Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in
DT 29242 | |
Publication Date in
Tuesday, December 24, 2019 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29242] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review
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 1, 2020 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
It gives one a rather strange feeling to read the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog for this puzzle which was published on Christmas Eve in the UK.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 | It stops // worker going on main line (7) |
"worker " = ANT
The terms "worker" and "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.
A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.
In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.
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The terms "worker" and "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.
A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.
In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.
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The main[5] is an archaic or literary term for the open ocean.
| 5a | Quick // coffee? (7) |
| 9a | State /in which/ a priest entertains a bishop (7) |
A lama[10] is a priest or monk of Lamaism[10], the Mahayana form of Buddhism of Tibet and Mongolia.
| 10a | Is a name recollected? Not with this! (7) |
The entire clue is the definition in which the wordplay is embedded (and marked with a double underline to indicate that it is also part of the definition).
As an anagram indicator, "recollected" is used in the whimsical sense of re-collected or collected again.
| 11a | Elves seen cooking // snack (9) |
Elevenses[5] is an informal British term for a short break for light refreshments, usually with tea or coffee, taken about eleven o’clock in the morning.
Scratching the Surface
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| A timely clue, as this puzzle was published on Christmas Eve in the UK. |
| 12a | Parched, swallowing cold // bitter (5) |
Scratching the Surface
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In the surface reading, bitter[5] is a British name for beer that is strongly flavoured with hops and has a bitter taste ⇒ (i) a pint of bitter; (ii) the company brews a range of bitters. |
| 13a | Coat // American found behind recreational area (5) |
| 15a | Start // talk having necked one drink (9) |
Neck[5] is an informal British term meaning to swallow (something, especially a drink) ⇒
after necking some beers, we left the bar.
| 17a | Cigar /that's/ brown put back in Spanish dish (9) |
Paella[5] is a Spanish dish of rice, saffron, chicken, seafood, etc., cooked and served in a large shallow pan.
A panatella[5] (also panatela) is a long thin cigar.
| 19a | Piano used in old-time // musical drama? (5) |
"old " = O [linguistics]
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
hide
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
OFr[Old French]; (ii)
OE[Old English].
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
hide
| 22a | Body part/'s/ temperature given approximately (5) |
| 23a | Mere agent prepared // contract (9) |
| 25a | Look // North? (7) |
| 26a | Smooth head shaved // close (7) |
| 27a | Say gold // piece (7) |
| 28a | Power seized by wickedly secret // Bond foe (7) |
SPECTRE[7] (an acronym for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) is a fictional organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming and even more so in the films based on those novels. SPECTRE is an international criminal organization which appears as Bond's antagonist in only a few of Fleming's novels — Bond's main foe being the Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH. However, in most of the Bond films, SPECTRE was substituted for SMERSH as the villain; the reason being that decades before it actually came to pass, Fleming feared the end of the cold war would leave the films looking dated. It seems that political powers come and go but organized crime is timeless!
Down
| 1d | Fish brought in to eat /for/ complete change (5-2) |
The hake[5] is a large-headed elongated fish with long jaws and strong teeth. It is a valuable commercial food fish.
| 2d | Unpaid player/'s/ tum area out of shape (7) |
Tum[2] is a colloquial British name for the stomach.
| 3d | Top-class puzzle -- // wow! (5) |
| 4d | One spotted in woods? // Amphibians also seen by lake (9) |
| 5d | Single mothers /and/ learned theologians (5) |
Mam[5] is an informal British dialect name for one's mother ⇒ (i)
my mam would have had a fit if I'd gone out dressed like that; (ii)
I had to look after the other children while Mam worked.
In Islam, an imam[14] is a religious leader, especially the leader of a Muslim community or the person who leads the prayers in a mosque.
| 6d | Country // moans -- rain all over the place! (3,6) |
San Marino[5] is a republic forming a small enclave in Italy, near Rimini. It is perhaps Europe’s oldest state, claiming to have been independent almost continuously since its foundation in the 4th century.
| 7d | American student leaves one country /for/ another (7) |
"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.
hide
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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The implied definition is "another [country]".
| 8d | Loveless pair become confused /in/ senseless talk (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
| 14d | Approve // increase after Henry invested in car (9) |
The henry[5] (symbol H) is the SI unit of inductance, equal to an electromotive force of one volt in a closed circuit with a uniform rate of change of current of one ampere per second.
| 16d | Revolutionary princess rises up // behind (2,7) |
In Asian countries, especially India, a rani[10](or ranee) is a queen or princess; the wife of a rajah.
| 17d | Scooped-out potato on board // fit to ingest (7) |
Board[5,10] is an archaic term for a table, especially one used for eating at, and especially when laden with food ⇒
he looked at the banquet which was spread upon his board.
| 18d | English sailor hurried over to tell story (7) |
| 20d | Severe storms enshrouding // Chomolungma (7) |
Chommolungma is a variant spelling of Qomolungma[5], the Tibetan name for Mount Everest[5], a mountain in the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Rising to 8,848 m (29,028 ft), it is the highest mountain in the world.
| 21d | Performer /such as/ Garfunkel is brought to vacant theatre (7) |
Art Garfunkel[7] is an American singer best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
| 23d | Volatile Stan harbours good /and/ bad feeling (5) |
| 24d | Mysterious // European republic on the up (5) |
"European " = E [as in E-number]
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
hide
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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Éire[5] is the Gaelic name for Ireland and was the official name of the Republic of Ireland from 1937 to 1949.
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
Hi Falcon,
ReplyDeleteNot too many Briticisms so was able to solve without too much difficulty. Last one in was 7d and did not really understand the parsing until I read the solution on Big Dave's site. BTW, I think your link is slightly off.
Thanks for posting as usual.
Regards,
MG
Hi MG,
DeleteNice to hear from you on a day other than Saturday. Unfortunately, it also signals that I made an error. Thanks for the heads up. Now corrected.