Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29291 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, February 20, 2020 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29291]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Kath | |
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
We encounter RayT in a bit of a benign mood today.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 | Sad // and is close to tears (12) |
| 9a | Old pal /giving/ tie (9) |
| 10a | Originally nubile young maiden, pretty hot! (5) |
This is a hallmark RayT initialism clue; the entire clue provides the wordplay in which the (more or less) precise definition is embedded.
| 11a | Trial // over agreement involving Republican (6) |
"Republican " = R [member or supporter of US political party]
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.
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A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.
hide
| 12a | Place for women // galore is fantastic! (8) |
Seraglio[5] is a historical term for the women’s apartments (harem*) in an Ottoman palace.
* The word harem[5] can denote either the separate part of a Muslim household reserved for wives, concubines, and female servants or the women occupying a harem; namely, the wives (or concubines) of a polygamous man.
| 13a | Young male // tot having rest outside (6) |
| 15a | Fixing // old man caught in whatsit (8) |
"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).
hide
| 18a | Religious establishment // never follows House (8) |
Semi[5,10] is an informal British* term for a semi-detached house ⇒
a three-bedroomed semi.
* Although both Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) and Collins English Dictionary consider this to be a British term, it is definitely in common usage in Canada. However, we would most certainly say ⇒
three-bedroom semirather than
three-bedroomed semi.
What did she say?
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In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath directs us toTerrace[5] is a British term for a row of houses built in one block in a uniform style. A unit in such a development is known as a terraced house[10]. In Canada and the US, such a house would be called a row house or town house.a type of house, one which is neither detached nor in a terrace. |
| 19a | Hammered /and/ tried to find gold (6) |
| 21a | Underwear // that is put on last (8) |
| 23a | Furs // bought principally in auctions (6) |
Sable[10] is the highly valued dark brown* luxuriant fur of a marten of northern Asian forests.
| 26a | Misses /providing/ massages reportedly (5) |
| 27a | Show flamboyant skill backing // restaurant (9) |
"flamboyant " = OTT
A trattoria[5] is an Italian restaurant.
| 28a | /From/ France, how red alters // from now on? (12) |
Despite being positioned at the beginning of the clue, the word "from" is effectively a link word. This can be clearly seen if one rephrases the clue in a standard cryptic order of 'definition-link-wordplay' (which the setter has avoided in order to enhance the surface reading of the clue):
- From now on /from/ France, how red alters (12)
Down
| 1d | Rifle /is/ sloped I fancy (7) |
| 2d | Turf /out of/ small hospital room (5) |
| 3d | Campaign // speech incorporating empty prose (9) |
| 4d | Spoils // wife impressed by sink (4) |
| 5d | Subject /of/ fiction with grand title elevated (8) |
G as an abbreviation for grand is one North American usage that the Brits would appear to have embraced (show more ).
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒
I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
- Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)[5].
- Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars[2].
- Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)[4,10].
| 6d | Sovereign state /of/ Georgia supporting great weight (5) |
Tonga[5] (also called the Friendly Islands) is a country in the South Pacific consisting of an island group south-east of Fiji.
| 7d | Redesign menus with oil // paint (8) |
| 8d | Host // runs wearing bikini bottom? (6) |
"runs " = R [cricket notation]
| 14d | Soldiers and sergeant finally in action, // barking (8) |
Barking[5] is used in an informal British sense meaning completely mad or demented ⇒ (i)
we are all a bit barking; (ii) [as submodifier]
has she gone completely barking mad?.
| 16d | Bond conceals a cold // charm (9) |
I would say that bond[10] is used in the sense of a written acknowledgment of an obligation to pay a sum or to perform a contract.
| 17d | Sensitive part is ticklish, somewhat (8) |
| 18d | Salt /from/ deserted sea channel (6) |
| 20d | Break up // gang led by detectives (7) |
"detective " = DI [detective inspector]
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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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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| 22d | Result /of/ European Union's almost fresh upset (5) |
| 24d | Immature future monarch? (5) |
The monarch[5] (also monarch butterfly) is a large migratory orange and black butterfly that occurs mainly in North America. The caterpillar feeds on milkweed, using the toxins in the plant to render both itself and the adult unpalatable to predators.
| 25d | Stray // with a condition (4) |
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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