Friday, August 28, 2020 — DT 29261

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29261
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, January 16, 2020
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29261]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By pommers
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

A number of terms that have quite different meanings in the UK than they do in North America likely make this puzzle a stiffer challenge on this side of the pond than it would have been for British solvers.

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
"//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present "/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present	"solid underline" - precise definition "dotted underline" - cryptic definition "dashed underline" - wordplay "double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a	Tempting woman /with/ dresses cut outrageously (10)

6a	What is soothing // in herbal mixture (4)

10a	Some dismal sins recalled /in/ religion (5)

11a	Bird /got by/ sailor -- mighty, not half! -- in vessel (9)

"sailor " = TAR

Tar^[5] is an informal, dated nickname for a sailor. The term came into use in the mid 17th century and is perhaps an abbreviation of tarpaulin, also used as a nickname for a sailor at that time.

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Rock Ptarmigan

The ptarmigan^[5] is a northern grouse of mountainous and Arctic regions, with feathered legs and feet and plumage that typically changes to white in winter.

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Origin: Late 16th century: from Scottish Gaelic tàrmachan. The spelling with p- was introduced later, suggested by Greek words starting with pt-.

12a	Dress /has/ fixture at the front (8)

Here and There

The dress that North Americans call a jumper[5] is known to the Brits as a pinafore[5] — defined in British dictionaries as a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or jumper*. * In Britain, a jumper[5] is a knitted garment typically with long sleeves, worn over the upper body (in other words, a sweater). Thus, if a British lass were to wear a pinafore over her jumper and a North American gal were to wear a jumper over her sweater, they would be dressed identically.

13a	Piece of isolated territory // is rented out (5)

Let^[5] is a British^* term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i) she let the flat [apartment] to a tenant; (ii) they’ve let out their house.

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^* However, based on its appearance in US dictionaries, I seriously doubt that this word is quite as British as Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) would have us believe.^[3,11]

15a	A new game in shed // where folk meet (4-3)

Go is played on a grid of black lines

(usually 19×19). Game pieces, called stones,

are played on the lines' intersections.

Go^[7] is an abstract strategy board game for two players, in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent. The game was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day. (show more )

From China the game spread, first to Korea and Japan, and eventually worldwide. Despite its relatively simple rules, Go is very complex. Compared to chess, Go has both a larger board with more scope for play and longer games, and, on average, many more alternatives to consider per move. In a simple and anecdotal way of explaining the rules of Go, a teacher simply says to a student "you may place your stone (playing piece) on any point on the board, but if I surround that stone, I may remove it." The name Go is derived from the Japanese name of the  game "igo".

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17a	Bad person // that can bring great destruction (7)

In Britain, twister^[5] is an informal term for a swindler or a dishonest person ⇒ she's a back-stabbing, double-dealing twister.

19a	Top // music group given external support (7)

R.E.M.^[7] was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry. The group disbanded amicably in September 2011.

21a	More than one flashy guy // passes away --and must get buried (7)

22a	Lily /is/ superior, hugged by many people? (5)

"superior " = U [upper class]

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners.

The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).

In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).

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Lotus^[2] is the name of several species of water lily:

• a species of water lily sacred to the ancient Egyptians and often depicted in Egyptian art
• either of two species of water lily belonging to a separate genus, widely cultivated as ornamental plants, one native to Asia, with pink flowers and traditionally associated with Buddhism and Hinduism, and the other native to southern USA, with yellow flowers

The lotus of Greek mythology was not a water lily but the fruit of the jujube shrub, used by the ancient Greeks to make bread and wine, consumption of which was thought to produce a state of blissful and dreamy forgetfulness.

24a	Mum unhappy about article // that is printed in big type (8)

Here and There
British Masthead In Britain, masthead[5] denotes the title of a newspaper or magazine at the head of the first or editorial page.	North American Masthead In North America, masthead[5] refers to the listed details in a newspaper or magazine referring to ownership, editorial staff, advertising rates, etc. From the illustration, the masthead in a British publication would seem to be known as a nameplate in North America.

27a	Equivocate /as/ casual worker with zero extra money (9)

Here and There
Rise[5] is the British* term for an increase in salary or wages ⇒ non-supervisory staff were given a 5 per cent rise. * The equivalent term in North America is raise[5] ⇒ he wants a raise and some perks.

28a	Drink husband imbibed /brings/ complaint (5)

"husband " = H [genealogy]

The abbreviation for husband is h^[1,2] or h.^{[3,4,10,11,12]} or H^[12] or H.^[4,10,11,12]) [although no context is provided, it may well come from the field of genealogy].

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29a	European // worker treated badly meeting premature end (4)

A Slav^[5] is a member of a group of peoples in central and eastern Europe speaking Slavic languages.

30a	Repeats // Easter rite in new arrangement (10)

Down

1d	Step to get rid of a // commotion (4)

2d	Playful behaviour /brings/ end of old association (9)

3d	Mark /is/ male in very deep sleep (5)

4d	Music and drink /bringing/ resonance (7)

"drink " = PORT

Port^[5] (also port wine) is a strong, sweet dark red (occasionally brown or white) fortified^* wine, originally from Portugal, typically drunk as a dessert wine. The name is a shortened form of Oporto, a major port from which the wine is shipped.

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^* having had spirits added

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5d	Least fresh // beer served in street twice (7)

7d	Girl not wanting a // financial backer (5)

8d	I'm a monster for putting out // economic theory (10)

Monetarism^[5] is the theory or practice of controlling the supply of money as the chief method of stabilizing the economy.

9d	Cherished desire? // A doctor has it, one needing to get on (8)

"doctor " = MB

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.

Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada. Throughout the 19th century, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine.

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14d	Sausages /with/ palish coat getting cooked (10)

A chipolata^[5] is a small thin sausage.

16d	Little old colonial outpost /making/ mistake? (8)

18d	A-List Brit sadly // narrow in outlook (9)

20d	Lettuce /and/ fish eggs -- most important for inclusion (7)

Here and There

As pommers alludes in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, romaine[10] is not the usual British name for this salad green. Cos* (or cos lettuce)[5,10] is a British name for a variety of lettuce with a long slender head and crisp leaves (usual US and Canadian name: romaine). * Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) explicitly states this to be a British term while Collins English Dictionary implies that to be the case. However, the word cos[3,11] is found in both The American Heritage Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary — although it is clear from the entries in these US dictionaries that this is not the preferred term in North America. Cos is an alternative spelling of Kos[5], a Greek island in the southeastern Aegean, one of the Dodecanese group. It is the home of cos lettuce[5].

21d	Journey down /is/ fair with hint of sun breaking in (7)

23d	Cap on the old man /in/ American city (5)

25d	Hard container /for/ one chopping wood? (5)

"hard " = H [grade of pencil lead]

H^[2,5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

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26d	Hardy girl /in/ the empty ship (4)

"ship " = SS

In Crosswordland, a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[5] ⇒ the SS Canberra.

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Tess of the d'Urbervilles^[7] (extended title: Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented) is a novel by English writer Thomas Hardy (1840–1928). (show more )

The novel initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic in 1891 and in book form in 1892. Though now considered a major nineteenth-century English novel and possibly Hardy's masterpiece, Tess of the d'Urbervilles received mixed reviews when it first appeared, in part because it challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England.

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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)

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Signing off for today — Falcon