Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29644 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, April 8, 2021 | |
Setter
Giovanni (Don Manley) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29644]
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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
The overwhelming consensus among the gang at Big Dave's Crossword Blog is that this puzzle was set by Giovanni. It would seem that the Thursday puzzle in The Daily Telegraph is now being set on alternate weeks by him and RayT. This is the second of his puzzles we have seen since the National Post took its "Great Leap Forward" last month.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 | Worm, // harmless coiling round, getting into knot (8) |
| 9a | Defeats -- // six on the cricket field? (6) |
In cricket, a stump[5] is each of the three upright pieces of wood which form a wicket. As there is a wicket at each end of the pitch, there are a total of six stumps on a cricket field.
| 10a | Do better than that? // Go away! (4,2) |
| 11a | Mission /of/ editor reversing what predecessor left in place? (8) |
| 12a | Medical treatment that is shocking! (14) |
| 15a | Acoustic effect // needed by the choirmaster (4) |
| 17a | Impression /created by/ fast runs, nothing extreme (5) |
| 19a | Note old // part of London (4) |
"note " = SOH [fifth note of a major scale]
According to most British dictionaries*, so[2,4,5,10] and sol[2,4,5,10] are variant spellings of soh[2,4,5,10], (in tonic sol-fa) the fifth note of a major scale. On the other hand, The Chambers Dictionary lists so[1] and soh[1] as variant spellings of sol[1].
* US dictionaries do not recognize the soh spelling and list so[3,11,12] as a variant spelling of sol[3,11,12].
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According to most British dictionaries*, so[2,4,5,10] and sol[2,4,5,10] are variant spellings of soh[2,4,5,10], (in tonic sol-fa) the fifth note of a major scale. On the other hand, The Chambers Dictionary lists so[1] and soh[1] as variant spellings of sol[1].
* US dictionaries do not recognize the soh spelling and list so[3,11,12] as a variant spelling of sol[3,11,12].
hide
"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
Soho[7] is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable transformation. It now is predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues.
Origin: The name Soho[5] dates to the mid 17th century and probably derives from the old word 'soho', used as a hunting cry: the area was a royal park in Tudor times.
| 20a | Dealing awkwardly with what may be the // paper's opinion piece (7,7) |
Leader[10] (also called leading article) is a mainly British term for the leading editorial in a newspaper.
| 23a | Shock // when century is obtained by Leicestershire's No. 11 (8) |
A century[5] is a score of a hundred in a sporting event, especially a batsman’s score of a hundred runs in cricket ⇒
he scored the only century of the tour.
Here versus There
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Among
major North American sports, only in basketball would one be likely to see a
score surpassing one hundred — and that would include the points amassed
by the entire team rather than those netted by a single player.
Therefore, one might see the word century[10] used in the context ⇒ the basketball team passed the century mark in their last game. In North America, the word century[3,11] can apparently mean one hundred in a more general sense — although in my experience this is not a common usage — as the American Heritage Dictionary defines the word to mean a group of 100 things and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary as any group or collection of 100. |
Ton[5] is an informal British term for a hundred, in particular a speed of 100 mph, a score of 100 or more, or a sum of £100 ⇒
Explanation: a cricket batsman had amassed 102 runs during his turn at batting when the innings ended (either as a result of his batting partner becoming the tenth player on his team to be dismissed or the innings having ended prematurely).
In the first instance, although he himself was not out, the team was out as he no longer had a batting partner. In cricket, batsmen always bat in pairs with one positioned at either end of the pitch. Unless terminated prematurely, the innings ends when ten of the eleven batsmen on the team have been dismissed and the remaining batsman is said to be 'not out'.
An innings may end early for a variety of reasons, as explained here[7], in which case both members of the batting team who are on the field at the time are said to be 'not out'.
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he scored 102 not out*, his third ton of the tour. (show explanation for this usage example )
Explanation: a cricket batsman had amassed 102 runs during his turn at batting when the innings ended (either as a result of his batting partner becoming the tenth player on his team to be dismissed or the innings having ended prematurely).
In the first instance, although he himself was not out, the team was out as he no longer had a batting partner. In cricket, batsmen always bat in pairs with one positioned at either end of the pitch. Unless terminated prematurely, the innings ends when ten of the eleven batsmen on the team have been dismissed and the remaining batsman is said to be 'not out'.
