] archaic love of humankind, typically in a Christian context: faith, hope, and charity

Appearing in Solutions:

chaplet - noun 2 a string of 55 beads (one third of the rosary number) for counting prayers, or as a necklace.

Czech - noun 1 a native or inhabitant of the Czech Republic or (formerly) Czechoslovakia, or a person of Czech descent.

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

innings - noun (plural same or informal inningses) 1 Cricket [a] each of two or four divisions of a game during which one side has a turn at batting: the highlight of the Surrey innings [b] a player’s turn at batting: he had played his greatest innings [c] the score achieved during a player’s turn at batting: a solid innings of 78 by Marsh

la place - French the place (position)

[Pierre Simon, Marquis de] Laplace - (1749–1827), French applied mathematician and theoretical physicist. His treatise Mécanique céleste (1799–1825) is an extensive mathematical analysis of geophysical matters and of planetary and lunar motion.

Franz Liszt - (1811–86), Hungarian composer and pianist. He was a key figure in the romantic movement; many of his piano compositions combine lyricism with great technical complexity, while his twelve symphonic poems (1848–58) created a new musical form.

mate¹ - noun 3 British informal [a] a friend or companion: my best mate Steve [b] used as a friendly form of address between men or boys: ‘See you then, mate.’

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

orpine (also orpin) - noun a purple-flowered Eurasian stonecrop. [Sedum telephium, family Crassulaceae]

osier - noun [a] a small Eurasian willow which grows mostly in wet habitats. It is usually coppiced, being a major source of the long flexible shoots (withies) used in basketwork. [Salix viminalis, family Salicaceae] [b] a shoot of a willow. [c] dated any willow tree.

recollection - cryptic crossword convention read this as re-collection, i.e., to collect again (the inference being that one collects the letters again, but in a different order)

rien - French nothing

SA - abbreviation [2^nd entry] informal, dated sex appeal.

[Edmund] Spenser - (circa 1552–99), English poet. He is best known for his allegorical romance The Faerie Queene (1590; 1596), celebrating Queen Elizabeth I and written in the Spenserian stanza.

SS¹ - abbreviation [4^th entry] steamship: the SS Canberra

table - noun 1 [[2^nd entry] [in singular] food provided in a restaurant or household: he was reputed to have the finest French table of the time

tent³ - [Collins English Dictionary] noun Obsolete a red table wine from Alicante, Spain

Appearing on Big Dave's Site

sub - noun 2 British a subscription [fee or dues]: the annual sub for the golf club will be £200

Gazza employs "... someone who has paid his or her subs in a club ..." as a hint for 'member'.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, September 3, 2011 - Working Nine to Five

Introduction

It looks like we will have put in a full day of work by the time we have completed today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon. Having spent much of the day marshalling at a golf course, I felt rather sheepish when the elusive wordplay to 24d finally fell into place.





Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   {NINE L}<|IVES - reversal (turned) of LENIN (top communist) + IVES (composer)

6a   {TYPE A}~ - sounds like (you might say) TAIPEI (Taiwan's capital)

9a   TELEGRAPH* - anagram (radical) of HELP GREAT

10a   K(EY<) IN - KIN (family) containing (holding) {reversal (back) of YE (you)}

11a   SING|E - SING (confess) + E (error; baseball term)

12a   SED__ENTARY - SEDIMENTARY (like some rock) with IM deleted (except I'm)

13a   PERSONNEL* - anagram (changing) of PENNS ROLE

16a   OF|TEN - OF TEN (decimal)

17a   POS(I)T - POST (mail) contains I (one)

18a   _T|ASK| FOR|CE_ - hidden in (in) effecT ASK FOR CEntral

19a   REORDERED* - anagram (silly) of DEED ERROR

22a   C(H)ART - H (first [letter] of Hay) contained in (in) CART (wagon)

25a   LIKEN~ - sounds like (in the ear) LICHEN (fungal growth)

26a   FEUDALISM* - anagram (in a novel way) of USED A FILM

27a   PAD|DY< - PAD (digs; a hippy's living accommodation) + reversal (turning) of YD (yard)

28a   {T(AK)ES FIVE}* - anagram (dancing) of FESTIVE containing AK (Alaska)

Note: the definition is "is relaxing" (third person singular, present tense).

