Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29186 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, October 19, 2019 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29186 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29186 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Big Dave (Hints)gnomethang (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
An overwhelming majority of the commentariat on Big Dave's Crossword Blog clearly found this puzzle far more of a challenge than the three stars for diffulty awarded to it by gnomethang.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
| 1a | Water bird, // one that's in decline (6) |
The dipper[5] is a short-tailed songbird related to the wrens, frequenting fast-flowing streams and able to swim, dive, and walk under water to feed.
| 4a | Gusher's output /providing/ energy -- strong power source (8) |
| 9a | American coming to the forefront of most unusual // book (6) |
| 10a | A sports official wearing appropriate item -- not this (8) |
I know that others will mark this clue differently, but I consider the entire clue to be a cryptic definition in which the wordplay is embedded. The double underline marking the first part of the clue indicates that this portion of the clue is not only wordplay but forms part of the definition as well.
One must interpret the definition as "What a sports official wearing a particular appropriate item would not be".
Post Mortem
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| I was, oh, so close. At one point I considered BAREFEET but rejected it because it would not parse (the REF would have been sporting a BEET). |
| 12a | Spots // danger coming from such actions (4) |
| 13a & 17a | Enjoy an innings of torment after being dismissed // very quickly (4,1,3,3,2,4) |
The wordplay parses as LIKE (enjoy) + A BAT (an innings) + {of (from the clue) + HELL (torment)} following (after) OUT (being dismissed).
In cricket, the term innings[5] can have a variety of meanings. Here, it is used in the sense of a player’s turn at batting ⇒
he had played his greatest innings.
In cricket, a bat[1] is a turn at batting.
In cricket, dismiss[5] means to end the innings of (a batsman or a side [team]) ⇒
Australia were dismissed for 118.
* Translation: The Australian national team was dismissed after having scored 118 runs.
In cricket, out[5] means no longer batting; having had one’s innings ended by the fielding side ⇒
Chris Taylor was out for a duck** in the second over***.
* Translation: Batsman Chris Taylor was out having scored no runs after facing fewer than 12 bowled balls.
** A duck[5] (short for duck's egg) is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒
he was out for a duck.
*** 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.
| 14a | Flier /uses/ electronic equipment first (4) |
The Chambers Dictionary defines kit[1] as meaning — among other things — equipment.
A kite[5,10] is a diurnal medium to large bird of prey that feeds on small mammals and insects which typically has a long forked tail and long broad wings and frequently soars on updraughts of air.
| 17a | See 13 Across |
| 20a | Looks to the future /with/ pacy attack (4-8) |
Pacy[5] (also pacey) [a word conspicuously absent from American dictionaries] is an adjective meaning moving or progressing quickly ⇒
a pacy thriller.
A forward[5] is an attacking player in football [soccer], hockey*, or other sports.
* This being a British dictionary, 'hockey' almost certainly means 'field hockey'; otherwise, the editors would have specified 'ice hockey'. However, the term is equally applicable in both sports.
A team with a "pacy attack" would be one with "fast forwards".
| 23a | Extremist // regularly found in Stormont (4) |
Trot[5] is an informal, chiefly derogatory term for a Trotskyist or supporter of extreme left-wing views ⇒ (i)
a band of subversive Trots; (ii)
he declared that the Corporation was a ‘nest of long-haired Trots’.
Scratching the Surface
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| Stormont[10] is a suburb of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the site of Parliament House (1928–30), formerly the seat of the parliament of Northern Ireland (1922–72) and since 1998 of the Northern Ireland assembly, and Stormont Castle, formerly the residence of the prime minister of Northern Ireland and since 1998 the office of the province's first minister. Just as Ottawa, Washington, and London are metonyms for the governments of their respective countries, Stormont would be a metonym for the government of Northern Ireland. |
| 24a | State of excitement /that's/ less half-hearted! (5) |
I think this would fall into the category of "visual clues". We need to replace the letter "W", the heart of the word "FEWER" (less), with a letter that 'looks like' one half of a "W". A "visual clue" is one that relies on visual characteristics such as the shaape of a letter rather than the meanings or sounds of words. A classic example of a visual clue is cluing the letter combination "OO'' as "spectacles" based on its resemblance to a pair of eye glasses.
| 25a | TV presenter with current // member of opposition (4) |
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.
Anthony "Ant"* McPartlin[7] is an English television presenter, TV producer, rapper, singer, comedian and actor. He is best known for working alongside Declan Donnelly as part of the presenting duo Ant & Dec.}
* Ant[7] is an English nickname abbreviated from the given name Anthony/Antony.
| 28a | Drive to the side of the road /in/ Jersey (8) |
I don't consider this to be a double definition as the numeration for the first part (4,4) does not match that given in the clue (8).
Scratching the Surface
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Jersey[5]
is the largest of the Channel Islands (show more ).
