Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29649 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29649]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
2Kiwis | |
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
As several on Big Dave's Crossword Blog report was their experience, I solved virtually none of the across clues on first pass and then worked my way up the down clues.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 | Electronic device // filling nurse with fear? (4,6) |
| 6a | Reject, lacking new // incentive (4) |
| 10a | Mature // writer on the teaching of religion (5) |
The
use of the word "writer" to clue PEN is likely to be slightly more
cryptic to the Brits than it is to us on this side of the pond. British
solvers will see "pen" as being a writing implement rather than the person wielding that implement. (show more )
In addition to defining pen[3,11] as a writing implement, North American dictionaries also define it as a writer or an author ⇒
hide
In addition to defining pen[3,11] as a writing implement, North American dictionaries also define it as a writer or an author ⇒
a hired pen, British dictionaries do not list this meaning although they do show pen[2,4] (or the pen[5,10]) as symbolically representing writing as an occupation (a sense of the word not found in US dictionaries).
hide
RI[10] is the abbreviation for religious instruction which in England refers to the teaching of a particular religion*.
* According to Wikipedia, "In secular usage, religious education[7] is the teaching of a particular religion (although in England the term religious instruction would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with religious education referring to teaching about religions in general) ...", specifically religious education[10] (abbreviation RE[5]) being a subject taught in schools which educates about the different religions of the world.
| 11a | Adopt a defensive stance /as/ traditionalist away (6,3) |
| 12a | Accommodating type /from/ the Loire in trouble (8) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Loire[7,10] is a department of east central France, in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region occupying the upper reaches of the River Loire. |
| 13a | Type of diet // perhaps in forefront (5) |
| 15a | Securely wrap // son before walk like this (7) |
| 17a | My radar must be off // this beam (7) |
Yardarm[10] is a nautical term for either of the two tapering outer ends of a ship's yard.
* A yard[10] is a cylindrical wooden or hollow metal spar, tapered at the ends, slung from a mast of a square-rigged or lateen-rigged vessel and used for suspending a sail.
| 19a | Two features of cricket // go too far (7) |
In cricket, an over[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.
In cricket, a run[5] is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other circumstances.
| 21a | Rest /may be/ depressed by tall tale (3-4) |
Lie-down[5] is a British term for a short rest in which one lies down on a bed, sofa, etc.
What did they say?
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In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis describe the "tall tale" as aporky.
Pork pie[10] (often shortened to porky) is mainly British and Australian rhyming slang (show explanation ) for a lie [in the sense of an untruth].
Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney* rhyming slang. * A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow[7] church). Cockney is also the name of the dialect or accent typical of cockneys, which is characterised by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang. While one commonly sees only the shortened form of rhyming slang, pork pie is one of those cases where both the full expression and the shortened version seem to be in general use. hide explanation |
| 22a | A bit of bacon, as always /possessing/ such sound quality (5) |
| 24a | Resolve // mainly intact, yet must be broken (8) |
| 27a | Quick-tempered -- // bails out, catching cold, consumed by anger (9) |
| 28a | Attacks // answer found in run-down area making a comeback (5) |
| 29a | Willing /to see/ golf celebrity losing first (4) |
Either of two different synonyms of celebrity work equally well in this clue.
| 30a | Be quiet about temperature after exercise, /seeing/ contagion (10) |
Down
| 1d | Short cut on // course of healing (4) |
| 2d | Copy of will must support oddly free // criminal (9) |
A probate[5] is a verified copy of a will with a certificate as handed to the executors.
I see that I am not alone in questioning "oddly" being used to indicate the even letters in the fodder. This issue is discussed in the thread arising from Comment #19 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog where LetterboxRoy provides an explanation.
| 3d | Reach // end of session consumed by fury (5) |
| 4d | Sign /of/ a posh zip (7) |
"posh " = 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).
hide
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).
hide
| 5d | English raise a doubt about right /for/ royal attendant (7) |
An equerry[5] is* an officer of the British royal household who attends or assists members of the royal family.
* Historically, an equerry[5] was an officer of the household of a prince or noble who had charge over the stables.
| 7d | Pointed projection /could be/ mistaken with Portugal replacing leader (5) |
| 8d | Polish // engineers penalise workers on time (10) |
| 9d | Cross /as/ partygoers seen in outskirts of Tonbridge (8) |
Although many British dictionaries still consider the term 'rave' to be British slang, the term has clearly crossed the pond to North America. One American dictionary puts it best, defining a rave[12] as a kind of loosely organized dance party, lasting through the night, that originated in Britain in the 1980s: a rave features techno music and typically includes the use of psychedelic drugs.
Scratching the Surface
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| Tonbridge[7] is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, 29 miles (47 km) south east of London. |
| 14d | Article with sample of opinions about tango? // Staggering! (10) |
| 16d | Abandoned // deceit, cunningly taking in both sides separately (8) |
| 18d | A session performance /is/ a change of direction (5-4) |
A turn[5] is a short performance, especially one of a number given by different performers in succession ⇒ (i)
Lewis gave her best ever comic turn; (ii)
he was asked to do a turn at a children’s party.
| 20d | VIP // without somewhere to eat? (7) |
| 21d | Soft // sanction includes lifting of Merkel's refusal (7) |
Sanction[5] is an interesting word, effectively being almost its own antonym. It can mean either official permission or approval for an action or a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.
Angela Merkel[5] is a German Christian Democratic Union stateswoman, Chancellor of Germany since 2005.
The German word for 'no' is nein[8].
| 23d | Mob on move // did crawl across river? (5) |
| 25d | Part of problem accommodating // beast // from the east? (5) |
Although the 2Kiwis mark this as an "all in one clue", I do not see it that way. In my mind, there is clearly differentiated wordplay and definition. However, the clue does have an unusual structure where the definition is placed in the middle of the wordplay.
| 26d | Land in water (4) |
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
RE may stand for religious education, but it doesn't fit the clue very well.
ReplyDeleteOops! It should have been RI for religious instruction (in the sense of indoctrination rather than education).
DeleteI have now modified the entry.
DeleteBTW, you wouldn't credit the weather we've had in Vancouver the last few days. 102 on our back porch yesterday. And we live only two miles inland.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, we are being kept well-informed on the weather in BC by the national media. It's hot enough here -- though nothing approaching what you are experiencing (I suppose we have your temperatures to "look forward to").
DeleteThe jet stream and inversion layer seem to be moving east, so you may be right. It's now 7 pm and a relatively cool 87 in our kitchen. My wife is going to join me for dinner this evening. She's been living in the basement the last few days.
Delete