Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29250 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, January 3, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29250] | |
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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Introduction
It seems we start a new era today, a "Friday" puzzle not compiled by Giovanni who, you may remember, signed off with DT 29,244 which was published in the National Post on August 5.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 | Efforts /to have/ men eat chives for digestion (12) |
| 8a | Carry out // guillotine? (7) |
The second of the two definitions is a definition by example (as denoted by the question mark).
| 9a | Modified // ginger beer comes first -- about time (7) |
| 11a | Substance secreted in drawers to maintain cover-up? (7) |
| 12a | Competitors /from/ London area that is holding blokes back (7) |
London[5] is the capital of the United Kingdom, situated in south-eastern England on the River Thames. (show more )
London was settled as a river port and trading centre, called Londinium, shortly after the Roman invasion of AD 43, and, since the Middle Ages, has been a flourishing centre. It is divided administratively into the City of London, which is the country's financial centre, and thirty-two boroughs.
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London was settled as a river port and trading centre, called Londinium, shortly after the Roman invasion of AD 43, and, since the Middle Ages, has been a flourishing centre. It is divided administratively into the City of London, which is the country's financial centre, and thirty-two boroughs.
hide
| 13a | Rage /of/ nurse when Romeo's invited in (5) |
"Romeo " = R [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Romeo[5] is a code word representing the letter R.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Romeo[5] is a code word representing the letter R.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
| 14a | Vehicle /to take/ breaks in (9) |
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat appears to have overlooked the wordplay in this clue which is a charade of SPACES (breaks) + HIP (in). Upon perusing the comments on Big Dave's site, I see that I am far far alone in noticing this.
| 16a | Some heads of state // seem agitated about newspapers (9) |
| 19a | Freight // drivers' club is taken over by function (5) |
The Royal Automobile Club[7] (abbreviation RAC[5]) is a British private social and athletic club that is not to be confused with RAC Limited, an automotive services company, which it formerly owned.
| 21a | Request // directions before outing? (7) |
| 23a | Elaborate, /but/ formerly the opposite, /apparently/ (7) |
The word "apparently" would seem to be padding for the surface reading and does not contribute substantively to the wordplay. One might consider it to be part of a split link phrase as the clue could have been worded:
- Elaborate, /but apparently/, formerly the opposite (7)
| 24a | Waiter /and/ cook to join firm, missing hotel opening (7) |
"Hotel " = H [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Hotel[5] is a code word representing the letter H.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Hotel[5] is a code word representing the letter H.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
| 25a | Some claim a gin expands // figure (7) |
The Missing Video
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| Here is the video that is missing from Deep Threat's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog: |
| 26a | Hip, say, niece damaged restricts golf // sharpness (12) |
"Golf " = G [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Golf[5] is a code word representing the letter G.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Golf[5] is a code word representing the letter G.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
Down
| 1d | Eager in rough after putting a five /to make/ par (7) |
| 2d | Disturbed by a late visitor? (7) |
The Missing Video
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| Here is the video that is missing from Deep Threat's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog: |
| 3d | Gym // implements (9) |
| 4d | Cancel // Times, going to Spain (5) |
Scratching the Surface
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In the surface reading, The Times[7]
is a British daily national newspaper based in London. (show more )
The paper began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register and became The Times on 1 January 1788. The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, itself wholly owned by the News Corp group headed by Australian-born American publisher and media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch. The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1967. hide |
| 5d | Exert reforms this person trails /as/ radical (7) |
"this person " = ME
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
hide
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
hide
| 6d | Eurasian // hut designed to limit risk when rambling (7) |
The Missing Video
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| Here is the video that is missing from Deep Threat's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog: |
| 7d | There's always more, apparently, to be seen going round the // still (12) |
| 10d | Sad // Mr James, funny fellow, being stood up then engaged (12) |
Sid James[7] (1913–1976), born Solomon Joel Cohen, was a South African-born English actor and comedian. (show more )
He is particularly known as English comedian Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour, which ran on British television from 1956 until 1960, and as a regular performer in the Carry On films, a sequence of 30* low-budget British comedy motion pictures produced between 1958 and 1978.
* I have ignored one film which Wikipedia includes in its count. Carry on Columbus was made after a fourteen year hiatus in 1992 by a different film company, with a largely different cast, and with a greatly increased production budget.
hide
He is particularly known as English comedian Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour, which ran on British television from 1956 until 1960, and as a regular performer in the Carry On films, a sequence of 30* low-budget British comedy motion pictures produced between 1958 and 1978.
* I have ignored one film which Wikipedia includes in its count. Carry on Columbus was made after a fourteen year hiatus in 1992 by a different film company, with a largely different cast, and with a greatly increased production budget.
hide
| 15d | Reacting to // a new wave the Queen's introduced (9) |
| 17d | Arrangement /of/ unknown number starting with sound of tiny feet (7) |
"unknown number " = N [mathematical symbol]
| 18d | Hike up // fell -- leave, as toe's oddly getting cut (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| In the surface reading, a fell[5] is a hill or stretch of high moorland, especially in northern England. |
| 19d | Officer/'s/ hat strap one's broken (7) |
| 20d | Admire Ali's electrifying boxing // effect (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| The surface reading refers to American boxer Muhammad Ali[5], born Cassius Marcellus Clay. He won the world heavyweight title in 1964, 1974, and 1978, becoming the only boxer to be world champion three times. |
| 22d | Heartily pitied boy raised // with regular comings and goings (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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