Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29449 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, August 22, 2020 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29449 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29449 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Tilsit (Hints)gnomethang (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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As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — 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
I thought some of the wordplay in this puzzle was pretty tricky with a prime example being 20d, my last one in. Even after identifying the Greek hero, it took a while for the wordplay to dawn.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 | Steal in the ears // as Dalek's voice? (7) |
The Daleks[5] are a race of hostile alien machine-organisms which appear in the BBC television science fiction series Doctor Who.
| 5a | City /needs/ a good hospital -- 500 coming in sick (7) |
Baghdad[5]
is the capital of Iraq, on the River Tigris. (show more )
A thriving city under the Abbasid caliphs in the 8th and 9th centuries, it was taken by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman in 1534 and remained under Ottoman rule until the First World War. In 1920 it became the capital of the newly created state of Iraq.
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A thriving city under the Abbasid caliphs in the 8th and 9th centuries, it was taken by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman in 1534 and remained under Ottoman rule until the First World War. In 1920 it became the capital of the newly created state of Iraq.
hide
| 9a | Eire faces uneasy // truce (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Éire[5] is the Gaelic name for Ireland and was the official name of the Republic of Ireland from 1937 to 1949. |
| 10a | Cardinal /in/ south quits (5) |
Quits[5] is an adjective meaning (of two people) on even terms, especially because a debt or score has been settled ⇒
I think we’re just about quits now, don’t you?.
Evens[1] (adjective or adverb) means quits [in the sense of 'on even terms'].
Cardinal[2,3,4,10,11] is another term for cardinal number.
| 11a | Divert attention from // London-bound coach? (7) |
In the wordplay, up[5] is used in the sense of towards or in the capital or a major city ⇒
give me a ring when you're up in London.
| 12a | Greek // victor going inside roasts nuts (7) |
Stavros[7] is a Greek masculine given name as well as a surname.
| 13a | Writing after interval, // news can be so old (5-4) |
Hand[5] denotes a person's handwriting ⇒
he inscribed the statement in a bold hand.
In music, a third[5] is an interval spanning three consecutive notes in a diatonic scale, e.g. C to E (major third, equal to two tones) or A to C (minor third, equal to a tone and a semitone) ⇒
Musically, he used three or four short notes followed by upward-reaching intervals, usually minor thirds or fourths.
| 16a | Dramatic device /from/ smooth Yankee (5) |
| 17a | Former potentate at last /getting/ stick (5) |
Scratching the Surface
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In the surface reading, I believe stick[5] may be used in an informal British sense denoting severe criticism or treatment ⇒ I took a lot of stick from the press. |
| 18a | Martial arts student, // inexperienced, given punch (5,4) |
In judo, karate, or other martial arts, a green belt[5] is a person qualified to wear a green belt which denotes a level of proficiency below that of a brown belt.
| 21a | Mister // Solo animated after a little hesitation (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| There is no compelling evidence that "Mister Solo" is anything other than the invention of the setter. The fictional characters Han Solo[7] (from Star Wars) and Napoleon Solo[7] (from Man from U.N.C.L.E.) do come to mind but I am not aware that either is customarily referred to as Mister Solo. Mr Solo does happen to be one of a multitude of pseudonyms of (obscure) English artist Mikey Georgeson[7] — but, surely, that is a leap too far. |
| 22a | Think // pigmies occasionally must conceal a trap (7) |
A gin[2] (also gin trap) is a wire noose laid as a snare or trap for catching game.
| 25a | Work period /for/ Peter Grimes? (5) |
"work " = OP [opus]
In music, an opus[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.
The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..
Opus[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒
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In music, an opus[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.
The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..
Opus[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒
he was writing an opus on Mexico.
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Peter Grimes[7] is an opera by English composer Benjamin Britten (1913–1976).
| 26a | Olympian // collapsed in pit -- oh dear! (9) |
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite[5] is the goddess of beauty, fertility, and sexual love. She is variously described as the daughter of Zeus and Dione, or as being born from the sea. Her equivalent in Roman mythology is Venus.
| 27a | Job description /from/ one in surgery? (7) |
In the Bible, Job[5] was a man whose patience and piety were tried by undeserved misfortunes. However, in spite of his bitter lamentations, he remained confident in the goodness and justice of God. His name has come to epitomise patience ⇒
In dealing with this series of difficult circumstances, she displayed the patience of Job.
