Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29200 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, November 5, 2019 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29200] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Mr K | |
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
I hit a brick wall with a handful of clues remaining and needed a gentle boost from my electronic aids to get over it and reach the finish line.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
| 9a | Diving equipment /found in/ southern republic (5) |
| 10a | Appear so excited about love /in/ TV drama (4,5) |
"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
| 11a | Tree to come down /in/ Californian city (7) |
Oakland[5] is an industrial port on the east side of San Francisco Bay in California.
| 12a | Weapon // to pass over French island (7) |
The French word for island is ile[8].
| 13a | Former partner works to return // bonus (5) |
| 14a | Standing // wave? (9) |
Standing[5] is used in the sense of remaining in force or use; permanent ⇒
he has a standing invitation to visit them.
| 16a | Polonaise in G // finishing brilliantly (6,9) |
Polonaise[8] is the French word for 'Polish' (nationality).
French polishing is the process of applying French polish[5] (also french-polish), a shellac polish that produces a high gloss on wood ⇒
a coat of French polish was brushed over the repair.
Scratching the Surface
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The polonaise[5] is:
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| 19a | Cheapskate with talent /for being/ wretched (9) |
| 21a | Match // not serious (5) |
| 23a | Knight, limber, might be // more agile (7) |
"knight " = N [chess notation]
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
hide
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
- K[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight.
- K[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king.
- N[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
hide
| 25a | Agreement /achieved with/ three tens, minus tips (7) |
| 27a | Tea with fool we prepared /in/ sad story (4,2,3) |
| 28a | Obvious // poverty traps (5) |
Down
| 1d | Ducks circling small lake /in/ city (4) |
"duck " = O [cricket term]
In cricket, a duck[5] (short for duck's egg) is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒
In British puzzles, "duck" is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.
hide
In cricket, a duck[5] (short for duck's egg) is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒
he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg[5] meaning a zero score in a game.
In British puzzles, "duck" is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.
hide
| 2d | This might go down well! (6) |
| 3d | Island // commander packing angry wound (10) |
In Muslim countries, especially under the Ottoman Empire, aga[5,10] (or agha[10]) could denote:
- a title of respect, often used with the title of a senior position
- a military commander or official
Madagascar[5] is an island
country in the Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Africa (show more ).
Settled by peoples of mixed Indo-Melanesian and African descent, Madagascar was visited by the Portuguese in 1500 but resisted colonization until the French established control in 1896. It regained its independence as the Malagasy Republic in 1960, changing its name back to Madagascar in 1975. Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world, and many of its plants and animals are not found elsewhere.
hide
Settled by peoples of mixed Indo-Melanesian and African descent, Madagascar was visited by the Portuguese in 1500 but resisted colonization until the French established control in 1896. It regained its independence as the Malagasy Republic in 1960, changing its name back to Madagascar in 1975. Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world, and many of its plants and animals are not found elsewhere.
hide
| 4d | Exhausted /and/ exploited at university (4,2) |
In British English, up[5] means at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ⇒
they were up at Cambridge about the same time.
| 5d | Something soothing said /in/ royal residence (8) |
Balmoral Castle[5] is a holiday [vacation] residence of the British royal family, on the River Dee in Scotland.
| 6d | No American /has/ common sense (4) |
Nous[5] is an informal British term meaning common sense or practical intelligence ⇒
if he had any nous at all, he’d sell the film rights.
| 7d | Disease /in/ fruit announced twice (8) |
Beriberi[5] (or beri-beri[1]) is a disease causing inflammation of the nerves and heart failure, ascribed to a deficiency of vitamin B1.
| 8d | Drunk after drink /is/ unassailable (10) |
| 13d | Fat fee mine when dressed // as woman (10) |
| 15d | Obtain soul renewed with this? (10) |
The entire clue serves as the definition in which the wordplay is embedded*.
* the wordplay is marked with a double underline to show that it is also part of the definition
| 17d | Complete costume /for/ classical musicians (8) |
| 18d | Town merry-go-round? (3-5) |
Merry[5,10] is an informal British term meaning slightly and good-humouredly drunk ⇒
after the third beer he began to feel quite merry*.
* In Canada, someone in this state would likely be described as
feeling happy.
| 20d | Team /in/ the Spanish square (6) |
"the Spanish " = EL [Spanish definite article]
Eleven[5] (often appearing as a Roman numeral XI) is the number of players in* a cricket[7] side [team] or an Association football[7] [soccer] team — and is frequently used as a metonym for such a team ⇒
at cricket I played in the first eleven.
* Note that, in Britain, the words "side" and "team" are synonymous and a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
| 22d | Butcher's // bird (6) |
Butcher's[10] is Cockney rhyming slang* for a look.
* In Cockney rhyming slang, the slang word (in this case, "butcher's") is obtained by replacing a word (in this case, "look") by a phrase with which it rhymes ("butcher's hook") and then dropping the rhyming word in the replacement phrase. Through this process, "look" becomes "butcher's".
| 24d | Spoils // from Waterloo taken (4) |
Scratching the Surface
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| The Battle of Waterloo[5] was a battle fought on 18 June 1815 near the village of Waterloo (in what is now Belgium), in which Napoleon's army was defeated by the British (under the Duke of Wellington) and Prussians. The allied pursuit caused Napoleon's army to disintegrate entirely, ending his bid to return to power. |
| 26d | Ezra losing heart, Eliot // worries (4) |
T. S. Eliot[5]
(1888–1965) was an American-born British poet, critic, and playwright;
full name Thomas Stearns Eliot (show more ).
Associated with the rise of literary modernism, he was established as the voice of a disillusioned generation by The Waste Land (1922). Four Quartets (1943) revealed his increasing involvement with Christianity. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948.
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Associated with the rise of literary modernism, he was established as the voice of a disillusioned generation by The Waste Land (1922). Four Quartets (1943) revealed his increasing involvement with Christianity. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948.
hide
Scratching the Surface
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Ezra Pound[5] (1885–1972) was an American poet and critic, resident in Europe
1908–45 (show more ).
Initially associated with imagism, he later developed a highly eclectic poetic voice, drawing on a vast range of classical and other references and establishing a reputation as a modernist poet. Notable works: Hugh Selwyn Mauberley (1920) and Cantos (series, 1917–70). hide |
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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