Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29366 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, May 18, 2020 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29366]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Falcon | |
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
Not surprisingly perhaps — although it does not always prove to be the case — this puzzle (which I originally reviewed on Big Dave's Crossword Blog on the Victoria Day weekend) was easier the second time around. Not only that but this time I recognized it as a pangram — something I missed on my first solve.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 | Lots written about large // kingdoms (6) |
| 4a | Let in old boy, very English /in/ old hat (8) |
"old boy " = OB
In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2]) is:
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In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2]) is:
- a former male student of a school or college ?
an old boy of Banbury County School
- a former male member of a sports team or company ?
the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards
‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.
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| 9a | Possibly upright // girl (6) |
Joanna[10] isCockney rhyming slang for 'piano' (which a Cockney would pronounce "pianna").
Cockneys[5,10], the natives of that part of East London known as the East End[5], speak a dialect (also known as cockney) that is characterised by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang.
Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
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Cockneys[5,10], the natives of that part of East London known as the East End[5], speak a dialect (also known as cockney) that is characterised by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang.
Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
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| 10a | Kind and shy, // like some actors are (8) |
Shy[5] is a dated term meaning:
- (noun) an act of flinging or throwing something at a target
- (verb) to fling or throw (something) at a
target ?
he tore the spectacles off and shied them at her
| 11a | Reptile that might not be what it appears to be (9) |
| 13a | Put off, // in crude terms (5) |
| 14a | Saw // only deep space flicks (7,4,2) |
The phrases clap eyes on, lay eyes on and set eyes on[5] are all informal terms for see.
| 17a | Restrictive economic policy? // Believe press (6,7) |
| 21a | Escape // notice entering the day before (5) |
| 23a | Where one may be driven mad? (2,3,4) |
| 24a | Legendary knight/'s/ wife leaving joint in vehicle (8) |
Tram[5] (also tramcar) is a British term for streetcar[5].
In medieval legend, Tristram[5] (also Tristan) is a knight who was the lover of Iseult.
| 25a | Character /in/ form (4-2) |
| 26a | Champion/'s/ card sure to be corrected (8) |
| 27a | Read about brewer's last // stout? (6) |
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.
Scratching the Surface
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| Stout[5] (noun) is a kind of strong, dark beer brewed with roasted malt or barley. |
Down
| 1d | Refuse /to take/ about 100 in plane (6) |
| 2d | A clan have dreadful // downfall in the Cairngorms, perhaps (9) |
The Cairngorms (also Cairngorm Mountains[5]) are a mountain range in northern Scotland.
| 3d | African statesman /and/ staff -- short stay (7) |
Nelson Mandela[5] (1918–2013) was a South African statesman, president
1994–9. (show more )
He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 as an activist for the African National Congress (ANC). Released in 1990, as leader of the ANC he engaged in talks on the introduction of majority rule with President F. W. de Klerk, with whom he shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He became the country's first democratically elected president in 1994.
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He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 as an activist for the African National Congress (ANC). Released in 1990, as leader of the ANC he engaged in talks on the introduction of majority rule with President F. W. de Klerk, with whom he shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He became the country's first democratically elected president in 1994.
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| 5d | After 'Suspicion', // without question (6,5) |
Scratching the Surface
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| While it doesn't appear that 'Suspicion' necessarily refers to any work in particular, there being numerous examples in the fields of literature, music, film and television to choose from, I will offer Suspicion[7], a 1941 romantic psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine based on Francis Iles's novel Before the Fact (1932). For her role, Joan Fontaine won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1941. This is the only Oscar-winning performance in a Hitchcock film. |
| 6d | Regularly co-opt new dean close to busy // time when the public may visit college? (4,3) |
Here and There
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| Open day[5]
is a British term for a day when members of the public may visit a
place or institution to which they do not usually have access. North American term: open house |
| 7d | Order // English knight before a court (5) |
"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.
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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.
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| 8d | Gent heading off with European band/'s/ recording (8) |
"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.
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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.
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| 12d | Former job with university behind // protest? (11) |
| 15d | Cry, /being/ cut gathering fruit (4,1,4) |
| 16d | Catholic // charged, offering no resistance about being imprisoned (8) |
"resistance " = R [symbol used in physics]
| 18d | Lethargy // at home I rate badly (7) |
| 19d | End of stage stage worker // polished (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.
hide
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.
hide
| 20d | Pilot admitting pressure after operation /for/ limp (6) |
Op[5] is an informal term for a surgical operation ?
a minor op.
| 22d | Farewell // to the French about to go west (5) |
"to the French " = AU
Here and There
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Go west[5] is an informal British term meaning to be killed or lost; or to meet with disaster ? £200 million went west in an unprecedented gambling spree. In some circumstances, this expression would seem to be roughly comparable to the informal North American term, go south[5], meaning to fall in value, deteriorate, or fail ? Lazio saw his poll numbers go south almost immediately. |
It would seem that the solution, a 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.
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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