Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29168 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, September 28, 2019 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29168 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29168 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Big Dave (Hints)crypticsue (Review) | |
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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Notes
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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.
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Introduction
The biggest hurdle today was the fugitive British businessman. I worked it out from the wordplay and then rejected it for far too long, choosing instead to waste time on astronomical exploration.I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.
Abbreviations — Part XIII
Today's search for abbreviations takes us to the concert hall. Here is what my archives hold from a musical vein.| Abbreviation | Stands for | Additional Information |
| A | alto | |
| B | bass | |
| LSO | London Symphony Orchestra | |
| arr. | arranged by | notation on sheet music |
| EP | extended play | a record with typically 4 or 5 tracks |
| f | forte | loud or loudly (direction on sheet music) |
| ff | fortissimo | very loud or very loudly (direction on sheet music) |
| LP | long playing | a recorded music format |
| Op. or op. | opus | part of an identification system for compositions |
| Opp. or opp. | opuses or opera | plural of opus |
| p | piano | quiet or quietly (direction on sheet music) |
| pp | pianissimo | very quiet or very quietly (direction on sheet music) |
| S | soprano | |
| T | tenor |
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
| 1a | Get back in touch with // antique car that's broken down (10) |
| 6a | Nadir perhaps -- // making regular appearances in Mansfield (4) |
Asil Nadir[7] is a British Turkish Cypriot businessman who was chief executive of British textile company Polly Peck International. Under his leadership in the 1980s, Polly Peck grew to become one of the United Kingdom's top 100 FTSE-listed companies, with interests extending far beyond textiles.
In 1990, Polly Peck collapsed following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. Prosecutors alleged that Nadir had stolen more than £150m from the company. Nadir fled the country to avoid facing trial on 70 counts of false accounting and theft. In 2010, he returned to the UK to face trial on 13 specimen charges of false accounting and theft totalling £34m. He was found guilty of 10 counts of theft totalling £29m and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Scratching the Surface
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| Mansfield[7] is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, located 12 miles (19 km) north of Nottingham. |
| 10a | Brown // arboreal creatures making comeback round India (5) |
"India " = I
In the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, India[5] is a code word representing the letter I.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, India[5] is a code word representing the letter I.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
| 11a | Because of attraction to opposite sex, Edward VIII perhaps // abdicating (9) |
SA[5] is an informal, dated abbreviation for sex appeal.
Edward VIII[5] (1894–1972), son of George V, reigned as king of the United Kingdom in 1936 but was not crowned. Edward abdicated eleven months after coming to the throne in order to marry the American divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson.
| 12a | Hermit -- // a person having doubts spending penny (7) |
| 13a | It's wicked consuming last of plonk, // as much as one can drink (7) |
Skinful[5] is an informal British expression denoting enough alcoholic drink to make one drunk ⇒
he had a skinful on New Year's Eve.
However, I see this as more than merely a precise definition as it is obviously possible to drink beyond the point of drunkedness. I belive the setter is whimsically suggesting that one cannot drink more than a skinful without their skin overflowing.
Scratching the Surface
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Plonk[5] is an informal British term for cheap wine of inferior quality ⇒ we turned up at 8 p.m., each clutching a bottle of plonk. Origin: 1930s (originally Australian) probably an alteration of blanc in French vin blanc ‘white wine’ |
| 14a | Banisters are cracked, /leading to/ problems (12) |
| 18a | Burn-out male's battling // can be overcome (12) |
| 21a | Stop old comedian /being/ upright (7) |
The British comic duo Morecambe and Wise[7] (also known as Eric and Ernie), comprised of Eric Morecambe (1926-1984) and Ernie Wise (1925–1999), were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. They have been described as "the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever produced".
| 23a | Get excited /about/ space -- so English (7) |
In printing, the en[5] is a unit of measurement equal to half an em and approximately the average width of typeset characters, used especially for estimating the total amount of space a text will require.
After due consideration, I have concluded that the word "about" is not part of the definition and must, therefore, be a link word. You 'enthuse over' or 'enthuse about' something just as you would 'get excited about' something.
| 24a | Getting cold in rough sea, hobby // surfers from the 1960s (5,4) |
| 25a | Be despondent, backing second coming in -- here? (5) |
To my way of thinking, the entire clue is a cryptic definition which one could decipher as "A place where one might become despondent were they to back a horse coming in second". The wordplay (marked with a double underline) is embedded in the definition (the double underline indicating that this portion of the clue acts not only as wordplay but also constitutes part of the definition).
