Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29411 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, July 9, 2020 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell)
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Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29411]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Kath | |
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
Today, we catch RayT in a rather benevolent mood.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
| 7a | Some place, not a pharaoh/'s/ empty tomb (8) |
A cenotaph[5] is a monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially one commemorating people who died in a war.
| 9a | Favourite // car working (6) |
Mini[7] is an automobile brand, currently owned by BMW, but originally introduced as a model under the Austin and Morris marques by the now defunct British Motor Corporation (BMC).
| 10a | Charming // sweetheart follows fashion (4) |
"sweetheart " = E
A common cryptic crossword construct is to use the word "sweetheart" to clue the letter 'E', the middle letter (heart) of the word 'swEet'.
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A common cryptic crossword construct is to use the word "sweetheart" to clue the letter 'E', the middle letter (heart) of the word 'swEet'.
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I found it interesting that Kath, in her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, saw cut as a noun meaning a fashion or style (presumably, either a hairdo or a clothing design). I, on the other hand, thought of cut being a verb meaning to fashion with the aid of scissors or a knife.
| 11a | Provoke // former top judge about British (10) |
| 12a | Nice young man? (6) |
Nice[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy.
The French word for 'boy' is garçon[8].
| 14a | Suspect bilge, lie /is/ appropriate (8) |
| 15a | Singers /producing/ notes for the audience (6) |
Tenner[5] is an informal British name for a ten-pound note.
| 17a | Went off // embarrassed having eaten too much (6) |
| 20a | Mysterious // sailor's right about end of albatross (8) |
"sailor " = AB [able seaman]
In the Royal Navy, according to Lexico (Oxford Dictionary of English), able seaman[5] (abbreviation AB[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman[10] (also called) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.
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In the Royal Navy, according to Lexico (Oxford Dictionary of English), able seaman[5] (abbreviation AB[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman[10] (also called) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.
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| 22a | Rules // lines scratching head (6) |
| 23a | Government // staff get old chaps tense (10) |
"chaps " = MEN
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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| 24a | Initially type of noise emitting // air (4) |
Air[5] is used in the sense of an impression of a quality or manner given by someone or something ⇒
she answered with a faint air of boredom.
Tone[10] is used in the sense of general aspect, quality, or style ⇒
I didn't like the tone of his speech.
I have no idea why Kath has chosen to mark the entire clue as the definition in her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.
| 25a | Temperature on flat // earth? (6) |
| 26a | Flash traveller touring Spain // as well (8) |
"flash " = MO
Mo[5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal term* for a short period of time ⇒
* Identified by several British dictionaries as being a British[5][14], chiefly British[2][4], or mainly British[10] term. However, one British[1] and two US dictionaries[11][12] do not specify that it is British. This meaning of the word "mo" is not found in a third US dictionary[3].
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Mo[5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal term* for a short period of time ⇒
hang on a mo!.
* Identified by several British dictionaries as being a British[5][14], chiefly British[2][4], or mainly British[10] term. However, one British[1] and two US dictionaries[11][12] do not specify that it is British. This meaning of the word "mo" is not found in a third US dictionary[3].
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Down
| 1d | Short // blow holding instrument upside down (8) |
| 2d | Tree trunk /found in/ vessel, reportedly (4) |
| 3d | Swear in turn emptying // pub (6) |
| 4d | This compiler's tame current work /generates/ complaint (8) |
"this compiler's " = IM
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. 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 "this compiler" with the verb "to be"* producing "this compiler's" (a contraction of "this compiler is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").
* Although in the surface reading "this compiler's" is showing possession, in the wordplay it is interpreted as a contraction of "this compiler 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. 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 "this compiler" with the verb "to be"* producing "this compiler's" (a contraction of "this compiler is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").
* Although in the surface reading "this compiler's" is showing possession, in the wordplay it is interpreted as a contraction of "this compiler is".
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| 5d | Legless // one on a bender it turned out (10) |
Legless[5] is an informal British term meaning extremely drunk ⇒
he was legless after his booze-up at a nightclub.
| 6d | /It's/ human // right to take time (6) |
To enhance the surface reading, the setter has contorted the clue so as to place what amounts to a link word at the beginning.
| 8d | Topless American playhouse // which gets you hot? (6) |
Theater[5] is the US spelling of theatre.
| 13d | Criminal's character acquiring new // force (10) |
| 16d | Check in path /for/ game (8) |
Let[5,10] (verb) is an archaic term* meaning (as a verb) hinder ⇒
pray you let us not; we fain would greet our motheror (as a noun) an impediment or obstruction.
* Today, this meaning of the word survives in the phrase without let or hindrance[5], a formal term meaning without obstruction or impediment ⇒
rats scurried about the house without let or hindrance. This sense of the word is also found in racket sports, where a let[5] is a circumstance under which a service is nullified and has to be taken again because the ball or one of the players has been obstructed, especially (in tennis) when the ball clips the top of the net and falls within bounds ⇒
he was obstructed and asked for a let.
It is curious that a term that once meant to hinder now means to allow.
| 18d | Performance outside called // insane (8) |
| 19d | Concerned with judge /giving/ discharge (6) |
Redeem[5] is used in the sense of to fulfil or carry out (a pledge or promise) ⇒
150 years is too long to wait for promises to be redeemed and a bond of trust to be honoured.
| 21d | Hotel California performer following Black // Dog (6) |
"Hotel California"[7], the title track from the Eagles' album of the same name, was released as a single in February 1977.
Scratching the Surface
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| Is "Black Dog" a song or a band? I thought from the wording of the clue that it might more likely be a band. However, others seem to feel it is a song (and I concur that the song may well be better known than the band — at least among those who one tends to find in the cryptic crossword community). "Black Dog"[7] is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, the opening track on their fourth album (1971). The Black Dog[7] is a British electronic music group, founded in 1989 considered to be one of the pioneering groups which came to define the UK techno movement in the early 1990s. |
| 22d | Protest // over university attempt to welcome Conservative (6) |
"Conservative " = C [member of British political party]
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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| 24d | Nymph finally embraced by hill // god (4) |
"hill " = TOR
A tor[7] is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.
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A tor[7] is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.
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In Scandinavian mythology, Thor[5], the son of Odin and Freya (Frigga), is the god of thunder, the weather, agriculture, and the home. Thursday is named after him.
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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