Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29193 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, October 28, 2019 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29193] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Miffypops | |
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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Introduction
The needle on the difficulty meter has swung from one extreme to the other between yesterday and today.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 | Change // on-off device (6) |
| 4a | How eleven may appear // individually? (3,2,3) |
| 9a | In front, I'm extremely // sharp (2,4) |
| 10a | Unwise dropping rugby's foremost // forward (8) |
| 11a | Caught unawares, // Spurs dire, out of form (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Tottenham Hotspur Football Club[7] commonly referred to as the Spurs, is an English professional football [soccer] club located in Tottenham, London, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system). |
| 13a | Cautious, // cleaner close to canary (5) |
Char[5] is an informal British term for charwoman[5] (or charlady[5]), a dated British name for a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office.
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops describes the first piece of the charade asAlthough Miffypops has not used daily as a noun, it can be used as such in this context. Daily[5] (noun) is a dated British term for a woman who is employed to clean someone else’s house each day.Another name for a daily cleaner .... |
| 14a | Question university girl about one revolutionary // dish (6,8) |
"revolutionary " = CHE [Guevara]
Che Guevara[7]
(1928–1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author,
guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the
Cuban
Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural
symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.
hide
Che Guevara[7]
(1928–1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author,
guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the
Cuban
Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural
symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.hide
Quiche Lorraine[5] is a quiche made with bacon or ham.
Origin: Lorraine is the name of a region of north-eastern France.
| 17a | Row after character /appears in/ line-up (8,6) |
Identity parade[5] appears to be the principal British term for a (police) line-up[5]*, a group of people including a suspect for a crime assembled for the purpose of having an eyewitness identify the suspect from among them.
* The latter term is apparently also used in Britain (the dictionary describes it as "another term" for the former)
| 21a | Win over // church member (5) |
| 23a | Dreadful, the French // record (9) |
Chronic[5] is used not in the medical sense but as British slang meaning of a very poor quality ⇒
the film was absolutely chronic.
| 24a | Notably, // a black smock Renoir finally discarded (5,3) |
Overall[4] — not to be confused with overalls (see box below) — is a British term for a a protective work garment usually worn over ordinary clothes. It would seem to be a general term that encompasses not only garments that the British call dungarees (North American overalls) or boiler suits (North American coveralls) but also coat and smock type garments (such as lab coats perhaps) — and even aprons as well.
Here and There
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| While Brits and North Americans share many of the same names for
articles of clothing, the meaning of those terms is often quite
different on either side of the pond. In North America, overalls[3,11] are loose-fitting trousers, usually of strong fabric, with a bib front and shoulder straps, often worn over regular clothing as protection from dirt. The British definition of overalls[4] is broader, including not only garments with a bib and shoulder straps but also those having a jacket top. These latter garments are also known as boiler suits[5] in the UK and would be called coveralls[3] in North America. Furthermore, whereas the term dungarees[3,4,11] is used in North America to refer to either trousers or North American style overalls, in the UK it is used solely to mean the latter, i.e., a suit of workman's overalls made of dungaree [denim] consisting of trousers with a bib attached. Note that I have carefully avoided using the North American term "pants" in favour of the more universal term "trousers". In Britain, the term "pants" refers to underwear. Thus were I to take off my pants in the UK, I would be far more exposed than if I were to do so in North America! |
Scratching the Surface
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| Auguste Renoir[5] (1841–1919) was a French painter. An early impressionist, he developed a style characterized by light, fresh colours and indistinct, subtle outlines. Notable works: Les Grandes baigneuses (1884-7). |
| 25a | Reportedly dressing // well (6) |
The word "source" , when pronounced in a non-rhotic accent (show explanation
) typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially
southeastern England), sounds like "sauce" .
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.
hide
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.
hide
| 26a | Plays, and blue // film (3,5) |
Blue[5] is an informal British term denoting politically conservative ⇒
the successful blue candidate.
A Tory[10] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain [or, for that matter, in Canada].
Toy Story[7] is a 1995 American computer-animated buddy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was the first entirely computer-animated feature film.
| 27a | Quick // pint on seafront (6) |
Prom[5] is an informal British short form for promenade[5], a paved* public walk, typically one along the seafront at a resort.
Down
| 1d | Perhaps wife // needs support after blowing top (6) |
| 2d | Break // tile under ground (9) |
As an anagram indicator, ground is used as the past tense or past participle of the verb grind[5]. An anagram indicator is typically a word that denotes movement or transformation. Grind denotes transformation, for example, in the sense of grain being ground into flour.
| 3d | Material /in/ river, short rectangular building block (7) |
The Cam[10] is a river in eastern England, in Cambridgeshire, flowing through Cambridge to the Great Ouse (river).
Cambric[5] is a lightweight, closely woven white linen or cotton fabric.
| 5d | Remarkably modern paper, // one trying to impress others (4-7) |
| 6d | Doorman // runs after Bob? (7) |
"runs " = R [cricket notation]
| 7d | Love very good // Greek character (5) |
"love " = O [nil score in tennis]
In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).
hide
In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.
Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).
hide
Mega[5] is an informal term that would seem to have a broader range of meanings in the UK than in North America:
- (adjective) very large or huge ⇒
he has signed a mega deal to make five movies
- (adjective) excellent ⇒
it will be a mega film
- (adverb) extremely ⇒
they are mega rich
Omega[5] is the last letter of the Greek alphabet (Ω, ω).
| 8d | Admission /made by/ unknown female tucking into dish (5,3) |
"unknown " = Y [algebraic notation]
Here and There
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|---|---|
| In the US and Canada, an entrée[2,10] is the main course of a meal. Most UK dictionaries, define entrée[2,10] as a dish served before a main course; in particular, a small dish served after the fish course and before the main course at a formal dinner. Strangely, the primary entry on the Lexico website (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) defines entrée[5] in the US fashion as being the main course of a meal. Does this indicate that the US usage is beginning to take hold in the UK? |
| 12d | Show // as claret cup, erroneously (11) |
| 15d | Word for 'improper behaviour' // coined abroad by eccentric (9) |
Rum[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒
it’s a rum business, certainly.
| 16d | Diagram of interest to Desperate Dan! (3,5) |
Desperate Dan[7] is a wild west character in the British comic The Dandy. He first appeared in its first issue, dated 4 December 1937. He is reputed to be the world's strongest man, able to lift a cow with one hand. Even his beard is so tough he has to shave with a blowtorch. Among his favourite foods is "cow pie" — which apparently is a whole cow baked in a pie, and not a "meadow muffin".
| 18d | Agency worker set off /in/ violent storm (7) |
| 19d | Managed to attract endless // resentment (7) |
| 20d | Failing // to sidetrack learner leaving (6) |
| 22d | Anguish /in/ New York following a turn (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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