Friday, June 19, 2020 — DT 29211

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29211
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, November 18, 2019
Setter Campbell (Allan Scott)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29211]
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

In The Daily Telegraph, "Monday" puzzles are typically the easiest of the week — and this would seem to fit that pattern.

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	Vet slack // film script (10)

6a	Dishonest scheme /of/ rascal cut short (4)

9a	Statesmen failed to hold small // financial checks (5,5)

"small " = S [clothing size]

S^[5] is the abbreviation for small (as a clothing size).

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10a	Money runs out /for/ swimmer (4)

Brass^[5] is an informal British term for money ⇒ they wanted to spend their newly acquired brass.

"runs " = R [cricket notation]

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.

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12a	Storage chamber, // likewise, enthralling the Italian (4)

So^[10] is used in the sense of also or likewise ⇒ I can speak Spanish and so can you.

In Italian, the masculine singular form of the definite article is il^[8].

13a	Working in a centre /for/ fruit (9)

15a	Illumination /coming from/ fire in grate, primarily (8)

16a	Prime Minister must accept rubbish start to election // for now (3,3)

What is he talking about?
In Comment #1 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Young Salopian characterizes this clue as topical. When this clue appeared in the UK back in November, the country was well into the campaign for the British general election to be held on December 12, 2019.

18a	Busy person going about work with quiet // shepherdess (2-4)

"work " = OP [opus]

In music, an opus^[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.

The abbreviation Op.^[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..

Opus^[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

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"quiet " = P [music notation]

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

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20a	Greek papers and press /showing/ American sports field (8)

23a	One of baby's complaints – // any perhaps treated out East? (5,4)

Nappy^[5] is the British name for a diaper^[5].

24a	Expletive // coming from boathouse (4)

26a	Produce // good line (4)

"good " = G [academic result]

The abbreviation G^[a] for good comes from its use in education as a grade awarded on school assignments or tests.

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^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

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27a	Leaving rest // unprepared (3,7)

28a	Fish /in/ barrel at front of aquarium (4)

29a	Fortunate, //  a short time before, also (4,2,4)

Although the word "just" and the phrase "a short time before" have the same meaning, the former is used prepositively (I had just finished work.) while the latter is used postpositively (I had finished work a short time before.).

Down

1d	Problem over // wrestling style (4)

"over " = O [cricket term]

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation O^[5] denotes over(s), an over^[5] being 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.

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2d	Studying // danger at sea involving current (7)

"current " = I [symbol used in physics]

In physics, I^[5] is a symbol used to represent electric current in mathematical formulae.

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Read^[5] is a British term meaning to study (an academic subject) at a university ⇒ (i) I’m reading English at Cambridge; (ii) he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.

3d	Not difficult covering London landmark, // pleasant to look at (4,2,3,3)

The London Eye^[10] is a large ferris wheel^* located on the south bank of the River Thames in London, England.

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^* Erected in 1999, it stands 135 m (443 ft) in height.

4d	Expecting // page on ruling (8)

"page " = P [publishing]

In textual references, the abbreviation for page is p^[5] ⇒ see p 784.

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Regnant^[5] (often postpositive) is an adjective meaning reigning or ruling ⇒ a queen regnant.

5d	Set on /having/ a little time on course (6)

7d	Ceremonial carriage /coming from/ church, a striking display (7)

The chariot^[10] here is not the two-wheeled vehicle used in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc, in war, races, and processions but a light four-wheeled horse-drawn ceremonial carriage.

8d	Object to supporting expert /in/ TV show (10)

Mastermind^[7] is a British television game show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness. (show more )

Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed—contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the contestant's choice, the other a general knowledge round. Wright drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II.

In each round, the contestant is given a set period of time to answer questions. The questioner reads out a question. If the contestant gives the correct answer, he or she scores one point, and the questioner then reads out the next question. The contestant may pass (by simply saying "pass") if he or she doesn't know the answer, or prefers not to spend time trying to remember the answer: the questioner does not begin to read the next question until the contestant has given an answer or said "pass". If a question is answered incorrectly, the questioner will give the correct answer before reading out the next question; this uses some of the contestant's remaining time. However, if the contestant passes, the questioner moves straight on to the next question: the answer is not read out until the end of the round.

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11d	Bar led lads astray about noughts /and/ crosses (12)

Nought^[5] is a British term for the digit 0 (zero).

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A labradoodle^[5] is a dog that is bred as a cross between a Labrador and a poodle.

Scratching the Surface
Noughts and crosses[5] is the British name for tic-tac-toe[5] (X's and O's).

14d	Soar past broken-down thing, // unreliable (3-2-5)

17d	Ban // for husband took effect after one (8)

"husband " = H [genealogy]

The abbreviation for husband is h^[1,2] or h.^{[3,4,10,11,12]} or H^[12] or H.^[4,10,11,12]) [although no context is provided, it may well come from the field of genealogy].

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Bite^[5] (past tense bit) is used in the sense (of a policy or situation) to take effect, with unpleasant consequences ⇒ the cuts in art education were starting to bite.

19d	Fizzy drink with my northern // cinema fare? (7)

Cor^[5] is an informal British exclamation expressing surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm ⇒ Cor! That‘s a beautiful black eye you’ve got!.

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops tells us that this exclamation often precedes the word blimey. Blimey[5] (also cor blimey) is an informal British exclamation used to express surprise, excitement, or alarm. Another variant of this term is gorblimey[5], an informal expression of surprise or indignation.

21d	Followers // reunite, intoxicated (7)

22d	Departed hastily, we hear, following staff // complaint that's exaggerated (3,3)

Complaints in Crosswordland are typically medical in nature.

Man flu^[10] is an informal, derogatory term^* for a case of the common cold as suffered by a man, implying that he is exaggerating the debilitating effects of the illness.

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^* an ailment recorded in most of my British dictionaries but yet to make an appearance in any of my American dictionaries

25d	Timber // trade (4)

In Britain, deal^[5] means:

• fir or pine wood as a building material; or
• a plank made of fir or pine wood [what we in North America would commonly refer to as lumber^*].

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  ^* In Britain, lumber^[5] has a totally different meaning than it does in North America, being articles of furniture or other household items that are no longer useful and inconveniently take up storage space.

Apparently, this meaning of deal^[3,11] also exists (or once existed) in North America, but I would think that it is very rarely used now — especially by the general public.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[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)

Signing off for today — Falcon