Puzzle at a Glance
|
|---|
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29231 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, December 11, 2019 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29231] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
2Kiwis | |
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
This puzzle is reviewed on Big Dave's Crossword Blog by the 2Kiwis who report on back-to-back natural disasters in New Zealand — heavy rains followed by the volcanic eruption on White Island[7] which killed 21 and injured a further 26 (amounting for everyone on the island at the time). The slips[10] caused by the heavy rains that they mention are landslides, especially ones blocking roads or railway lines.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 | Worry about badger // killing (7) |
| 9a | Add to // company millions (sterling) (8) |
I don't believe that pound and sterling are technically quite the same thing. Sterling[5] is a sort of collective term for British money. The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. However, these terms might be used interchangeably in the following scenario
In currency trading today, the pound was up against the US dollar/
In currency trading today, sterling was up against the US dollarwhere pound (a specific unit of currency) acts in a way like a metonym for currency in general.
| 10a | Most of monarchy exclude // this means of leverage (7) |
The Crown[5] is a metonym for the monarchy or reigning monarch ⇒
their loyalty to the Church came before their loyalty to the Crown.
In clues fitting this pattern, the word "this" indicates a specific example of the definition.
| 11a | Huge // deficit in fossil fuel (8) |
| 12a | Sleazy // type finishing early was suitable (6) |
| 13a | Laws covering alien // figurines (10) |
"alien " = ET
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.
hide
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.
hide
| 15a | Performing plays regularly // exclusively (4) |
| 16a | Insignificant // items spread around shopping precinct (5-4) |
| 21a | Son will keep one // set (4) |
| 22a | Destiny /sees/ detective back in the south of France (10) |
"detective " = DI [detective inspector]
A detective inspector (abbrevation DI[5]) is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
hide
A detective inspector (abbrevation DI[5]) is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
hide
Provence[5]
is a former province of southeastern France, on the
Mediterranean coast east of the Rhône. It
is now part of the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. (show more )
Settled by the Greeks in the 6th century BC, the area around Marseilles became, in the 1st century BC, part of the Roman colony of Gaul. It was united with France in 1481.
hide
Settled by the Greeks in the 6th century BC, the area around Marseilles became, in the 1st century BC, part of the Roman colony of Gaul. It was united with France in 1481.
hide
| 24a | Backlash /from/ soldiers with wind (6) |
"soldiers " = RE [Royal Engineers]
The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
hide
The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
hide
| 25a | Supported a general holding // traitor // back (8) |
A reversed hidden word clue with a novel structure in which the definition is placed between the two indicators.
| 27a | Passes on drinking French wine /and/ looks for water (7) |
The French word for wine is vin[8].
| 28a | Quantity /of/ handouts distributed (8) |
| 29a | A bit of bureaucracy -- an ideal // cause of death? (7) |
Down
| 2d | Iron brace fixed without carbon, // like a hang-glider must be (8) |
| 3d | No pile of dosh, say dished out // in the current times (8) |
Dosh[5] is an informal British term for money ⇒
cycling saves you a heap of dosh.
| 4d | With £1000, pay for // seats here (10) |
G as an abbreviation for grand is one North American usage that the Brits would appear to have embraced (show more ).
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒
I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
- Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)[5].
- Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars[2].
- Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)[4,10].
| 5d | Jack goes in low -- /it's/ magic (4) |
Mojo[10] is US slang of West African origin for the art of casting magic spells.
| 6d | Fight against // work model (6) |
"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 ⇒
hide
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.
hide
| 7d | Beat // United -- last beaten during exercises (7) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Manchester United Football Club[7], commonly known as Man United or simply United*, is an English professional football [soccer] club, based in Old Trafford,
Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in
the English football league system). * Although, in Britain, the word United[5] is commonly used in the names of soccer and other sports teams formed by amalgamation, it would seem that the word United in the absence of other context would customarily be assumed to be a reference to Manchester United. |
| 8d | Admire // island lives protected by state benefit (7) |
| 11d | Take exception to // question (9) |
| 14d | Consensus about endlessly diverse // supplier of education (10) |
| 17d | Occasion when politicians try to make people cross? (8) |
This clue was extremely timely when it originally appeared in The Daily Telegraph on December 11, 2019, the day prior to the 2019 United Kingdom general election[7].
| 18d | Share of profit // split with north Germany (8) |
| 19d | Emotions /generated by/ shorts? (7) |
Short[5] (noun) is a British term for a drink of spirits served in a small measure* or, as Collins English Dictionary puts it, a short[10] is a drink of spirits as opposed to a long drink such as beer.
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
They say a picture is worth a thousand words!
|
| 20d | Rambling /and/ leaving sons unprotected (5,2) |
| 23d | Swallow, // as a joke is heard (6) |
| 26d | Put on goose at last -- /must be/ cooked! (4) |
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)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.