Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29447 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, August 20, 2020 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29447]
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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
Most people appear to have found this RayT puzzle more difficult than usual. The review proved difficult as I encountered many interruptions so it was written in dribs and drabs over the course of the day. I do find that RayT always manages to employ words in senses that don't come easily to mind.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 | Fish taken on board // quivers (6) |
"taken on board " = 'contained in SS [steamship]'
| 4a | Adult accordingly purchases container /for/ plant (8) |
"adult " = A [former British film classification]
The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]
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The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]
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The Story Behind the Picture
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| The fellow who has caught the fancy of the ladies on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is British broadcaster and writer on horticulture Monty Don[7] who is best known as lead presenter [host] of the BBC gardening television series Gardeners' World since 2003. |
| 9a | Trickery by politician following Iowa's first // recount (6) |
"politician " = MP
Art[10] is used in the sense of artfulness or cunning.
Impart[5] is used in the sense of to make (information) known.
| 10a | Left // pig covered in fat (8) |
Larboard[5] is an archaic nautical term for port, the side of a ship that is on the left when one is facing forward.
Origin: Middle English ladebord (lade 'put cargo on board a ship' + board 'ship's side'), referring to the side on which cargo was put aboard. The change to lar- in the 16th century was due to association with starboard.
| 11a | Lot /of/ the woman's maturity captivating Italian (8) |
"Italian " = IT [in reference to either the language or the vermouth]
Heritage[10] is used in the sense of something that is reserved for a particular person or group or the outcome of an action, way of life, etc. ⇒ (i)
the sea was their heritage; (ii)
the heritage of violence.
| 13a | Second bar rejected // parties (6) |
| 15a | Clear // obstacle in net at sea (13) |
| 18a | Canine coat not adapted /for/ chain (13) |
| 22a | Supplier of drink // left in glasses? (6) |
Port[5] is the side of a ship or aircraft that is on the left when one is facing forward ⇒ (i)
the ferry was listing to port; (ii) [as modifier]
the port side of the aircraft.
Origin: probably originally the side containing an entry port or facing the port (quayside) for loading
Oporto is the English name for Porto[5], the principal city and port of northern Portugal, near the mouth of the River Douro, famous for port wine production.
| 24a | Model // prisoner leaves study (8) |
| 26a | Ruction occasionally in test /for/ lesson (8) |
| 27a | Commonplace // sound of spring around river (6) |
| 28a | Name /of/ church improved taking time (8) |
| 29a | Book // border held in both hands (6) |
Down
| 1d | Small and delicate ? (6) |
Light[5] is used in the sense of gentle or delicate ⇒
she planted a light kiss on his cheek.
Slight[5] (referring to a person or their build) means not sturdy; in other words, thin or slender. ⇒
she was slight and delicate-looking.
Post Mortem
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| Before reading Kath's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I had parsed this as a double definition — although I wasn't especially enamoured with that choice. I think she is right in designating it as an &lit. (or all-in-one) clue[7]. I see from comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog that I am not alone in going down the double definition route. |
| 2d | Slander // because individual takes Independent (9) |
"Independent " = I [politician with no party affiliation]
I[1] is the abbreviation for independent, in all likelihood in the sense of a politician with no party affiliation.
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I[1] is the abbreviation for independent, in all likelihood in the sense of a politician with no party affiliation.
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| 3d | Unstable // volcanic crater encircles island (7) |
| 5d | Man /in/ check with a pawn (4) |
"pawn " = P
In chess, P[10] is the symbol for pawn.
A pawn[5] is a chess piece* of the smallest size and value, that moves one square forwards along its file if unobstructed (or two on the first move), or one square diagonally forwards when making a capture. Each player begins with eight pawns on the second rank, and can promote a pawn to become any other piece (typically a queen) if it reaches the opponent’s end of the board.
* The author of this entry in Lexico obviously failed to check the meaning piece in the dictionary. In chess, a piece[5] is a king, queen, bishop, knight, or rook, as opposed to a pawn.
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In chess, P[10] is the symbol for pawn.
A pawn[5] is a chess piece* of the smallest size and value, that moves one square forwards along its file if unobstructed (or two on the first move), or one square diagonally forwards when making a capture. Each player begins with eight pawns on the second rank, and can promote a pawn to become any other piece (typically a queen) if it reaches the opponent’s end of the board.
* The author of this entry in Lexico obviously failed to check the meaning piece in the dictionary. In chess, a piece[5] is a king, queen, bishop, knight, or rook, as opposed to a pawn.
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"man " = CHAP
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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Scratching the Surface
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| A man[5] is a figure or token used in playing a board game, in this case a chessman[5]. In chess, 'in check'[5] denotes a situation in which a king is directly attacked by an opponent's piece* or pawn [thus the only man that can be 'in check' is the king]. |
| 6d | Most aristocratic // not really favoured (7) |
| 7d | Pull /and/ keep holding sweetheart (5) |
"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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| 8d | Audibly moaned over sweetheart's raised // skirt (8) |
This time "sweetheart" is not E.
| 12d | Bird /found in/ butcher's, some say (6) |
Butcher's[10] is Cockney rhyming slang* for a look.