Down
1d   {NO|TES}< - reversal (from the rear) of SET ON (attack)

2d   NYLO*|N - anagram (confused) of ONLY + N (nation's leader; i.e., leading letter of "Nation")

3d   LOGGED OUT - double definition; "signed out" (from a computer) & "having no more timber" (it having all been harvested)

4d   VI(A|L)S - {A + L (litre)} contained in (put in) {VI (six; Roman numeral) + S (small)}

5d   SCHEDULES* - anagram (subject to change) of CHESS DUELS

6d   TO|KEN - TO (intended for) + KEN (Kenneth)

7d   PAYMASTER* - anagram (all over) of STAMP YEAR

8d   ANNOYANCE* - anagram (upset) of ANYONE CAN

13d   P(APER) C|LIP - {PC (computer) + LIP (kisser)} containing APER (copier)

14d   REST(O|CK)ED - RESTED (refreshed) containing (receiving) {O (mid-October; i.e., the middle letter of OctOber) + CK (check)}

15d   {NET PROFIT}* - anagram (shifting) of TIP TEN FOR

16d   OF|FI(CIA)LS - OF (from) + {CIA (spy agency) contained in (received by) FILS (son in France; i.e., a French word meaning "son")}

• of - preposition 6 indicating the raw material out of which something is manufactured: a paint made from a natural resin
• from - preposition 8 indicating the material or substance constituting something: [i] the house was built of bricks; [ii] walls of stone

20d   D|INKY - D (bit of Delta; i.e., first letter of "Delta") + INKY (jet)

• jet² - noun (also jet black) a glossy black colour: [as modifier] her jet-black hair

21d   D(R)UNK - DUNK (stuff; as a basketball, for example) containing (around) R (Vancouver's terminal; i.e., the terminal letter of "VancouveR")

23d   ALI|BI_ - ALI (boxing legend [Muhammad Ali]) + BI (bio almost; all but the last letter of "BIo")

• out - noun 1 informal a way of escaping from a problem or dilemma: he was desperately looking for an out

24d   TE(MP)E - MP (legislator; Member of Parliament) contained in TEE (beginning of a hole; each hole on a golf course begins at a tee and ends at a green)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, September 2, 2011 - DT 26574

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26574
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, June 9, 2011
Setter Ray T
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26574]
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

Today, the old adage that begins "If at first you don't succeed ..." proved true. At my first sitting, I was able to solve most of the puzzle but there remained a half dozen holdouts. Upon returning to the puzzle several hours later, the solutions to the remaining clues quickly fell into place.

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.

bucket - verb 1 (it buckets down, it is bucketing down, etc.) British informal rain heavily: it was still bucketing down

maiden - noun 2 (also maiden over) 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.

Appearing in Solutions:

*d - abbreviation British penny or pence (of pre-decimal currency): £20 10s 6d [from Latin denarius 'penny']

[George] Eliot - (1819–80), English novelist; pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans. Her novels of provincial life are characterized by their exploration of moral problems and their development of the psychological analysis that marks the modern novel. Notable works: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), and Middlemarch (1871-2).

Note: Big Dave opts, instead, for the American-born British poet, critic, and dramatist T. S. Eliot.

epergne - noun an ornamental centrepiece for a dining table, typically used for holding fruit or flowers.

ling¹ - noun any of a number of long-bodied edible marine fishes: [a] a large East Atlantic fish related to the cod (genus Molva, family Gadidae), in particular M. molva, which is of commercial importance [b] a related Australian fish (Lotella callarias, family Gadidae) [c] a similar but unrelated Australian fish (Genypterus blacodes, family Ophidiidae)

wink - verb 2 (of a bright object or a light) shine or flash intermittently: the diamond on her finger winked in the moonlight

yashmak - noun a veil concealing all of the face except the eyes, worn by some Muslim women in public.

Signing off for today - Falcon

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