Puzzle at a Glance
| |
|---|---|
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29632 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, March 25, 2021 | |
Setter
Giovanni (Don Manley) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29632]
| |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Miffypops | |
BD rating
| |
| Difficulty - ★★★ | Enjoyment - ★★★ |
Falcon's experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ | |
|
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
| |
Introduction
Today's puzzle was set by Giovanni who at one time was the setter of the "Friday" Cryptic Crossword in The Daily Telegraph. I understand that since relinquishing his ownership of the "Friday" slot, his puzzles have appeared occasionally on various days of the week—but rarely identified as his work.For me, the puzzle was a strenuous (albeit satisfying) mental workout. I got off to a rather sluggish start and then progressed at a slow but steady pace. The reward was that many of the solutions produced "Eureka" moments (especially as I neared the finish line).
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 | |
|
|
| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 8a | What could be too unfeeling as a // worldwide organisation (6,2,7) |
The League of Nations[5] was an association of countries established in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles to promote international cooperation and achieve international peace and security. It was powerless to stop Italian, German, and Japanese expansionism leading to the Second World War, and was replaced by the United Nations in 1945.
| 9a | Tease // fellow (3) |
| 10a | Polite padre awkward /with/ 'flighty' types (11) |
Lepidoptera[5] is the order of insects that comprises the butterflies and moths.
| 11a | Old political group ultimately deficient /in/ style (2,3) |
"old " = O [linguistics]
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.
hide
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
OFr[Old French]; (ii)
OE[Old English].
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.
hide
Op art[5] is a form of abstract art that gives the illusion of movement by the precise use of pattern and colour, or in which conflicting patterns emerge and overlap.
| 12a | Once again picks up a learner /to offer/ practice (9) |
"learner " = L [driver under instruction]
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
hide
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
 |
| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
hide
| 15a | Yours truly will entertain poet, /being/ a person of fashion (7) |
| 17a | Wild ground in home counties /offers/ cover (7) |
Heath[5] is a British term for an area of open uncultivated land, typically on acid sandy soil, with characteristic vegetation of heather, gorse, and coarse grasses.
"Home Counties " = SE
The Home Counties[5] are the counties surrounding London in the south-east (SE) part of England, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire.
No exact definition of the term exists and the composition of the Home Counties remains a matter of debate. While Oxford Dictionaries restrictively lists them as being chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire, Wikipedia tells us that the Home Counties[7] are generally considered to include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex (although Sussex does not border London).
Other counties more distant from London, such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire are also sometimes included in the list due to their close proximity to the capital and their connection to the London regional economy.
hide
The Home Counties[5] are the counties surrounding London in the south-east (SE) part of England, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire.
No exact definition of the term exists and the composition of the Home Counties remains a matter of debate. While Oxford Dictionaries restrictively lists them as being chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire, Wikipedia tells us that the Home Counties[7] are generally considered to include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex (although Sussex does not border London).
Other counties more distant from London, such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire are also sometimes included in the list due to their close proximity to the capital and their connection to the London regional economy.
hide
| 19a | Vehicle meeting arch losing its front -- // one may be charged (9) |
| 20a | Island /offering/ some music or fun (5) |
Corfu[5] is a Greek island, one of the largest of the Ionian Islands, off the west coast of mainland Greece.
| 21a | Bringing diverse people together maybe /for/ a mathematical exercise (11) |
In mathematics, integration[10] is an an operation used in calculus in which the integral of a function or variable is determined; it is the inverse of differentiation.
| 24a | Holy person drinks nothing -- // I drink too much (3) |
| 25a | One making a point, taking the lead? (6-9) |
Down
| 1d | Terrible army, one coming down -- // I'm in a state (10) |
| 2d | A little bird, you might surmise, /in/ a passage getting food? (6) |
The first part of the clue is a whimsical definition. As Miffypops points out in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, "If a baby owl is an owlet then a baby nuisance seabird might be known as this".
| 3d | Snake // reached ground, circling round very quietly (10) |
As an anagram indicator, ground is used as the past tense or past participle of the verb grind[5]. An anagram indicator is typically a word that denotes movement or transformation. Grind denotes transformation, for example, in the sense of grain being ground into flour.
Copperhead[5] is the name of a number of stout-bodied venomous snakes with coppery-pink or reddish-brown coloration, in particular:
- (also called highland moccasin) a North American pit viper (Agkistrodon contortrix)
- Australian snakes of the genus Austrelaps in the cobra family
| 4d | Woman /showing/ purpose, the first person to get stuck in (4) |
| 5d | Spot unruly servant /creating/ trouble at work? (8) |
Page[5] is used in a historical sense of a man or boy employed as the personal attendant of a person of rank.
| 6d | Linger endlessly /in/ south coast location (4) |
Hove[7] is a seaside resort in Sussex on the south coast of England and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove.
| 7d | King's one to upset // country (6) |
King Lear*[7] is a tragedy written in 1605 or 1606 by English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616). (show more )
The title character descends into madness after disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters (Goneril, Regan and Cordelia) based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.
hide
The title character descends into madness after disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters (Goneril, Regan and Cordelia) based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.
hide
* Lear[5], a legendary early king of Britain, is mentioned by the 12th century Welsh chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1139; first printed in 1508), an account of the kings of Britain.
| 8d | Space in which a member can feel comfortable? (7) |
| 13d | Very emotional // leader of Conservatives appearing in absurd hairstyle (10) |
Political Commentary?
| |
|---|---|
| More than one British reader interpreted this clue as a dig at British Prime Minister Boris Johnson whose unruly mop of hair stands* in sharp contrast to the well groomed appearance of former British prime ministers such as Ted Heath. * or, more accurately, sprawls in all directions |
| 14d | One on the up -- was model first /to be/ taking off? (10) |
| 16d | Community of women /in/ Algiers sadly having nothing (8) |
Seraglio[5] is a historical term for the women’s apartments (harem*) in an Ottoman palace.
* The word harem[5] can denote either the separate part of a Muslim household reserved for wives, concubines, and female servants or the women occupying a harem; namely, the wives (or concubines) of a polygamous man.
| 18d | A band going across Africa and many other places (7) |
| 19d | Irritable // Charlie, a drop-out (6) |
A hippy (variant spelling of hippie[7]) is a member of the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. One of the movement's catchphrases (coined by Timothy Leary, an advocate for psychedelic drugs and a leading figure in the hippie movement ) was
turn on, tune in, drop out.
Chippy[5] is an informal [seemingly British*] term denoting (of a person) touchy and defensive, especially on account of having a grievance or a sense of inferiority.
* I failed to find this sense of the word in any of several US dictionaries I consulted
| 20d | Covering // article smuggled aboard by pirate (6) |
| 22d | Fish -- // a bit of food served up (4) |
| 23d | Moral slip-up first ignored /in/ part of the church? (4) |
An apse[5] is a large semicircular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof and typically at the church's eastern end.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.