Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in
DT 29240 | |
Publication Date in
Saturday, December 21, 2019 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29240 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29240 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review
Big Dave (Hints)crypticsue (Review) | |
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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As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.
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Introduction
Google has marked the restart of the basehall season by throwing me a curve ball. Without warning — and midway through composing this review — they deployed a new editor on Blogger (the platform on which this blog runs). Suddenly, I had to adapt to a new way of doing many of the operations required in the creation of a post. It thus took much longer than normal to compose today's post. And you may notice some changes caused by the new editor. I've repaired the major damage but I haven't been able to deal with all the issues.
I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.
Tinker[5] is an informal British term for a mischievous child.
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 | Tinker // a little, using starter only after car's repaired (6) |
Tinker[5] is an informal British term for a mischievous child.
| 4a | They take you out on your birthday (8) |
This was my last clue in. After the penny finally dropped, I thought it was brilliant. However, I see by her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog that crypticsue did not have a high opinion of it.
| 10a | A constituent /that's/ divorced? (5) |
| 11a | After reforming, turn out educated /or/ self-taught? (9) |
Ed.[1,2] is the abbreviation for educated or education. I am familiar with the abbreviation for the later word. The context in which the abbreviation for the former word is used is not provided by the sources; however, I would guess that it might appear in biographical notes to designate the educational institution(s) at which the person being profiled received their education.
| 12a | Bizarre, // retiring somewhere in California -- blunder by you and me? (7) |
| 13a | Meadow pipit's home // with the most slender dimensions (7) |
The pipit[5] is a mainly ground-dwelling Old World songbird of open country, typically having brown streaky plumage. There are many species including the meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis).
| 14a | They study // some fish, little ones (14) |
| 17a | Club in Milan shifted painter to // rendering (14) |
Football Club Internazionale Milano S.p.A., commonly referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan[7] outside of Italy, is a professional Italian football [soccer] club based in Milan, Lombardy, Italy that plays in Serie A, the top division of the Italian football league system.
Note: In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, crypticsue has omitted some of the fodder from her explanation which should read:
- INTER (Milan football club) followed by an anagram (shifted) of PAINTER TO
| 21a | One guarantees /being/ cool and confident, right? (7) |
| 23a | Partly explode prototype spinning // missile (7) |
| 24a | As spy at GCHQ eats, twit occasionally drops // food (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ[7], is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. There are two main components of the GCHQ, the Composite Signals Organisation (CSO), which is responsible for gathering information, and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is responsible for securing the UK's own communications. During the Second World War (under its original name, Government Code and Cypher School or GC&CS) it was located at Bletchley Park, where it was responsible for breaking the German Enigma codes. |
| 25a | Collars -- // you probably have 20 of them (5) |
| 26a | Paper from Paris wraps a // sparkling drink (8) |
Le Monde[7]
(English: The World) is a French daily evening newspaper continuously
published in Paris since its first edition in December 1944. It is one
of two French newspapers of record — the other being Le Figaro.
| 27a | Commercial about poet's inspiration // was funny (6) |
Down
| 1d | Think twice about // Bible class with son falling behind idiots (8) |
In the UK, religious education[10] (abbreviation RE[5]) is a subject taught in schools which educates about the different religions of the world.
| 2d | University dons huntin' // marine creature (3,6) |
| 3d | School of architecture // academy runs up to about the last month (3,4) |
My parsing of the clue:
- reversal of (runs up in a down clue) RA (academy; Royal Academy) + {TO (from the clue) containing (about) DEC (the last month; December)}
differs slightly from the explanation provided by crypticsue in her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog:
- A (academy) R (runs) TO (from the clue) ‘about’ DEC (December, the last month)
I note that her explanation does not account for the word "up" in the clue.
Art deco[5] was the predominant decorative art style of the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by precise and boldly delineated geometric shapes and strong colours and used most notably in household objects and in architecture.
| 5d | Eggheads /showing/ foolish elitist leaning (14) |
| 6d | Slough/'s/ moderate Tory followed by fifty plus (7) |
Wet[5] is an informal British term meaning:
- (adjective) showing a lack of forcefulness or strength of character; in other words, feeble ⇒
they thought the cadets were a bit wet
- (noun) a person lacking forcefulness or strength of character ⇒
there are sorts who look like gangsters and sorts who look like wets
the wets favoured a change in economic policy. It is a term that was frequently used by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for those to the left of her in the British Conservative Party [which must have been just about everyone].
In the UK, slough[5,10] is another name for a swamp or bog.
Scratching the Surface
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| Slough[7] (rhymes with plough) is a large town in Berkshire, England, 20 miles (32 km) west of central London. Slough[7] is also the name of a UK parliamentary constituency. The Conservatives gained the new Slough seat in 1983, and held it until 1997, when Labour gained the constituency. |
| 7d | Dash /or/ run to be involved in the day victory came twice (5) |
"run " = R [cricket notation]
VE day[5] is the day (8 May) marking the Allied victory in Europe in 1945.
| 8d | Decorous // meeting in Kent? (6) |
Kent[7] is a county in southeast (SE) England. Thus a meeting with a person of romantic interest in Kent might be called a "SE date".
| 9d | Official ghost writer's boss /should be/ charitable (6-8) |
I believe public[2] is being used in the sense of provided by or run by central or local government.
Demi Moore[7] is an American actress and film producer.
| 15d | Outbreaks /of/ movie star Moore appearing in films like Exodus (9) |
Demi Moore[7] is an American actress and film producer.
Exodus[7] is a 1960 American epic film on the founding of the modern State of Israel. Produced and directed by Otto Preminger, the film is based on the 1958 novel Exodus by Leon Uris.
| 16d | Approved // finale with men O'Connor maybe brought over (8) |
"men " = OR [other ranks]
In the British armed forces, the term other ranks[5] (abbreviation OR[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.
hide
In the British armed forces, the term other ranks[5] (abbreviation OR[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.
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Des O'Connor[7] is an English comedian, singer and television presenter [host].
| 18d | Made of clay, // shell-like article held up by knight (7) |
Believe it or not, shell-like[5]
(noun) is an informal British term for a person's ear ⇒
This is because he has just had a word in the Pope's shell-like.
"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.
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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.
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| 19d | Acorn with slight mutation arising, my // word, that's initially important (7) |
| 20d | Listen, playing // it adds the sparkle to Christmas (6) |
| 22d | Nebulous body, // fighting between two sizes (5) |
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
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