Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29255 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, January 9, 2020 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29255] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Kath | |
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
This is a bit of an unusual offering from RayT — missing many of his usual hallmarks. There is also some great misdirection in several clues giving rise to some real "penny drop" moments.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 | Break in using force /showing/ daring (12) |
I think the wordplay is only truly correct if one splits the answer (5,7) and treats it as a phrase.
| 8a | On reflection, rushed argument's // sound? (7) |
Here, sound is used in the sense of a body of water.
| 9a | More skilful // narrative's opening in Racine novel (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Jean Racine[5] (1639–1699) was a French playwright. Central to most of his tragedies is a perception of the blind folly of human passion, continually enslaved and unsatisfied. Notable works: Andromaque (1667) and Phèdre (1677). |
| 11a | Routine /is/ back including drag returning (7) |
| 12a | Delay // stench suppressing endless wind (7) |
Pong[5] (adjective pongy[5]) is an informal British term meaning:
- (noun) a strong, unpleasant smell ⇒
corked wine has a powerful pong
- (verb) to smell strongly and unpleasantly ⇒
the place just pongs of dirty clothes
| 13a | Boy rejected education /and/ advanced slowly (5) |
| 14a | Exposes // tips holding needle (9) |
| 16a | Popular friends welcoming occasionally staid // friends (9) |
| 19a | Chorus having origins in religion initially (5) |
In this clue, the entire clue provides the wordplay in which the definition is embedded. However, exactly what part of the clue constitutes the definition? While it could be merely the single word "chorus" as Kath shows in her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I prefer to think of it as the first five words in the clue. One might even stretch it to be the entire clue.
| 21a | Wanders around with // shopping (7) |
As Rabbit Dave points out in Comment #4 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, The Chambers Dictionary (BRB or Big Red Book) defines errands[1] as a dialect term for shopping and wander[1] as an archaic term for err*.
* this meaning is not found in my 11th Edition of The Chambers Dictionay. However, wander[1] is defined as to go astray, deviate from the right path or course, ... (which I consider could be synonymous with err).
| 23a | Consider // regarding faction taking power (7) |
| 24a | Idiot theory oddly /seen in/ social network (7) |
Here and There
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Judging by dictionary entries, the word "twit" may
have a slightly different connotation in the UK than it does in North
America. US dictionaries, for the most part, focus on the fact that such a person is a
pest whereas British dictionaries stress the person's lack of intellectual
capacity. (show more )
British dictionaries define variously
US dictionaries, on the other hand, define twit as an informal term for:
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| 25a | Swagger /from/ supporter with trouble after victory (7) |
"victory " = V
V[10] is the symbol for victory. The victory-freedom sign[7] is famously associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II.
hide
V[10] is the symbol for victory. The victory-freedom sign[7] is famously associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II.
hide
| 26a | Give a false account of // new premier's broadcast (12) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Outside Australia and Canada, the term premier[5] refers to a prime minister or other head of government. In Australia and Canada, a premier is the chief minister of a government of a state or province respectively. |
Down
| 1d | Unusually as green /as/ nettles (7) |
| 2d | Struck about Republican /being/ insulted online (7) |
"Republican " = R [member or supporter of US political party]
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.
hide
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.
hide
Troll[5] means to make a deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them ⇒ (i)
if people are obviously trolling then I’ll delete your posts and do my best to ban you: (ii)
you folks taking this opportunity to troll me, you really need to reassess your values in your life.
| 3d | Begrudge suppressing desire briefly // on the rise (9) |
| 4d | Speed runs up /getting/ run over (5) |
"runs " = R [cricket notation]
| 5d | Small heartless woman consuming free // evening (7) |
As Rabbit Dave points out in Comment #4 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary characterizes sundown[14] as a US term with the usual British term being sunset.
| 6d | Disagreeable // sound ringing gong (7) |
Gong[5] is an informal British term for a medal or award.
The Order of Merit[7] (abbreviation OM[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).
| 7d | Stubborn // bloke supports strain in exercising (12) |
| 10d | In arrest I got criminal // record (12) |
| 15d | Aid rebels at sea? /That's/ sensible (9) |
| 17d | Limits /of/ bluster minister suppresses (7) |
| 18d | Assembly incorporates Northern // Ireland province (7) |
As well as being a verb, muster[5] is also a noun meaning a formal gathering of troops, especially for inspection, display, or exercise ⇒
he attended the musters, which were called to train all able-bodied men.
Munster[5] is a province of the Republic of Ireland, in the south-western part of the country.
| 19d | Fall /of/ villain in lawsuit (7) |
| 20d | Extravagantly perform // part of lover, actually (7) |
| 22d | Drinks up /causing/ bad temper (5) |
Strop[5] is an informal British term for a bad mood or a temper ⇒
Nathalie gets in a strop and makes to leave.
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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