Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29336 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, April 13, 2020 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29336]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
pommers | |
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
This puzzle was published in The Daily Telegraph on Easter Monday but the Easter Bunny fails to make an appearance. In fact, the wildlife in the puzzle is more appropriate to Christmas than to Easter.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 | Information /given by/ party training (4) |
"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.
hide
| 3a | Band bringing in drinks /for/ floor show? (10) |
| 9a | Genuinely not about // to join forces (4) |
| 10a | Well-meaning // little boy taking rodent into hospital department (10) |
"hospital department " = ENT
| 11a | Pretty young woman // stood up friend (7) |
Rosebud[5] is an archaic term for a pretty young woman.
| 13a | The Parisian, after opera, /finds/ how a model may be (2,5) |
"the Parisian " = LE [French definite article]
Tosca[7] is an opera by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramatic play, La Tosca. It premiered in Rome in 1900.
| 14a | Street performer /in/ holiday resort's beginning to eat rock? (11) |
Here and There
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The British use the word holiday(s) for what North Americans (especially our neighbours south of the border) would call vacation[5]. (read more )
Holiday[5,10] (often holidays) is a chiefly British term for a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation ⇒ (i) I spent my summer holidays on a farm; (ii) Fred was on holiday in Spain. According to British dictionaries, the usual US and Canadian term for such a break is vacation. However, I am accustomed to hearing the two terms used almost interchangeably in this sense — in much the same manner that I would use fall and autumn interchangeably. This may not be the case in all parts of Canada, but I grew up in the Maritimes and have lived in Eastern Ontario for most of my life, both areas where British influence is particularly strong. In Britain, the word vacation[5] has a very specific meaning, a fixed holiday period between terms in universities and law courts ⇒ the Easter vacation. In North America, such a period might be called a break[7]. hide |
| 18a | Play, 'R.U.R.', Pole shot /in/ colour (5,6) |
Royal purple[5] is a rich deep shade of purple.
Scratching the Surface
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| R.U.R.[7] is a 1920 science fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek. R.U.R. stands for Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots) The play introduced the word "robot" to the English language and to science fiction as a whole. |
| 21a | Said about piece // going round (7) |
| 22a | Glib talk by northern // model (7) |
| 23a | Room with it on board // flying saucers, perhaps (10) |
It[5] is used in an informal sense denoting a person or thing that is exceptionally fashionable, popular, or successful at a particular time ⇒
they were Hollywood's It couple.
| 24a | Spots // knight in one (4) |
"knight " = N [chess notation]
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
hide
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
- K[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight.
- K[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king.
- N[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
hide
"one " = ACE
To my mind, the most direct explanation may be that an ace[10] (also called hole in one) is a score of one on a hole in golf.
Although ace[10] can also mean:
hide
To my mind, the most direct explanation may be that an ace[10] (also called hole in one) is a score of one on a hole in golf.
Although ace[10] can also mean:
- any die, domino, or any of four playing cards with one spot
- a single spot or pip on a playing card, die, etc
hide
| 25a | Good-looking and in good health, // more or less (6,4) |
| 26a | Briefly introduce // celebrity (4) |
Down
| 1d | A race supporting Diana/'s/ verbal onslaught (8) |
Without a doubt, Diana (often appearing in its diminutive form Di) is the most popular female name in Crosswordland.
| 2d | Column // ending in landing stage (8) |
| 4d | After little time, study // walk (5) |
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.
| 5d | The very same // Italian turned up in Iceland, shivering (9) |
"Italian " = IT [in reference to either the language or the vermouth]
| 6d | Steal diamonds, maybe, /and/ set of clothes (7,4) |
Trouser[5] is British slang meaning to receive or take (something, especially money) for oneself; in other words, to pocket ⇒
they claimed that he had trousered a £2 million advance.
Trouser suit[5] is the British name for pant suit[2,4,10] (also pantsuit[3,4,5,11] or pants suit[2,3,5,11]), a pair of trousers* and a matching jacket worn by women.
* In Britain, the word pants[5] does not mean trousers as it does in North America. Rather, it refers to underwear — specifically men's undershorts or women's panties. I can only imagine the image conjured up in the British mind by the term pantsuit.
| 7d | Difference in years, // for example, between a girl's first and a chap's last (3,3) |
| 8d | Good opinion /of/ eastern power heard (6) |
Steam[5] is an informal term for power, energy, or speed ⇒
Despite a strong start, I eventually ran out of steam and fell behind.
| 12d | Detective's London address /in/ song (5,6) |
Sherlock Holmes[7] is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930). Beginning in 1881 Holmes has lodgings at 221B Baker Street, London. According to an early story 221B is an apartment at the upper end of the street, up 17 steps.
"Baker Street"[7] is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Released as a single in 1978, it topped or came close to topping the charts in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The arrangement is known for its saxophone riff.
| 15d | In disorder, // lay on spread on Arabian craft (3,3,3) |
A dhow[5] is a lateen-rigged* ship with one or two masts, used chiefly in the Arabian region.
* A lateen[5] is a triangular sail on a long yard at an angle of 45° to the mast.
The phrase any old how[5] denotes In no particular order ⇒
they've dropped things just any old how.
| 16d | Drug reduced -- /that could be/ a blow (8) |
| 17d | Check on what sounds like beloved // forest dweller? (8) |
This clue is a lot more timely now than it was when it appeared in the UK at Easter.
The reindeer[10] is a large deer having large branched antlers in the male and female and inhabiting the arctic regions of Greenland, Europe, and Asia. It also occurs in North America, where it is known as a caribou*.
* I must say that it came as quite a surprise when I first discovered that reindeer and caribou were one and the same animal!
| 19d | Busybody/'s/ energy drink, second inside (6) |
| 20d | British trapped in a lounge // on fire (6) |
| 22d | Student // at college interrupting short nap (5) |
College[5] is used in the sense of any of the independent institutions into which certain universities are separated, each having its own teaching staff, students, and buildings ⇒
the Oxford colleges.
In British English, up[5] means at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ⇒
they were up at Cambridge about the same time.
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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