Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29265 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, January 21, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29265] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Mr K | |
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
Like several of those commenting at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I completed the bottom half without much effort and then needed to apply considerably more effort in the top half. I find it interesting that Brian the Contrarian reports solving the puzzle in the reverse order.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 | Soldier/'s/ uniform (7) |
A regular[5] is a member of the permanent professional armed forces of a country ⇒
the garrison consisted of 200 regulars.
| 5a | Hard // to cry over American (7) |
| 9a | Check container // vessel (5) |
| 10a | Great // air-cooler finally kept wine cold (9) |
Asti[7] (formerly known as Asti Spumante)
is a sparkling white Italian wine (show more ).
Asti is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but production is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.
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Asti is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but production is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.
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| 11a | Regard // tree outside university -- pity top's chopped off (10) |
| 12a | Started to avoid good // head (4) |
Bean[10] is US and Canadian slang for the head.
| 14a | Noisy disturbances after this month/'s/ commands (12) |
Instant[5] (abbreviation inst.[5]) is a dated expression once used in business letters. It is a postpositive adjective meaning of the current month ⇒ (i)
your letter of the 6th instant; (ii)
we are pleased to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 14 inst.
| 18a | Sister entertains at group/'s/ pleasure (12) |
| 21a | Man, perhaps, // is allowed to scratch tail (4) |
The Isle of Man[5]
(abbreviation IOM[5])
is an island in the Irish Sea (show more ).
The island is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system. It was part of the Norse kingdom of the Hebrides in the Middle Ages, passing into Scottish hands in 1266 for a time, until the English gained control in the early 15th century. Its ancient language, Manx, is still occasionally used for ceremonial purposes.
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The island is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system. It was part of the Norse kingdom of the Hebrides in the Middle Ages, passing into Scottish hands in 1266 for a time, until the English gained control in the early 15th century. Its ancient language, Manx, is still occasionally used for ceremonial purposes.
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| 22a | I had energy to follow wife and roll out // blanket (10) |
| 25a | Allow // writer salary increase right away (9) |
Here and There
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Rise[5] is the British* term for an increase in salary or wages ⇒ non-supervisory staff were given a 5 per cent rise. |
| 26a | Chap/'s/ mistake to change direction at the end (5) |
Errol[7] is a male given name.
| 27a | Oriental // art seen all over the place (7) |
| 28a | Doctor sees wound before daughter /is/ bandaged (7) |
As an anagram indicator, "wound" is the past participle of wind (to coil).
Down
| 1d | Summaries /given/ about headgear (6) |
| 2d | Angry // medic imbibing alcohol before end of day (6) |
| 3d | Mixing online less /creates/ isolation (10) |
| 4d | Direct both ways? (5) |
The clue is a cryptic definition consisting of a precise definition together with cryptic elaboration indicating that the solution in a palindrome.
| 5d | Make // prisoners terse over time (9) |
| 6d | Brain // food (4) |
Post Mortem
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| Well. lean satisfied the second definition but a search for a sense that might also meet the requirements for the first definition came up empty. I needed help from a wordfinder program to identify the correct solution. |
Loaf[2,5,10] is an informal British term meaning the head, brains, or common sense ⇒
But we would urge people to use their loaf when parking and make sure they don't leave anything of value on display.
| 7d | Won't he do the wrapping // precisely? (2,3,3) |
| 8d | Kisses can oddly /spread/ illness (8) |
I believe the word "spread" is a link word, used in the sense of cause or produce.
| 13d | Fancy the prom with sea // air (10) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Prom[5] is an informal British short form for promenade[5], a paved* public walk, typically one along the seafront at a resort. |
| 15d | River rising -- it starts to inflate old nun/'s/ habit (9) |
The River Dart[7] is a river in Devon, England which rises high on Dartmoor, and releases to the sea at Dartmouth. Its valley and surrounding area is a place of great natural beauty.
| 16d | Friend supporting Spain set to be gutted, I // guess (8) |
| 17d | The least bad // runners? (8) |
| 19d | Cunning to wear the man's // suit (6) |
| 20d | Sum left Wendy regularly // confused (6) |
| 23d | Improve // pieces penned by editor (5) |
A piece[5] is a figure or token used to make moves in a board game ⇒
a chess piece.
A man[5] is a figure or token used in playing a board game ⇒
Mr Kravchuk, who prides himself on his chess-playing prowess, did not give up his man easily.
| 24d | Short letter /from/ school turned up (4) |
"school " = ETON
Eton College[7], often informally referred to simply as Eton, is an English independent boarding school for boys located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor". It is one of ten English schools, commonly referred to as public schools, regulated by the Public Schools Act of 1868.
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Eton College[7], often informally referred to simply as Eton, is an English independent boarding school for boys located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor". It is one of ten English schools, commonly referred to as public schools, regulated by the Public Schools Act of 1868.
Here and There
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| In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system. In Britain, a public school[2] is a particular category of independent school, namely a secondary school, especially a boarding school, run independently of the state and financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees. Another category of independent school is the private school[2,5] which is a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees. What we in North America would call a public school[2], is known in the UK as a state school[5] or a maintained school*. * In England and Wales, a maintained school[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority. |
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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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