Puzzle at a Glance
|
|---|
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28474 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, July 8, 2017 | |
Setter
Mister Ron (Chris Lancaster) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28474 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28474 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Kath (Hints)gnomethang (Review) | |
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
| |
Notes
| |
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.
| |
Introduction
This puzzle is pretty much on par for a British "Saturday" puzzle.As readers may recall, I have mentioned from time to time that I sometimes fail to immediately recognize puzzles that I have reviewed several months previously on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. I feel vindicated now as the setter of today's puzzle confesses at Comment #27 that he was several clues into the solving process before realising that he was solving his own crossword.
On the day this puzzle was published in the UK, the British and Irish Lions rugby union team was playing the final match of their New Zealand tour, against the New Zealand national rugby union team[7], known as the All Blacks.
In my post on September 15, I confused the New Zealand national team with a different team that the Lions had played a week before on their tour, namely the Māori All Blacks[7], a New Zealand rugby union team that participates in international competitions the members of which must have Māori whakapapa (genealogy).
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.
Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).
Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).
Across
1a Disapprove of hiding current // drop in value (10)
"current" = I (show explanation )
In physics, I[5] is a symbol used to represent electric current in mathematical formulae.
hide explanation
In physics, I[5] is a symbol used to represent electric current in mathematical formulae.
hide explanation
6a Push five to leave // Oxford? (4)
9a Trail volunteers returning in pursuit of normal // soldiers (10)
"volunteers" = TA (show explanation )
In the UK, Territorial Army[5] (abbreviation TA[5]) was, at one time, the name of a volunteer force founded in 1908 to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined military personnel for use in an emergency. Since 2013, this organization has been called the Army Reserve.
hide explanation
In the UK, Territorial Army[5] (abbreviation TA[5]) was, at one time, the name of a volunteer force founded in 1908 to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined military personnel for use in an emergency. Since 2013, this organization has been called the Army Reserve.
hide explanation
10a Just over half of Beatles worked /to make/ 'Help!' (4)
Here and There
| |
|---|---|
| Help![7] is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Beatles, the soundtrack from their film Help!, and released on 6 August 1965. Produced by George Martin,
it was the fifth UK album release by the band, and contains fourteen
songs in its original British form. Seven of these, including the
singles "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride",
appeared in the film and took up the first side of the vinyl album. The
second side contained seven other releases including the most-covered song ever written, "Yesterday". The American release was a true soundtrack album, mixing the first seven songs with instrumental material from the film. Of the other seven songs that were on the British release, two were released on the US version of the next Beatles album, Rubber Soul, two were back-to-back on the next US single and then appeared on Yesterday and Today, and three had already been on Beatles VI. |
12a Sleazy club putting out energy for a // prima donna (4)
"energy" = E (show explanation )
13a Go in after fish /and/ chips (9)
Chips[1] (also chippy) is slang for a carpenter.
15a One's alone /with/ actors not present (8)
16a Hole /found in/ old vehicle beginning to rust (6)
18a Fool // can upset with humour (6)
20a 18 goes over and samples // baked goods (8)
The numeral "18" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 18a in its place to complete the clue. The directional indicator is customarily omitted in situations such as this where only a single clue starts in the light* that is being referenced.
* light-coloured cell in the grid
23a Shock at zebras regularly /becoming/ dangerous animals (3-6)
24a Main // bridge? (4)
26a Short // dog with tail? Just its tip (4)
27a Cold? Once salve works, // recover (10)
28a I am cutting weight in half /to become/ member (4)
29a Both rather fancy // dish (5-5)
Down
1d Take exercise // drug (4)
"exercise" = PE (show explanation )
PE[5] is the abbreviation for physical education [or Phys Ed, as it was known in my school days].
hide explanation
PE[5] is the abbreviation for physical education [or Phys Ed, as it was known in my school days].
hide explanation
2d Green lights // for a motorway and street, northbound (7)
As the definition, the term "green lights" is used as a verb.
The M1[7] — a road that has been much-travelled lately — is a north–south motorway [controlled access, multi-lane divided highway] in England connecting London to Leeds.
