Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in
DT 29241 | |
Publication Date in
Monday, December 23, 2019 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29241] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review
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
Although neither the queen consort nor the English novel were completely new to me, neither came readily to mind.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 | Switch positions // from time to time (2-3-3) |
| 5a | Bright // cold bar (6) |
| 10a | Carry out what is required, // as haulage firms do? (7,3,5) |
Haulage company[5] [or haulage firm] is a British* term for a business concerned with the commercial transport of goods ⇒
haulage companies will have no option but to pass on the costs.}
| 11a | Receive cut in advance // with enthusiasm (7) |
| 12a | Get back // about demand for payment (7) |
| 13a | Section of coastline there, also // heavenly (8) |
| 15a | Animal /and/ large bird seen by river (5) |
The lemur[5] is an arboreal primate with a pointed snout and typically a long tail, found only in Madagascar.
| 18a | Hard leaving small community /for/ capital (5) |
| 20a | Waste /getting/ fancy wigs to be seen during ball (8) |
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops describes a pill asWhile solving the puzzle, I had presumed that pill[10] was being used in the sense of a small ball of matted fibres that forms on the surface of a fabric through rubbing. However, after seeing Miffypops' comment, a bit of research revealed that (in some sports) pill[5] is an informal, dated, humorous term for a ball.A spherical ball kicked about by children and childish adults. |
| 23a | Sword // nicked by young woman (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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In the surface reading, nick[5] is an informal British term meaning to steal ⇒ he'd had his car nicked by joyriders. |
| 25a | The French stable worker /makes/ space (7) |
"the French " = LE [French definite article]
| 26a | Queen consort, during Belfast tour, reread // novel (9,6) |
Catherine Parr[7] (1512–1548) was queen consort of England and Ireland (1543–47) as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII.
Flaubert's Parrot[7] is an award-winning novel by English writer Julian Barnes published in 1984. The novel recites amateur Gustave Flaubert* expert Geoffrey Braithwaite's musings on his subject's life, and his own, as he looks for a stuffed parrot that inspired the great author.
* Gustave Flaubert[5] (1821–1880) was a French novelist and short-story writer. A dominant figure in the French realist school, he achieved fame with his first published novel, Madame Bovary (1857). Its portrayal of the adulteries and suicide of a provincial doctor's wife caused Flaubert to be tried for immorality (and acquitted).
* Gustave Flaubert[5] (1821–1880) was a French novelist and short-story writer. A dominant figure in the French realist school, he achieved fame with his first published novel, Madame Bovary (1857). Its portrayal of the adulteries and suicide of a provincial doctor's wife caused Flaubert to be tried for immorality (and acquitted).
| 27a | Light // in attic, and leaky! (6) |
| 28a | Canine found next to railway /could be/ mine (8) |
Down
| 1d | Lots /of/ food? Not for starters (6) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Starter[5] is another name* for an appetizer or the first course of a meal. |
| 2d | A breather after climbing a high rocky hill /to find/ reptile (9) |
"high rocky hill " = TOR
A tor[7] is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.
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A tor[7] is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.
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| 3d | Several English, // assorted (7) |
| 4d | Conflict involving old // offensive (5) |
"old " = O [linguistics]
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
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In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
OFr[Old French]; (ii)
OE[Old English].
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
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| 6d | Serving US soldier in one's pub /is/ only to be expected (7) |
"serving US soldier " = GI
A GI[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒
Origin: Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).
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A GI[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒
she went off with a GI during the war.
Origin: Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).
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Local[5] is a British informal term for a pub convenient to a person’s home ⇒
A viola[5] is an instrument of the violin family, larger than the violin and tuned a fifth lower.
had a pint in the local.
| 7d | One's played // Shakespearean heroine (5) |
A viola[5] is an instrument of the violin family, larger than the violin and tuned a fifth lower.
Viola[5] is the protagonist of the play Twelfth Night, written by William Shakespeare.
| 8d | Herb // garden enthralling the old lady (8) |
Rosery[5] is a historical term for a rose garden.
| 9d | Fielder // curt with member (5,3) |
In cricket, short leg[10] is the name of a fielding position on the leg side near the batsman's wicket or a fielder at this position.
* The leg[5] (also called leg side) is another name for the on[5] (also known as on side), the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman’s feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball ⇒
he played a lucky stroke to leg.
| 14d | International show certain /to get/ publicity (8) |
| 16d | Men upset about the Spanish book on our // former PM (9) |
"the Spanish " = EL [Spanish definite article]
"book " = B
The abbreviation for book is b[1] (or b.[1]) or B[12].*
* Although neither of the two dictionaries in which a listing for this abbreviation is found provide information on the context in which it is used, I would guess that it might be in publishing, in particular in bibliographies or footnotes and endnotes in academic works when referencing one or more books in a series of books ⇒
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The abbreviation for book is b[1] (or b.[1]) or B[12].*
* Although neither of the two dictionaries in which a listing for this abbreviation is found provide information on the context in which it is used, I would guess that it might be in publishing, in particular in bibliographies or footnotes and endnotes in academic works when referencing one or more books in a series of books ⇒
see b. 3, p. 233.
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| 17d | Definite // remedy (8) |
Specific[5] is a dated term for a medicine or remedy effective in treating a particular disease or part of the body ⇒
he grasped at the idea as though she had offered him a specific for cancer.
| 19d | Pasta meal /in/ health centre, good dish wife ruled out (4,3) |
Spag bol[5] is an informal British term for spaghetti bolognese[5] (also British spaghetti bolognaise), spaghetti served with a sauce of minced beef, tomato, onion, and herbs.
| 21d | What a gundog might do fetching // bird? (7) |
The wagtail[5]
is a slender Eurasian and African songbird with a long tail that is
frequently wagged up and down, typically living by water.
| 22d | Ridiculous myths involving one // place where metal is worked (6) |
| 24d | School // exercise (5) |
| 25d | Rope // also tight round head of stallion (5) |
As an anagram indicator, tight[5] is used in the informal sense of drunk ⇒
he got tight on brandy.
Key to Reference Sources:
[1] - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
[2] - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
[3] - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
[4] - TheFreeDictionarycom (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
