Monday, September 7, 2020

Monday, September 7, 2020 — DT 29267 (Published Saturday, September 5, 2020)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29267
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29267]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Kath
BD Rating
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
Notes
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, September 5, 2020 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

As is not unusual for a RayT puzzle, the difficulty and enjoyment ratings reported in the comments section of Big Dave's Crossword Blog range all over the map. The puzzle clearly left Brian seeing stars.

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
  • "//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present
  • "/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present
  • "solid underline" - precise definition
  • "dotted underline" - cryptic definition
  • "dashed underline" - wordplay
  • "double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a   Lively embraces providing // calm (6)

Pacy[5] (also pacey) [a word conspicuously absent from US dictionaries] is an adjective meaning moving or progressing quickly ⇒ a pacy thriller.

4a   Area like this contains container /for/ plant (8)

The acanthus[5] is a herbaceous plant or shrub with bold flower spikes and spiny decorative leaves, found in warm regions of the Old World.

9a   Serious // doctor absorbed by wound? (6)

"doctor " = MB

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.

Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada. Throughout the 19th century, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine.

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10a   Spending up front, reportedly, /showing/ generosity? (8)

11a   Docile // old criminal welcomes end (8)

"old " = O [linguistics]

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.

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In Britain, the word bent[5] has the same connotation (dishonest or corrupt) as does the word crooked[5] in North America.

*  It would appear that Brits use crooked as well as bent in this sense.

13a   Test // gold before transaction (6)

"gold " = OR [heraldic tincture]

Or[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

In heraldry, a tincture[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

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15a   Dismay /of/ criminal's time with Queen and Country (13)

"Queen " = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth]

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER

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18a   Defiant // trade union's bid curtailed undergoing restructure (13)

22a   Outfit // with flexibility (6)

Supply[5] is a variant spelling of supplely[5], an adverb meaning 'in a supple manner'.

24a   Sober? // Stand almost everybody swallowing short! (8)

Short[5] (noun) is a British term for a drink of spirits served in a small measure* or, as Collins English Dictionary puts it, a short[10] is a drink of spirits as opposed to a long drink such as beer.

* A measure[5] is a container of standard capacity used for taking fixed amounts of a substance.

Tot[5] is a British term for a small amount of a strong alcoholic drink such as whisky or brandy ⇒ a tot of brandy.



"sober " = teetotal

Teetotal[5] (abbreviation TT[5]) means choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol ⇒ a teetotal lifestyle.

A teetotaller[5] (US teetotalerabbreviation TT[5]) is a person who never drinks alcohol.

The term teetotal is an emphatic extension of total, apparently first used by Richard Turner, a worker from Preston [England], in a speech (1833) urging total abstinence from all alcohol, rather than mere abstinence from spirits, as advocated by some early temperance reformers.

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26a   Detectives going back on record is nothing // irregular (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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"record " = EP [extended play]

EP[10] (abbreviation for extended-play) is one of the formats in which music is sold, usually comprising four or five tracks. An EP contains more cuts than a single[5] but fewer than an LP or long-playing[5] record.

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27a   Archaic lilac occasionally /produces/ bush (6)

The acacia[5] (also acacia tree)* is a tree or shrub of warm climates which bear spikes or clusters of yellow or white flowers and are typically thorny.

* also called wattle, especially in Australia

28a   Field vehicle finally takes red // fuel (8)

Ken[5] denotes one’s range of knowledge or understanding ⇒ politics are beyond my ken.

Here and There
Kerosene[5,14] is the North American term for what is known in the UK as paraffin[10] (also paraffin oil). However, the term does not seem to be entirely foreign to Brits as Collins English Dictionary defines kerosene (or kerosine) as the general name for paraffin as a fuel for jet aircraft.

29a   States // concerned with welfare (6)

Alms[5] (in historical contexts) is money or food given to poor people the riders stopped to distribute alms.

Down

1d   Sump is to necessitate purchasing // engine part (6)

Scratching the Surface
Sump[5] is the British name for an oil pan[5], the base of an internal combustion engine, which serves as a reservoir of oil for the lubrication system.

2d   Launches // advances holding soldiers caught (9)

"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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3d   Overseas // France beginning to overthrow government (7)

"France " = F [IVR code]

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for France is F[5].

French Licence Plate
(The IVR code is on the left below the EU flag emblem)

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5d  Start to chinwag and have aimless talk (4)

The entire clue not only provides the wordplay but I would say that it could also be considered to be the definition.

6d   Perfect area to climb missing old // country (7)

"perfect " = AI [ship classification (A1)]

A1[4][5] or A-one[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

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"Old" reprises its role from 11a (will the " repetition radar" be going off on Big Dave's Crossword Blog).

7d   Described by Mach, a steady // velocity (5)

The use of the word "describe(s)" (or variations thereof such as "describing" or "described by") as either a containment indicator or a hidden word indicator is a common cryptic crossword device which seems to rely on describe[1,2,12] being used in the sense of to trace out or delineate ⇒ skaters describing circles on the ice*.

* Although, to be precise, it is the tracks made by the skaters' blades that describe the circles.

Scratching the Surface
M[10] is the symbol for Mach[10] (short for Mach number[10] and often not capitalized), the ratio of the speed of a body in a particular medium to the speed of sound in that medium. Mach number 1 (M1) corresponds to the speed of sound.

8d   Charming // activity of bee? (8)

12d   Public official // never admits to being promoted (6)

According to The Chambers Dictionary, nary[1] is a North American* or dialect word meaning never or not.

* The Chambers Dictionary is the only source where I found this word defined as a North American term. Other dictionaries[2,4,5,10,12] merely show it as a dialect word.

14d   Applaud /using/ force to apprehend adult (6)

"adult " = A [former British film certificate]

The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]

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16d   Same // turning, indicate left (9)

17d   Say something wrong /seeing/ girl on top (8)

19d   Irritable /seeing/ account not closed over debts (7)

20d   Piece /by/ piece going topless (7)

21d   Ships circling large // swells (6)

"large " = L [clothing size]

L[5] is the abbreviation for large (as a clothing size).

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23d   Former // nosey parker, we hear (5)

Nosy parker[5] (or nosey parker[1]) is an informal British term for an overly inquisitive person.

Origin: The expression comes from an early 20th century postcard caption ‘The Adventures of Nosey Parker’, referring to a peeping Tom in London's Hyde Park.

25d   Family sitting round large // oven (4)

Another encore, this time by "large" which we recently encountered in 21d.



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

2 comments:

  1. Hi Falcon. Trust you're staying well and sane.

    Managed to complete without help, but I prefer puzzles where I decipher the clue and then discover the answer. With Ray T, it's more likely to be the reverse. This may partly explain the mixed reviews he receives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard,
      Good to hear from you again. I'm doing reasonably well under the trying circumstances that we are all facing these days.

      Yes, RayT does manage to find some unusual synonyms so I often find myself scouring the dictionaries after the fact trying to justify them.

      Delete

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