On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, gnomethang seems to find himself heading the wrong direction on the M1. The clue parses as PER (for a) + MI (motorway; M1) + (and) a reversal (northbound; in a down clue) of ST (street; abbrev.). In his review, gnomethang appears to have both the street and motorway reversed.
3d Spare millions a woman left // on the side? (12)
What did she say?
| |
|---|---|
In her hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath refers to the woman in the clue asEducating Rita[7] is a 1980 stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell that was the basis of a 1983 Academy Award winning film featuring Michael Caine and Julie Walters.an educated one. |
4d Press caught boy /in/ battleship (8)
"caught" = C (show explanation )
In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.
On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.[2,10] or c[5] denotes caught (by).
hide explanation
In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.
On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.[2,10] or c[5] denotes caught (by).
hide explanation
Ironclad[5] (noun) is a historical term for a 19th-century warship with armour plating.
5d What a person carries // spills (6)
A spill[10] is a splinter of wood or strip of twisted paper with which pipes, fires, etc, are lit.
A taper[10] is a thin wooden or waxed strip for transferring a flame; another name for spill.
7d Dress at // home (7)
8d Initiative // to go into force (10)
Here and There
| |
|---|---|
| In Britain, prize[1,2,4,5,10] is considered to be a US or variant spelling of prise[1,2,4,5,10] (meaning to pry or force open by levering) while in the US the situation is reversed with prise[3,11] being considered to be a variant spelling of prize[3,11]. In this case, I think Canada may side with the British. In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, gnomethang uses "jemmy" as a synonym for force. Jemmy is the British word for jimmy[3,4,10], meaning to pry (something) open with or as if with a jimmy (a short crowbar with curved ends). |
11d Republican in terribly close battle /for/ election (6,6)
"Republican" = R (show explanation )
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
In the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland but the abbreviation does not seem to apply to that usage.
hide explanation
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
In the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland but the abbreviation does not seem to apply to that usage.
hide explanation
14d Finally be amusing about working /and/ saving money (10)
17d Elements of football and cricket /used in/ religious festival (8)
An over[5] being a division of play in cricket 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.
Passover[5] is the major Jewish spring festival which commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, lasting seven or eight days from the 15th day of Nisan.
* In the Jewish calendar, Nisan[5] is the seventh month of the civil and first of the religious year, usually coinciding with parts of March and April.
19d Non-drinker imbibing an alcoholic drink /in/ temper (7)
"non-drinker" = TT (show explanation )
Teetotal[5] (abbreviation TT[5]) means choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol ⇒
A teetotaller[5] (US teetotaler; abbreviation TT[5]) is a person who never drinks alcohol.
The term teetotal is an emphatic extension of total, apparently first used by Richard Turner, a worker from Preston [England], in a speech (1833) urging total abstinence from all alcohol, rather than mere abstinence from spirits, as advocated by some early temperance reformers.
hide explanation
Teetotal[5] (abbreviation TT[5]) means choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol ⇒
a teetotal lifestyle.
A teetotaller[5] (US teetotaler; abbreviation TT[5]) is a person who never drinks alcohol.
The term teetotal is an emphatic extension of total, apparently first used by Richard Turner, a worker from Preston [England], in a speech (1833) urging total abstinence from all alcohol, rather than mere abstinence from spirits, as advocated by some early temperance reformers.
hide explanation
21d Tooth // made from zinc is 'orrible (7)
22d Engineers sit /and/ rest (6)
"engineers" = RE (show explanation )
The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
hide explanation
The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
hide explanation
25d Auntie/'s/ complaint cut short bishop (4)
"bishop" = B (show explanation )
Auntie[10] and Beeb[5] are both informal British names for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation[5]) (show more
), a
public corporation for radio and television broadcasting in Britain..
The BBC was established in 1927 by royal charter and held a monopoly until the introduction of the first commercial TV station in 1954. It is financed by the sale of television viewing licences rather than by revenue from advertising and has an obligation to remain impartial in its reporting.
hide explanation
The BBC was established in 1927 by royal charter and held a monopoly until the introduction of the first commercial TV station in 1954. It is financed by the sale of television viewing licences rather than by revenue from advertising and has an obligation to remain impartial in its reporting.
hide explanation
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)
[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.