Surgery[5] is the British term* for a place where a doctor, dentist, or other medical practitioner treats or advises patients.
* North American term: doctor's office
| 28a | Something very irritating /in/ opening chatter (4,3) |
Down
| 1d | Check votes again /in/ detail (7) |
Detail[5] is used as a verb meaning to give full information about (something).
| 2d | Supporters start to save // money (5) |
Brass[5] is an informal British term for money ⇒
they wanted to spend their newly acquired brass.
| 3d | Article cheers // European character (5) |
Cheers[5] is an informal British expression of gratitude or acknowledgement for something ⇒
Billy tossed him the key. ‘Cheers, pal.’.
Ta[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒
‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.
Theta[5] is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet (Θ, θ).
| 4d | Wild idea // to correspond with artist (7) |
The phrasal verb chime with (someone or something)[5] is a British expression meaning to be in harmony or agreement with (someone or something) ⇒
his poem chimes with our modern experience of loss.
A chimera[5] (also chimaera) is a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve ⇒
the economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera.
Origin: In Greek mythology, the Chimera[5] was a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
| 5d | Actor Brian // shed blood around ship (7) |
I'm afraid the parsing shown by gnomethang in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is slightly off the mark. The verb "shed" can be present tense as well as past tense — and, in this clue, it is the former. Thus, the wordplay is "BLEED (shed blood) around SS for ship".
Brian Blessed[7] is an English actor, writer and television presenter [host]. Among his credits are appearances on television in Blackadder, on stage in the original London production of Cats and in film in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
| 6d | Development // in East got rebuilt (9) |
| 7d | Port only /provides/ fish (5,4) |
Dover[5] is a ferry port in Kent, England, on the coast of the English Channel. It is mainland Britain’s nearest point to the Continent, being only 35 km (22 miles) from Calais, France.
Dover sole[5] is the name of two flatfishes which are highly valued as food. One is a true sole (Solea solea) that is common in European waters. In North America, another fish (Microstomus pacificus) also goes by this name. A relative of the lemon sole, it is found in the East Pacific.
| 8d | Extremely dirty and repulsive // house (7) |
House[5] is used in the sense of a noble, royal, or wealthy family or lineage; in other words, a dynasty ⇒
the power and prestige of the House of Stewart.
| 14d | One sten gun shot /bags/ resistance rebel (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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| A Sten gun[5] is a type of British lightweight sub-machine gun. |
| 15d | Velocity rising with single step /in/ void (4,5) |
| 17d | Aesop mixed up // thick broth (3,4) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Aesop[5,10] (?620–564 BC) was a Greek storyteller who authored fables in which animals are given human characters and used to satirize human failings. The moral animal fables associated with him were probably collected from many sources, and initially communicated orally. Aesop is said to have lived as a slave on the island of Samos. |
| 18d | Brave man // to vex six-footer? (7) |
"six-footer " = ANT
| 19d | Soubriquet/’s/ essence in letter written up (7) |
| 20d | Greek hero /recognised in/ Florida and Georgia? (7) |
While Florida and Georgia constitute a substantial portion of "THE SE US" and are arguably the most southeasterly states, the region commonly thought of as the American Southeast[7] also encompasses at least Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina — and, by some definitions, even more states.
In Greek mythology, Theseus[5] is the legendary hero of Athens, son of Poseidon (or, in another account, of Aegeus, king of Athens) and husband of Phaedra. He slew the Cretan Minotaur with the help of Ariadne.
| 23d | Subtle charm /of/ an Italian city (5) |
Roma[5] is the Italian name for Rome.
| 24d | Freezing // in panic in Gdansk (5) |
Scratching the Surface
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Gdansk[5] is an industrial port and shipbuilding centre in northern Poland, on an inlet of the Baltic Sea. (show more )
Disputed between Prussia and Poland during the 19th century, it was a free city under a League of Nations mandate from 1919 until 1939, when it was annexed by Nazi Germany, precipitating hostilities with Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War. German name Danzig. hide |
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
Fairly smooth sailing on this one. I thought that the surface readings were very well done and often clever. Thanks for the hint on 20D which I solved but couldn’t parse for the life of me.
ReplyDeleteYes, 20d was my last one in and even after finding the correct solution, it took seemingly forever to realize that the wordplay split (3,2,2) and not (5,2).
Delete