Settle up with // agent with a final bit of money (5)
REP|A|Y — REP (agent) + (with) A (†) + Y (final bit [last letter] of moneY)
12a
Publicist, holding wild bash, // interjected scene from the past (9)
FL(ASHB*)ACK — FLACK (publicist) containing (holding) anagram of (wild) BASH
13a
Never permits // recesses (5)
NO|OKS — NO (never; emphatic no ⇒ When pressed whether she had ever gossiped about her boss, the secretary indignantly replied ‘Never!’) + OKS (permits)
15a
Interrupting award, miss // movie
technique (5-2)
C(LOSE)-UP — LOSE (miss) contained in (interrupting) CUP (award)
18a
Heard Dunaway express skepticism /for/ film technique (4-3)
{FADE-OUT}~ — sounds like (heard) FAYE (Dunaway; American actress Faye Dunaway[7]) + DOUBT (express skepticism)
19a
Stoic // performing in pen (5)
ST(ON)Y — ON (performing; on [stage], on [the screen], on [the air], on [radio], on [television]) contained in (in) STY (pen)
21a
A temple is reconstructed /using/
a sped-up process (4-5)
{TIME_LAPSE}* — anagram of (reconstructed) A TEMPLE IS
DO|WAGER — DO (gathering; get-together, party) + WAGER (bet)
26a
Nary an item // diluted in Yule drink (7)
NO(THIN)G — THIN (diluted) contained in (in) NOG (Yule drink)
27a
New toy did // strange thing (6)
ODDITY* — anagram of (new) TOY DID
28a
Pig thief changed // comedy scene (3,5)
{PIE FIGHT}* — anagram of (changed) PIG THIEF
Down
1d
Frisking // props for Batman and Frodo? (8)
CAPE|RING — CAPE (prop for Batman) + (and) RING (prop for Frodo)
Batman[7] and Frodo[7] are fictional characters. The former is a superhero often referred to as the Caped Crusader. The latter is one of the main protagonists in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin and undertakes the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor.
2d
Give some protection // for Proust novel (9)
RUSTPROOF* — anagram of (novel) FOR PROUST
Scratching the Surface
Marcel Proust[7] (1871–1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time; earlier rendered as Remembrance of Things Past).
3d
Precarious, // hot and breezy (5)
H|AIRY — H(ot) + AIRY (breezy)
4d
Part of a letter // shoots back (5)
SERIF< — reversal of (back) FIRES (shoots)
6d
Spooks // right inside swamps (9)
F(RIGHT)ENS — RIGHT (†) contained in (inside) FENS (swamps)
7d
Part of Oklahoma hates // city in Nebraska (5)
_OMA|HA_ — hidden in (part of) OklahOMA HAtes
8d
Slightly changes // task we reorganized (6)
TWEAKS* — anagram (reorganized) TASK WE
10d
Lulu getting around to // edge (4,3)
BEA(T O)UT —BEAUT (lulu) containing (getting around) TO (†)
14d
Port or starboard lamp // is put back with pleasure (9)
SI<|DELIGHT — reversal of (put back) IS + (with) DELIGHT (pleasure)
15d
Helicopter // crew’s first jumper (7)
C|HOPPER — C (Crew's first [letter]) + HOPPER (jumper)
STUD|I|O — STUD (fastener) + I (†) + O (love; nil score in tennis)
22d
Cut back // style for the audience (5)
MOWED~ — sounds like (for the audience) MODE (style)
23d
Boredom // among ten nuisances (5)
_EN|NUI_ — hidden in (among) tEN NUIsances
24d
Witty word provided // theme (5)
MOT|IF — MOT (witty word) + IF (provided)
Epilogue
Today's puzzle contains a pair of stock movie scenes book-ending a quartet of story-telling and filming techniques — and even the locale where this all takes place.