Epsom Downs*[7] [which most certainly would be referred to informally simply as Epsom] is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The course is best known for hosting the Derby Stakes (popularly known as the Epsom Derby), the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race — a Group 1 competition for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half (2400m). It also hosts two other Group 1 events, the Oaks Stakes (popularly known as the Epsom Oaks) for three-year-old fillies and the Coronation Cup for horses aged four years and upwards over the same distance.
* The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs, a ridge of chalk hills in south east England.
| 26a | Quits // late in the day (4) |
Quits[5] is an adjective meaning (of two people) on even terms, especially because a debt or score has been settled ⇒
I think we’re just about quits now, don’t you?.
Even[5] is an archaic or literary term for the end of the day or evening ⇒
bring it to my house this even.
| 27a | Trader // cheers in the Pequod perhaps (10) |
Olé[5] is a Spanish exclamation meaning bravo*.
* Could one not equally well define bravo as an Italian exclamation meaning olé.
The Pequod is the whaling ship commanded by the monomanical Captain Ahab[7] in Herman Melville's i851 novel Moby-Dick*.
* The work was published as The Whale in London in October 1851 and as Moby-Dick or The Whale in New York in November 1851. Despite the hyphen in the title of the New York edition, the whale appears in both editions as "Moby Dick", with no hyphen.
Down
| 1d | Rogue // artist reaching Southern California (6) |
"artist " = RA
A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.
hide
A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.
hide
| 2d | View // quietly adopted by a religious group (6) |
| 3d | Provide billet for crew /in/ 1945? (7,2,5) |
An eight[5] is an eight-oared rowing boat or its crew.
The wordplay parses as QUARTER (provide billet) + TO (for [the purpose of]) + EIGHT (crew) where:
- billet is a noun meaning 'accommodation'
- quarter is a verb meaning 'to provide accommodation'
- to is a preposition meaning 'for' as in
come to supper
| 4d | Love // of fiance developed, taking time (9) |
| 5d | Standards of behaviour // and not way to address a lady? (5) |
| 7d | Smell almost not as much // -- effect of runny nose? (8) |
| 8d | Brief speech? (8) |
A cryptic definition of the type of jargon a lawyer might spout.
Brief[5] is an informal British term for a solicitor or barrister ⇒
it was only his brief's eloquence that had saved him from prison.
| 9d | Characters shifted // landlords from Paris? (7,7) |
Cryptic definition and whimsical wordplay. For the latter, two facts are important:
- Paris[5] is the capital of France.
- A letter[1,5] is a person who lets [offers for rent] a room or property.
| 15d | Crossing // Republic of South Africa, journey around (9) |
RSA[5] is the abbreviation for Republic of South Africa.
| 16d | Meet /with/ fool going to national stadium endlessly (8) |
Wembley Stadium[7] [Wembley for short] is a football [soccer] stadium in Wembley, London, England, which opened in 2007, on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002–2003. The stadium hosts major football matches including the FA Cup Final and home matches of the England national football team.
| 17d | Educated person // argued at random (8) |
| 19d | Item of seafood // picked up with not so much hesitation (6) |
| 20d | Brazilian footballer // seen in Hackney Marshes (6) |
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior[7], commonly known as Neymar Jr. or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer [soccer player] who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. He is widely considered as one of the best players in the world.
Scratching the Surface
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| Hackney Marshes[7] is an area of grassland on the western bank of the River Lea in the London Borough of Hackney. |
Delving Deeper
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| Hackney
Marshes is one of the largest areas of common land in Greater
London, with 136.01 hectares (336.1 acres) of protected commons. It was
originally a true marsh, but was extensively drained from
Medieval times, and rubble was dumped here from buildings damaged by air
raids during World War II. Today the marshes provide many pleasant walks, in reach of the inner city, but the most famous use of Hackney Marshes is for Sunday league football [soccer], with 88 full-size football pitches marked out. On a typical Sunday, over 100 matches are played by amateur teams in several local leagues. Part of the London Olympic park for the Summer Olympics of 2012 was built on Hackney Marshes. |
| 22d | Manage to upset husband /for/ a very long time (5) |
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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