* In Cockney rhyming slang, the slang word (in this case, "butcher's") is obtained by replacing a word (in this case, "look") by a phrase with which it rhymes ("butcher's hook") and then dropping the rhyming word in the replacement phrase. Through this process, "look" becomes "butcher's".
| 14d | Mind /is/ vacant accepting opposing points? (6) |
| 16d | Covering // Rolling Stones, perhaps getting on (9) |
Surely no one needs to be told that the Rolling Stones[5] are an English rock group.
| 17d | Puzzle /of/ Castro and CIA almost resolved (8) |
As customary, RayT includes an acrostic clue in the puzzle; however, this time one with a twist.
Scratching the Surface
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| Fidel Castro[5]
(1927–2016) was a Cuban statesman, prime minister 1959–76 and president 1976–2008.
After overthrowing President Fulgencio Batista he set up a communist regime which
survived the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis,
and the collapse of the Soviet bloc. In 2008 he stood down in favour of
his brother Raúl Castro. CIA is the abbreviation for Central Intelligence Agency[5], a federal agency in the US responsible for coordinating government intelligence activities. Established in 1947 and originally intended to operate only overseas, it has since also operated in the US. In March 1960, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Castro's government. He provided them with a budget of $13 million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia, who were aggrieved that Castro's government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba.[7] Both President Eisenhower and his successor President Kennedy supported a CIA plan to aid a dissident militia, the Democratic Revolutionary Front, to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro; the plan resulted in the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961.[7] The United States' Central Intelligence Agency made several unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro during his time as the president of Cuba.[7] |
| 19d | Embraced by Grant, a respectable // star (7) |
Antares[5] is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius. It is a binary star of which the main component is a red supergiant.
Scratching the Surface
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| The nominees for most respectable star are ... Cary Grant[5] (1904–1986) was a British-born US actor (born Alexander Archibald Leach). He acted in more than seventy films, including Holiday (1938) and The Philadelphia Story (1940). Grant was nominated for Academy Awards for Penny Serenade (1941) and None But the Lonely Heart (1944), but never won a competitive Oscar. He received a special Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970.[7] Hugh Grant[7] is an English actor and a film producer. Despite already having appeared in more than a dozen films over the course of twelve years, he first achieved major acclaim for his role in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Grant has never been nominated for an Oscar, let alone win one.[7] Lee Grant[7] (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal) is an American actress and film director. She won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress in Shampoo (1975) and directed Down and Out in America (1986) which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, tying with Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got. |
| 20d | Press possibly /creates/ fairy stories (7) |
| 21d | Vagrant /from/ Paddington say, collecting two grand (6) |
Paddington Bear[7] is a fictional character featured in more than twenty children's books written by British author Michael Bond. Paddington, a friendly bear from "darkest Peru"—with his old hat,
battered suitcase, duffel coat and love of marmalade—has
become a classic character from British children's literature. (show more )
In the first story, A Bear Called Paddington, Paddington is found at Paddington railway station in London by the Brown family, sitting on his suitcase (bearing the label "WANTED ON VOYAGE") with a note attached to his coat which reads, "Please look after this bear. Thank you." Author Michael Bond has said that his memories of newsreels showing trainloads of child evacuees leaving London during the war, with labels around their necks and their possessions in small suitcases, prompted him to do the same for Paddington.
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In the first story, A Bear Called Paddington, Paddington is found at Paddington railway station in London by the Brown family, sitting on his suitcase (bearing the label "WANTED ON VOYAGE") with a note attached to his coat which reads, "Please look after this bear. Thank you." Author Michael Bond has said that his memories of newsreels showing trainloads of child evacuees leaving London during the war, with labels around their necks and their possessions in small suitcases, prompted him to do the same for Paddington.
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G as an abbreviation for grand is one North American usage that the Brits would appear to have embraced (show more ).
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒
I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
- Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)[5].
- Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars[2].
- Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)[4,10].
Scratching the Surface
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| Paddington[7] is an area within the City of Westminster, in central London, located in the West End of London. An important landmark in the district is Paddington station, designed by the celebrated engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened in 1847. It is the location where the Brown family find Paddington Bear in the children's story, A Bear Called Paddington, by British author Michael Bond. |
| 23d | Superficial // bogus theory ignoring the odds (5) |
| 25d | Worry // about Queen getting upset (4) |
"Queen " = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth]
The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.
* A cipher[5] (also cypher) is a monogram[5] or motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.
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The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.
* A cipher[5] (also cypher) is a monogram[5] or motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.
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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
This one caused me some trouble and although I didn’t have to look at the hints, I did need electronic help on four or five clues, chiefly in the SE corner. It didn’t help that I entered SAYING for 27A, having learned that AY was a Russian river and thinking of the alternative meaning of “commonplace”. Nonetheless an enjoyable challenge. ****/****
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