Puzzle at a Glance
| |
|---|---|
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29310 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, March 13, 2020 | |
Setter
Zandio | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29310]
| |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Deep Threat | |
BD rating
| |
| Difficulty - ★★ | Enjoyment - ★★★ |
Falcon's experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ | |
|
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
| |
|
Notes
| |
In a comment left on Big Dave's Crossword Blog of April 10, 2020, the setter, Zandio, acknowledged being the setter of this puzzle. | |
Introduction
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat awards this puzzle a mere two stars for difficulty. Well, I found it far more difficult than that and, in fact, did not think that I was going to finish unaided. After working at it off and on over the course of two days, I seemed to have hit a brick wall with about one third of the puzzle unsolved. However, when I picked it up on the morning of the third day, the missing clues almost magically fell into place.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 | |
|
|
| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | Measure // period covered by recent broadcast (10) |
| 6a | Casually grand, /that's/ you! (4) |
| 9a | Darned // watch includes week and day (5) |
| 10a | Put off // work, upset by papa coming in smashed (9) |
"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 ⇒
hide
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.
hide
"Papa " = P [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Papa[5] is a code word representing the letter P.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, Papa[5] is a code word representing the letter P.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
hide
| 12a | Parking delayed Parisian at the // top of the hill? (7) |
"Parisian at the ) " = AU
| 13a | Go over // chapter by nonsensical writer (5) |
Edward Lear[5] (1812–88) was an English humorist and illustrator. He wrote A Book of Nonsense (1845) and Laughable Lyrics (1877). He also published illustrations of birds and of his travels around the Mediterranean.
What did he say?
| |
|---|---|
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat writesCheltenham Racecourse, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing*.‘Go over’ as the horses at Cheltenham attempt to do with the fences. * National Hunt racing[7] is the official name given to that form of the sport of horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland in which the horses are required to jump fences and ditches. |
| 15a | Brings in // drink, singular -- the setter's first (7) |
"the setter's " = IM
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
Today, the the creator of the puzzle has made the scenario more complicated by combining "the setter" with the verb "to be"* producing "the setter's" (a contraction of "the setter is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").
* Although in the surface reading "the setter's" is showing possession, in the wordplay it is interpreted as a contraction of "the setter is".
hide
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
Today, the the creator of the puzzle has made the scenario more complicated by combining "the setter" with the verb "to be"* producing "the setter's" (a contraction of "the setter is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").
* Although in the surface reading "the setter's" is showing possession, in the wordplay it is interpreted as a contraction of "the setter is".
hide
| 17a | Military forces /from/ Germany and Spain cross swords (7) |
| 19a | After travelling, a driver did it? (7) |
The entire clue is a more or less cryptic definition in which the wordplay is embedded.
| 21a | Bill/'s/ memoir? (7) |
| 22a | Something from river put in ring? (5) |
Similar to 19a, the entire clue is a definition in which the wordplay is embedded. However, I do consider the definition here to be more precise than cryptic.
Something from river ...?
| |
|---|---|
| Pearls come from oysters which live in the ocean, right? Not necessarily. Freshwater and saltwater pearls[7] may sometimes look quite similar, but they come from different sources. Freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. Saltwater pearls grow within pearl oysters which live in oceans. |
| 24a | Mark/'s/ secure attic she entered occasionally (7) |
| 27a | Entering // confession (9) |
| 28a | Liable to drizzle // in amongst bit of sunshine? (5) |
| 29a | One could be right -- it's fifty-fifty (4) |
I initially entered HAND into the grid. Needless to say, this really impeded efforts to solve 14d and 23d.
| 30a | Recalled // to be given a new appendage? (10) |
The latter part of the clue is a whimsical reimaging of the meaning of the solution. After all, if 'rearmed' means to be given a new arm (weapon), then wouldn't it logically follow that 'remembered' must mean to be given a new member (appendage).
Down
| 1d | Players // thrown out (4) |
| 2d | Snapper we employed producing this? (9) |
This is another clue in the vein of 19a and 22a where the entire clue is, if not a cryptic definition, then at least an obscure definition in which the wordplay is embedded.
I will admit that I did not initially see it as such. However, after seeing that Deep Threat had declared it to be an all-in-one clue in his review, I had to reconsider my analysis of the clue. It took a while but I think I have figured out the reasoning behind his call.
I presume that snapper[1] is used in the sense of a slang term for a photographer (I can't say if you will find this definition anywhere other than The Chambers Dictionary). Thus the clue seems to allude to a photographer involved in the production of a newspaper. Although a photographer is undeniably a key member of the newspaper staff, the connection between photographer and newspaper is not one that I expect comes readily to mind (it certainly didn't in my case). Editor, journalist, pressman — yes; photographer — no!
| 3d | It's used on radio, as I // state (5) |
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]*, India[5] is a code word representing the letter I.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
| 4d | 2, say? (7) |
This is a different take on an all-in-one clue — a precise definition embedded in a definition by example.
The
numeral "2" is a cross
reference indicator to clue 2d (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
hide
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
The Daily Express[7] is a daily national middle market tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom.
| 5d | Son, given a reminder to trail about, // got free (7) |
| 7d | So, // here's where we may see this hyphen: 'centrally-heated' (5) |
| 8d | Left-wing new university reflected Welsh town // below (10) |
Neath[5] is an industrial town in South Wales on the River Neath.
| 11d | Calm // wide sea (7) |
| 14d | Page inserted in Paradise Lost -- second // goes missing (10) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Paradise Lost[7] is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608 – 1674). |
| 16d | Shocks // rebels (7) |
| 18d | Worse // row follows twisted article that's horrid! (9) |
| 20d | Undeterred by // river, welcoming suggestions to go over (7) |
The Dee[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland and England — not to mention Ireland and Australia — the most prominent being:
- a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
- a river that rises in North Wales and flows into England, past Chester and on into the Irish Sea
| 21d | Settle on // Scottish isle, say, to go climbing (7) |
Arran[5] is an island in the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland.
| 23d | With central heating left off, fortunate /to be/ prepared (5) |
The abbreviation for central heating is c.h.[1] I suspect this may be a term seen in real estate ads in the UK where central heating is not as ubiquitous as it is here in Canada.
| 25d | Beat // broth to liquefy (5) |
| 26d | Kept watch on, /as/ I had to be picked up (4) |
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.