Puzzle at a Glance
|
|---|
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29196 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, October 31, 2019 | |
Setter
proXimal (Steve Bartlett) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29196] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
pommers | |
BD Rating
| |
| Difficulty - ★★ | Enjoyment - ★★★★ |
Falcon's Experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
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
█ - solved but without fully parsing the clue
█ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog
█ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog
█ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog
█ - yet to be solved
| |
Introduction
A few rare things transpired today as I solved this puzzle. First, I recognized early in the solving process that this puzzle was a potential pangram; second, I realized that the puzzle appeared in The Daily Telegraph on Thursday and therefore may well have been set by proXimal and therefore was unlikely to contain an X; third, I remembered to track the letters as they emerged throughout the solving exercise; and, finally, the sole remaining letter — a "J" — came to my aid in solving one of the last remaining unsolved clues.I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.
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.
| Markup Conventions | |
|
|
| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | Puzzles // about what might move the public (7) |
| 5a | Held // cap with sled out of control (7) |
| 9a | Scene // five is at back (5) |
| 10a | Unopened package carried by toff around a // Spanish city (9) |
Toff[5] is a derogatory, informal British term for a rich or upper-class person.
Nob[5] is an informal British term* for a person of wealth or high social position ⇒
it was quite a do—all the nobs were there.
This pair often appear together in puzzles. I do note that whereas toff is deemed to be a derogatory term, that is apparently not the case with nob.
Barcelona[5] is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain, capital of Catalonia.
| 11a | Welcoming North; unfortunately, South rude /and/ noisy (10) |
| 12a | Couple // jogging no good at all (4) |
| 14a | Running business /is/ becoming worry (5,7) |
| 18a | Layers beneath kippers /of/ crushed leaves (12) |
Kip[5] is an informal British term meaning:
- (noun) a sleep or nap ⇒ (i)
I might have a little kip
; (ii)he was trying to get some kip
- (verb) to sleep ⇒
he can kip on her sofa
| 21a | Relieved exclamation // not many heard (4) |
| 22a | Ignore // American wearing his beard stupidly (5,5) |
| 25a | Rudeness // in church eating fish head in nave (9) |
"church " = CE [Church of England]
The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
hide
The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
hide
| 26a | Called // retired mother in home (5) |
| 27a | Rabbits // two times caught in activated snare (7) |
Rabbit[5] is an informal British term meaning:
- (noun) a conversation ⇒
we had quite a heated rabbit about it
- (verb) to talk at length, especially about trivial matters ⇒
stop rabbiting on, will you, and go to bed!
* The word "pork" , when pronounced in a non-rhotic accent (show explanation
) typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially
southeastern England), more or less rhymes with "talk" .
Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.
hide
Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.
hide
| 28a | Way, way, way at the back /showing/ shyness (7) |
Down
| 1d | Centre in Zurich checks // fastenings (6) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Zurich[5] is a city in north central Switzerland, situated on Lake Zurich. The largest city in Switzerland, it is a major international financial centre. |
| 2d | Some part of crab is questionable /for/ soup (6) |
| 3d | View // pint, not sad to get tipsy (10) |
| 4d | Not drunk // provided beer, half-empty (5) |
So[1,10] is used in an archaic sense meaning provided (that) or in case (that). Unfortunately, the dictionaries provide no usage examples of the word employed in this sense.
On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, there is a discussion of "so" meaning "provided" at Comment #14. As might be expected, those participating in this discussion are attempting to explain the equivalence in terms of modern usage of the word "so" — and, naturally, are unable to do so.
| 5d | Cruel cops sabotaged // cell (9) |
| 6d | Excuse me, // answer what upset Mike (4) |
"Mike " = M [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Mike[5] is a code word representing the letter M.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Mike[5] is a code word representing the letter M.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
| 7d | Harassed // professional, very fine editor (8) |
"very " = V [context uncertain]
The abbreviation v (or v.)[1,2,5,10] stands for very.
