Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in
DT 29243 | |
Publication Date in
Thursday, December 26, 2019 | |
Setter
proXimal (Steve Bartlett) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29243] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review
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 puzzle was published in The Daily Telegraph on Boxing Day 2019 so we shouldn't be surprised to encounter a few Christmas themed clues, not to mention comments from visitors to Big Dave's Crossword Blog — many of whom are still suffering from a bit of overindulgence the previous day.Given that the setter of the puzzle is proXimal, we can expect a near pangram missing only the letter X. Of course, as usual, I failed to notice that fact as I solved the puzzle.
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 | One caught intercepting award /for/ examination (7) |
"caught " = C [cricket notation]
In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.
On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c[5] or c.[2,10] denotes caught (by).
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In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.
On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c[5] or c.[2,10] denotes caught (by).
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As an inclusion indicator, intercepting[5] is used in the geometrical sense of cutting (as in one line intercepting or cutting a second line).
| 5a | Fish // container I note flipped over (7) |
"note " = LAH [in tonic sol-fa, the sixth note of a major scale]
In music, lah[5] (also la) denotes:
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In music, lah[5] (also la) denotes:
- in tonic sol-fa, the sixth note of a major scale
- the note A in the fixed-doh system
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The Story Behind the Picture
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| Kath illustrates her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog with a picture showing a fish purported to be a halibut. The fish is definitely not a halibut; I strongly suspect that it is a salmon as the photo comes from a website promoting Salmon and Halibut Fishing In Ketchikan Alaska. As Merusa notes in Comment #28 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, a halibut is a flatfish.  Halibut |
| 9a | Small beside six-footer, a // delivery-man (5) |
"six-footer " = ANT
Scratching the Surface
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| This puzzle appeared in The Daily Telegraph in the UK on Boxing Day 2019. |
| 10a | Set up // company with new person (9) |
| 11a | Gave written consent in bank // with defeatist manner (10) |
| 12a | Lie back with fine // punch (4) |
What did she say?
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In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath writesPorky[10] (also pork pie) is mainly British and Australian rhyming slang* for a lie [in the sense of an untruth].‘lie’ here isn’t a verb meaning recline, it’s a porky-pie .... * Rhyming slang[5] replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, shortened from butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang. Similarly, porky (shortened from pork pie), means 'lie'. While one usually sees only the shortened form of rhyming slang, the definition above does specify "typically with the rhyming element omitted". Pork pie seems to be one of those cases where both the full expression and the shortened version are in common use.
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| 14a | Naturalist // close to Greta Thunberg too nervous (12) |
Sir David Attenborough[5] is an English naturalist and broadcaster, brother of English actor and filmmaker Richard Attenborough. He is known for films of animals in their natural habitats, including
Scratching the Surface
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| Greta Thunberg[7] is a youthful Swedish environmental activist who has gained international recognition for promoting the view that humanity is facing an existential crisis arising from climate change. |
| 18a | Shell from Costa Rica, ordinary to ignore in sightseer/'s/ drawer (12) |
"ordinary " = O [British academic qualification]
Historically, in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), O level[5] (short for ordinary level[5]) was a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A (advanced) level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
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Historically, in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), O level[5] (short for ordinary level[5]) was a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A (advanced) level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
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| 21a | Card player/'s/ net assets oddly going missing (4) |
| 22a | Trustworthy, // senior to directors (5-5) |
| 25a | Turning over // headwear before measuring (9) |
| 26a | Call up // the night before to gain permission (5) |
What did she say?
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In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath refers toOn the week this puzzle appeared in the UK, Tuesday was Christmas Day.the day and night before an occasion, such as Tuesday was this week. |
| 27a | Tongue // brought back to prepare oneself with meal (7) |
Despite Collins English Dictionary describing DIY[10] (do-it-yourself) as an abbreviation used in Britain and Canada, the term DIY[3,11,12] is found without such qualification in US dictionaries.
| 28a | Constant // fiddling with lenses worn by daughter (7) |
Down
| 1d | Suffering // long way on south-eastern railway (6) |
Way is another word for road although one does not often see it used on its own in this sense. It is usually found in compound words such as highway or byway or in street names ⇒ (i)
Appian Way; (ii)
Broadway(the name of the Manhattan street having been compressed into a single word).
