Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29410 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, July 8, 2020 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29410]
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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
The gang on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is split between two camps today — one finding the puzzle "pretty straightforward" and the other "a bit trickier than usual". I'm in the latter camp but I also found the puzzle to be highly enjoyable.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 | Tether put on sheep // in poor condition and likely to collapse (10) |
| 6a | Label attached to head of Socialist // party? (4) |
| 9a | Give prior knowledge /of/ mineral found in agricultural land (7) |
| 10a | Rubbish // bin initially dumped in filling station (7) |
Bin[10,14] (also called dustbin or rubbish* bin) is a British term for a garbage can or trash can.
Although British dictionaries deem these terms to be British, I would think that "rubbish" and "bin" at least are commonly used in Canada. For instance, all my recycling containers are called bins.
Remembrances of Times Past
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| I think it may have been decades since I last heard a gas station being referred to as a filling station. One also does not often hear them being called garages — perhaps because few gas stations (at least, in major cities) still have repair facilities and garages that do repairs often do not sell gas. |
| 12a | Mascot /found in/ cargo hold -- muck all over the place (4,4,5) |
| 14a | Auditor // set out on board ship (8) |
I spent far too long attempting to have the solution start and end with an S [SS for 'steamship'].
| 15a | Mum /may see/ son fast after Italy (6) |
"fast " = LENT
In the Christian Church, Lent[5] is the period preceding Easter, which is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, and so includes forty weekdays [including Saturdays]*.
* This is rather oversimplified as the beginning and end of Lent actually varies among churches. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lent begins on Clean Monday (the Monday preceding Ash Wednesday) and ends on the Friday preceding Palm Sunday (however, fasting continues through Holy Week). In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent ends on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday preceding Good Friday).
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In the Christian Church, Lent[5] is the period preceding Easter, which is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, and so includes forty weekdays [including Saturdays]*.
* This is rather oversimplified as the beginning and end of Lent actually varies among churches. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lent begins on Clean Monday (the Monday preceding Ash Wednesday) and ends on the Friday preceding Palm Sunday (however, fasting continues through Holy Week). In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent ends on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday preceding Good Friday).
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| 17a | Land // on fire (6) |
| 19a | Shame // detective's good with people (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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| 21a | My word // soon set wretch off (5,3,5) |
Stone the crows! (also stone me!)[5] is an informal British exclamation expressing surprise or shock.
| 24a | Line dismissed by travelling salesmen // as a group (2,5) |
| 25a | Good wine // substitute? (7) |
Reserve wine[7] is wine of a higher quality than usual, or a wine that has been aged before being sold, or both. Traditionally, winemakers would reserve some of their best wine rather than sell it immediately, coining the term. However, in regions [such as California*, apparently] where the use is not regulated, the presence of the term "reserve" on a wine label may be nothing but a marketing strategy.
* one California winemaker labels every bottle of one of its wines as "Vintner's Reserve".
Reserve[10,14] is a mainly British term for a member of a team who only plays if a playing member drops out; in other words, a substitute.
| 26a | Long // pastry must be filled with one in the middle (4) |
| 27a | Left as upset about headliner // beginning to question (5,5) |
In the definition, "beginning" is a noun.
Down
| 1d | A great deal /of/ time needed to support flyers (4) |
| 2d | Motorway anger ultimately destroys // illusions (7) |
The M1[7] is a north–south motorway* in England connecting London to Leeds.
* Motorway[2,5] (abbreviation M[5]) is a British, Australian, and New Zealand term for a dual-carriageway road [divided highway] designed for fast-moving traffic, especially one with three lanes per carriageway [direction of travel] and limited access and exit points [controlled access].
| 3d | Deserve halo? He needs to change // completely (4,4,5) |
Post Mortem
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I initially attempted to parse this clue as:
This actually led to a meaningful phrase "HEAD INTO HEELS" which I researched in an effort to see if it might be a British variant of the expression with which I am familiar. Of course, I did not find it. But I have had far more implausible hunches pan out. |
| 4d | Agreed, /and/ suggested company should replace leader (8) |
| 5d | Sense // record must be on since dropping odds (5) |
| 7d | Two items on the afternoon menu /for/ one? (7) |
The solver must replace the pronoun "one" with the article to which it is referring (according to the cryptic reading of the clue); viz., 'an[other] item on the afternoon menu'. The 2Kiwis, in their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, elect to use a different markup but I think both approaches arrive at the same conclusion.
The word "afternoon" tells us that the clue is alluding to the British custom of afternoon tea[2,5,7,10] (or low tea), a light afternoon meal, typically eaten between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm, at which tea, sandwiches, biscuits [British term for cookies or crackers] and cakes are served.
Teacake[5] is a British term for a light yeast-based sweet bun with dried fruit, typically served toasted and buttered.
| 8d | Ill-defined affair /that indicates/ intelligence (4,6) |
This area of the brain is grey in the UK and gray in the US. What is it in Canada? Methinks, that is a grey area*.
| 11d | Children's toys /could see/ Scrooge shrink insanely (7,6) |
| 13d | Success /coming as result of/ complete change? (5,5) |
The phrase a clean sweep[5] can mean either:
- the winning of all of a group of similar or related competitions, events, or matches
- the removal of all unwanted people or things in order to start afresh
| 16d | Picks out // records covering English sailors (8) |
| 18d | Fair on managing boxing // event that's gruelling (4,3) |
The (4,3) numeration given in the clue matches the spelling in The Chambers Dictionary (revered as the "Bible" for The Daily Telegraph puzzles). However, it may well be incorrect.
The Chambers Dictionary defines iron man*[1] as an Australian term for a test of endurance at a surf carnival, comprising swimming, surfing and running events.
* According to Wikipedia (which specifies the spelling as a single word) the sport of Ironman[7] combines the four main disciplines of surf lifesaving into a single race; swimming, board paddling, ski paddling [the surf ski is an 18-foot long kayak] and running.
This is not to be confused with an Ironman Triathlon[7] (where "Ironman" is also a single word), one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run, raced in that order. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
| 20d | Country // song keeping us tense (7) |
An aria[5] is a long accompanied song for a solo voice, typically one in an opera or oratorio.
| 22d | Animal // hospital longing to get answer (5) |
| 23d | Hide /from/ rain (4) |
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)
[15] - CollinsDictionary.com (Penguin Random House LLC/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd )
Signing off for today — Falcon
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