An innings may end early for a variety of reasons, as explained here[7], in which case both members of the batting team who are on the field at the time are said to be 'not out'.
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Scratching the Surface
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| Leicestershire[5] is a county of central England. Leicestershire County Cricket Club[7] is one of eighteen first-class county clubs* within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. * the top tier of cricket in England and Wales |
| 25a | Awkward // Norse character concealing love (6) |
In Scandinavian mythology, Woden (or Wotan) is another name for Odin[5], the supreme god and creator, god of victory and the dead. Wednesday is named after him.
"love " = O [nil score in tennis]
In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).
hide
In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.
Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).
hide
| 27a | Like a bear /going/ wrong, landing in river (6) |
The word "going" (used in the sense of becoming) is a link word.
The River Ure[7] is a stream in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse.
| 28a | Unremarkable // system for resting sixth-sevenths of the week? (8) |
Down
| 1d | The writer twice /revealing/ an element of culture (4) |
"the writer " = ME
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.
hide
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.
hide
A meme[5] is an element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.
What a difference a syllable makes!
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops describes a meme as somethingIn actual fact, memes are things passed on by non-genetic means.passed on by genetics. |
| 2d | Participating in that act, I construct // plan (6) |
| 3d | Legal document that can be read two ways (4) |
The entire clue is a cryptic definition in which a precise definition has been embedded. The latter part of the clue does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as one would find in a double definition) but rather provides additional information about the nature of the precise definition (namely, that it is a palindrome).
| 4d | Lover // is worn out with minimal energy (6) |
The phrase "minimal energy" indicates we need an abbreviated form of the word "energy". In physics, E[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae ⇒
E = mc2.
Isolde[5] is another name for Iseult[5], a princess in medieval legend. According to one account, she was the sister or daughter of the king of Ireland, the wife of King Mark of Cornwall, and loved by Tristram. In another account, she was the daughter of the king of Brittany and wife of Tristram.
According to the former account, Tristram[7] (also known as Tristan), a knight of the Round Table and the nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, is sent to fetch Iseult back from Ireland to wed the king. However, he and Iseult accidentally consume a love potion while en route and fall helplessly in love. The pair undergo numerous trials that test their secret affair.
| 5d | Refined // style associated with good girl (8) |
Cutglass[1] (or cut-glass[10]) denotes (of an accent) upper-class or refined ⇒
his cut-glass English accent.
| 6d | What could make Carol happy /is/ questionable (10) |
| 8d | Tricky cut into poor ground // that's rocky (7) |
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.
| 13d | Mediocre /and/ negligent leader getting dumped -- fantastic result (10) |
Slack[5] is used in the sense of having or showing laziness or negligence.
| 14d | Object /of/ phobia? (5) |
Thing[10] is an informal term denoting a mental attitude, preoccupation or obsession (especially in the phrase have a thing about). Where such feelings are negative, they could be considered to be a phobia ⇒
she has a thing about spiders.
| 16d | Following behind speaker, I love /to offer/ something musical (8) |
Here we again encounter "love" as first used in 25a.
An oratorio[5] is a large-scale, usually narrative musical work for orchestra and voices, typically on a sacred theme, performed without costume, scenery, or action. Well-known examples include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s The Creation.
| 18d | The inadequate oarsman /or/ shot-putter? (7) |
| 21d | More than one plant // is seen covering hillside? (6) |
| 22d | A biro's possibly /used to make/ line on map (6) |
In meteorology, an isobar[5] is a line on a map connecting points having the same atmospheric pressure at a given time or on average over a given period.
Scratching the Surface
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| Biro[5] is a British trademark for a brand of ballpoint pen. In the UK, the name is used
as a generic term for a ballpoint pen (in the same way that kleenex has become a generic term for
facial tissue). Origin: named after László József Bíró (1899–1985), the Hungarian inventor of the ballpoint pen |
| 24d | Cry /of/ bird descending from end of branch (4) |
| 26d | Times // to strike out, launching enterprise finally (4) |
Scratching the Surface
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In the surface reading, "Times" may refer to The Times[7], a British daily national newspaper based in London. (show more )
The paper began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register and became The Times on 1 January 1788. The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. (headed by Australian-born American publisher and media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch). The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. hide |
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops informs us that "strike out" is used in the sense of to useRubber[5] is a British name for an eraser ⇒a rubber to remove an incorrect word. a pencil with a rubber at the 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
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