Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29320 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, March 25, 2020 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29320]
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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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Introduction
It may not be Wednesday here, but the puzzle is from the "Wednesday Wizard" Jay (alluding to the day of the week on which his puzzles appear in the UK). Of those who set puzzles for The Daily Telegraph, he is generally acknowledged as producing puzzles at the most consistent level of both difficulty and enjoyment.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 | Such creatures // take food smothered in fruit (5,4) |
| 6a | A university will accept decline /for/ so long (5) |
It would seem that this word of French origin has been formally adopted into the English language; adieu[5] (from French 'goodbye' or 'farewell') is a chiefly literary term that means (as exclamation) goodbye or (as noun) a goodbye ⇒
he whispered a fond adieu.
| 9a | Exclusive // small pen (5) |
Scoop[5] is an informal term denoting a piece of news published by a newspaper or broadcast by a television or radio station in advance of its rivals ⇒
reporters at the city's three tabloid papers usually compete for scoops.
| 10a | Charles Edward must accept one's // punished (9) |
Chas.[5] is an abbreviation for Charles; Ted[7] is a diminutive form of the given names Edmund, Edward, Edwin, Edwina, Thaddeus, Theodora, and Theodore.
| 11a | Effective obstacle // that's quickly broken? (5,7) |
A cryptic definition of something that is broken by going fast. While the 2Kiwis in their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog mark the entire clue as the definition, I think we need only consider the later part to be the definition. In the surface reading, the word "that" serves as a relative pronoun (acting like a conjunction to introduce a clause). However, in the definition we can interpret it as a demonstrative pronoun.
| 14a | Finished drink, /finding/ common ground (7) |
| 16a | Worker on set mostly // looking happy (7) |
"worker " = ANT
The terms "worker" and "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.
A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.
In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.
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The terms "worker" and "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.
A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.
In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.
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Sets such as the one in the clue commonly have knobs and dials.
| 17a | Friends regularly /showing/ sign of embarrassment (3) |
| 18a | I'm off // toast! (7) |
Cheerio[5] is an informal British expression of good wishes on parting; in other words, goodbye ⇒
cheerio, see you on Saturday.
Cheerio[5] is a dated informal British expression of good wishes before drinking ⇒
A big cheerio to Bill, who's not been in the best of health of late.
| 20a | Pay out to cover American // delay (7) |
| 22a | Cash /obtained by/ son -- a full term at work (5,7) |
A small fortune[5] is an informal phrase denoting a large amount of money. I'm at a bit of a loss to justify that equating to cash.
| 26a | Pay for picture, /creating/ an impression (9) |
This impression might be created in soft earth.
| 27a | Identify // delicate material found by back of shop (5) |
| 28a | Tailor /having/ a bit of modesty left (5) |
| 29a | Made notes about // worms (9) |
Down
| 1d | Make a deep cut /in/ good tree (4) |
| 2d | Love affair so begins, finally /finding/ god (4) |
A very well disguised acrostic clue in which we need the final letters of the first four words in the clue rather than the more commonly encountered initial letters. It is especially cunning of the setter to include the word "begins" in the fodder.
In Greek mythology, Eros[5] is the god of love, son of Aphrodite — the equivalent in Roman mythology being Cupid.
| 3d | Labour embraces works /producing/ fertile ground (7) |
"work " = OP [opus] thus (according to the setter) the plural is OPS
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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Reality Check
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| OPS might pass muster in Crosswordland but, in the real world, the plural of the abbreviation for work is opp. (just as the plural of the abbreviation for page is pp.). |
| 4d | Expert turned up in case of poison // nut (5) |
| 5d | Poets supporting strike-breaker /keeping/ weapons here (9) |
The definition is a cryptic — or at least terse — expression of the idea "a place where weapons are kept".
| 6d | Turned out // exhausted after a time (7) |
Turned out[5] is used in the sense of dressed in the manner specified ⇒
she was smartly turned out and as well groomed as always.
| 7d | Sets off // researches forgetting victory in Europe (10) |
VE day[5] (victory in Europe day) is the day (8 May) marking the Allied victory in Europe in 1945.
| 8d | This actor /may be/ unconscious and read (10) |
Read[5] is a British term meaning to study (an academic subject) at a university ⇒ (i)
I’m reading English at Cambridge; (ii)
he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.
| 12d | Agrees to allow // use of chavs in action (10) |
Vouchsafe[5] means to give or grant (something) to (someone) in a gracious or condescending manner ⇒
it is a blessing vouchsafed him by heaven.
Scratching the Surface
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Chav[5] is an informal and derogatory British term for a young person of a type characterized by brash and loutish behaviour (usually with connotations of a low social status) ⇒ I would say it was fairly classless — I encountered posh people and the chavviest of chavs, and everything in between. |
| 13d | Delight oppressing a Conservative // spilling secrets? (10) |
In the wordplay, delight is being used as a verb.
"Conservative " = TORY [member of British political party]
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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| 15d | Advancement /in/ marketing? (9) |
| 19d | Soldiers left part of church /seeing/ deterioration (7) |
"soldiers " = RE [Royal Engineers]
The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
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The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
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An apse[5] is a large semicircular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof and typically at the church's eastern end.
| 21d | Star's cooler patch /on/ a tropical beach? (7) |
A sunspot[10] is any of the dark cool patches, with a diameter of up to several thousand kilometres, that appear on the surface of the sun and last about a week. They occur in approximately 11-year cycles and possess a strong magnetic field.
A sunspot[5] is a place that receives a lot of sunshine.
| 23d | Symbol /of/ bear market's origin (5) |
Scratching the Surface
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| In stock market parlance, a bear market[5]
is a market in which share prices are falling, encouraging selling. |
| 24d | Democrat supporting battle /for/ part of constituency (4) |
"Democrat " = D [member or supporter of US political party]
I suppose if one were to consider the entire city to be the constituency of the mayor, then a ward is part of that constituency.
| 25d | Bits of garden // furniture? (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
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