Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29285 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, February 13, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29285]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
pommers | |
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
Several comments at Big Dave's Crossword Blog suggest that the puzzle has a Giovanni flavour to it. I must say the same thought did cross my mind while I was solving it.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 | Professional US magazine, highly esteemed, // grew rapidly (12) |
Life[7] was an American general interest magazine known for the quality of its photography. It was published weekly from 1883 to 1972, and then less frequently until it ceased publication in 2000.
Rate[5,10] is an informal [almost certainly British*] term meaning to have a high opinion of ⇒ (i)
Mike certainly rated her, goodness knows why; (ii)
the clients do not rate the new system.
* at least when used as in the cited examples
| 9a | District /gets/ prize, but not the first one (4) |
| 10a | Claims // of Yorkshire town in need of hotel (9) |
Harrogate[7] is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England.
Note that the word "of" must be included in the wordplay to produce HARROGATE'S ("of Harrogate").
"hotel " = H [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Hotel[5] is a code word representing the letter H.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Hotel[5] is a code word representing the letter H.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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| 12a | Start /with/ nothing at home -- get equipment installed (6) |
| 13a | Reading // University agent about to spill the beans (8) |
Sing[10] is a mainly US slang term meaning to confess or act as an informer.
Scratching the Surface
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| The University of Reading[7] is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. |
| 15a | Criticise this set, unorthodox // believers in divine nature? (10) |
Pantheism[5] is used in the sense of a doctrine which identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.
| 16a | Language // to get rid of when seen as heartless (4) |
Post Mortem
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| Before resorting to electronic assistance, the only language to come to mind was CREE. |
| 18a | Uninspiring // side, second to finish (4) |
Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
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there was a mixture of old and young players in* their side. (show more)
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii)
They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.
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| 20a | Saint troubled when joining in religious feast, /showing/ dislike of ceremony (10) |
Purim[5] is a lesser Jewish festival held in spring (on the 14th or 15th day of Adar) to commemorate the defeat of Haman's plot to massacre the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther.
| 23a | River traversed by solitary person // who lives near the Thames? (8) |
As well as being the name of a river in Russia, the Don[5] is also the name of two rivers in the UK:
- a river in Scotland which rises in the Grampians and flows 131 km (82 miles) eastwards to the North Sea at Aberdeen
- a river in northern England which rises in the Pennines and flows 112 km (70 miles) eastwards to join the Ouse shortly before it, in turn, joins the Humber
The Thames[5] is a river of southern England, flowing 338 km (210 miles) eastwards from the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire through London to the North Sea.
| 24a | One of the unpaid trainees? // Bury has any number (6) |
"any number " = N [mathematical symbol]
Scratching the Surface
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| Bury[7] [pronounced berry*] is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irwell 7.9 miles (12.7 km) northwest of Manchester. * Although according to Gazza in a review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog As someone who used to live in said borough I have to say that this is not the way the locals pronounce it – they make it sound more like flurry than merry. |
| 26a | Celebrity, showing no interest, we hear? /That's/ right (9) |
Starboard[7] is the side of a ship or aircraft that is on the right when one is facing forward.
| 27a | Old measure established by British // inventor (4) |
The ell[5] is a former measure of length (equivalent to six hand breadths) used mainly for textiles, locally variable but typically about 45 inches in England and 37 inches in Scotland*.
* Did the parsimonious Scottish textile merchants purposely hire clerks with small hands?
Delving Deeper
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Surely, six hand breadths cannot equal 45 inches (or even 37 inches). Those would be incredibly large hands. (show more )
In fact, Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) is the only source I found that claims the ell derives from the breadth of the human hand. Other sources attribute the measure to the length of the forearm from elbow to fingertip. According to Wikipedia, an ell[7] is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and survives in the form of the modern English word "elbow" (arm-bend). Later usage through the 19th century refers to several longer units, some of which are thought to derive from a "double ell". Several national forms existed, with different lengths, including the Scottish ell (≈37 inches or 94 centimetres), the Flemish ell [el] (≈27 in or 68.6 cm), the French ell [aune] (≈54 in or 137.2 cm),[9] the Polish ell (≈31 in or 78.7 cm), the Danish alen (24 Danish inches or 2 Danish fod: 62.7708 cm), the Swedish aln (2 Swedish fot ≈59 cm) and the German ell [Elle] of different lengths in Frankfurt (54.7 cm), Cologne, Leipzig (Saxony) or Hamburg. hide |
Alexander Graham Bell[5] (1847–1922) was a Scottish-born US scientist [see box following]. He invented a method for transmitting speech electrically and gave the first public demonstration of the telephone in 1876; he founded the Bell Telephone Company the following year.
Delving Deeper
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| Alexander Graham Bell[7] was born in Edinburgh (so
Brits think of him as a Scot), he moved to Canada at the age of 23
(so we Canucks think of him as a Canadian), and he was granted US citizenship at
the age of 35 (so Yanks think of him as an American). The year
following his move to Canada, he began training instructors at schools
for the deaf in the US — and, from that time until his death, he
maintained residences in both Canada and the US and divided his time
between the two countries. As it was not until several years after inventing the telephone that Bell took out US citizenship, he was clearly a Canadian* at the time of its invention. A great deal of the experimental work required to bring the telephone to fruition — as well as the first public demonstrations of the device — took place at his home near Brantford, Ontario. * technically, a British subject in Canada; the status of "Canadian citizen" was first created under the Immigration Act, 1910 |
| 28a | Troubled Penny toddles around, // showing hope is lost? (12) |
The word "around" seems either to serve no purpose in the clue or to attempt to be a second anagram indicator. There is a good discussion of this point on Big Dave's Crossword Blog in the thread arising from Comment #9.
Down
| 2d | What tells you to stop /getting/ led astray --with proper protection (3,5) |
| 3d | See promotion /offering/ lots (4) |
| 4d | I rant terribly when sat on by police? // Definitely (3,7) |
An eerie sign of things to come? This puzzle was published in the UK on February 11, 2020 — more than three months prior to the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis.
| 5d | Artist gets disease -- /it must be/ something eaten (6) |
"artist " = RA
A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.
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A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.
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| 6d | Cheaper // attire falling apart after short time (7) |
| 7d | Greediest man involved /in/ quarrel (12) |
| 8d | Part /of/ speech in which nothing initially is ruled out (6) |
| 11d | Army capturing Greek character with 21 suffering // put in 9? (12) |
Pi[5] is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet (Π, π).
The
numerals "21" and "9" are a cross
reference indicators to clues 21d and 9a respectively (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
hide
| 14d | Tiny worker, // one going round in circles (6,4) |
| 17d | Cold girl -- one starts to beguile all lovers /as/ man-eater (8) |
| 19d | Servants /providing/ repasts around Belfast etc. (7) |
Belfast[5] is the capital and chief port of Northern Ireland.
Menial[5] is a dated term for a domestic servant.
| 21d | More than one model // is accepting contract (6) |
| 22d | Volume repeatedly deficient? /That's/ a mistake (6) |
| 25d | Deity /offering/ bold sign oddly missed (4) |
In Scandinavian mythology, Odin[5] (also Woden or Wotan) is the supreme god and creator, god of victory and the dead. Wednesday is named after him.
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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