Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29417 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, July 16, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29417]
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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
I completed this puzzle without outside assistance and don't recall it being overly difficult. That experience certainly seems to be at odds with most of the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog where a sizeable number thought many of the clues to be rather strange. I wonder if that is a reflection on how my brain is wired.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 | One mostly horrible meeting one in prison // who doesn't fight? (8) |
| 5a | Duty /of/ sailor if meeting head of fleet (6) |
| 9a | 'A superior and thunderous character,' journalist // wrote (8) |
"superior " = 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).
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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.
| 10a | Vehicle to fondle, // something that can move magically? (6) |
| 11a | Cloth around light /forming/ a sort of decoration (7) |
| 12a | Trick by unwanted surfer endlessly /achieving/ dominance (7) |
A troll[5] is a person who makes a deliberately offensive or provocative online post ⇒
one solution is to make a troll's postings invisible to the rest of community once they've been recognized.
| 13a | Components of clues // one fits in, I'd fancy (11) |
| 16a | Party people // about to meet hosts offering drinks (11) |
Host[2] is an old-fashioned term for an innkeeper or publican [proprietor of a pub].
| 21a | Work involved in transporting // paintings etc. in compartment (7) |
| 22a | Raw // note (7) |
In music, natural[5] (noun) is another name for natural note; that is, a note that is neither sharp nor flat.
| 23a | News incorporates four of these // critical comments (6) |
I see the first part of the clue as a sort of whimsical definition. The solution is what the letters comprising the word "news" are called when they appear on the face of a compass.
| 24a | Funny tales etc. /featured in/ what's seen on the box (8) |
| 25a | Number of US soldiers in retreat /making/ an impression (6) |
"US soldier " = GI
A GI[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒
Origin: Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).
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A GI[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒
she went off with a GI during the war.
Origin: Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).
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Signet[10] is used in the sense of the impression made by a signet[5], a small seal, especially one set in a ring, used instead of or with a signature to give authentication to an official document.
| 26a | Witness // attending examination in front of soldiers (8) |
Down
| 1d | Accusation /that's made by/ 5 (6) |
The
numeral "5" is a cross
reference indicator pointing to clue 5a (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
| 2d | Participants in democracy // strove for change (6) |
| 3d | Man /presenting/ stars with something aromatic (7) |
Leo[5] is a large constellation (the Lion), said to represent the lion slain by Hercules. It contains the bright stars Regulus and Denebola and numerous galaxies.
To Each His Own
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| In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops approaches the wordplay from an astrological point of view versus my astronomical perspective. We are in harmony on his choice of music though. |
Nard[10] is another name for spikenard[10], an an aromatic Indian plant having rose-purple flowers, or an aromatic ointment obtained from this plant.
| 4d | A boss, frequently I'm ending with employee // earlier than expected (5,2,4) |
| 6d | Hostile to // profits made in heartless act (7) |
| 7d | Fashionable character // actually appearing (2,6) |
| 8d | Big record about a // person who has given up hope? (8) |
| 12d | Policy to restrict // men -- no it can't, unexpectedly (11) |
| 14d | Rules for conduct /given/ quiet respect somehow (8) |
| 15d | Celebrate around recreation ground -- /with/ fireworks doing this? (8) |
| 17d | Small animal /or/ insect imbibing fizzy drink (7) |
Asti[7] (formerly known as Asti Spumante)
is a sparkling white Italian wine (show more ).
Asti is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but production is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.
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Asti is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but production is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.
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Beastie[5] is a humorous Scottish term for an insect or other small animal.
| 18d | Offended about article /giving/ words of derision (2,5) |
While other dictionaries show so there[5,10] to be an expression of refusal or defiance, The Chambers Dictionary lists so there[1] as an expression of triumph, defiance, derision, finality, etc.
| 19d | Knight /presents/ English bishop with a set of holy books (6) |
"holy books " = NT [New Testament]
In Crosswordland, "books" — or related terms such as today's "holy books" — is commonly used to clue either the Old Testament (OT) or the New Testament (NT). Today, as is often the case, the clue provides no indication whether the reference is to the former or the latter.
hide
In Crosswordland, "books" — or related terms such as today's "holy books" — is commonly used to clue either the Old Testament (OT) or the New Testament (NT). Today, as is often the case, the clue provides no indication whether the reference is to the former or the latter.
hide
Most dictionaries show errant[2,5,10] to be an adjective meaning wandering in search of adventure with the quintessential example of its use being in the term knight errant. However, alone among the dictionaries that I consulted, The Chambers Dictionary also lists errant[1] as a noun being another name for a knight errant.
| 20d | Top worker // to criticise manager ultimately (6) |
Slate[5] is an informal British term meaning to criticize severely ⇒
his work was slated by the critics.
A slater[5] is a person who slates roofs for a living.
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
The SW corner took awhile and I needed the blog to parse 11a and 3d. Never heard of nard before
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