Although this definition is found in most of my British dictionaries, it does not appear in any of my American dictionaries. Unfortunately no explanation is given as to the specific context in which one might encounter this usage. The only possibility that I can imagine is when combined with G as a grade of VG (very good) on school tests or assignments.
hide
The abbreviation v (or v.)[1,2,5,10] stands for very.
Although this definition is found in most of my British dictionaries, it does not appear in any of my American dictionaries. Unfortunately no explanation is given as to the specific context in which one might encounter this usage. The only possibility that I can imagine is when combined with G as a grade of VG (very good) on school tests or assignments.
hide
| 8d | Wearisome // taking food around soldiers (8) |
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery[7] (abbreviation RA), is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it actually comprises a number of regiments.
| 13d | Amateur boxing second /is/ natural (10) |
| 15d | Without restrictions /of/ time, lad from south calls (2,7) |
Here and There
| |
|---|---|
Ring[5] is an informal — more or less British (show more ) — term for:
In North America, the word would seem to be more accepted as a noun ( I'll give you a ring) than as a verb ( I'll ring you). According to various dictionaries, the word ring used in this sense is:
hide |
| 16d | African // gent I pay is dodgy (8) |
| 17d | County // club needing several runs to lead (8) |
"runs " = R [cricket notation]
Somerset[5,10] is a county of southwestern England, on the Bristol Channel. It is mainly agricultural (especially dairying and fruit).
Post Mortem
| |
|---|---|
| I'm afraid I got caught up in the cricket scenario painted by the surface reading of the clue. County cricket[5] refers to first-class cricket played in the UK between the eighteen professional teams contesting the County Championship. I guessed (correctly as I was later to discover) that Somerset County Cricket Club[7] might be one of these eighteen teams. Therefore, I took the definition to be "County club" leaving SET to be clued by "to lead". The situation was compounded by a couple of senses of "set" — for instance, in the expression "set the pace" — being close enough to qualify as tenuous stretched definitions for a desperate solver. |
| 19d | Oddly glitzy male with very big // gadgets (6) |
| 20d | Daughter wearing odd welly // in improper way (6) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Welly[5] (also wellie) is an informal British term for a wellington[5] (also wellington boot), a knee-length waterproof rubber or plastic boot. Origin: named after Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and twice served as British prime minister (1828–30 and 1834) |
| 23d | Cook/'s/ note to replace second bit of Spam (5) |
"note " = TE [in tonic sol-fa, the seventh note of a major scale]
From a perusal of entries in American and British dictionaries, I gather that the only recognized spelling of this musical note in the US would be ti[3,11] while British dictionaries are split into two camps. On one side, Chambers 21st Century Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary give the principal spelling as te[2,4,10] with ti[2,4,10] being an alternative spelling. The Chambers Dictionary and Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) take the contrary position, giving the spelling as ti[1,5] with te[1,5] shown as an alternative spelling.
Note that the sister publications, The Chambers Dictionary and Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, are diametrically opposed on the issue and Oxford Dictionaries has done a complete about face as I have notes in my files from a previous review showing that "Oxford Dictionaries decrees that te is the British spelling with ti being the North American spelling".
hide explanation
From a perusal of entries in American and British dictionaries, I gather that the only recognized spelling of this musical note in the US would be ti[3,11] while British dictionaries are split into two camps. On one side, Chambers 21st Century Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary give the principal spelling as te[2,4,10] with ti[2,4,10] being an alternative spelling. The Chambers Dictionary and Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) take the contrary position, giving the spelling as ti[1,5] with te[1,5] shown as an alternative spelling.
Note that the sister publications, The Chambers Dictionary and Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, are diametrically opposed on the issue and Oxford Dictionaries has done a complete about face as I have notes in my files from a previous review showing that "Oxford Dictionaries decrees that te is the British spelling with ti being the North American spelling".
hide explanation
| 24d | Chimney // went skyward, we're told (4) |
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 Advanced American Dictionary)
[7] - Wikipedia
[8] - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
[9] - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.