Tuesday, September 1, 2009 (DT 25909)

This puzzle was originally published Wednesday, April 22, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

For the most part, the clues were straightforward, but I did struggle with a few of them. It's funny how the solutions always look so obvious in retrospect.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

Ely - a city in Cambridgeshire, England

extra - cricket a run scored other than by hitting the ball with the bat

SAS - abbrev. Special Air Service, a special forces regiment within the British Army

wellie - colloq. Wellington (boot), known in this part of the world as a rubber boot or gum-boot

Today's Links

I found no questions on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle.

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25909].

Dave Cameron and His Bicycle

In case readers may be wondering about the reference to Dave Cameron in Big Dave's blog, it is referring to British Conservative Leader David Cameron. Wikipedia explains the relation between Dave Cameron and the bicycle thus:

"From the outset of his leadership of the Conservative Party, Cameron has sought to publicise his use of a bicycle to commute to work. However, in the spring of 2006 he was photographed commuting to work on bicycle with a chauffeur-driven limousine following him carrying his belongings, and his Conservative Party spokesperson subsequently admitted that this was a regular arrangement for Cameron at the time. This has led to allegations of hypocrisy around any claims to "green" credentials. He was also photographed ignoring red lights and travelling in the wrong direction on a one way street. Further embarrassment resulted when his bicycle was stolen when he was shopping. The thief simply lifted the bicycle and chain over the two foot high bollard it was attached to. The bicycle was recovered with the aid of The Sunday Mirror. His bicycle has since been stolen again from near his house."

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

1ac Someone well balanced might take it to work (7)

I thought this was a pretty straightforward clue - one certainly needs to be well balanced to avoid falling off a bicycle. However, for some reason, the Brits didn't seem to like it much. Perhaps it was just due to Big Dave's political reference.

10ac Small college with new international computer-assisted learning, initially complicated (9)

I did not like this clue. The progression from "small college" to "small technical college" to TECH does not seem reasonable to me. If this is permissible, then the same rationale could be used to turn "small hospital" into VET ("small hospital" to "small veterinary hospital" to VET). However, I guess I will have to live with Big Dave's explanation as I have wracked my brain seeking an alternative explanation in vain.

4d Run over (5)

I thought that "over" in this clue might be a cricket reference. However, it turns out that "run" is the cricket reference (see "extra" in Today's Glossary) and "over" is just plain, ordinary, everyday "over".

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, August 31, 2009 (DT 25908)

This puzzle was originally published Tuesday, April 21, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Today the National Post has skipped ahead a few puzzles. It is not a very big jump, as only three puzzles have been skipped, which puts us at DT 25908.

I found today's puzzle to be moderately difficult. With perseverance, it was solvable - albeit with the assistance of my Tool Chest. It was not that the clues were terribly difficult (at least not in hindsight) but some of them were rather tricky.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

I didn't pick up anything of particular note in today's puzzle.

Today's Links

I found four questions on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle. They (together with the clues to which they relate) are:

• AnswerBank [DT 25908]-a: 1ac, 14ac
• AnswerBank [DT 25908]-b: 20d
• AnswerBank [DT 25908]-c: 27ac
• AnswerBank [DT 25908]-d: 13d

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25908].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

11ac Water bearer? (8)

For a while, I was thinking that the solution might be Aquarius which, of course, somewhat hindered solving the intersecting down clues.

12ac Seen in mirror, dainty frock (6)

This meaning for "frock" was new to me, although I have heard of a priest being "defrocked". I guess it only stands to reason that one must first be frocked before one can be defrocked.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, August 29, 2009 - Triple Crown Winners

Introduction

Today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon takes us to the track, actually to three tracks - Churchill Downs, Pimlico, and Belmont Park where we find five Triple Crown winners as well as the only jockey to ride two Triple Crown winners.





Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"CD" Cryptic Definition; "DD" Double Definition
	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

1ac CITATION* - moved {INTO ACT I}* [1948 Triple Crown winner]

5ac ASH|RAM

10ac _UPPER - meal starting late → s[UPPER]

11ac A|LAB|ASTER

12ac SECRET|ARIA|_T - broadcas[T] finally [1973 Triple Crown winner]

13ac A|DO

14ac ME|LEE - Spike Lee: American film director, producer, writer and actor

15ac AN|TIP|AS|TO - one [AN] bit of advice [TIP] about [AS TO]

17ac {SPLIT OPEN}* - out {LISTEN POP}*

19ac PA(B)L|O - Pablo Picasso: Spanish artist

21ac RAM - RAM: abbrev. random access memory

22ac SE(A)TTLE SLEW - [1977 Triple Crown winner]

25ac BUT|TIN|SKI

26ac O|KING

27ac EDDIE|D - Eddie Arcaro: American jockey [rode two Triple Crown winners - Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948]

28ac AFFIRMED* - bananas {I FED FARM}* [1978 Triple Crown winner]