█ - 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
"//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present
"/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present
"solid underline" - precise definition
"dotted underline" - cryptic definition
"dashed underline" - wordplay
"double underline" - both wordplay and definition
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)
The Church of England[10] (abbreviationCE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order
and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
(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 term rabbit (meaning talk) comes from Cockney rhyming slang
"rabbit and pork". In Cockney rhyming slang, the slang word (in this
case, "rabbit") is obtained by replacing a
word (in this case, "talk") by a phrase with which it rhymes (in this
case, "rabbit
and pork") and then dropping the rhyming word (in this case, "pork"*) from the phrase. Through
this process, "talk" becomes "rabbit".
* 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.
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.
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.
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery[7] (abbreviationRA), 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:
(noun) a telephone call ⇒I'd better give her a ring tomorrow
(verb) to call by telephone ⇒ (i) I rang her this morning; (ii) Harriet rang Dorothy up next day; (iii) she rang to tell him the good news
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:
(noun) British[2,5], chiefly British[4], mainly British[10,14], or not specified as being British[1,3,11,12]
(verb) British[5], chiefly British[2,3,4,12], mainly British[10,14], or not specified as being British[1,11]
On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R[5] denotes run(s).
In cricket, a run[5]
is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen
are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other
circumstances.
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.
The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize (abbreviationOS[5]) in Britain.
Welly[5] (alsowellie) is an informal British term for a wellington[5] (alsowellington 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".
█ - 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
It seems that Jay never fails to deliver a very entertaining offering.
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
"//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present
"/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present
"solid underline" - precise definition
"dotted underline" - cryptic definition
"dashed underline" - wordplay
"double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog.
a person in overall charge of an organization or activity ⇒the Channel Four supremo
a person with great authority or skill in a certain area ⇒an interior by design supremo Kelly
5a
Weight carried by this // argument after pub (6)
9a
Modification applied to former // telecommunications facility (8)
10a
May is able to // dance (6)
12a
A sound quality -- people with time /for/ reparation (9)
13a
Forger's equipment /may see/ 3 regularly in trouble (5)
This forger is a smithy — not a counterfeiter.
The
numeral "3" is a cross
reference indicator to clue 3d (show more ).
To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross
reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light* identified by the cross reference indicator.
The
cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this
is customarily done only in situations where there are both
Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.
Return[5] is a British term for a return ticket, a ticket which allows someone to travel to a place and back again ⇒Commuter fares from the city centre to Raheny, for example, now € 1.50 for a single, will increase to € 1.55, while a €2.70 return will cost €2.80.
19a
Environment // partially contained within Panama? (7)
21a
Rows /generated by/ unprotected husky (4)
24a
Part of engine // restricted by zero torque (5)
25a
Copper/'s/ revolutionary cab stolen (9)
27a
Personal item /providing/ a tax credit up front (6)
A value added tax[5] (abbreviationVAT)
is a tax on the amount by which the value of an article has been
increased at each stage of its production or distribution. (show more )
The European Union value added tax[7] (or EU VAT)
is a value added tax on goods and services within the European Union
(EU). The EU's institutions do not collect the tax, but EU member states
(including the UK) are each required to adopt a value added tax that
complies with the EU VAT code. Different rates of VAT apply in different
EU member states, ranging from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary. In
the UK, the rate is 20%.
Canada's Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) are each instances of a value added tax.[7]
A task mostly employing northern // TV presenter (6)
Presenter[5] is a British* term for a person
who introduces and appears in a television or radio programme.
* In North
America, more specific terms such as host, emcee, announcer or anchor might be used for such
a person. Some — or perhaps all — of these terms are also used in the UK but presenter is a general term that covers all the bases.
According to a couple of British dictionaries, anchor is a North American[5] or mainly US[14] term for an anchorman or anchorwoman*⇒ he signed off after nineteen years as CBS news anchor.
* However, other British dictionaries[1,2,4,10] do not brand the term as North American.
3d
Jack // from luggage van keeps turning up (5)
4d
Forget // name and choose to drink gallons (7)
6d
Stone /and/ basalt are different (9)
7d
Vagrants will accept European Commission // gets better (8)
The European Commission[5] (abbreviationEC[5])
is a group, appointed by agreement among the governments of the
European Union, which initiates Union action and safeguards its
treaties. It meets in Brussels.