The M1[7] is a north–south motorway* in England connecting London to Leeds.
| 2d | Diamonds disappear, five removed /from/ German neighbour (6) |
| 3d | No good in breaking each nail -- // try another way (6,4) |
While one can — as Kath does in her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — decompose the wordplay into N (no) and G (good; for instance, a grade received on a school assignment or test), NG[3,4,10], N.G.[11], ng[1,4,10], and n.g.[11] are listed in several dictionaries as abbreviations for no good.
| 4d | Money /making/ constant part of temptation (5) |
In mathematics, C[5] (or c) is a symbol used to represent either the third fixed constant to appear in an algebraic expression, or a known constant (show more ).
In mathematics, a constant[5] is a quantity or parameter that does not change its value whatever the value of the variables, under a given set of conditions.
In physics, a constant[5] is a number expressing a relation or property which remains the same in all circumstances, or for the same substance under the same conditions.
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In mathematics, a constant[5] is a quantity or parameter that does not change its value whatever the value of the variables, under a given set of conditions.
In physics, a constant[5] is a number expressing a relation or property which remains the same in all circumstances, or for the same substance under the same conditions.
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| 5d | Part of cycle // lane, hard ground comprising bitumen, primarily (9) |
As an anagram indicator, ground is used as the past tense or past participle of the verb grind[5]. An anagram indicator is typically a word that denotes movement or transformation. Grind denotes transformation, for example, in the sense of grain being ground into flour.
I must say I don't agree with the use of the word "comprising" as an inclusion indicator. To my mind, 'comprising' does not mean 'including' but rather 'consisting of (in its entirety)'.
Scratching the Surface
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| Bitumen[3,5] is another name for asphalt (in the sense of the black, viscous mixture of hydrocarbons that is combined with crushed stone to produce the road-building material also known as asphalt). |
| 6d | Set // learner with support (4) |
"learner " = 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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| 7d | Some layabout I question /to find/ shop (8) |
| 8d | Parts /of/ newspaper in Welsh decoded after time (8) |
The Financial Times[7] (abbreviation FT) is a British international business newspaper that is printed on conspicuous salmon pink newsprint.
| 13d | Cold gent upset with penny lolly /in/ cracker (10) |
Lolly[5] is an informal British term for money ⇒
you’ve done brilliantly raising all that lovely lolly.
Crispbread[5] is a thin, savoury biscuit* made from crushed rye or wheat.
| 15d | Make // attempt to tuck into chutney after top's removed (9) |
| 16d | Shrill // South American native starts to call help, yelling (8) |
The Cree[3] are a Native American people inhabiting a large area from eastern Canada west to Alberta and the Great Slave Lake. Formerly located in central Canada, the Cree expanded westward and eastward in the 17th and 18th centuries, the western Cree adopting the Plains Indian life and the eastern Cree retaining their woodland culture.
| 17d | Temporary accommodation // had scrap strewn about (8) |
Crashpad[1,4,10] is slang for a place to sleep or live temporarily. The majority of my dictionaries split it into two words, crash pad[3,4,5,11,12].
| 19d | Sweet-talk // head of casting over a part -- Juliet, not Romeo (6) |
"Juliet " = J [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Juliet[5] is a code word representing the letter J.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Juliet[5] is a code word representing the letter J.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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"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
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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
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| 20d | Reptiles // they don't take away (6) |
The adder[5] (also called viper) is a small venomous Eurasian snake which has a dark zigzag pattern on its back and bears live young. It is the only poisonous snake in Britain.
An adder[5] is an electronic unit which adds together two input variables.
| 23d | The latest //coming up: European Union and government (5) |
| 24d | Antipodean // island small, it's said (4) |
The Antipodes[5] is a term used by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere to refer to Australia and New Zealand. An Antipodean would therefore be a native or inhabitant of Australia or New Zealand.
Kiwi[5] is an informal name* for a New Zealander.
* The name presumably derives from the kiwi[5], a flightless New Zealand bird with hair-like feathers, having a long downcurved bill with sensitive nostrils at the tip.
* The name presumably derives from the kiwi[5], a flightless New Zealand bird with hair-like feathers, having a long downcurved bill with sensitive nostrils at the tip.
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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