Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29184 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, October 17, 2019 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29184] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Kath | |
BD Rating
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| 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
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Introduction
This puzzle spends a lot of time in the northern UK — Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England (Lake District, Northumbria, Tyneside, and Lancashire).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 | |
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| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 6a | Terrible chaos with elves /in/ narrow escape (5,5) |
| 8a | Northern beer knocked back /in/ style (4) |
Elan[5] is a combination of energy, style, and enthusiasm ⇒
they performed with uncommon elan onstage.
| 9a | Unseen area /in which/ Venetians perhaps sink? (5,4) |
Sink[5] is used in the sense of to hit (a ball) into a hole in golf or into a pocket in snooker ⇒
he sank the black into the green pocket to secure victory.
In billiards and snooker, pot[5] means to strike (a ball) into a pocket ⇒
he failed to pot a red at close range.
| 11a | Stimulant // firm with beginnings in Central America (4) |
Coca[5] is the name for the dried leaves of the coca shrub, which are mixed with lime and chewed as a stimulant by the indigenous people of western South America.
| 12a | Grain // planted regularly in Argyle (3) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Argyle[7] is an archaic spelling of Argyll, a county in western Scotland. The old version of the name lives on in the sock pattern. |
| 13a | Language // operates poorly without noun (9) |
Esperanto[5] is an artificial language devised in 1887 as an international medium of communication, based on roots from the chief European languages. It retains the structure of these languages and has the advantage of grammatical regularity and ease of pronunciation.
Origin: Late 19th century from the name Dr Esperanto, used as a pen name by the inventor of the language, Ludwik L. Zamenhof (1858–1917), a Polish physician; the literal sense is ‘one who hopes’ (based on Latin sperare ‘to hope’).
| 16a | Home /in/ Northumbrian street? (4) |
Northumbria[5] is an area of north-eastern England comprising the counties of Northumberland and Durham together with the former county of Tyne and Wear.
| 17a | Great moves -- Ards' wingers /in/ blinder! (4,3) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Ards Football Club[7] (Ards F.C.) is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football [soccer] club playing in NIFL Championship*. The club, founded in 1900, is based in Newtownards, but plays its home matches at Clandeboye Park in Bangor, which it shares with rivals Bangor F.C. * The Northern Ireland Football League Championship[7] (known as the Bluefin Sport Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL), the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championship can be promoted to the highest national division - the NIFL Premiership, and relegated to the third level - the NIFL Premier Intermediate League. A winger[5] is an attacking player positioned near to one of the sidelines in soccer, hockey [which, to the Brits, would mean field hockey], and other sports [such as what the Brits would refer to as "ice hockey"]. Blinder[5] is an informal British term for an excellent performance in a game or race. |
| 18a | Dialect /needing/ good English at all costs? (7) |
Split the last five letters of the solution (2,3) to get an expression denoting "alternatively pay the supreme sacrifice".
Geordie[5] is an informal British term for a person from Tyneside* or for the English dialect or accent typical of people from Tyneside* .
* Tyneside[5] is an industrial conurbation on the banks of the River Tyne, in northeastern England, stretching from Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast.
| 20a | Fourth man // group hated at first (4) |
In the Old Testament, Seth[10] is the third son of Adam and Eve, given by God in place of the murdered Abel (Genesis 4:25).
| 21a | Witty remark about us having long // whiskers (9) |
| 23a | Sheep /taking/ zig-zag course? (3) |
| 24a | Time taken in warm weather // to bowl over (4) |
Scratching the Surface
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| In cricket, an over[5] is a division of play consisting of 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. |
| 25a | Sal breaks pill /to provide/ condiment (5,4) |
| 29a | India governed // another Asian republic (4) |
"India " = I [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, India[5] is a code word representing the letter I.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, India[5] is a code word representing the letter I.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
| 30a | Hero /putting/ bullets into FBI agent? (7,3) |
G-man[2] (likely short for Government man) is US slang for an agent of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation).
Down
| 1d | State secrets? (4) |
| 2d | Booze // in Calabria stinks! (4) |
Asti[7] (formerly known as Asti Spumante)
is a sparkling white Italian wine (show more ).
