Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29290 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29290]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
2Kiwis | |
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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Notes
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This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, October xx, 2020 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
Like virtually everyone writing on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, it was the southwest corner that did me in. Strangely, it was not 13d that proved troublesome — the dish was well-known from previous encounters. Nor was it the adjective posing as a noun in 17d (I've become accustomed to the British propensity for using adjectives in this way). It was a couple of quite straight-forward clues (21a and 22d) that tripped me up. And, of course, I tried long and hard to incorporate cheese into 26a.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 | Strike // legislation rejected -- left work (6) |
"work " = OP [opus]
In music, an opus[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.
The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..
Opus[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒
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In music, an opus[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.
The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..
Opus[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒
he was writing an opus on Mexico.
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| 5a | Pudding // that can come before order? (5-3) |
As we have seen as recently as yesterday, in the UK, pudding[5] is another name for the dessert course of a meal. As I wrote then, "Although it would sound bizarre to a North American ear, if a Brit were to ask
What’s for pudding?, the response might well be
Apple pie." Well, that is precisely the case today.
| 9a | End in French harbour after granny ate // fish (6,7) |
The French word for 'end' is fin[8].
Nan[5] is an informal British term for one's grandmother.
Finnan[5] (also finnan haddock) is haddock cured with the smoke of green wood, turf, or peat.
| 10a | Dated /and/ wrong to be going round alone (8) |
| 11a | University College may be accepted by reformed idle // mathematician (6) |
UC[1] is the abbreviation for University College.
* A university college[5] is an institution providing higher education but without full or independent university status.
The exact status and organization of a university college varies from place to place. In the United Kingdom, the title was formerly given to colleges of higher education affiliated with but not part of a university, and usually unable to grant their own degrees. The title now confers a status intermediate between that of a university and a college, and institutions holding it are usually wholly independent.
Euclid[5] (c.300 BC) was a Greek mathematician. His great work Elements of Geometry, which covered plane geometry, the theory of numbers, irrationals, and solid geometry, was the standard work until other kinds of geometry were discovered in the 19th century.
| 12a | Case of dill imported by fruit // vendor (6) |
| 14a | Imagine // vines developing with time (8) |
| 16a | Marine ray will eat river // fish (3,5) |
The sea bream[5] is a deep-bodied marine fish that resembles the freshwater bream*.
| 19a | Doll oddly found in fairground attraction /is/ an enigma (6) |
| 21a | Works out /and/ breaks down (6) |
| 23a | Share a line, /being/ sensible (8) |
| 25a | Saves on accommodation /for/ domestic workers (5-8) |
| 26a | Fancy // times with last of people in Cheddar perhaps! (2,6) |
Cheddar Gorge[7] is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar, Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903.
Fancy[5] (often in the phrase fancy that) is a British expression used to express surprise at something ⇒ (i)
fancy meeting all those television actors!; (ii)
Fancy that, there's more to life than just shopping.
| 27a | Border ran directly across // mission (6) |
Down
| 2d | A moral tale about female /being/ friendly (7) |
| 3d | Language // progress comes after cutting connection short (5) |
| 4d | Debts regularly seen to support scheme with regard to energy // growth (5,4) |
The plane[5] (also plane tree) is a tall spreading tree of the genus Platanus of the northern hemisphere, with maple-like leaves and bark which peels in uneven patches.
| 5d | Realise // that is five in pain (7) |
| 6d | Chaplain/'s/ flat rate, having no heart (5) |
Flat[5] is the British term for what would be called an apartment[5] in North America.
| 7d | Former soldiers caught on wrong side // driven out! (9) |
"other ranks " = OR [other ranks]
In the British armed forces, the term other ranks[5] (abbreviation OR[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.
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In the British armed forces, the term other ranks[5] (abbreviation OR[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.
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"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).
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| 8d | Suggestion /of/ popular ruler protecting pound (7) |
"pound " = L [British monetary unit]
The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L[10].
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra* .
* In ancient Rome, the libra[5] was a unit of weight, eqivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.
hide
The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L[10].
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra* .
* In ancient Rome, the libra[5] was a unit of weight, eqivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.
hide
| 13d | Throws company function, /finding/ a dish from the north (9) |
Northern England[7], also known as the North of England or simply the North, is the northern part of England, considered as a single cultural area. Somewhat ill-defined, it is generally considered to extend from the Anglo-Scottish border south to Lancashire and Yorkshire (sometimes also including Cheshire).
Lobscouse[5] is a stew formerly eaten by sailors, consisting of meat, vegetables, and ship's biscuit ⇒
Sailors had various methods for making hard tack palatable, e.g. crumbling it into the dish called lobscouse.
The name of this stew is often shortened to scouse[5,10]. This dish is so closely associated with the Lancashire port city of Liverpool that the shortened name has given rise to a nickname for residents of that city.
Delving Deeper
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Scouse[5,10] is an informal British term denoting:
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| 15d | Finished without love, albeit strangely // true (9) |
"love " = O [nil score in tennis]
In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).
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In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.
Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).
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| 17d | Student trapped by crude // chance (7) |
"student " = L [driver under instruction]
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
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The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
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| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
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Earthy[5] denotes (of a person or their language) direct and uninhibited, especially about sexual subjects or bodily functions ⇒
their good-natured vulgarity and earthy humour.
Earthly[5] is an informal British term for chance when used in the phrase not stand an earthly meaning have no chance at all ⇒
she wouldn't stand an earthly if she tried to outrun him.
| 18d | Horse around what in Spain /is/ a tent (7) |
In Spanish, qué[8] is an expression meaning 'what'.
What did they say?
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In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis direct us toFawlty Towers[7] is a British television sitcom broadcast on BBC in 1975 and 1979. Only 12 episodes were made (two series of six episodes each). The programme will certainly be familiar to many on this side of the pond as it has been broadcast in North America. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 and, in 2019, it was named the 'greatest ever British TV sitcom' by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the British publication Radio Times.the Spanish word for ‘what’ that we all learned from watching ‘Fawlty Towers’. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay, a resort town in south-western England, in Devon. Manuel, the hotel's waiter, is a well-meaning but disorganised and confused Spaniard from Barcelona with a poor grasp of the English language and customs. When told what to do, he often responds, "¿Qué?" ("What?"). |
| 20d | Affair /giving/ rise to trouble with one lad (7) |
| 22d | Rumour of cut /being/ steep (5) |
| 24d | Depressing experiences uncovered /for/ title-holder (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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