Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29295 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29295]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Mr K | |
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
Like many others, I got off to a very slow start with this puzzle. Answers were teased out slowly with long intervals between them. Then the pace quickened until only three clues remained unsolved. Once a bit of electronic help identified the bird which is not found in North America, the remaining pair fell readily.The readers of Big Dave's Crossword Blog play a game of "guess the setter" but, in the end, his or her identity remains a mystery.
Having a bit of extra time on my hands, at 25a I decided to delve into a question that has bothered me for quite some time: in the case of certain words that serve as modifiers, why do dictionaries classify them as nouns when I have always considered them to be adjectives? By the way, I often get the impression that the grammar taught to today's school children is not their grandfather's grammar (i.e., mine). I don't recall ever encountering terms such as "determiner" in my grammar lessons. Of course, it has been more than five decades since my last grammar class.
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 | Fish and wine bottles in /for/ music player (4,8) |
Claret[5] is a red wine from Bordeaux, or wine of a similar character made elsewhere.
| 9a | Around river, retain new // land (7) |
| 10a | Design at each posh // castle (7) |
"posh " = U [upper class]
In Britain, U[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒
The term, an abbreviation of upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).
In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).
hide
In Britain, U[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒
U manners.
The term, an abbreviation of upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).
In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).
hide
| 11a | Game // jumper (7) |
| 12a | Meaningless // hearing, six implicated (7) |
| 13a | Aggressive animal -- // say it turns on owner finally? (5) |
| 14a | Form risen a bit, // top of the class? (9) |
| 16a | Winger // heading for goal, getting on top (9) |
The goldcrest[5] is a very small Eurasian warbler with a black-bordered yellow or orange crest.
| 19a | Many times // decimal? (5) |
| 21a | Solicitor welcoming knight back, // visitor (7) |
A tout[10] is a person who solicits business in a brazen way.
| 23a | Contrived rot, same // gifted performer! (7) |
| 24a | English party // make an impression (7) |
Although many British dictionaries consider the term 'rave' to be British slang, the term has clearly crossed the pond to North America. One American dictionary puts it best, defining a rave[12] as a kind of loosely organized dance party, lasting through the night, that originated in Britain in the 1980s: a rave features techno music and typically includes the use of psychedelic drugs.
| 25a | Advertising // vehicle? (7) |
Like Jose at Comment #17 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I initially had this clue pegged as a double definition rather than a cryptic definition. However, as did Jose before me, I will defer to Mr K's explanation that advertising[5] (as a 'noun'*) denotes advertisements collectively and not an individual instance of an advertisement such as a trailer.
* I write 'noun' (in quotes) because, in my mind, the word "advertising" standiing alone is a noun but when used as a modifier (as in the phrase "advertising vehicle") is an adjective. Nevertheless, dictionaries classify the word as a noun in both instances. However, I feel I have found support for my position in the Wikipedia article Attributive verb[7] which would seem to classify the word "advertising" used as a modifier as a type of attributive verb (a verb form acting as an adjective) known as a deverbal adjective (the other type of attributive verb being a verbal adjective). [In case you are interested, a verbal adjective retains some verb-like properties such as the ability to take an object whereas a deverbal adjective does not possess such verb-like properties].
| 26a | Decorated too much, // quite fairly (6-6) |
Pretty-pretty[10] is an informal British term denoting excessively or ostentatiously pretty.
Down
| 1d | Save monarch -- // like George III? (7) |
George III[5] (1738–1820) was king of Great Britain and Ireland, grandson of George II, reigned 1760–1820, Elector of Hanover 1760–1815 and king of Hanover 1815–20. He exercised considerable political influence, but it declined from 1788 after bouts of mental illness, as a result of which his son (the future George IV) was made regent in 1811.
Barking[5] is an informal British term meaning completely mad or demented ⇒ (i)
we are all a bit barking; (ii) [as submodifier]
has she gone completely barking mad?.
| 2d | Kiss /for/ a pound? (7) |
Smacker[5] (also smackeroo) is an informal term for money — in the UK, an amount of one pound sterling, and in North America, one dollar.
| 3d | Artist // rips off chart (9) |
John Constable[5] (1776–1837) was an English painter. Among his best-known works are early paintings such as Flatford Mill (1817) and The Hay Wain (1821), inspired by the landscape of his native Suffolk.
| 4d | Royal meeting // a highlander (5) |
Meeting[5] is used in the sense of an organized event at which a number of races or other sporting contests are held.
Royal Ascot[7] [Ascot, in brief] is a race meeting held at Ascot Racecourse*. Each of the five days of Royal Ascot begins with the Royal Procession at 2pm, when the Queen and other members of the royal family arrive down the straight mile in the Royal Landaus, accompanied by the playing of the National Anthem and the raising of the Royal Standard. This tradition was started in 1825 by King George IV.
* Ascot Racecourse[7] is a British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing — both flat racing (conducted on a course with no jumps) and National Hunt Racing (in which horses must jump obstacles). The course enjoys close associations with the British Royal Family, being approximately six miles from Windsor Castle.
| 5d | I dashed in to embrace a // native of Western Asia (7) |
| 6d | Be mournful // when member is in middle of speech (7) |
| 7d | Rod has to understand that woman // to remain married? (5,8) |
| 8d | So the swine's been shot on end of road, // where messages left (8,5) |
I think the word "so" is superfluous and could easily be ommitted from the clue.
| 15d | Change round hours and minutes perhaps /in/ measuring instrument (9) |
| 17d | Couch // accommodating more people? Upholsterer initially brought in (7) |
| 18d | Carry across border // readily available illustrations (4,3) |
| 19d | Ham // to carve after cooking (7) |
| 20d | Friend supporting infant? // Absolutely! (7) |
| 22d | Little // peg, nearly hollow (5) |
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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