The Channel Islands[5] (abbreviation CI[5]) are a group of islands in the English Channel off the northwestern coast of France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. Formerly part of the dukedom of Normandy, they have owed allegiance to England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and are now classed as Crown dependencies. hide |
| 29a | Roman soldiers, // say, suffering fate of victims in Colosseum? (6) |
The Colosseum[7]
or Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an
oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. The largest
amphitheatre ever built, the Colosseum is situated just east of the
Roman Forum.In ancient Rome, as a lunchtime diversion, executions ad bestias[7] would be staged in the Colosseum. Those condemned to death would be sent into the arena, naked and unarmed, to face the beasts of death which would literally tear them to pieces. The victim of such an event might well end up "inside a lion".
In the ancient Roman army, a legion[5] was a division of 3,000–6,000 men, including a complement of cavalry.
| 30a | What could provide meatiest // quote (8) |
| 31a | Craftier // character on radio (6) |
The Archers[7] is a British radio soap opera broadcast on BBC Radio since 1951. It was initially billed an everyday story of country folk and now, a contemporary drama in a rural setting. Having aired over 19,100 episodes, it is the world's longest-running drama. The series centres around the lives of the Archer clan who run a third-generation family farm in the fictional village of Ambridge in the English Midlands.
Down
| 1d | Cooked bird -- I ate // a mouthful (8) |
| 2d | A fluke perhaps /in/ HQ of the Red Devils? (8) |
Red Devils is a nickname for the Parachute Regiment[7], colloquially known as the Paras, an airborne infantry regiment of the British Army.
The regiment's HQ could be called a "Para site".
A fluke[5] is a parasitic flatworm which typically has suckers and hooks for attachment to the host. Some species are of veterinary or medical importance.
| 3d | Festival the queen doesn't attend /to make/ a point (4) |
"the queen " = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth]
| 5d | Weapon // the army endlessly redeployed in bloomer (12) |
Scratching the Surface
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In the surface reading, bloomer[5] is a dated informal British term for a serious or stupid mistake ⇒ he never committed a bloomer. |
| 6d | Waste product // from bureaucracy (4) |
Urea[5] is a colourless crystalline compound which is the main nitrogenous breakdown product of protein metabolism in mammals and is excreted in urine.
| 7d | One line of mathematicians // with popular appeal (6) |
In mathematics, a conic (short for conic section[10]) is one of a group of curves formed by the intersection of a plane and a right circular cone (show more ).
The curve is either a circle, ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola, depending on the eccentricity, e, which is constant for a particular curve e = 0 for a circle; e < 1 for an ellipse; e = 1 for a parabola; e > 1 for a hyperbola.
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The curve is either a circle, ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola, depending on the eccentricity, e, which is constant for a particular curve e = 0 for a circle; e < 1 for an ellipse; e = 1 for a parabola; e > 1 for a hyperbola.
hide
| 8d | Character /in/ middle of manic state? (6) |
Nutter[5] is an informal British term for a mad or eccentric person.
| 11d | Beating // champion ice-hockey team? (3,2,3,4) |
Six of the best[5] is a humorous, historical British expression referring to a caning as a punishment, traditionally with six strokes of the cane, sometimes administered by a prefect* ⇒
one prefect would hold you down and the other would give you six of the best.
* In some British schools, a prefect[5] is a senior pupil who is authorized to enforce discipline. You may recall the term from The Hollies song "Carrie Anne":
When we were at school our games were simple
I played the janitor, you played the monitor
Then you played with older boys and prefects
What's the attraction in what they're doing
| 15d | French aristocrat occupied with // old coin (5) |
The French word for 'duke' is duc[8].
At is used in the sense of engaged in as in the phrase at it[5] ⇒
while you are at it, would you mind throwing a few items of mine in the wash too.
A ducat[10] is any of various former European gold or silver coins, especially those used in Italy or the Netherlands.
| 16d | Escaped // criminal, not English, holding women (5) |
The abbreviation for women or women's is W[2]. The latter designates a clothing size while the former might be a sign on the door to the ladies' room.
| 18d | Flourish /having/ simple breakfast food prepared (8) |
The wordplay parses as BRAN (simple breakfast food) + DISH (food prepared; here, prepared is a postpositive adjective, so the phrase 'food prepared' is equivalent to 'prepared food')
| 19d | Person transferring assets // in the manner of Italian gentleman (8) |
Signor[5] (also Signore, plural Signori) is a title or form of address used of or to an Italian-speaking man, corresponding to Mr or sir ⇒ (i)
Signor Ugolotti; (ii)
I am a man of honour, Signor.
| 21d | Fastener // regularly used (6) |
| 22d | Miscellaneous collection /of/ biblical characters (3,3) |
In the Bible, Job[5] was a man whose patience and piety were tried by undeserved misfortunes. However, in spite of his bitter lamentations, he remained confident in the goodness and justice of God. His name has come to epitomise patience ⇒
In dealing with this series of difficult circumstances, she displayed the patience of Job.