8d
This may lift 2 // lads going mad during conquests (8)
The
numeral "2" is a cross
reference indicator to clue 2d (show more ).
To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross
reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light* identified by the cross reference indicator.
The
cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this
is customarily done only in situations where there are both
Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.
The cooler[5] is an informal term for a prison or a prison cell ⇒the cooler was a dark, claustrophobic room.
Stir[5] is an informal term for prison [on both sides of the Atlantic] ⇒I’ve spent twenty-eight years in stir.
What did they say?
In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis hint Dartmoor is an example of this type of cooler.
HM Prison Dartmoor[7] is a men's prison operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, located in Princetown, high on Dartmoor*
in the English county of Devon.
*Dartmoor[5] is a moorland district in Devon that was a royal forest in Saxon times, now a national park.
15d
Area in internet designed // to amuse (9)
17d
Yell about critic oddly /finding/ a quicker route (5,3)
18d
Late news notice? (8)
20d
There's not one in unstated // consideration (4)
21d
This may be long /for/ a passenger vehicle (7)
Omnibus is a dated[5] or less common[10] name for a bus* ⇒a horse-drawn omnibus.
* Historically, an omnibus[3] was a large horse-drawn public conveyance, especially of the late 1800s.
In Britain, the word bent[5] has the same connotation (dishonest or corrupt) as does the word crooked[5] in North America.
*It would appear that Brits use crooked as well as bent in this sense.
23d
Angry // boss must accept vacant type (6)
26d
Tons laid out // like the river Severn, for example (5)
The River Severn[7] is the longest river in Great Britain at a length of 220 miles (354 km). It also has by far the greatest water flow in England and Wales. The river becomes tidal below Gloucester.
█ - 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
This was a "knee-bone connected to the leg-bone; leg-bone connected to the ankle-bone, ankle-bone connected to the foot-bone" situation for me. A wrong entry at 11a blocked progress at 5d which was unhelpful at 10a.
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
"//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present
"/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present
"solid underline" - precise definition
"dotted underline" - cryptic definition
"dashed underline" - wordplay
"double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog.
Across
1a
One fights // with others before the French king (8)
In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms*, Rex[5] (abbreviationR[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George — often shortened to GR) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).
* A Commonwealth realm[7]
is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations
and shares the same person, currently Elizabeth II, as its head of state
and reigning constitutional monarch, but retains a crown legally
distinct from the other realms. There are currently sixteen Commonwealth
realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the
United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific
island nations.
A shaman[5] is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in,
the world of good and evil spirits, especially among some peoples of
northern Asia and North America. Typically such people enter a trance
state during a ritual, and practise divination and healing.
10a
First-class // flier will get base to replace American (8)
In mathematics, e[5] is the transcendental* number that is the base of Napierian or natural logarithms, approximately equal to 2.71828.
* A transcendental number[5] is a number such as e or π that is real but not a root of an algebraic equation with rational coefficients.
Post Mortem
To my detriment, I became totally fixated on the last five letters of the solution being -PLANE.
11a
Complaint covers Bill, a British // rover (8)
In Crosswordland, a complaint is usually medical in nature.
Post Mortem
I initially bunged in VAGABOND (which matches all but the final checking letter) but, of course, could not parse it. However, its presence in the grid stymied my efforts at 5d.
12a
Chaos /from/ PM on edge (6)
Theresa May[7]
is a British Conservative stateswoman who served as the Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from
2016 to 2019. May resigned amid the Brexit turmoil in the UK on July 24, 2019 — approximately three months prior to the appearance of this puzzle in The Daily Telegraph.
13a
With five kicked out, criminal evicts no-hoper // from two places (12)
16a
Something to sit on /in/ Midlands town? (12)
The Midlands[10]
denotes the central counties of England, including Warwickshire,
Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire,
Staffordshire, the former West Midlands metropolitan county, and
Worcestershire. This economy of this region is characterized by
manufacturing industries.
