Puzzle at a Glance
|
|---|
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29234 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, December 14, 2019 | |
Setter
Chris Lancaster (Telegraph Puzzles Editor, aka Mister Ron and Mister Ed)
| |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29234 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29234 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Big Dave (Hints)gnomethang (Review) | |
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
| |
Notes
| |
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.
| |
Introduction
A more gentle puzzle than usual for a British Saturday.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 | Blocked // motorway going west -- pretty normal (10) |
The M1[7] is a north–south motorway* in England connecting London to Leeds.
* Motorway[2,5] (abbreviation M[5]) is a British, Australian, and New Zealand term for a dual-carriageway road [divided highway] designed for fast-moving traffic, especially one with three lanes per carriageway [direction of travel] and limited access and exit points [controlled access].
| 6a | Cotton on // branch (4) |
| 9a | State I had removed // plants (5) |
| 10a | Person responsible for moving scenes? (9) |
| 12a | English female with high fever facing fuss about cold // fizz (13) |
As an anagram indicator, high[2] is used in the sense of under the influence of drugs or alcohol alluding to the fact that such a state is characterized by being confused and mixed-up.
| 14a | Mother, tense, rests somehow -- on this? (8) |
This is a semi-all-in-one clue in which the definition is provided by the entire clue and the wordplay* is embedded in the definition.
* marked by a double underline to show that it is both wordplay and part of the definition
| 15a | Diamonds, maybe gold, /for/ lover (6) |
| 17a | Charge // copper in criminal case (6) |
| 19a | 'Time' // ultimately granted uniform allowance (8) |
"uniform " = U [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Uniform[5] is a code word representing the letter U.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Uniform[5] is a code word representing the letter U.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
| 21a | Terribly full, dines with chap /that's/ dissolute (4-9) |
"chap " = GENT
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
hide
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
hide
| 24a | Disapprove of // damaged carpet being dumped in river (9) |
The Dee[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland and England — not to mention Ireland and Australia — the most prominent being:
- a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
- a river that rises in North Wales and flows into England, past Chester and on into the Irish Sea
| 25a | Provide // joke online? (5) |
| 26a | Disturbance /in/ carriage when tea's spilt (4) |
The chariot[10] to which this clue refers is not the two-wheeled vehicle used in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc, in war, races, and processions but a light four-wheeled horse-drawn ceremonial carriage.
Cha[5] is a British informal name for tea [in the sense of a drink].
| 27a | Dressed like priest, // one might attract interest (10) |
Down
| 1d | Bar opponent reportedly /supplying/ dope (4) |
| 2d | Throw // stick out (7) |
| 3d | Doctor heads first for // part of the Midlands (13) |
The Midlands[7] is the central part of England* and a cultural area that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. The Midlands region is bordered by Northern England and Southern England.
* Roughly, the Midlands comprises the counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire.
| 4d | Mysterious // religious figure right to stop exploitation (8) |
| 5d | Set out // casserole a vegetarian eats (5) |
| 7d | Somewhere to put bric-a-brac /and/ other things (7) |
A whatnot[5] is a stand with shelves for small objects.
In his hint, Big Dave fails to recognize that this is a double definition but gnomethang makes up for the oversight in his review.
| 8d | I fared badly wearing medal // attending church? (3-7) |
Gong[5] is a British informal term for a medal or award.
I would say the question mark indicates that this is a definition by example — the action specified by the definition being but one of many attributes associated with the answer. In order to satisfy the requirements of the answer, a person would also need to exhibit numerous other qualities. Otherwise, the person may simply be a hypocrite attending for the sake of appearances.
| 11d | Support // teen struggling with 'gram' and 'ounce' (13) |
| 13d | In capitals, he /could be/ a diplomat (10) |
Uncharacteristically, Big Dave also misses the wordplay in this clue. However, Gazza got it and once again it doesn't slip past gnomethang.
HE[2] ["in capitals, he"] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.
| 16d | Sweet // centre (5-3) |
Sweet[5] is a British term for a piece of candy[5] ⇒
a bag of sweets.
A bull's-eye[10] is a peppermint-flavoured, usually striped, boiled sweet.
| 18d | Cellist initially plays moving love // song (7) |
"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
As well as being a genre of music, calypso[5] can also denote a song of that style ⇒
a man was playing a calypso on a double bass.
| 20d | Get in the way? // I'm not regularly impolite (7) |
| 22d | Daughter perhaps showers /in/ ditch (5) |
| 23d | Polish might be seen with this // issue? (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.