Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29383 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, June 6, 2020 | |
Setter
Messinae (Richard Palmer)
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Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29383 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29383 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Tilsit (Hints)crypticsue (Review) | |
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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Notes
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Being with this puzzle, The Daily Telegraph reinstates the contests associated with its Saturday puzzles (as well as its Sunday puzzles, although these are not carried by the National Post) which had been suspended for two months due to logistical issues created by the COVID-19 situation. As a result, Big Dave's Crossword Blog has returned to its normal practice of posting two entries for the Saturday puzzle — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.
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Introduction
With this puzzle, The Daily Telegraph reinstated the contests associated with its Saturday puzzles that had been suspended for two months and Big Dave's Crossword Blog resumed its practice of publishing two posts related to the Saturday puzzles — hints for selected clues on the date of publication and a full review following the contest closing date.The puzzle was set by Richard Palmer who uses the pseudonym Messinae when he sets Toughie* puzzles in The Daily Telegraph. This is the first time that I recall seeing him identified as a setter of "the back-page cryptic" (so-called because it normally appears on the back-page of The Daily Telegraph unless forced to the inside back-page by advertising).
* The Toughie is a second, more difficult cryptic crossword puzzle published by The Daily Telegraph.
The puzzle contains a Nina (a hidden feature). Examine the letters in the top and bottom rows of the grid and you will find that they spell FIFTEEN SQUARED. Mathematically, fifteen squared (15 x 15) is 225. As the setter explains in Comment # 47 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, this puzzle was his 225th (inside) back-page Telegraph cryptic which is the reason for the Nina. Therefore, we have no doubt seen his work many times without being aware of it.
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
| 8a | Where 11 lives beside American // racetrack? (7) |
The
numeral "11" is a cross
reference indicator pointing to clue 11a (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
hide
Aintree Racecourse[7] is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. The racecourse is best known for annually holding the world-famous Grand National steeplechase.
Delving Deeper
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| The Grand National[5] is an annual
horse race established in 1839, a
steeplechase run over a course of 4 miles 856 yards (about 7,200 metres)
with thirty jumps, at Aintree, Liverpool, England, in late March or early April. The race may be familiar to many as the setting for National Velvet[7], a 1944 film based on the 1935 novel of the same name by British author Enid Bagnold (1889-1981). The film stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp and a young Elizabeth Taylor. |
| 10a | Barrel kept in bar, a // domed building (7) |
| 11a | Primate // called wearing unfashionable article (5-4) |
Orang-utan[2,10] is a variant spelling of orangutan[5], a large mainly solitary anthropoid arboreal ape (the only tree-dwelling great ape) with long shaggy reddish-brown hair, long strong arms, and hooked hands and feet, native to the tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra.
| 12a | Spy/'s/ a decent chap (5) |
"chap " = GENT
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
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Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
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| 13a | Move // period of work (5) |
| 14a | Politician /and/ artist in defamation case (7) |
"artist " = RA
A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.
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A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.
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As a political entity, the Liberal Party[5] is virtually a spent force in the UK (show more ).
The Liberal Party[5] (abbreviation Lib.[5] or L[2])* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats.
However, a small Liberal Party still exists (founded in 1989 by members of the original Liberal Party opposed to its merger with the Social Democratic Party) although it has never held a UK, Scottish or European parliamentary seat, though it has had representation on local councils.[7].
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The Liberal Party[5] (abbreviation Lib.[5] or L[2])* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats.
However, a small Liberal Party still exists (founded in 1989 by members of the original Liberal Party opposed to its merger with the Social Democratic Party) although it has never held a UK, Scottish or European parliamentary seat, though it has had representation on local councils.[7].
