Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29393 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, June 18, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29393]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Miffypops | |
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
Another puzzle where I needed assistance to solve a couple of eminently solvable clues.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 | Subtle suggestions /in/ what could be seen as rude sonnet (10) |
| 6a | To sleep rough /in/ rubbish? Not right! (4) |
Sleep rough'[5] is a British expression meaning to sleep in uncomfortable conditions, typically out of doors ⇒
he spent the night sleeping rough on the streets.
Doss[5] is an informal British term meaning to sleep in rough accommodation or on an improvised bed ⇒
he dossed down on a friend’s floor.
| 9a | Material // your setter's kept at back of study (5) |
"your setter's " = IM [I'm]
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. Today, the setter adds a little variety by referring to himself as "your setter". To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
Today, the the creator of the puzzle has made the scenario more complicated by combining "your setter" with the verb "to be"* producing "your setter's" (a contraction of "your setter is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").
* Although in the surface reading "your setter's" is a contraction of "your setter has", in the wordplay it is interpreted as "your setter is".
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It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. Today, the setter adds a little variety by referring to himself as "your setter". To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
Today, the the creator of the puzzle has made the scenario more complicated by combining "your setter" with the verb "to be"* producing "your setter's" (a contraction of "your setter is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").
* Although in the surface reading "your setter's" is a contraction of "your setter has", in the wordplay it is interpreted as "your setter is".
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| 10a | Bodily tissue // at a murder looking dreadful (4,5) |
Dura mater[5] is the tough outermost membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord.
| 12a | English fashion set by boy // who has private education? (7) |
Ton[5] denotes fashionable style or distinction ⇒
riches and fame were no guarantee of a ticket—one had to have ton.
Ian[7] is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, corresponding to English/Hebrew John.
An Etonian[5] is a past or present member of Eton College*.
* Eton College[7], often informally referred to simply as Eton, is an English boarding school for boys located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor.
I note the setter has used the term "private education". Actually, Eton is not a "private" school but a "public" school (in the British sense of these terms).
Here and There
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| In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system. In Britain, a public school[2] is a particular category of independent school, namely a secondary school, especially a boarding school, run independently of the state and financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees. Another category of independent school is the private school[2,5] which is a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees. What we in North America would call a public school[2], is known in the UK as a state school[5] or a maintained school*. * In England and Wales, a maintained school[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority. |
| 13a | Indian princess // managed extremes of elegance (5) |
In Asian countries, especially India, a rani[10](or ranee) is a queen or princess; the wife of a rajah.
| 15a | Flying uni flag /could be/ worthwhile (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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Uni[5] is an informal (originally Australian): abbreviation for university ⇒ he planned to go to uni. |
| 17a | Try to get place /in/ athletics event (4,3) |
| 19a | What avoids circumlocution -- // and is needed in tribunal, no end (7) |
| 21a | Time to go to busy places to catch European // criminals (7) |
"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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| 22a | Explosive // container brought around by engineers (5) |
"engineers " = RE [Royal Engineers]
The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
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The Corps of Royal Engineers[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.
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Nitre[5] (US niter), an alternative name for saltpetre[5] (US saltpeter), is a common name for potassium nitrate[5], a white crystalline salt which is used in preserving meat and as a constituent of gunpowder.
| 24a | Label /for/ person who perseveres (7) |
| 27a | Relieved from anxiety, /being/ given a new policy? (9) |
Assurance[5,10] is a British term for insurance, specifically life insurance or, as one British dictionary puts it, insurance providing for certainties such as death as contrasted with fire or theft.
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops provides the following hintI presume that "Pru" is a reference to Prudential plc, a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London (not to be confused with the American company, Prudential Financial, which many of us likely remember as the Prudential Insurance Company of America with its Rock of Gibraltar logo and sponsorship of The Twentieth Century with Walter Cronkite).To be given a new policy by the Pru perhaps – not for a set term but for one’s whole life. Miffypops' reference to not for a set term but for one’s whole lifepresumably alludes to the fact that a term policy is not covering a certainty and therefore is life insurance whereas a whole life policy is covering a certainty and is therefore life assurance. |
| 28a | Change // some controversial terminology (5) |
| 29a | Bit of luggage /for/ instance (4) |
| 30a | Purpose of French band // taking circuitous route (10) |
Purpose[5] is used as a verb in a formal sense meaning to have as one's intention or objective ⇒
God has allowed suffering, even purposed it.
Down
| 1d | Cancel // social gathering of many nations' representatives? (4) |
"social gathering " = 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.
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| 2d | Report of comic hero, // one growing wild? (9) |
The Dandy[7] was a long-running children's comic published in the United Kingdom from 1937 to 2012, at which time it was relaunched as an online comic, The Digital Dandy. The digital relaunch was not successful and the comic folded just six months later.
| 3d | See love -- offered by him? (5) |
The entire clue provides the definition, someone who is seen to offer love — or, more succinctly, a lover. The wordplay is embedded in the definition.
A see[10] is the diocese (show more ) of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral (show more ) or procathedral (show more ) is situated.
A diocese[5] is a district under the pastoral care of a bishop in the Christian Church — or, more precisely, episcopal churches.
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A diocese[5] is a district under the pastoral care of a bishop in the Christian Church — or, more precisely, episcopal churches.
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The pope[7] is the Bishop of Rome. The Holy See[5] (also called the See of Rome) denotes the papacy or the papal court; namely, those associated with the Pope in the government of the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican.
"love " = O [nil score in tennis]
In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).
hide
In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.
Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).
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| 4d | Coppers /in/ out-of-date account (3,4) |
The Bill[5] (or the Old Bill) is an informal British term for the police ⇒
I couldn't hear that much outside but I think its more likely people driving past and dog walkers who often call the old bill and complain.
| 5d | Unsettled wanderers -- we going off /for/ business trips? (7) |
| 7d | Frequently // become more mellow, having lost head (5) |
| 8d | Ten secrets about // what actor may have to go through (6,4) |
| 11d | Engineer // relaxing in Minorca (7) |
Guglielmo Marconi[5] (1874–1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, the founder of radio. In 1912 Marconi produced a continuously oscillating wave, essential for the transmission of sound. He went on to develop short-wave transmission over long distances. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909.
Scratching the Surface
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| Minorca[5] is the most easterly and second largest of the Balearic Islands*. |
| 14d | Gregory is seen to be so // self-centred (10) |
| 16d | Female puts down // plants for decoration maybe (7) |
Post Mortem
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| What can I say? There is absolutely no excuse for failing to solve this clue without help. |
| 18d | TV -- top aria may be rendered /by/ this tenor (9) |
Luciano Pavarotti[5] (1935–2007) was an Italian operatic tenor. He made his debut as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème in 1961 and gained international acclaim and popularity for his bel canto singing.
| 20d | Book // put to one side (7) |
| 21d | Ironed shirt finally sorted out /and/ tested for size? (5,2) |
| 23d | Drops // bombs (5) |
| 25d | Rogue/'s/ central part in place of worship, we hear (5) |
The nave[5] is the central part of a church building, intended to accommodate most of the congregation. In traditional Western churches it is rectangular, separated from the chancel by a step or rail, and from adjacent aisles by pillars.
| 26d | Doctor gets you improving finally -- prescribing this? (4) |
Much like 3d, the entire clue provides the definition in which the wordplay is embedded.
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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