Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29278 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29278] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
KiwiColin | |
BD rating
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| Difficulty - ★★★ | Enjoyment - ★★★★ |
Falcon's experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ | |
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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
Despite KiwiColin only awarding this puzzle three stars for difficulty, I found it decidedly more difficult — and, judging by the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, in that respect I was far from alone. The southwest corner alone took at least as long to complete as the rest of the puzzle combined. Of course, entering incorrect answers to two clues did not help. Although I must admit that once I finally twigged to those errors, things fell into place fairly readily. However, my 'Falcon's experience' graph did end up looking like a rainbow!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 | Soldiers on service account /for/ killing (8) |
"soldiers " = RE [Royal Engineers]
The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
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The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
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| 5a | Condition after end of side // effects (6) |
Effects[5] is used in the sense of personal belongings ⇒
the insurance covers personal effects.
| 9a | Proudly announces // the last of recent short favourites (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.
| 10a | Returning students // go wrong (4,2) |
| 12a | Keep changing mind /as/ poorly during leave (9) |
Here and There | |
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| The surface reading, while sounding odd to the North American ear, would be quite natural for Brits. According to Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online), poorly[5] (adjective) is a British* term meaning unwell ⇒ she looked poorly. * Despite Oxford claiming this to be a British usage, US dictionaries define poorly[3,11] (adjective) as meaning in poor health or somewhat ill ⇒ feeling poorly. In fact, the American Heritage Dictionary characterizes poorly used in this sense as a chiefly Southern US term. A statement such as "I am feeling rather poorly today" is likely the only context in which one would encounter this term in North America. Not so in the UK; Lexico provides examples of British usage that one would never encounter on this side of the pond:
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| 13a | Hurries, /seeing/ evidence of unhappiness (5) |
| 14a | Pretty // clever (4) |
Post Mortem | |
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| I thought I was being "pretty clever" when I entered NICE as the solution to this double definition where I was thinking of nice[10] in the sense of precise or skillful. Needless to say that this move (combined with a similar faux pas at 29a) turned the southwest corner into a solving quagmire. |
| 16a | Mafia boss must stifle limitless appetite /for/ prison! (7) |
| 19a | Go from bad to worse? (7) |
It took me a while to get the whimsical aspect of this clue (even after reading KiwiColin's excellent hint). The setter is suggesting that although to lapse (commit an indiscretion) is bad, to relapse (commit a subsequent indiscretion) is worse.
However, I'm not entirely convinced that this clue works on the straight definition level. I would think that RELAPSE means to go from 'better to worse' rather than 'bad to worse'. I suppose were one to suffer a relapse before having fully recovered, they could be said to have gone from 'bad to worse'.
I toyed for a bit with the word DECLINE here (which I still think is a better fit at the straight definition level — but is hardly cryptic).
| 21a | Damage /caused by/ son in bed (4) |
What did he say? | |
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, KiwiColin describes the required sleeping accommodation as "A bed that might be occupied by an infant".Cot[5] is the British name for a small bed with high barred sides for a baby or very young child — an item of furniture known in North America as a crib[5]. |
| 24a | Bitter about Conservative // purge (5) |
"Conservative " = C [member of British political party]
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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| 25a | Clone // it and replace free (9) |
| 27a | Somewhat treasonous // motive (6) |
| 28a | Deliberate // volume of business cut in half (4,4) |
| 29a | Substitute // unknown by 13 in order (6) |
The numeral "13" is a cross reference indicator to clue 13a (show more ).
To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light* identified by the cross reference indicator.
The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.
* light-coloured cell in the grid
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To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light* identified by the cross reference indicator.
The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.
* light-coloured cell in the grid
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Post Mortem | |
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| I initially used the wrong unknown here (X instead of Z) and came up with the anagram EXTRAS, in the sense of the bench warmers on a sports team. The fact that it is plural did give me pause but I stubbornly stuck with it for far too long. |
| 30a | Safety measure // resulting from strike by constituency (4,4) |
Down
| 1d | 27 // shift across this, oddly (6) |
Similar to what we saw in 29a, the numeral "27" is a cross reference indicator to clue 27a.
| 2d | The origin /of/ gravy, reportedly (6) |
The word "SOURCE" , when pronounced in a non-rhotic accent (show explanation ) typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially southeastern England), sounds like "SAUCE" .
Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accentsgenerally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.
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Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accentsgenerally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.
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| 3d | A Scandinavian set up /for/ shock (5) |
A Lapp[5] is a member of an indigenous people of the extreme north of Scandinavia, traditionally associated with the herding of reindeer ⇒ "The Finns arrived in their present territory thousands of years ago, pushing the indigenous Lapps into the more remote northern regions".
| 4d | A touch below par, ultimately /in/ fierce competition (3,4) |
| 6d | Rent objectives /may be/ shock problem (5,4) |
| 7d | Ring in copy and finally // asked for a review (8) |
| 8d | Removing protection from // wild pigeons -- about ten (8) |
| 11d | Drop // area covered by graduate teacher (4) |
| 15d | Uniform and hairdo in job // at a higher level (9) |
"uniform " = U [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Uniform[5] is a code word representing the letter U.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Uniform[5] is a code word representing the letter U.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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| 17d | Keep // quiet and hold back (8) |
| 18d | Losers /from/ orchestra wearing type of sweater succeeded (4-4) |
The London Symphony Orchestra[7] (abbreviation LSO), founded in 1904, is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras.
Aran[5] is an adjective denoting a type of knitwear or garment with traditional patterns, typically involving raised cable stitch and large diamond designs.
Origin: named for the Aran Islands[5], a group of three islands, Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer, off the west coast of the Republic of Ireland.
One should not (as did KiwiColin) confuse the Aran Islands with Arran[5], an island in the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland.
| 20d | Amateur offering to accept // money (4) |
| 21d | Apprehension /as/ fitting in therapy (7) |
| 22d | Pressure from palaver about // silkworms, perhaps (6) |
| 23d | Animal // rights protected by measures (6) |
| 26d | Popular idiot/'s/ common supplementary question, right? (5) |
Nit[5,10] (short for nitwit) is an informal British term for a foolish person ⇒
you stupid nit!.
Innit[5] (contraction of 'isn't it') is an informal British expression often used in conversation when seeking confirmation or as a general filler ⇒ "Poor thing, it's all a bit embarrassing for her, innit?".
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] - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Dictionary of English)
[6] - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (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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