Asti is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but production is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.
show less
Asti is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but production is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.
show less
Scratching the Surface
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| Calabria[5] is a region of south-western Italy, forming the ‘toe’ of the Italian peninsula. |
| 3d | Employed // engineers initially in Bucks? (4) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Bucks.[5] is the abbreviation for Buckinghamshire[5], a county of central England. |
| 4d | Unrestrained // tirade involving a politician (7) |
"politician " = MP
In Britain (as in Canada), a politician elected to the House of Commons is known as a Member of Parliament[10] (abbreviation MP[5]) or, informally, as a member[5].
hide
In Britain (as in Canada), a politician elected to the House of Commons is known as a Member of Parliament[10] (abbreviation MP[5]) or, informally, as a member[5].
hide
| 5d | Course includes bread and Irish // cheese (10) |
Lancashire[5] is a mild white cheese with a crumbly texture.
| 7d | Sociable // old pirate races around (9) |
"races " = TT [Tourist Trophy (motorcycle time trials)]
The Tourist Trophy[5] (abbreviation TT[5]) is a motorcycle-racing competition held annually on roads in the Isle of Man since 1907.
For many years, the Isle of Man TT[7] was the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. The race is run in a time-trial format on public roads closed for racing. Since, in a time trial, each competitor races alone against the clock, the event could be described as a "series of races".
hide
The Tourist Trophy[5] (abbreviation TT[5]) is a motorcycle-racing competition held annually on roads in the Isle of Man since 1907.
For many years, the Isle of Man TT[7] was the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. The race is run in a time-trial format on public roads closed for racing. Since, in a time trial, each competitor races alone against the clock, the event could be described as a "series of races".
hide
| 8d | Conservatives admitted to corruption of entire clubs? /That's/ strange (9) |
"Conservative " = C [member of British political party]
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
hide
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
hide
As "Conservatives" is plural, more than one instance of this abbreviation is required.
| 10d | Born /in/ endless poverty (3) |
| 13d | Principal // enemy later destroyed (10) |
Like several visitors who commented on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I can find no sense in which "principal" and "elementary" are synonymous.
| 14d | Catch up with female working /in/ temple (9) |
The Parthenon[5] is the temple of Athene Parthenos, built on the Acropolis [the ancient citadel at Athens] in 447–432 BC by Pericles to honour Athens' patron goddess and to commemorate the recent Greek victory over the Persians. It was designed by Ictinus and Callicrates with sculptures by Phidias.
| 15d | Rocks broken on way // to Mardale possibly (4,5) |
Road metal[5] is crushed rock, broken stone, etc, used to construct a road.
Scratching the Surface
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| Mardale[7] is a glacial valley in the Lake District, in northern England. The valley used to have a hamlet at its head, called Mardale Green, but this village was submerged in the late 1930s when the water level of the valley's lake, Haweswater, was raised to form Haweswater Reservoir. |
| 19d | Vessel shooting across the waves? (7) |
| 22d | Fool // starts with absolutely stupid statement (3) |
| 26d | Version /in which/ stream flows northwards (4) |
There is a discussion at Comment #26 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog in which the accuracy of the solution to this clue is questioned. However, the criticism is clearly unwarranted:
- An edit[5] is a version of written, recorded, or filmed material made as a result of editing ⇒
There are many edits of this film out there - some with nudity and some without
.
| 27d | Mythical craft /in/ a river journey (4) |
In Greek mythology, the Argo[10] was the ship in which Jason sailed in search of the Golden Fleece.
| 28d | Amphibian /needs/ oxygen in small amount (4) |
The symbol for the chemical element oxygen is O[5].
Putting the Shoe on the Other Foot
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| We North American solvers are accustomed to seeing British terms with
which we are unfamiliar, so it is interesting to encounter the
occasional North American expression with which the Brits are
unacquainted. Of course, I had no idea that the word "tad" is North
American until Kath mentioned it in her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. Tad[5] is a US and Canadian term for a small bit or piece. |
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)
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