Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29237 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, December 18, 2019 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29237] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
2Kiwis | |
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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Notes
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This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, July 25, 2020 edition of the National Post.
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Introduction
The puzzle was set by Jay — need one say more?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 | Doctor left a grand /for/ such accommodation (6,4) |
Garden flat[10] is a British* term for a flat [apartment] with direct access to a garden (see Here and There box): typically, a garden flat consists of basement accommodation in prewar property, but some are in purpose-built blocks in urban areas.
* Based on the absence of the term from US dictionaries
Here and There
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| In Britain, a garden[2,10]
is an area of land, usually one adjoining a house, where grass, trees,
flowers and other ornamental plants, fruit, vegetables, etc, are grown (i.e., what one would call a yard in Canada and the US). Note that a British garden includes the lawn as well as everything else whereas a North American garden would comprise only the flower and vegetable beds and any trees or shrubs contained therein and exclude the lawn and any trees or shrubs growing there. |
| 6a | Small fortune /offering/ vacancy (4) |
If one were to think of a slot[2] as a (usually regular) time, place or position within a schedule, then a slot is not a vacancy; it would have to be an empty slot in order to be considered a vacancy. However, if one thinks of a slot[2] as a long narrow rectangular opening into which something is fitted or inserted, then a slot could be thought of as a vacancy.
| 10a | A note in case of late // error (5) |
| 11a | Brand // new teen drama (9) |
| 12a | Bonus /of seeing/ Germany collapse after victory? (8) |
| 13a | Paper encompassing Liberal's // field of study (5) |
A ream[5] is 500 (formerly 480) sheets of paper.
"Liberal " = L [member of a nearly extinct British political party]
The Liberal Party[5] (abbreviation Lib.[5] or L[2])* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats.
However, a small Liberal Party still exists (founded in 1989 by members of the original Liberal Party opposed to its merger with the Social Democratic Party) although it has never held a UK, Scottish or European parliamentary seat, though it has had representation on local councils.[7]
* Although Lib.[5] may be the more common abbreviation for the Liberal Party in Britain — likely to distinguish it from the the Labour Party[5] (abbreviation Lab.[5]) — Chambers 21st Century Dictionary indicates that L[2] may also be used.
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The Liberal Party[5] (abbreviation Lib.[5] or L[2])* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats.
However, a small Liberal Party still exists (founded in 1989 by members of the original Liberal Party opposed to its merger with the Social Democratic Party) although it has never held a UK, Scottish or European parliamentary seat, though it has had representation on local councils.[7]
* Although Lib.[5] may be the more common abbreviation for the Liberal Party in Britain — likely to distinguish it from the the Labour Party[5] (abbreviation Lab.[5]) — Chambers 21st Century Dictionary indicates that L[2] may also be used.
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| 15a | Drink container mostly /for/ trains (7) |
| 17a | Papers on low exam grades /cause/ unhappiness (7) |
| 19a | I've invested in tips /for/ salad leaves (7) |
| 21a | Condition /of/ men struggling in continent (7) |
In Crosswordland, a condition is often medical in nature.
| 22a | Cat /and/ dog ultimately in row (5) |
| 24a | Admission /of/ charm (8) |
| 27a | Payments /as a result of/ links to the monarchy (9) |
This is a case where the wordplay is much clearer when considered as an entire phrase rather than the individual words comprising it. "Links to the monarchy" might alternatively be described as "ROYAL TIES".
| 28a | Renounce // time off work (5) |
In the first definition, leave[10] is used in the sense of renounce or abandon ⇒
to leave a political movement.
| 29a | Odd about duck /being/ an extinct species (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.
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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.
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The dodo[5] (now extinct) was a large flightless bird with a stout body, stumpy wings, a large head, and a heavy hooked bill. It was found on Mauritius until the end of the 17th century.