Chesterfield[5] is a town in Derbyshire, north central England.
19a
Climb // a post, reportedly (6)
21a
Worn out item of clothing? (8)
23a
Big talkers // blasted band wearing hairpieces (8)
24a
Brings into play // authorities shorn of power (6)
Pork pie[10] (alsoporky) is mainly British and Australian slang* for a lie [in the sense of an untruth].
Rhyming Slang
This expression is an example of rhyming slang[5]
(ofter referred to as cockney rhyming slang), a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases,
typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
In the same manner, porky — shortened from pork pie — is rhyming slang for lie.
While one usually sees only the shortened form of rhyming slang, the definition above does specify "typically with the rhyming element omitted". Pork pie seems to be one of those cases where both the full expression and the shortened version are used.
26a
Heartless mum accepting kind help /for/ farm worker (8)
Down
2d
Moving here, a tourist finally /can be/ warm again (6)
3d
Has a moan about // island state (5)
Samoa[5]
is a country consisting of the western islands of Samoa*.
*Samoa is a group of islands in Polynesia, divided between American Samoa and the state of Samoa (show more ).
First visited by the Dutch in the early 18th century, the islands were divided administratively in 1899 into American Samoa in the east and German Samoa in the west. After the First World War the nine western islands were mandated to New Zealand, and became an independent republic within the Commonwealth in 1962, as Western Samoa. The country became known as Samoa in 1997.
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i) OFr[Old French]; (ii) OE [Old English].
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
A rosette[5] is a rose-shaped decoration, typically made of ribbon, worn by
supporters of a sports team or political party or awarded as a prize ⇒the showjumping rosettes Samantha had accumulated.
Off on a Tangent
In Britain, it is a common practice to wear a rosette to show one's allegiance to a sports team or political party. Illustrated (appropriately arranged left to right) are rosettes supporting three UK political parties: Labour, Liberal Democrats, and Conservatives.
Post Mortem
Having VAGABOND at 11a caused much grief here. Once I had finally resolved that error, I fear I failed to apply sufficient effort here before throwing in the towel.
6d
Smile crossing river /to find/ swimmer (5)
The bream[5] (Abramis brama) is a greenish-bronze deep-bodied freshwater fish native to Europe.
7d
Trees covered by traditional Christmas decoration? // Lots of stars here! (9)
8d
Spice Girl seen in band? // This could be sexy (8)
English pop singer-songwriter Geri Halliwell[7] came to international prominence
in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the successful girl group the Spice Girls.
13d
One might keep stocking up (9)
Here and There
Before tackling this clue, it is important to understand that, in Britain, suspenders[5] hold up stockings rather than trousers. The accessory that North Americans call suspenders is known in the UK as braces[5].The accessory that North Americans call garters[5]is known in the UK as suspenders. To the Brits, a garter is a band, usually of elastic, worn round the arm or leg to hold up a shirtsleeve, sock, or stocking.
Suspenders may attach either to a decorative belt worn around the waist
or to a garter worn around the leg (as illustrated below).
Suspender Belt
Garters and Suspenders
For the male counterpart, see the photo in Mr K's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (theorthis) compiler, (theorthis) setter, (theorthis) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
Today,
the setter has made the scenario slightly more complicated by placing "the compiler" in a possessive context.
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (orE-number[2,5])
is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting
of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to
denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but
excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
Cryptic crosswords is a pastime I took up following retirement from a career as a telecommunications engineer. As an avid solver of regular crossword puzzles, I had long been intrigued by the cryptic crosswords that appeared beside them in the newspaper. However, occasional forays into this area produced very meager results - perhaps solutions to one or two clues.
Following retirement, I finally had time to research the principles and conventions used in cryptic crosswords. Soon, I was able to solve a goodly portion of most puzzles - although I might not have always understood all the wordplay. And - to me - understanding the wordplay is just as important as finding the solution.
I hope this blog can be a forum where those of us who enjoy solving cryptic crossword puzzles can share our thoughts and experience to our mutual benefit.
