Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29306 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, March 9, 2020 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29306]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Miffypops | |
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
The review of today's puzzle on Big Dave's Crossword Blog was written by Miffypops under the guise of Katniss Everdeen[7]. Should you not have read the novels nor seen the film adaptations of the books, she is the protagonist of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.This is Miffypops' final review as the regular Monday occupant of the blogging chair. Over the next couple of weeks, you will see some changes in blogging assignments as one blogger returns from sabbatical and engages in a game of musical chairs with several other bloggers. It will all play out over the next couple of weeks.
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
| 7a | I, with knight, greet by arrangement // a whole number (7) |
"knight " = N [chess notation]
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
- K[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight.
- K[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king.
- N[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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| 9a | Swagger /of/ a daughter in good show! (7) |
| 10a | Film one // omnivorous creature (5) |
The coati[5,10] is an omnivorous mammal of Central and South America. Coatis are related to but larger than the raccoons, having a long flexible snout, a brindled coat and a ringed tail.
| 11a | Area in which there may be no developments? (5,4) |
| 12a | DIY ads then, again recollected // just now (2,4,3,3,3) |
| 13a | Fine lines about Stuart monarch, /or/ flattery? (7) |
Anne[7] (1665–1714) became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a single sovereign state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death.
Anne was plagued by ill health throughout her life, and from her thirties, she grew increasingly ill and obese. Despite seventeen pregnancies she died without surviving issue and was the last monarch of the House of Stuart.
Flannel[10] (noun) is an informal British term for;
- indirect or evasive talk
- deceiving flattery
| 16a | Wise /having/ drain that is not emptied? (7) |
| 19a | Tricking, slyly, // all up feasting on bananas (7,1,4,3) |
| 23a | Dog // has a drink taken outside, accordingly (5,4) |
The Lhasa apso[10] is a small dog of a Tibetan breed having a long straight dense coat, often gold or greyish, and a well-feathered tail carried curled over its back.
| 24a | Top // seat taken by head of table (5) |
| 25a | Heading off Moroccan wild // animal (7) |
| 26a | Critical assessments // concerning convictions (7) |
Down
| 1d | Is probing male's first and foremost // injury (8) |
| 2d | Firing // international, into gin unfortunately (8) |
I believe Miffypops, in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, has allowed part of the fodder (the word "into") to deceive him into thinking that this is a containment style of clue. The wordplay actually parses as an abbreviation for international followed by an anagram of (unfortunately) INTO GIN. Although his explanation does produce the correct result, it does not correspond to the wordplay given in the clue.
| 3d | Cold, /and/ beginning to feel stiff (6) |
| 4d | Member of the clergy reportedly // shot playing billiards (6) |
A canon[5] is a member of the clergy who is on the staff of a cathedral, especially one who is a member of the chapter* ⇒
he was appointed canon of Christ Church, Oxford.
Cannon[5,10] is a British term for a billiards shot in which the cue ball is caused to contact one object ball after another or the points scored by such a shot.
* In Canada and the US, this shot would be called a carom.
| 5d | Makes an idiotic error, initially, /supplying/ homonym (8) |
| 6d | Will a drink from this give you courage? (6) |
Bottle[5] is an informal British term denoting the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous ⇒
I lost my bottle completely and ran.
| 8d | Feature // some extra items (5) |
| 9d | Sleep // so long with son (3-4) |
Bye-byes[2] (also called beddy-byes) is an informal term used to children meaning sleep or bed (especially go bye-byes or go to bye-byes).
| 14d | Everyone at home welcoming a church // marriage (8) |
"church " = CE [Church of England]
The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
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The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
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| 15d | Type of delivery // members nail (3-4) |
A delivery[5] is an act of throwing, bowling, or kicking a ball, especially a cricket ball.
In cricket, leg spin[5] (noun) is a type of spin* bowling which causes the ball to deviate from the leg side** towards the off side*** after pitching. As an adjective, it is spelled leg-spin[1] (
a leg-spin type of delivery).
* Spin[5] means to to bowl, pitch, hit, or kick (a ball) so that it rotates in the air and changes direction or speed on bouncing, or (of a ball) to be projected in this way.
** The leg side[5] (also called leg) is another name for the on side[5] (also known as on), the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman’s feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.
*** The off side[5] (also called off) is the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) towards which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.
| 17d | Confident // attitude about current ITV broadcast (8) |
Scratching the Surface
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| ITV[7] is a commercial TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 as Independent Television under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK. |
| 18d | Illegally enter // hydro, breaking lock (8) |
Hydro[5] is a British term for a hotel or clinic originally providing hydropathic treatment ⇒
The treatments are available at Studios as well as at selected Salons and health hydros.
* Hydropathy[5] is the treatment of illness through the use of water, either internally or through external means such as steam baths (not now a part of orthodox medicine).
| 19d | Miserable, // friend on trial (6) |
| 20d | One after the other // having an argument (2,1,3) |
| 21d | Knocks down // storeys (6) |
| 22d | Ordinary circuit breaker /may be/ helpful (2,3) |
"ordinary " = O [British academic qualification]
Historically, in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), O level[5] (short for ordinary level[5]) was a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A (advanced) level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
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Historically, in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), O level[5] (short for ordinary level[5]) was a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A (advanced) level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
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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] - 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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