Origin: The name comes from Portuguese doudo ‘simpleton’ (because the bird had no fear of man and was easily killed).
| 30a | Pudding must include minor responsibility // later (10) |
Here and There
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| Whereas, in North America, the term pudding[5]
specifically means a dessert with a soft or creamy consistency, in
Britain it denotes a much broader range of sweetened usually cooked
desserts. While the word pudding clearly does not encompass every dessert, it would seem to include the vast majority — certainly far more than in North America. Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary describes dessert[14] as a sweet dish such as fruit or a pudding, that you eat at the end of a meal. In the UK, pudding[5] is also another name for the dessert course of a meal. Although it would sound bizarre to a North American ear, if a Brit were to ask What’s for pudding?, the response might well be Apple pie. The word dessert[10,12] can also have different meanings in Britain. As in North America, it can mean the sweet, usually last course of a meal. However, it can also denote (especially formerly) fruit, dates, nuts, etc, served at the end of a meal after, or in place of, the sweet course. So, it would appear, one might conclude a meal with a pudding course followed by a dessert course. |
Afters[5] is a British informal term for the sweet course following the main course of a meal; or, in British parlance, pudding ⇒
there was apple pie for afters.
A ward[5] is a child or young person under the care and control of a guardian appointed by their parents or a court.
Down
| 1d | Tail up crossing line /for/ a medal? (4) |
| 2d | Take to task, // looking embarrassed about prudish article (9) |
| 3d | Improve // workers in education (5) |
| 4d | Overweight animals -- // some getting too much bread? (3,4) |
| 5d | Helped // a cook set up to include five (7) |
Delia Smith[7] is an English cook and television presenter [host], known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. One of the best known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers to become more culinarily adventurous.
| 7d | Forbidden city // Liverpool has always embraced (5) |
Lhasa[5] is the capital of Tibet. It is situated in the northern Himalayas at an altitude of 3,600 m (circa 11,800 ft), on a tributary of the Brahmaputra. Its inaccessibility and the unwillingness of the Tibetan Buddhist priests to receive foreign visitors—to whom Lhasa was closed until the 20th century—earned it the title of the Forbidden City. The spiritual centre of Tibetan Buddhism, Lhasa was the seat of the Dalai Lama until 1959, when direct Chinese administration was imposed on the city.
Scratching the Surface
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Liverpool[5] is a city and seaport in northwest England, situated at
the east side of the mouth of the River Mersey. (show more )
Liverpool developed as a port in the 17th century with the import of cotton from America and the export of textiles produced in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and in the 18th century became an important centre of shipbuilding and engineering. hide |
| 8d | Regulator /needing/ drink container and pastry right away (10) |
| 9d | Animal // quietly lying in ground (8) |
Here and There
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| To Brits, a terrapin[5] is a freshwater turtle, especially one of the smaller kinds of the Old World. North Americans* would refer to such an animal as simply a turtle[5]. * In the US, the terrapin[5] (also known as diamondback terrapin) is a small edible turtle (Malaclemys terrapin) with lozenge-shaped markings on its shell, found in coastal marshes of the eastern US. |
| 14d | Setter upset about communist /having/ such acceptability? (6,4) |
| 16d | Energy taken from fever rampant in blessed // insect (8) |
The hoverfly[5] is a fly which frequently hovers motionless in the air and feeds on the nectar of flowers. Most hoverflies are black and yellow, patterned to mimic various bees and wasps.
| 18d | Simple professor/'s/ comfortable spot? (4,5) |
| 20d | Lawman /may be/ fresh if in trouble (7) |
| 21d | Entertainer // embraced by sweetheart is tearful (7) |
| 23d | Supported // conduct in speech (5) |
| 25d | Down under a student // grant (5) |
"student " = L [driver under instruction]
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
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The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
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| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
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| 26d | Understands // touring cars must bear east (4) |
GT[2] (abbreviation for Italian Gran Turismo, which translates as "grand touring" in English) is a name given to certain fast but comfortable sports cars.
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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