Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29307 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29307]
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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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Notes
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This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, October 31, 2020 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
As I solved this puzzle using a copy from the Telegraph Puzzles website, I was not impacted by the error in 17a. Those working from the version published in the National Post may find themselves somewhat hindered.I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.
Error in Today's Puzzle
At 17a, the clue published by the National Post repeats an error that appeared in The Daily Telegraph in March by omitting the final "e" from the author's name. The correct clue reads:- 17a Plots in Greene's novel (9)
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 | Animal returned to // Arthur's place? (7) |
In Arturian legend, Camelot[5] is the place where King Arthur held his court.
| 5a | Whistle-blower // concerned with liberal swallowing ecstasy (7) |
"ecstasy " = E [the illicit drug Ecstasy]
E[5] is an abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy* or a tablet of Ecstasy ⇒ (i)
* Ecstasy[5] is an illegal amphetamine-based synthetic drug with euphoric effects, originally produced as an appetite suppressant. Also called MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
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E[5] is an abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy* or a tablet of Ecstasy ⇒ (i)
people have died after taking E; (ii)
being busted with three Es can lead to stiff penalties.
* Ecstasy[5] is an illegal amphetamine-based synthetic drug with euphoric effects, originally produced as an appetite suppressant. Also called MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
hide
| 9a | Artist upset by competitor/'s/ appearance (7) |
"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.
hide
| 10a | Man /comes/ from taverns, smashed (7) |
Man[5] is a dated term for a manservant or valet ⇒
get me a cocktail, my man.
| 11a | Field in which one studies the earth (9) |
| 12a | Vegetable // I put between two legs (5) |
"leg " = ON [cricket term]
In cricket, the leg[5] (also called leg side) is another name for the on[5] (also known as on side), 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 other half of the field is known as the off[5] (also called off side).
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In cricket, the leg[5] (also called leg side) is another name for the on[5] (also known as on side), 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 ⇒
he played a lucky stroke to leg.
The other half of the field is known as the off[5] (also called off side).
hide
| 13a | Flowers // came up with spades (5) |
| 15a | Groan, consumed by obvious // lapse (9) |
| 17a | Plots // in Greene's novel (9) |
Note that the clue published by the National Post repeats an error that appeared in The Daily Telegraph in March by omitting the final "e" from the author's name.
Scratching the Surface
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Graham Greene[5] (1904–1991) was an
English novelist. (show more )
The moral paradoxes he saw in his Roman Catholic faith underlie much of his work. Notable works: Brighton Rock (1938), The Power and the Glory (1940), and The Third Man (written as a screenplay, and filmed in 1949; novel 1950). hide |
| 19a | Back in saddle I yearn // to climb down (5) |
| 22a | Finish // third in race and be defeated (5) |
| 23a | Bribe American with cheap second // homes (9) |
Bung[10] (noun) is British slang for a bribe.
| 25a | Preparing cocoa but heartlessly // leaves (7) |
| 26a | Strength in golf // decreasing? (7) |
Iron[5] is used figuratively as a symbol or type of firmness, strength, or resistance ⇒
her father had a will of iron. I must say that I was not able to find an example in which the words 'strength' and 'iron' could be used interchangeably. In addition to the foregoing usage example, Lexico lists more than twenty others, all of which use the expressions "iron grip" or "strength of iron".
"golf " = G [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Golf[5] is a code word representing the letter G.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
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In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Golf[5] is a code word representing the letter G.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
Decreasing is used in a whimsical cryptic crossword sense meaning to remove the creases from (something).
| 27a | Regularly tenses head after doctor // put a bandage on (7) |
| 28a | Celebrities, // for example, restricted by loans (7) |
Down
| 1d | Golfer with clubs first to make mistake (7) |
Bernhard Langer[7] is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Clanger[5] is an informal British term for an absurd or embarrassing blunder ⇒
the minister had dropped a massive political clanger*.
* To drop a clanger[10] means to make a very embarrassing mistake.
| 2d | Reddish colour on small // leaves on an island (7) |
| 3d | One finishing school perhaps not a // crank (5) |
A leaver[2] is someone who leaves. In particular, a school-leaver[2] is a young person leaving school because they have completed the course of education.
| 4d | Call // doctor then elope (9) |
| 5d | Copper // dependable? Not at first (5) |
Copper[10,14] is used as an adjective describing the reddish-brown colour of copper ⇒
His hair has reverted back to its original copper hue.
Rusty[10,14] is used as an adjective describing the reddish-brown colour of rust ⇒
Her hair was rusty brown.
| 6d | Your flu is developing // in a violent manner (9) |
| 7d | Wading through // town (7) |
Reading[5] is a town in Berkshire, southern England, on the River Kennet near its junction with the Thames.
| 8d | Dead // drunk, texting endlessly about Charlie (7) |
"Charlie " = C [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Charlie[5] is a code word representing the letter C.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Charlie[5] is a code word representing the letter C.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
| 14d | Nick spells // strings of words? (9) |
The nick[5] is an informal British term for prison ⇒
he’ll end up in the nick for the rest of his life.
| 16d | German city starts to treat immigrants as legally // required (9) |
Essen[5] is an industrial city in the Ruhr valley, in northwestern Germany.
| 17d | Impassioned // former lover advanced (7) |
| 18d | Excellent run /produces/ cheers (7) |
In cricket, a bye[5] is a run scored from a ball that passes the batsman without being hit (recorded as an extra, not credited to the individual batsman).
Cheers[5] is an informal British expression of good wishes on parting or ending a conversation ⇒
Cheers, Jack, see you later
| 20d | Joy, maybe, /from/ Beethoven's second movement (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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Ludwig van Beethoven[5] (1770–1827) was a German composer. (show more )
Despite increasing deafness Beethoven was responsible for a prodigious output: nine symphonies, thirty-two piano sonatas, sixteen string quartets, the opera Fidelio (1814), and the Mass in D (the Missa Solemnis, 1823). In his Ninth Symphony (1824) he broke with precedent in the finale by introducing voices to sing Schiller's Ode to Joy. He is often seen as bridging the classical and romantic movements. hide |
| 21d | Wise men after party /getting/ quantities of medicine (7) |
"party " = DO
Do[5,12] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[12] term* for a party or other social event ⇒
* Although Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12] supports the contention by Oxford Dictionaries Online[5] that this usage is British, two other US dictionaries do not characterize do[3,11] used in this sense as a British term.
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Do[5,12] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[12] term* for a party or other social event ⇒
the soccer club Christmas do.
* Although Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12] supports the contention by Oxford Dictionaries Online[5] that this usage is British, two other US dictionaries do not characterize do[3,11] used in this sense as a British term.
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| 23d | Wide // thoroughfare south of Belgium (5) |
| 24d | By the side of // a pine (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
When I first read the clue, I thought, "Hmm..Graham or Henry?" Checking letters soon solved the mystery. Henry, the two-e Green, is not much read nowadays, but if you enjoy British novels, he's worth a try.
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