Puzzle at a Glance
|
|---|
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 27335 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, November 14, 2013 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27335] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Big Dave | |
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
Cryptic Crosswords 101: Filters
For instance:
- 12a Charming provincial embracing London leader (8)
The same technique works just as well at the other end of the word:
- 26a Ladders containing last of big steps (5)
In the foregoing examples, the letter to be selected is unambiguously indicated. However, that is not always the case. Consider:
- 14d Beam end coming down hitting head (8)
There is certainly no reason that this construct could not equally well be used to clue M, the letter at the back end of the word "beaM". It took me a while to realize that the latter was not, in fact, the case in this clue.
Such constructs are not necessarily restricted to selecting letters from a single word. In
- 13a Underground vehicle taken back with awful Yank initially (6)
In all of the examples presented so far, the selection indicators (or filters) have been discrete. There is another example in the puzzle where the selection indicator is not discrete, but is integrated with the word from which the letter is to be selected. In:
- 10a Get to every single redhead first (5)
Similar constructs that you might encounter include:
- "egghead" to clue E, the initial letter (head) of the word "Egg";
- "midnight" to clue G, the middle letter (mid) of the word "niGht"; and
- "sweetheart" to clue E, the middle letter (heart) of the word "swEet".
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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.
Across
1a Despotic Italian rat to broadcast (12)
Big Dave illustrates his hint with a picture of Benito Mussolini[5] (1883–1945), the Italian Fascist statesman who was Prime Minister of Italy 1922–43. Known as Il Duce (‘the leader’), he founded the Italian Fascist Party in 1919. He annexed Abyssinia in 1936 and entered the Second World War on Germany’s side in 1940. Forced to resign after the Allied invasion of Sicily, he was rescued from imprisonment by German paratroopers, but was captured and executed by Italian communist partisans.
9a On the right bearing, sailor turned off
reportedly (9)
10a Get to every single redhead first (5)
See discussion above in "Cryptic Crosswords 101: Filters".
11a Food for city animal's den (6)
The City[5] is short for the City of London. Take note that the City of London[5] is not the same thing as the city of London, but merely the part of London situated within the ancient boundaries and governed by the Lord Mayor and the Corporation[5] [in Britain, a group of people elected to govern a city, town, or borough].
In the clue, the setter uses "city" as a surrogate for for the EC postcode which serves the City of London [postcode being the British counterpart of the Canadian postal code or American zip code]. The EC (Eastern Central) postcode area[7] (also known as the London EC postcode area) is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. It includes almost all of the City of London as well as parts of several other London boroughs.
12a Charming provincial embracing London
leader (8)
See discussion above in "Cryptic Crosswords 101: Filters".
13a Underground vehicle taken back with
awful Yank initially (6)
See discussion above in "Cryptic Crosswords 101: Filters".
15a Sluggishness at work? (8)
18a A strike revolt over in slaughterhouse (8)
19a One removes writing by Queen after
ages (6)
The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.
21a Concrete is turned over in barrel, big,
naturally (8)
23a 'Get Back' is gone from precious
compilation (6)
As is customary, the quotation marks do not appear in the syndicated puzzle published in the National Post.
"Get Back"[7] is a song by the Beatles, originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to "the Beatles with Billy Preston." A different mix of the song later became the closing track of Let It Be (1970), which was the Beatles' last album released just after the group split. The single version was later issued on CD on the second disc of the Past Masters compilation.
The single reached number one in the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, France, West Germany, and Mexico. It was the Beatles' only single that credited another artist at their request. "Get Back" was the Beatles' first single release in true stereo in the US. In the UK, the Beatles' singles remained monaural until the following release, "The Ballad of John and Yoko".
26a Ladders containing last of big steps (5)
See discussion above in "Cryptic Crosswords 101: Filters".
In Britain, a vertical strip of unravelled fabric in tights or stockings is known as a ladder[5] ⇒
one of Sally’s stockings developed a ladder.
27a Brave daughter missing some female
relatives? (9)
28a Excess remnant with piece in shreds (12)
Down
1d They conduct examinations of graduates,
tersely (7)
2d Dog's behind when taking run (5)
On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R[5] denotes run(s).
3d Oil from car, until changed, black inside
(9)
4d Confine water source, restricting river (4)
5d Give in, accepting affair's suggestive (8)
6d Tenor in vocal solo entrances (5)
In the surface reading "entrance" is a verb meaning to fill with wonder and delight. However, for cryptic purposes, it is a noun.
7d Whims to produce silver in
metamorphoses (8)
The symbol for the chemical element silver is Ag[5] from Latin argentum.
8d Pale while having sex (6)
It[5] (usually written in quotation marks, 'it') is an informal [and euphemistic] term for sexual intercourse or sex appeal ⇒
the only thing I knew nothing about was ‘it’.
14d Beam end coming down hitting head (8)
See discussion above in "Cryptic Crosswords 101: Filters".
As Big Dave makes mention in his comments, RayT also sets puzzles under the pseudonym Beam for a feature in The Daily Telegraph known as the Toughie Crossword (a cryptic crossword intended to be of a higher degree of difficulty than the Cryptic Crossword — the latter being the puzzle carried in syndication by the National Post).
16d Get in after fish and chips (9)
"Chips" is a traditional nickname for a carpenter, especially aboard sailing vessels.
17d Man perhaps almost taken in trick move
(8)
The Isle of Man[5] is an island in the Irish Sea which is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system.
18d Habit's a passion needing to keep sober
(6)
TT[5] is the abbreviation for teetotal[5], an adjective denoting choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol ⇒
a teetotal lifestyle.
20d Letter I posted including reply (7)
22d Cribs enabling to comprehend foreign
author (5)
As a containment indicator, comprehend[5] is a formal term meaning to include, comprise, or encompass ⇒
a divine order comprehending all men.
Henrik Ibsen[5] (1828–1906) was a Norwegian dramatist. He is credited with being the first major dramatist to write tragedy about ordinary people in prose. Ibsen’s later works, such as The Master Builder (1892), deal increasingly with the forces of the unconscious and were admired by Sigmund Freud. Other notable works: Peer Gynt (1867), A Doll’s House (1879), Ghosts (1881).
24d Old container circling English main (5)
The main[5] is an archaic or literary term referring to the open ocean.
25d Bounce backside on piano (4)
Piano[3,5] (abbreviation p[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.
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 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)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.