In the Bible, Lot[5] is the nephew of Abraham, who was allowed to escape from the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 19). His wife, who disobeyed orders and looked back, was turned into a pillar of salt.
A job lot[5] is a miscellaneous group of articles, especially when sold or bought together ⇒
a job lot of stuff I bought from a demolition firm.
| 26d | Class // structure (4) |
In Britain, a form[5] is [or, perhaps more correctly,was] a class or year in a school, usually given a specifying number. This is similar to the North America concept of a grade although the numbering system for forms and grades are vastly different. (show more )
The term "form" seems to have become passé as Miffypops in his review of DT 28163 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog refers to "sixth-former" as "What a schoolchild would be during the year before university back in the old days. This would now be known as year 13 or 14." Furthermore, Wikipedia (see table below) characterizes the term "form" as an "alternative/old name".
A form[7] is a class or grouping of students in a school. The term is used predominantly in the United Kingdom, although some schools, mostly private, in other countries also use the title. Pupils are usually grouped in forms according to age and will remain with the same group for a number of years, or sometimes their entire school career.
Forms are normally identified by a number such as "first form" or "sixth form". A form number may be used for two year groups and differentiated by the terms upper and lower [in general, this would seem to apply primarily for the sixth form]. Usually the sixth form is the senior form of a school [although this apparently does not hold true for New Zealand where they would appear to have a seventh form]. In England, the sixth form is usually divided into two year groups, the lower sixth and upper sixth, owing to the 3-year English college/university system. In Scotland or North America, the 6th form is usually a single year, owing to the 4-year college/university system. If there is more than one form for each year group they will normally be differentiated by letters, e.g., "upper four B", "lower two Y". Schools do not follow a consistent pattern in naming forms [in the foregoing quotation witness Miffypops' reference to "year 14", a term which does not appear in the table below].
Wikipedia would appear to be at best ambiguous and at worst inconsistent on the relationship between the British and American systems of naming school years. The article from which the table below is excerpted shows that the British first form is equivalent to the American 6th grade. On the other hand, the article cited above states "In North America, the 1st Form (or sometimes 'Form I') is equivalent to 7th Grade." However, this latter statement may in fact be a comparison between the few North American schools to use the form system and the vast majority of North American schools that don't rather than a comparison between British and American schools.
hide
The term "form" seems to have become passé as Miffypops in his review of DT 28163 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog refers to "sixth-former" as "What a schoolchild would be during the year before university back in the old days. This would now be known as year 13 or 14." Furthermore, Wikipedia (see table below) characterizes the term "form" as an "alternative/old name".
A form[7] is a class or grouping of students in a school. The term is used predominantly in the United Kingdom, although some schools, mostly private, in other countries also use the title. Pupils are usually grouped in forms according to age and will remain with the same group for a number of years, or sometimes their entire school career.
Forms are normally identified by a number such as "first form" or "sixth form". A form number may be used for two year groups and differentiated by the terms upper and lower [in general, this would seem to apply primarily for the sixth form]. Usually the sixth form is the senior form of a school [although this apparently does not hold true for New Zealand where they would appear to have a seventh form]. In England, the sixth form is usually divided into two year groups, the lower sixth and upper sixth, owing to the 3-year English college/university system. In Scotland or North America, the 6th form is usually a single year, owing to the 4-year college/university system. If there is more than one form for each year group they will normally be differentiated by letters, e.g., "upper four B", "lower two Y". Schools do not follow a consistent pattern in naming forms [in the foregoing quotation witness Miffypops' reference to "year 14", a term which does not appear in the table below].
Wikipedia would appear to be at best ambiguous and at worst inconsistent on the relationship between the British and American systems of naming school years. The article from which the table below is excerpted shows that the British first form is equivalent to the American 6th grade. On the other hand, the article cited above states "In North America, the 1st Form (or sometimes 'Form I') is equivalent to 7th Grade." However, this latter statement may in fact be a comparison between the few North American schools to use the form system and the vast majority of North American schools that don't rather than a comparison between British and American schools.
| Age Range | British System | American System | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Alternative/Old Name | Name | |
| 11-12 | Year 7 | First form | 6th grade |
| 12-13 | Year 8 | Second form | 7th grade |
| 13-14 | Year 9 | Third form | 8th grade |
| 14-15 | Year 10 | Fourth form | 9th grade |
| 15-16 | Year 11 | Fifth form | 10th grade |
| 16-17 | Year 12 | Lower sixth form | 11th grade |
| 17-18 | Year 13 | Upper sixth form | 12th grade |
hide
| 27d | River // to cause erosion (4) |
The River Wear[7] (pronounced WEER) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At 60 mi (97 km) long, it is one of the region's longest rivers.
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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