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| 17a | Restraining madman is our job, // tangling with menace is not (3,2,5,5) |
| 19a | Somewhere in New Zealand // daughter listened to radio, missing start (7) |
Dunedin[5] is city and port in the South Island, New Zealand, founded in 1848 by Scottish settlers.
| 21a | Hissy fit /as/ drink's knocked back (5) |
Strop[5] is an informal British term for a bad mood or a temper ⇒
Nathalie gets in a strop and makes to leave.
| 24a | Small figure // among clique (5) |
| 26a | Factory worker /achieving/ speed of sound in back street (9) |
Mach[10] (short for Mach number[10] and often not capitalized) is the ratio of the speed of a body in a particular medium to the speed of sound in that medium. Mach number 1 (Mach 1) corresponds to the speed of sound.
| 27a | In the outskirts of Franklin take coffee /and/ squash (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| There doesn't seem to be a community by the name of Franklin[7] in the UK although there are plenty to choose from in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States among other places. |
| 28a | Cyclist's trick -- // excited cry to give false impression (7) |
Down
| 1d | Notable // female, a computer operator mostly (6) |
| 2d | Rampaging so in vain // attack (8) |
| 3d | Put the fear of God into // criminal ring the FBI man arrests (10) |
Fed[5] is an informal US term for a federal agent or official, especially a member of the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] ⇒
I don’t think he has any friends since he ratted to the Feds.
| 4d | Interpret // excuse for delay when one is lost? (9) |
| 5d | High point /as/ stake raised (4) |
Mount Etna[5] is a volcano in eastern Sicily, rising to 3,323 m (10,902 ft). It is the highest and most active volcano in Europe.
| 6d | Finish support heading off /to/ foster care (6) |
Foster[5] is used in the sense of to encourage the development of (something, especially something desirable) ⇒
the teacher's task is to foster learning.
| 7d | Sea creature // behaving badly, one hears, left America (8) |
A nautilus[5] is a cephalopod mollusc with a light external spiral shell and numerous short tentacles around the mouth.
| 9d | Grub // found in peat soil (4) |
| 15d | Bid slacker to work -- // one perhaps reluctant to do so? (10) |
| 16d | Old man eating chicken -- sign that could portend // prodigious events (9) |
| 17d | Causes offence with independent doctor probing // lower regions (8) |
"independent " = I [politician with no party affiliation]
I[1] is the abbreviation for independent, in all likelihood in the sense of a politician with no party affiliation.
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I[1] is the abbreviation for independent, in all likelihood in the sense of a politician with no party affiliation.
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| 18d | /Being/ frailer, I fired // weapon (3,5) |
Due to the nonstandard structure of the clue, the link word "being" is positioned at the being of the clue rather than between the definition and wordplay. If one were to write the clue in a standard definition-link word-wordplay fashion, it would read:
- Weapon /being/ frailer, I fired (3,5)
| 20d | New question about supermarket // exchange (6) |
Asda Stores Ltd.*[7] is a British supermarket chain, headquartered in Leeds, England, that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart.
* Further to yesterday's discussion on the British concept of shops versus stores, Asda locations presumably qualify as stores rather than shops due to their size and range of goods sold.
The Nasdaq Stock Market[7], also known as Nasdaq or NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is ranked second on the list of stock exchanges by market capitalization of shares traded, behind the New York Stock Exchange.
| 22d | Concentrated /and/ played successful snooker shot (6) |
In the first definition, pot[1] is used in the sense of to epitomize or summarize, especially simplistically.
In billiards and snooker, pot[5] means to strike (a ball) into a pocket ⇒
he failed to pot a red at close range.
| 23d | Boat // company in Cornwall etc. (4) |
Cornwall[5] is a county occupying the extreme southwestern peninsula of England.
| 25d | Express disapproval over posh // archbishop (4) |
"posh " = U [upper class]
In Britain, U[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒
The term, an abbreviation of upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).
In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).
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In Britain, U[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒
U manners.
The term, an abbreviation of upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).
In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).
hide
Desmond Tutu[5] is a South African clergyman. As General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (1979–84) he became a leading voice in the struggle against apartheid. He was Archbishop of Cape Town 1986–96. Nobel Peace Prize (1984).
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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