Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29262 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, January 17, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29262] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Deep Threat | |
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 29, 2020 edition of the National Post.
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Introduction
This puzzle had an unfamiliar feel to it. I got off to a slow start but eventually I got on to the setter's wavelength and the pace picked up markedly.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 | Rivals in union: // one French -- righteous, utterly -- facing Scotsman linked to church (6,8) |
"church " = CE [Church of England]
The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
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The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
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| 9a | That girl's gloves, we hear // they've become separated (7) |
| 10a | Thrill /to have/ good racket after losing clubs (7) |
| 11a | Having consumed whiskey, revolutionary number // one is drunk, proverbially (4) |
"whiskey " = W [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Whiskey[5] is a code word representing the letter W.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Whiskey[5] is a code word representing the letter W.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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The expressions as pissed as a newt (also as pissed as a fart[5] ) is vulgar British slang meaning very drunk.
| 12a | Wavering, abstain -- RIP // trying to please both sides? (10) |
| 14a | Go the wrong way with // shopping trip? (6) |
| 15a | Torture // giving detectives bit of a shock (8) |
"detectives " = DIS [detective inspectors]
A detective inspector (abbrevation DI[5]) is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
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A detective inspector (abbrevation DI[5]) is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
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| 17a | English welcome in patio after rambling about // country (8) |
| 18a | Group in open red omnibus, backward-looking // in fashion (6) |
Scratching the Surface
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Omnibus* is a dated[5] or less common[10] name for a bus ⇒ a horse-drawn omnibus. * Historically, an omnibus[3] was a large horse-drawn public conveyance, especially of the late 1800s. |
| 21a | Lacking the capacity to host for five? // Impossible to justify (10) |
| 22a | Chap touring Spain /gets/ tight (4) |
"chap " = MAN
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'.
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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'.
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| 24a | Is the Italian island phone firm turning over // capital? (7) |
In Italian, the masculine singular form of the definite article is il[8].
BT[5] (the abbreviation for British Telecom) is a trade name of BT Group plc*[7] (trading as BT and formerly known as British Telecom), a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broadband and mobile services in the UK, and also provides subscription television and IT services.
* plc (public limited company) is the British equivalent to the North American designation Ltd.
Tbilisi[5] is the capital of Georgia[5], a country in the Caucasus of south-western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. (show more )
An independent kingdom in medieval times, Georgia became part of the Russian empire in the 19th century and then was absorbed into the Soviet Union. On the break-up of the USSR in 1991, Georgia became an independent republic outside the Commonwealth of Independent States.
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An independent kingdom in medieval times, Georgia became part of the Russian empire in the 19th century and then was absorbed into the Soviet Union. On the break-up of the USSR in 1991, Georgia became an independent republic outside the Commonwealth of Independent States.
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| 25a | Outline device to have a lasting impression? (7) |
| 26a | Farming types /with/ rustic guitars dancing around lake (14) |
Down
| 1d | Make psycho // release the door? (7) |
| 2d | Excessive admiration /of/ that man over rank or posting (4-11) |
| 3d | Put // clock up (4) |
Clock[5] is an informal British term for a person’s face ⇒
I thought I recognized your clock.
Dial[5] is an informal British term for a person’s face ⇒
he must be one of the new batch—I haven't seen his dial before.
| 4d | Attack // while yacht maybe goes under (6) |
Yacht is used as a verb.
| 5d | Book taxi home /for/ cottage in wood? (3,5) |
The phrase "in wood" denotes made of wood rather than located in wood.
| 6d | Paint a toad for a change? Yes (10) |
This seems to be a sort of semi-all-in-one clue in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition while part of the clue doubles as both wordplay and part of the definition. The word "yes" which plays no part in the wordplay is what indicates that the first part of the clue also factors into the definition. The word "yes" provides emphasis and is equivalent to the phrase "you can say that again".
Although one might think that the definition is merely the word "change". I don't believe that would satisfy cryptic crossword convention. Therefore, I think we have to consider the entire clue to be the definition — awkward though it might be.
| 7d | Alludes to // angry former employers? (5-10) |
| 8d | My being under doctor // goes on (6) |
In this case, one[5] is a third person singular pronoun used to refer to the speaker, or any person, as representing people in general. When used in the possessive referring to the speaker, "one's" would equate to "my".
| 13d | Latin period (4,6) |
| 16d | Redesigned atrium covering is // sweet (8) |
Sweet[5] is a British term for a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; in other words, a dessert.
Tiramisu[5] is an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake soaked in coffee and brandy or liqueur with powdered chocolate and mascarpone cheese.
| 17d | Value of shares /in/ players' organisation (6) |
In the UK, US, and several other countries, Equity[5] is a trade union to which all professional actors must belong.
| 19d | Noun's disguised hiding place /in/ puzzle (7) |
| 20d | Forty per cent of public lose trust /in/ Cabinet (6) |
| 23d | Rent // one's shed, sadly -- that sounds different! (4) |
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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