Puzzle at a Glance
| |
|---|---|
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29331 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, April 7, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29331]
| |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Mr K | |
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
| |
Introduction
I thought this puzzle provided a good mental workout — difficult enough to to test one's mental faculties without being a severely grueling exercise.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 | Builds // decrepit cars in Spain? Just the opposite (7) |
The phrase "just the opposite" tells the solver to reverse the logic or meaning of the statement immediately preceding it. Doing so leads one to reinterpret the wordplay to read "Spain in decrepit cars".
| 5a | Rich, that woman's // relatives (7) |
| 9a | Student scoffed right // after that (5) |
"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.
hide
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.
 |
| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
hide
| 10a | Jumbo perhaps // moved ear over tree (9) |
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.
Aeroplane is the British spelling of airplane[5].
| 11a | Draw // bat without black grip (10) |
| 12a | Parliament // advice? It's regularly ignored (4) |
Diet[2] is is the name of the legislative assembly of certain countries, e.g. Japan.
| 14a | Neither vessel at sea avoiding current, // despite everything (12) |
| 18a | So, // Conservative only quietens rebels after one leaves (12) |
"Conservative " = C [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.
hide
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.
hide
| 21a | Drug-taker/'s/ ploy -- run to the back (4) |
"run " = R [cricket notation]
| 22a | RAF accepts new // rocket? (10) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| RAF is the abbreviation for Royal Air Force[5], the British air force, formed in 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (founded 1912) and the Royal Naval Air Service (founded 1914). |
| 25a | Negotiate // to bury editor in church (9) |
"church " = CE [Church of England]
The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
hide
The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
hide
| 26a | Blackbeard maybe wanting head // hacked off (5) |
Blackbeard[10] was the nickname of Edward Teach[10] (died 1718), an English pirate active in the West Indies and on the Atlantic coast of North America.
Hacked off[10] is an informal term meaning annoyed or irritated ⇒
I'm really hacked off with you people!.
| 27a | Most gloomy // shoot -- describing Ken Loach film (7) |
Ken Loach[7] is an English filmmaker. His film Kes (1969) was voted the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute.
| 28a | After half a day, openers /can be/ animals (7) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| In cricket, an opener[2] is either of the two* batsmen who begin the batting for their team. * in cricket, batsmen always bat in pairs And, yes, I believe it is not unusual for a batsman to be batting for more than half a day. After all, a match can last up to five days. |
Down
| 1d | Caught unfortunately hugging large // soprano (6) |
"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).
hide
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).
hide
Maria Callas[5] (1923–1977) was an American-born operatic soprano, of Greek parentage; born Maria Cecilia Anna Kalageropoulos. She was a coloratura soprano whose bel canto style of singing was especially suited to 19th-century Italian opera.
| 2d | Car /from/ European country (6) |
"European " = E [as in E number]
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
hide
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
hide
In the UK, estate[5] is short for estate car[5], the British name for a station wagon[5].
| 3d | Temperature on earth changing and last of life, in conclusion, /is/ endangered (10) |
| 4d | Begin // second pastry (5) |
| 5d | Out of one's mind? (9) |
| 6d | Upset by setter's first // clues (4) |
| 7d | Looked at // assessment and longed to leave quietly (8) |
| 8d | Small baby, on paper, /is/ most cute (8) |
Paper[5] is used in a British sense meaning a set of examination questions to be answered at one session ⇒
we had to sit a three-hour paper.
| 13d | Runs ballot, taking on board female/'s/ opinion (10) |
In today's cricket match, a single run was scored at 21a and here multiple runs are scored — but the abbreviation on the scorecard remains the same whether it denotes one or more.
| 15d | Boris Johnson imprisoned by Queen -- it altered // things (9) |
Boris Johnson[5] is a British Conservative statesman, prime minister of the United Kingdom since 2019.
| 16d | House could be this // busy (8) |
| 17d | One who designs // endless list (8) |
| 19d | Take care of // silver in bushy head of hair (6) |
| 20d | So -- losing old lock /generates/ anxiety (6) |
"old " = O [linguistics]
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.
hide
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
OFr[Old French]; (ii)
OE[Old English].
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.
hide
| 23d | Best // 1500m runner preserves energy (5) |
Steve Cram[7] is a retired British track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s.
| 24d | Bittern evidently eating // another bird (4) |
Erne[5] is a literary name for the sea eagle[5], a large Eurasian fish-eating eagle that frequents coasts and wetlands.
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| The bittern[5] is a large marshbird of the heron family, which is typically smaller than a heron, with brown streaked plumage. The larger kinds are noted for the deep booming call of the male in the breeding season. |
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.