Puzzle at a Glance
|
|---|
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29263 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, January 18, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29263 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29263 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Big Dave (Hints)crypticsue (Review) | |
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
| |
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.
| |
Introduction
I experienced a bit of trouble identifying trees today. I knew that my initial choice was wrong but needed a nudge from my electronic aids to find the right one.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 | |
|
|
| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | Perfectionist/'s/ fine American pickle (7) |
| 5a | Unevenly coloured // 25 dish: no cover on top? (7) |
Typo alert: The cross-reference is, of course, to 25a rather than 24a as shown in crypticsue's explanation on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.
| 9a | Hands down, it's a revolution! (9) |
| 10a | Frigg ultimately appears in this swirling // vision (5) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| In Scandinavian mythology, Frigga[5]
(also Frigg[7]) is is the wife of Odin and goddess of married love and of the hearth,
often identified with**
Freya*. Friday is named after her. * Freya[5] is the goddess of love and of the night, sister of Frey[5] (also Freyr), the god of fertility and dispenser of rain and sunshine. She is often identified with** Frigga*. ** The phrase "often identified with" implies that some scholars believe that the two goddesses evolved from what was in earlier times a single goddess[7]. |
| 11a | Superior // stimulant (5) |
| 12a | Hormone /from/ kidneys -- there's a row about that (9) |
| 13a | Spiny lobster // could be gelatinous without one (9) |
A langouste[5] is a spiny lobster*, especially when prepared and cooked.
* The spiny lobster[5] (also known as rock lobster[5]) is a large edible crustacean with a spiny shell and long heavy antennae, but lacking the large claws of true lobsters.
| 16a | Tree /needing/ oxygen as it happens (5) |
The symbol for the chemical element oxygen is O[5].
Post Mortem
| |
|---|---|
| I could not get OPINE out of my mind. I tried to no avail to make it work and in the end resorted to the use of wordfinder software to help find an alternative. |
| 17a | That is // chump catching ball (2,3) |
Here and There
| |
|---|---|
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:
|
| 18a | Old fear and hurt transformed /in/ prayer (3,6) |
Our Father[5] is another name for the Lord's Prayer[6], the prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples, beginning “Our Father”.
| 20a | Failing to supply a bouquet? (9) |
| 23a | Blank, news boss // stared stupidly (5) |
| 25a | Criminal eats King Edward, initially // cooked thus? (5) |
Big Dave and crypticsue give slightly varying explanations for this clue. For Big Dave, it is the abbreviation for king followed by the initial letter of Edward while crypticsue has it as the initial letters of King Edward.
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| King Edward[7] is a potato variety grown in the UK since 1902, making it one of the oldest varieties still grown commercially. |
| 26a | One unlikely to be out for whole night (9) |
| 27a | Canal's entrance /in/ eastern Lahore collapsed (7) |
Typo alert: The solution is EARHOLE rather than EARHOLD as shown in crypticsue's explanation on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Lahore[5] is the capital of Punjab province and second-largest city of Pakistan, situated near the border with India. |
| 28a | Revolutionary soldier given no wine // shunned (7) |
"soldier " = GI
A GI[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒
Origin: Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).
hide
A GI[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒
she went off with a GI during the war.
Origin: Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).
hide
Down
| 1d | Part of spoof actually /for/ real (7) |
Alternative parsing:
- Part of spoof actually // for real (7)
Is that for real.
| 2d | Paddy // right to enter bar (5) |
Paddy[5] is an informal British term for a fit of temper ⇒
John drove off in a paddy.
Strop[5] is an informal British term for a bad mood or a temper ⇒
Nathalie gets in a strop and makes to leave.
| 3d | Vessel /has/ tangled rope at bow (9) |
| 4d | Written in Sanskrit, he takes // letter to Greeks (5) |
Theta[5] is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet (Θ, θ).
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
Sanskrit[5] is an ancient Indo-European language of India, in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian (Indic) languages are derived. (show more )
Sanskrit was spoken in India roughly 1200–400 BC, and continues in use as a language of religion and scholarship. It is written from left to right in the Devanagari script. The suggestion by Sir William Jones (1746–1794) of its common origin with Latin and Greek was a major advance in the development of historical linguistics. hide |
| 5d | Quietly coming upon exotic arboreal // creature (5,4) |
| 6d | German city /needs/ some brickies sent (5) |
Essen[5] is an industrial city in the Ruhr valley, in northwestern Germany.
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Brickie[10] is an informal British term for a bricklayer. |
| 7d | One backing search /for/ swimmer (9) |
An angelfish[5] is any of a number of laterally compressed deep-bodied fish with extended dorsal and anal fins, typically brightly colored or boldly striped.
| 8d | River claims dwelling: // is it international climate warming? (7) |
The Dee[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland and England — not to mention Ireland and Australia — the most prominent being:
- a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
- a river that rises in North Wales and flows into England, past Chester and on into the Irish Sea
| 14d | Fresh delivery /for/ Brooklyn addressee? (3,6) |
A delivery[5] is an act of throwing, bowling, or kicking a ball, especially a cricket ball.
In cricket, a yorker[5] is a ball bowled so that it pitches* immediately under the bat ⇒
he bowls a good yorker. The name probably comes from York, suggesting this style of delivery may have been introduced by Yorkshire players.
* In cricket and golf, pitch[5] (said of the ball) means to strike the ground in a particular spot ⇒
the ball pitched, began to spin back, and rolled towards the hole.
Brooklyn[5] is a borough of New York City, at the south-western corner of Long Island.
| 15d | Result: // twenty given job (9) |
Line[5] is used in the sense of an area or branch of activity ⇒
the stresses unique to their line of work.
Scoreline[5] is a British term for the number of points or goals scored in a match; in other words, the score ⇒
But, of course, when you can accumulate goals quite literally in bunches in matches that produce scorelines of 18-0 and 19-0 the total mounts up quickly.
Origin: extension of the original use denoting a line in a newspaper giving the score in a sports contest
| 16d | Protestant marching /from/ mountains in state (9) |
Oman[5,7], officially the Sultanate of Oman, is an Arab country at the southeastern corner of the Arabian peninsula.
An Orangeman[5] is a member of the Orange Order[5], a Protestant political society in Ireland, especially in Northern Ireland.
The Orange Order was formed in 1795 (as the Association of Orangemen) for the defence of Protestantism and maintenance of Protestant ascendancy in Ireland. It was probably named from the wearing of orange badges as a symbol of adherence to William III (William of Orange). In the early 20th century it was strengthened in the north of Ireland in its campaign to resist the Home Rule bill and has continued to form a core of Protestant Unionist opinion since.
The order is best known for its yearly marches, the biggest of which is held on or around 12 July (celebrating the 17th century victory of Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne). Although many Orange marches are without incident, marches through mainly Catholic and Irish nationalist neighbourhoods are controversial and have often led to violence.[7]
| 17d | Hot water/'s/ exciting role with tub (7) |
| 19d | Cut // grass hides bird without tail (7) |
| 21d | Set /to transmit/ commercial in Brazilian city (5) |
Rio de Janeiro[5] [commonly known as Rio] is a city in eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast. The chief port of Brazil, it was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.
| 22d | Son with us greeting // tasty Asian dish (5) |
Sushi[5] is a Japanese dish consisting of small balls or rolls of vinegar-flavoured cold rice served with a garnish of vegetables, egg, or raw seafood.
| 24d | Previous // leader in monastery (5) |
A prior[10] is a monk ranking immediately below an abbot. A prior may serve as the head of a small monastery (which is known as a priory[5]) or as the deputy head of a large monastery (which is known as an abbey as it is led by an abbot).
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.