This puzzle was originally published in The Sunday London Times on July 5, 2009
Introduction
I worked at this puzzle on and off all day between doing other things, so it is hard to know how much time I actually spent on it. The bottom right-hand corner did give me the most problems. I ended up with one clue for which I didn't comprehend the wordplay - although it was very nearly two.
Links to Solutions
A review of today's puzzle by talbinho can be found at Times for the Times [ST 4336].
Commentary on Today's Puzzle
17ac English public school rule Dan breaks (7)
After doing a great many crossword puzzles, I was beginning to believe that there is only one public school in England (the famous four-letter one on the Thames). Apparently, there must be another at Arundel, although I could find no reference to any likely candidate through a fairly exhaustive Internet search. Aside from some schools in Canada and the US which I quickly dismissed, I found only one entry relating to a school in England - Arundel CE Primary School (but, based on its low-profile Internet presence, this would seem to be a pretty obscure school to rate mention in the puzzle).
By the way, what the Brits refer to as a public school would be called a private school in North America.
25d As a rule, give up second outing (5)
Despite getting the correct solution (from the checking letters and the first part of the clue), I puzzled over the wordplay for a very long time. I had almost resigned myself to throwing in the towel on this one, when the answer hit me.
Signing off for this week - Falcon
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Arundel sounds very plausible as the name of a public school - it's the sort of town you'd expect to have one. But it seems that the setter has imagined it - maybe by misremembering schools like Ardingly and Lancing in the same county as Arundel. Wikipedia has a long list of UK "independent schools" as the places themselves like to be called, which doesn't include one there.
ReplyDeleteThank you, xwd_fiend,
ReplyDeleteI feel much better now about my search having come up empty. As you say, the clue must have sounded plausible as no one questioned it on Times for the Times.