Down

1d C(L)UBS - Chicago Cubs: National League baseball team

2d TO|PICA|L

3d THREEPEAT - threepeat: portmanteau of three and repeat, signifying three consecutive championships

4d _OMAHA_ - in fr[OM A HA]yride [1935 Triple Crown winner]

6d STAR|T_ - [T]ea's debut

7d RAT(TAN)S

8d {MARCO POLO}* - new {COLA PROMO}*

9d HA|MILTON - Milton Berle: American comedian

14d MISERABLE* - {REBELS AIM}* awful

15d A|P(PL)AUSE

16d PEPPERONI* - tossed {ON PREPPIE}*

18d LI(MITE)D

20d BELGIUM* - {BUM LEG I}* reset

22d S|PINE

23d TH(I)E|F - F: failing grade

24d W|AGED

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, August 28, 2009 (DT 25904)

This puzzle was originally published Thursday, April 16, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

After quite a difficult puzzle yesterday, we get a bit of a reprieve today. I quite enjoyed this puzzle, perhaps because I was actually able to complete it without having to open my Tool Chest. Of course, I did take note of a couple of words to look up later in the dictionary.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

cut-glass - upper class, refined (entry 2, adj.)

plight one's troth - to pledge oneself in marriage

prop - rugby the player at either end of the front row of the scrum (noun, defn. 3)

rum - Brit. colloq. odd (entry 2)

short - Brit. informal a strong alcoholic drink, especially spirits, served in small measures (noun, defn. 1) [In North America, this would be called a "shot"].

Today's Links

I found no questions on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle.

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25904].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

19ac Sword swallowing girl initially had such an accent (8)

As I was solving the puzzle, I presumed that the design in a piece of cut glass might be considered an accent. Only later, when I looked up the word in the dictionary, did I stumble across the upper class accent meaning.

The solution, according to the numeration in the clue, is CUTGLASS. However, all the dictionaries that I consulted showed the spelling as either "cut glass" or "cut-glass", with none showing it as a single word. Only one dictionary listed the "upper class accent" definition and it specified that the spelling for this meaning is "cut-glass".

20d Time short after worker has a fit (7)

Despite getting the correct solution, I could not figure out how "short" translates to "rum" (at least not until Gazza explained it). Shame on me - I am certain that I recall this definition having appeared in a puzzle not very long ago.

There seemed to be lots of opportunity to attempt wrong approaches in this clue. For a while, I thought maybe "fit" indicated "trim" (which also satisfies the checking letters). I also considered that perhaps "fit" was an anagram indicator. Even after finding the correct solution, deciphering the wordplay was tricky. Which of the two "Ts" stood for "time"? Was "ant" the "worker" or was "tan" representing "worker has a fit"?

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, August 27, 2009 (DT 25903)

This puzzle was originally published Wednesday, April 15, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Today's puzzle proved to be quite an arduous endeavour - what with the obscure medical terminology. In the case of one of these terms, I was unable to find it listed in any of my regular reference sources, although I did eventually find it mentioned in the text of an article on a related substance. As for the second term, the only source that I could find for it (with the meaning used in this puzzle) is in 19th-century versions of Webster's dictionary.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

biccy - Brit. slang an alternative spelling for bickie: a biscuit

care - Brit. protective custody or guardianship provided for children by a local authority (noun, defn. 2)

elaterin - a purgative extracted from elaterium (I found no article on elaterin itself, but it is mentioned in the article on elaterium).

gin - a trap for catching small game (noun, defn. 3)

pneumonic - a medicine for affections of the lungs

Ned Sherrin - English broadcaster, author and stage director

U - abbrev. upper-class (English)

Today's Links

I found three questions on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle. They (together with the clues to which they relate) are:

• AnswerBank [DT 25903]-a: 10ac, 7d
• AnswerBank [DT 25903]-b: 18ac
• AnswerBank [DT 25903]-c: 20ac, 27ac

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25903].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4d Present a good book to the first company that's organized (8)

Is the New Testament a book or a collection of books? I guess the answer is whatever suits the setter's purpose.

11d Natant style involving heart massage (12)

In response to Big Dave's comment regarding swimming pools being called natatoriums in America. That is certainly not the case in Canada (I, personally, had never heard of the term before), and I would be surprised if it is generally true in the US. Natatorium strikes me as a rather pretentious term that might be applied to a particularly grandiose facility, perhaps at a major park or university (might a donor not be more willing to fund the construction of a natatorium than a swimming pool). Even where a structure has been given such a name, I would be willing to bet that one would be more likely to hear users say, "Let's go to the pool" rather than "Shall we proceed to the natatorium".

17d Every prophet partook in the unionist academy - "Praise the Lord!" (8)

Although I did find the correct solution to this clue, I needed Big Dave's explanation to comprehend the wordplay. But was Eli a prophet? While it seems he is not a prophet in the eyes of Christians, he apparently is considered a prophet by Jews (see table Prophets in the Hebrew Bible near the end of the article).

