Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29247 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, December 31, 2019 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29247] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Mr K | |
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, August 8, 2020 edition of the National Post.
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Introduction
As this puzzle appeared on New Year's Eve in the UK, you will see lots of seasonal greetings being exchanged on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.As Mr K points out in the intro to his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the setter of this puzzle has been extremely frugal in his use of the letters of the alphabet having employed only 18 of them.
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 | Hearing perhaps about us quietly /creates/ tension (8) |
| 5a | Where people study // page penned by novelist (6) |
Albert Camus[5] (1913–1960) was a French novelist, playwright, and essayist, closely aligned with existentialism whose notable works include The Outsider (novel, 1942), The Plague (novel, 1947), and The Rebel (essay, 1951). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.
| 10a | Sculptor // left advice on a Rodin bust (8,2,5) |
Leonardo da Vinci[5] (1452–1519) was an Italian painter, scientist, and engineer. (show more )
His paintings are notable for their blended colour and shading in the technique known as sfumato; they include The Virgin of the Rocks (1483–5), The Last Supper (1498), and the enigmatic Mona Lisa (1504–5). He devoted himself to a wide range of other subjects, from anatomy and biology to mechanics and hydraulics: his nineteen notebooks include studies of the human circulatory system and plans for a type of aircraft and a submarine.
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His paintings are notable for their blended colour and shading in the technique known as sfumato; they include The Virgin of the Rocks (1483–5), The Last Supper (1498), and the enigmatic Mona Lisa (1504–5). He devoted himself to a wide range of other subjects, from anatomy and biology to mechanics and hydraulics: his nineteen notebooks include studies of the human circulatory system and plans for a type of aircraft and a submarine.
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Leonardo da Vinci is known primarily as a painter but apparently he also did some sculpting, although none of his finished works survive. According to Wikipedia, "In 1506, Leonardo was summoned to Milan by Charles II d'Amboise, the acting French governor of the city. ... Leonardo may have commenced a project for an equestrian figure of d'Amboise; a wax model survives and, if genuine, is the only extant example of Leonardo's sculpture."[7]
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mr K provides a link to an article which begins "Leonardo da Vinci is long-thought to have made sculptures, but since his death in 1519, no three-dimensional work of art by him has ever been identified. But now, curators in Italy have unveiled what may be the only known sculpture by the artist, inventor and scientist.".
Scratching the Surface
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| Auguste Rodin[5] (1840–1917) was a French sculptor. He was chiefly concerned with the human form. Notable works: The Thinker (1880) and The Kiss (1886). |
| 11a | Shut in // linen closet with no fabric around (7) |
Lint[5] is a fabric, originally of linen, with a raised nap on one side, used for dressing wounds ⇒
he smeared ointment on a strip of lint.
| 12a | Shows trendy // method of transport (7) |
| 13a | Obsessive // about following organised routine (8) |
| 15a | Duck/'s/ sign of hesitation about fish (5) |
Ide[5] is another name for the orfe[5], a silvery freshwater fish of the carp family, which is fished commercially in eastern Europe.
The eider[5,10] (also eider duck) is a northern sea duck, of which the male is mainly black-and-white with a coloured head, and the female brown. The female is the source of eiderdown.
| 18a | Skirts // editor agrees oddly to be removed (5) |
| 20a | Instructing // crowd leaving hospital to call (8) |
Here and There
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Ring[5] is an informal — more or less British (show more ) — term for:
In North America, the word would seem to be more accepted as a noun ( I'll give you a ring) than as a verb ( I'll ring you). According to various dictionaries, the word ring used in this sense is:
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| 23a | Watching // throne -- and who sits on it? (7) |
Loo[5] is an informal British term for a toilet [either as a room or a plumbing fixture].
| 25a | Pass by student, for example, and Head of English here? (7) |
The entire clue loosely defines an institution where one might stroll past (pass by) both a student and a Head of English. The wordplay, which is embedded in the definition, is marked with a double underline to show its dual roles.
A col[5] is the lowest point of a ridge or saddle between two peaks, typically providing a pass from one side of a mountain range to another.
"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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| 26a | Drag consultation out? No Democrat /gets/ kudos (15) |
"Democrat " = D [member or supporter of US political party]
| 27a | Tears /from/ papa, squashed by stones (6) |
"Papa " = P [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Papa[5] is a code word representing the letter P.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Papa[5] is a code word representing the letter P.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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| 28a | Gibbons perhaps // turn up tailless and sit by river (8) |
Orlando Gibbons[5] (1583–1625) was an English composer and musician. He was the organist of Westminster Abbey from 1623 and composed mainly sacred music, although he is also known for madrigals such as "The Silver Swan" (1612).
Down
| 1d | You // love wriggling in sister's grip (6) |
The abbreviation for Sister in a religious order is Sr[5].
| 2d | Put an end to urge /for/ food (6,3) |
Scotch egg[5] is a British term for a hard-boiled egg enclosed in sausage meat, rolled in breadcrumbs, and fried.
| 3d | Long head of hair raises our // charm (7) |
| 4d | So -- nothing's cleared off? Lazy // creep! (5) |
| 6d | Unfavourable // notice on poet's output (7) |
| 7d | Slug // alcoholic drink (5) |
| 8d | Small fish: // they're often found at sea (8) |
A kipper[5] is a herring or other fish that has been split open and cured by salting and drying it in the open air or in smoke.
| 9d | Moved along // cave and dislodged diamonds (8) |
| 14d | Ideas, // however terrible, suffice at first (8) |
| 16d | Hairy // bug found in party by American (9) |
"party " = DO
Do[5,12] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[12] term* for a party or other social event ⇒
* although Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12] supports the contention by Oxford Dictionaries Online[5] that this usage is British, two other US dictionaries do not characterize do[3,11] used in this sense as a British term
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Do[5,12] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[12] term* for a party or other social event ⇒
the soccer club Christmas do
* although Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12] supports the contention by Oxford Dictionaries Online[5] that this usage is British, two other US dictionaries do not characterize do[3,11] used in this sense as a British term
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| 17d | Carp and eels -- unusual // substitutes (8) |
| 19d | Mixed // cooler wine (7) |
| 21d | Gold back and large -- Liberal with first-class // type of desk (4-3) |
"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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| 22d | Sermon half-abandoned following drink // problem (6) |
| 24d | Big cat -- /and/ what it might do? Not initially (5) |
Ounce[5] is another term for snow leopard[5], a rare large cat which has pale grey fur patterned with dark blotches and rings, living in the Altai mountains, Hindu Kush, and Himalayas.
| 25d | Parcel looks somewhat ... // It needs a bow! (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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