Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29374 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29374]
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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
Every chess piece, save one, is present in today's puzzle. There are also appearances by a few other chess terms (10a, 25a, and the latter half of 9a). There is some speculation in the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog concerning the fate of the missing chessman.There are also a number of comments alluding to a political scandal that was rocking Britain at the time. One writer compares his difficulty in solving the puzzle to "floundering like a Conservative adviser". Several others express the view that the press and politicians should be turning their attention to more pressing matters. The Dominic Cummings scandal[7], or the Dominic Cummings affair, is a political story involving the British political strategist Dominic Cummings (a senior adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the "DC" referred to in comments on Big Dave's site), during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. It refers specifically to a journey that Cummings made from London to County Durham (specifically to the town of Barnard Castle) after the start of a national lockdown, a journey that many saw to be in violation of restrictions on movement imposed by the government to whom he was an advisor. Despite two other senior government officials having resigned for similar transgressions, he refused to resign and the government supported him in that refusal. The crisis saw a sharp fall in support for the Conservatives and rise in support for the Labour Party, with, according to one poll, the gap between the two parties shrinking by nine percentage points.
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 | Vacant blonde on the way /will be/ attractive (8) |
| 5a | People who work in prison /may be/ cheats (6) |
Screw[5] is a prisoner's derogatory informal term for a prison guard or warden ⇒
The abiding impression left by the book is the way the prison system reduces prisoners and screws to animals.
| 9a | Person with whom to arrange meals out? (4,4) |
This is an "all-in-one" clue in which the definition is provided by the entire clue in which the wordplay is embedded.
Part of the Theme?
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| In chess, mate[5] is short for checkmate (as either a noun or a verb). As a noun, checkmate[5] denotes a position in which a player's king is directly attacked by an opponent's piece or pawn and has no possible move to escape the check. The attacking player thus wins the game. As verb, checkmate[5] means to put one's opponent into checkmate. |
| 10a | Willing to finish early and scrap // tactical play (6) |
A gambit[5] is an opening move in the game of chess in which a player makes a sacrifice, typically of a pawn, for the sake of a compensating advantage ⇒
he tried the dubious Budapest gambit.
| 12a | Worker /sees/ nothing for each musical rejected (9) |
Evita[7]
is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.
It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón [known familiarly as Evita],
the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows her early
life, rise to power, charity work, and eventual death. (show more )
Evita began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London's West End in 1978, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and on Broadway a year later, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical.
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Evita began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London's West End in 1978, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and on Broadway a year later, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical.
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Here and There?
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An operative[1,2,3,4,5,10,11,12,14] is a worker, especially one with a special skill employed in a manufacturing industry* ⇒ the operatives clean the machines at the end of every shift. * This meaning, despite appearing in every dictionary on my virtual bookshelf (both British and US), is one with which I was not familiar before encountering it in a previous puzzle. From a British perspective, operative[5] meaning a secret agent or private detective is a North American usage. |
| 13a | Hands should accept northern // men on board (5) |
| 14a | A flyer/'s/ fleece (4) |
| 16a | Father had // put on a serious face (7) |
| 19a | Understanding // boundaries of Italian tourist attraction (7) |
| 21a | Royal // family gathering at last (4) |
A royal[5] is a member of the royal family ⇒
the royals are coming under the TV microscope.
| 24a | Mosque encouraged to welcome // head of state (5) |
| 25a | Medicinal preparation covering most of Italy's capital /gets/ publicity (9) |
Part of the Theme?
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| When a pawn advances to the eighth rank, as a part of the move it is promoted (undergoes promotion[7]) and must be exchanged for the player's choice of queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. Usually, the pawn is chosen to be promoted to a queen, but in some cases, another piece is chosen; this is called underpromotion. |
| 27a | Maintain // insurance is essentially pointless (6) |
The abbreviation ins.[2] can stand for insurance.
| 28a | Straining to accept husband // moving (8) |
| 29a | Long angry speech /from/ one in business (6) |
| 30a | Poor wit needs cheerful // period of decline (8) |
Down
| 1d | Confer /and/ trounce old women (6) |
"old " = O
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.
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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.
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The abbreviation W[2] for women might be seen on the door to the ladies' room.
| 2d | Reasons /may see/ politician abandoning universities (6) |
"politician " = MP
In Britain (as in Canada), a politician elected to the House of Commons is known as a Member of Parliament[10] (abbreviation MP[5]) or, informally, as a member[5].
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In Britain (as in Canada), a politician elected to the House of Commons is known as a Member of Parliament[10] (abbreviation MP[5]) or, informally, as a member[5].
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| 3d | Snake // dance from Brazil with a different beginning (5) |
The samba[5] is a Brazilian dance of African origin.
The mamba[5] is a large, agile, highly venomous African snake.
| 4d | Criticise // choice under fool (7) |
Nit[5,10] (short for nitwit) is an informal British term for a foolish person ⇒
you stupid nit!.
| 6d | Suppressive measure /from/ buffoon imprisoning a politician (Democrat) (9) |
This is the same politician who abandoned the universities only three clues ago.
"Democrat " = D [member or supporter of US political party]
Scratching the Surface
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| Does this clue not rekindle memories of a certain former US president leading chants of "Lock her up!" at campaign rallies prior to the election in 2016? |
| 7d | Pushing // criminal, begin low (8) |
| 8d | Reserve // place for pier around the fourth of September (3,5) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Brits would seem to have a particular affinity for piers as tourist destinations. Pleasure piers[7] were first built in Britain during the early 19th century with the earliest structure being the Ryde Pier on the Isle of Wight, opened in 1814. At that time the introduction of the railways for the first time permitted mass tourism to dedicated seaside resorts. The large tidal ranges at many such resorts meant that for much of the day, the sea was not visible from dry land. The pleasure pier was the resorts' answer, permitting holidaymakers to promenade over and alongside the sea at all times. Providing a walkway out to sea, pleasure piers often include amusements and theatres as part of the attraction. The world's longest pleasure pier is at Southend-on-sea, Essex, and extends 1.3 miles (2.1 km) into the Thames estuary. Following the building of the world's first seaside pier at Ryde, the pier became fashionable at seaside resorts in England and Wales during the Victorian era, peaking in the 1860s with 22 being built in that decade. A symbol of the typical British seaside holiday, by 1914, more than 100 pleasure piers were located around the UK coast. In a 2006 UK poll, the public voted the seaside pier onto the list of icons of England. |
| 11d | Complaint /from/ Belgium on raised charge (4) |
| 15d | Put up some guides in a group /as/ arranged (9) |
| 17d | Detectives finding drug during leave // worry (8) |
"detective " = DI [detective inspector]
A detective inspector (abbrevation DI[5]) is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
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A detective inspector (abbrevation DI[5]) is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
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"drug " = 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).
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| 18d | One who examines // classes so rigidly boxed (8) |
| 20d | Beats // view from the south (4) |
| 21d | Expertise // lacking for the audience in what way? (7) |
| 22d | I confess, supporting Republican // revolution (6) |
"Republican " = R [member or supporter of US political party]
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.
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A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.
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| 23d | End of break -- almost time /for/ a piece by 14 (6) |
The
numeral "14" is a cross
reference indicator pointing to clue 14a (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
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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
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A piece[5] is a figure or token used to make moves in a board game ⇒
a chess piece.
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 [each positioned immediately adjacent to a rook].
| 26d | Refuse, /as/ not working on a line (5) |
Offal[5] is the entrails and internal organs of an animal used as food.
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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