25d Catch sight of East Samoa's original little pygmy (4)

I had a slightly different interpretation of this clue than Big Dave. I thought "East Samoa's original" was indicating the initial letters of "East Samoa" (i.e., ES) and that "little pygmy" was indicating part of "pygmy" (i.e., PY).

Post script: Since writing the above, I have altered my view slightly. I would now suggest that "East" gives E, "Samoa's original" gives S, and "little pygmy" gives PY.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 (DT 25902)

This puzzle was originally published Tuesday, April 14, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Not a terribly difficult puzzle today, although it did have a fair number of Briticisms. I missed the wordplay on one clue.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

A1 - the longest numbered road in the UK

Dunstable - a town in Bedfordshire, England

hock - Brit. any white Rhine wine (entry 2)

inset - an insert (noun, defn. 1)

prefect - Brit. a senior pupil authorized to enforce discipline in a school (I remember this term from Carrie Anne by The Hollies)

RE - abbrev. (The Corps of) Royal Engineers: a corps of the British Army

RV - abbrev. (English) Revised Version: a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version of the Bible

TA - abbrev. Territorial Army: in the UK, a volunteer force providing back-up to the regular army in cases of emergency

Taunton - the county town of Somerset, England

Today's Links

I found no questions on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle.

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25902].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

12ac Thoroughly popular department in front of hospital (2, 5)

In his review, Gazza suggests that the "H" comes from "front of hospital". However, my interpretation was slightly different in that I assumed that "H" is just a short form for "hospital" (street signs with the letter "H" are commonly used in this part of Canada to identify the location of - and routes to - hospitals). In that case, "in front of" becomes merely a positional indicator showing "DEPT in front of H"

19ac Reckon wine in audience is for this purpose (2,3)

I easily got the correct solution from the phrase "for this purpose". However, I could not figure out the wordplay - failing to recognize the sounds like indicator (in audience). It didn't help that hock having the meaning used here is not in my vocabulary. I might hock something at a pawnbroker's shop to get enough money for some food (perhaps some pork hocks) - but I never realized that I could also wash them down with hock.

15d Published journalist trapping fool beaten for ingenuity (9)

As Gazza points out in his review, the solution is produced by combining three parts; namely, published → OUT, journalist → ED, and fool → TWIT with the indicator trapping showing that TWIT is somehow contained within the other parts. In a clue having this sort of construction, one would normally expect (at least I would) that TWIT is either contained between the two other parts (i.e., between OUT and ED) or is contained within the latter part mentioned (i.e., ED) which is adjacent to the containership indicator. However, in this case, TWIT is actually contained within the former part (i.e., OUT) which is not adjacent to the containership indicator. Perhaps this can be seen more clearly by parsing the clue:

15d Published [OU^T] journalist [ED] trapping fool [TWIT] /\ beaten for ingenuity [OU(TWIT)T|ED] (9)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 (DT 25901)

This puzzle was originally published Monday, April 13, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

After the appearance yesterday of a mysterious puzzle of unknown origin substituting for DT 25900, we are back on track today with DT 25901.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

dropout - rugby the restarting of play with a drop kick (noun, defn. 2)

Paignton - a coastal town in Devon, England

Today's Links

I found one question on AnswerBank discussing today's puzzle. It (together with the clue to which it relates) is:

• AnswerBank [DT 25901]-a: 15ac

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25901].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

11ac Unsuccessful student making fresh start at Rugby (4, 3)

I note that Oxford shows "dropout" (in both senses used in this clue) as a single word. Although Chambers includes an entry only for the first sense of "dropout" given in the clue, it likewise shows it as a single word. Oxford and Chambers each have an entry for "drop out" (under the main entry for "drop" in each case) but show a somewhat different meaning for this spelling.

18ac The point of this device is not always apparent (6-3)

I quickly realized that the second part of this solution was P_N. Before additional checking letters made the answer clear, I was mulling over several possibilities. These included some type of retractable pen, some sort of pin, or even some kind of pun - any of which might have fit the clue.

21ac Got to the point - summed up without a word of hesitation (7)

I remain unconvinced that "taped" means "summed up".

1d Deposits frozen in banks (10)

Being in Canada, I suppose the solution should have readily popped to mind. However, for some reason, this clue elicited images of fertility clinics rather than shoveling snow.

14d Surrendered to another country (10)

There was a bit of a discussion on Big Dave's blog concerning whether 4d and 14d were truly cryptic clues. While I found 4d to be fairly obvious, I did think it had at least a modicum of cryptic meaning. However, I can see nothing at all cryptic about 14d.

19d Switches the films (6)

In addition to the meaning given by Tilsit in his review, switch (verb, defn. 5) can mean "flick or swing to and fro" as an animal does with its tail.

Signing off for today - Falcon