Puzzle at a Glance
|
|---|
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29181 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, October 14, 2019 | |
Setter
Likely Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29181] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Miffypops | |
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
For the Brits, this puzzle was an easy one to start the week. For us, it's an easy one to end the week.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 | |
|
|
| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | Short talk on instant // coffee (5) |
"instant " = MO
Mo (abbreviation for moment) is an informal term* for a short period of time ⇒
* Identified by several British dictionaries as being a British[5,14], chiefly British[2,4], or mainly British[10] term. However, one British and two US dictionaries do not specify that it is British[1,11,12]. This meaning of the word "mo" is not found in my third US dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language[3].
hide
Mo (abbreviation for moment) is an informal term* for a short period of time ⇒
hang on a mo!.
* Identified by several British dictionaries as being a British[5,14], chiefly British[2,4], or mainly British[10] term. However, one British and two US dictionaries do not specify that it is British[1,11,12]. This meaning of the word "mo" is not found in my third US dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language[3].
hide
| 4a | Warning: // umlaut with 'mit' misplaced (9) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| An umlaut[5] is a mark (¨) used over a vowel, especially in German, to indicate a different vowel quality. Mit[8] is the German word for 'with'. The surface reading may mean that it is a mistake to place an umlaut over the vowel in the word 'mit'. Come to think of it, does one ever place an umlaut above the letter 'i'? |
| 9a | In front of couple, score // a line on rugby pitch (6-3) |
Each half of a rugby union pitch[7] is marked with a number of solid and broken lines including the twenty-two, a solid line parallel to and 22 metres in front of the goal line and identified by a large figure 22 painted on the field.
| 10a | Use obscene language /in/ southern sport (5) |
| 11a | Against // operation suggested (7) |
| 12a | After opening of shop, steal, pocketing a // vegetable (7) |
| 13a | In cooler temperature /delivers/ baby (6) |
| 15a | Leave // group by Scottish river (3,5) |
The Forth[5] is a river of central Scotland, rising on Ben Lomond and flowing eastwards through Stirling into the North Sea.
| 18a | Brief word about weird sister, // keen birdwatcher (8) |
The weird sisters[5] are witches, especially those in Shakespeare's Macbeth ⇒
I'm talking of course about Macbeth, and in this play the oracular power comes in the form of the witches, the weird sisters.
Twitcher[5] is an informal British term for a birdwatcher whose main aim is to collect sightings of rare birds.
| 20a | Son in club // concert (6) |
A Bit of a Stretch — Seemingly Not
| |
|---|---|
| My gut reaction was to question the equivalence of club and union. However, a little research shows the setter to be onside. Union[a] is used in the sense of a group of people united in a relationship and having some interest, activity, or purpose in common. Synonyms: association, club, confederation, congress, federation, fellowship, fraternity, guild, league, order, organization, society, sorority. [a] The American Heritage Roget's Thesaurus Of course, we should give the final word to The Chambers Dictionary (considered to be "the Bible" for Daily Telegraph crosswords) which defines nnion[1] (in part) as a students' club. |
Concert[5] is used in the sense of agreement or harmony ⇒
In concert with its European partners the British Government can use this meeting to shift its public stance on the question of ‘globalisation’.
| 23a | Record of wages, // say, stupidly left in spot (7) |
| 24a | Go ahead /with/ loan (7) |
| 26a | Porcelain // found in Hiroshima river (5) |
Imari[5] is a type of richly decorated Japanese porcelain ⇒
an Imari vase.
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
Hiroshima[5] is a city on the south coast of the island of Honshu, western Japan. (show more )
Hiroshima was the target of the first atom bomb, which was dropped by the United States on 6 August 1945 and resulted in the deaths of about one third of the city's population of 300,000. Together with a second attack, on Nagasaki three days later, this led to Japan's surrender and the end of the Second World War. hide |
| 27a | Rule /in/ court facing criticism (9) |
Stick[5] is an informal British term denoting severe criticism or treatment ⇒
I took a lot of stick from the press.
| 28a | With no one up // slide, errs foolishly (9) |
| 29a | Fear // daughter showed (5) |
Read[5] is used in the sense (said of a passage, text, or sign) to have a certain wording ⇒
the placard read ‘We want justice’.
Down
| 1d | Way it's converted // church member (9) |
A Methodist[5] is a member of a Christian Protestant denomination originating in the 18th-century evangelistic movement of Charles and John Wesley and George Whitefield. (show more )
The Methodist Church grew out of a religious society established within the Church of England, from which it formally separated in 1791. It is particularly strong in the US and now constitutes one of the largest Protestant denominations worldwide, with more than 30 million members. Methodism has a strong tradition of missionary work and concern with social welfare, and emphasizes the believer's personal relationship with God.
hide
The Methodist Church grew out of a religious society established within the Church of England, from which it formally separated in 1791. It is particularly strong in the US and now constitutes one of the largest Protestant denominations worldwide, with more than 30 million members. Methodism has a strong tradition of missionary work and concern with social welfare, and emphasizes the believer's personal relationship with God.
hide
| 2d | Mean // fellow conserving energy (5) |
"fellow" = CHAP (show more )
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
hide
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
hide
| 3d | Sinatra upset // craftsman (7) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Frank Sinatra[5] (1915–1998) was an American singer and actor. His many hits include ‘Night and Day’ and ‘My Way’. He won an Oscar for his role in the film From Here to Eternity (1953). |
| 4d | Disorderly // time in college, extremely dingy (6) |
Uni[5] is an informal term (originally Australian) for university ⇒
he planned to go to uni.
| 5d | Told hoes could be here? (4,4) |
To my way of thinking, the entire clue is a cryptic definition which one must interpret as "a place where hoes can be found". The wordplay is embedded in the definition and is marked with a double underline to indicate that, in addition to being wordplay, it also forms part of the definition.
Others may simply consider the entire clue to be wordplay but I don't consider the word "here" to be necessary to the wordplay.
In fact, in clues such as this, the wordplay and definition are so entwined that one could really say that they comingle rather than one being embedded in the other.
| 6d | Mother's pet // dog (7) |
| 7d | Ambassador's enthralled by sign /in/ book (9) |
HE[2] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.
In astrology, Taurus[10] (also called the Bull) is the second sign of the zodiac, symbol ♉, having a fixed earth classification and ruled by the planet Venus. The sun is in this sign between about April 20 and May 20.
| 8d | Ruin church // parade (5) |
| 14d | Female secure around spacious // place of enchantment (9) |
| 16d | Browbeaten // male, note, kissed quickly (9) |
| 17d | Novitiate, // one they ordered to keep quiet (8) |
| 19d | Dog right /for/ a miner (7) |
| 21d | Agree to collect travel document /in/ Serbian port (4,3) |
Novi Sad[5] is an industrial city in Serbia, on the River Danube.
| 22d | Artist's after nuts /for/ a curry (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
Madras[5] is a dish of meat, fish, or vegetables in a hot curry sauce.
| 23d | Previous // abbot's deputy (5) |
An abbot[5] is a man who is the head of an abbey of monks.
A prior[5] is the male head of a house or group of houses of certain religious orders, in particular:
- the man next in rank below an abbot
- the head of a house of friars
| 25d | Sound /of/ hooter I put in (5) |
In Britain, hooter[10] is an informal term for a person's nose.
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
Hooter[5] is a British term for:
|
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)
This is excellent information. It is amazing and wonderful to visit your site.
ReplyDeleteGet a solution for any nature of problem from Pandith Ram UK's top and trusted astrologer. Call Now: +44 7459638284
Best Astrologer in London | Psychic Reader in London | Astrologer in London | Love Spell Caster in UK