Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29672 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, May 11, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29672]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Mr K | |
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
It would seem, according to The Chambers Dictionary, that birds congregate in schools. Maybe this term could be applied to a cluster of loons underwater—were these solitary birds ever to cluster.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 | Male in loosest pants, // still (10) |
As an anagram indicator, pants[5] is used in an informal British sense meaning rubbish or nonsense ⇒
I thought I'd give it a go. Unfortunately, I'd not looked at the reviews..........boy, do I wish I had! It's pants. It really is a poor program.
| 6a | Repeat // the chorus? Only some of it (4) |
| 9a | Victor stuck in single // crack (5) |
| 10a | Medic wearing new ringlet, // showing anxiety? (9) |
"medic " = MB
In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.
Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada. Throughout the 19th century, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine.
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In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.
Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada. Throughout the 19th century, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine.
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| 12a | A rug lad unravelled // bit by bit (7) |
| 13a | Doppelganger protecting a // writer (5) |
Mark Twain[5] (1835–1910) was an American novelist and humorist; pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), give a vivid evocation of Mississippi frontier life.
| 15a | Specimen /from/ Devon river with no tail large enough (7) |
The River Exe[7] rises on Exmoor in Somerset, 8.4 kilometres (5 mi) from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south*, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south (English Channel) coast of Devon.
* and, thus, away from the Bristol Channel
| 17a | Sicknesses cut by 50% after doctor/'s/ shifts? (7) |
| 19a | Flocks of birds -- // where you'll see beaks (7) |
School[1] is used in the sense* of a flock, troop, or assemblage (especially of birds).
* a sense you'll be sorely pressed to find in any reference source other than The Chambers Dictionary; this meaning has even been dropped from the sister publication Chambers 21st Century Dictionary[2]
Beak[2] is dated British slang for a headmaster, judge or magistrate.
| 21a | Writer is flipping working /for/ retirement fund (7) |
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 ⇒
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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).
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| 22a | Not one book left by European/'s/ worthy (5) |
"book " = B
The abbreviation for book is b[1] (or b.[1]) or B[12].*
* Although neither of the two dictionaries in which a listing for this abbreviation is found provide information on the context in which it is used, I would guess that it might be in publishing, in particular in bibliographies or footnotes and endnotes in academic works when referencing one or more books in a series of books ⇒
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The abbreviation for book is b[1] (or b.[1]) or B[12].*
* Although neither of the two dictionaries in which a listing for this abbreviation is found provide information on the context in which it is used, I would guess that it might be in publishing, in particular in bibliographies or footnotes and endnotes in academic works when referencing one or more books in a series of books ⇒
see b. 3, p. 233.
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"European " = E [as in E number]
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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Worthy[5] is a term—often used in a humorous vein—for a person notable or important in a particular sphere ⇒
schools governed by local worthies.
A noble[5] (a term used especially in former times) is a person of noble rank or birth. The nobility in Britain or Ireland (whose members are known as peers[5]) comprises the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.
| 24a | View // clock's middle cog (7) |
A pinion[5] is a small cogwheel or spindle engaging with a large cogwheel.
| 27a | Extensive group of actors /for/ show (9) |
| 28a | Chauffeur // runs inside sleazy bar (5) |
"runs " = R [cricket notation]
| 29a | Closes // teen's desk, ignoring odd letters (4) |
| 30a | Rugby boss perhaps // understanding control (10) |
I see the wordplay as a charade of HEAD (understanding; aptitude[10] ⇒
she has a good head for figures) + MASTER (control; overcome[5] ⇒
I managed to master my fears).
Rugby School[7]
is a co-educational day and boarding school in Rugby, Warwickshire,
England. One of the oldest independent schools (show more ) in Britain, it is one of
the original ten English public schools defined by the Public Schools
Act of 1868.
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Here and There
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| In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system. In Britain, a public school[2] is a particular category of independent school, namely a secondary school, especially a boarding school, run independently of the state and financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees. Another category of independent school is the private school[2,5] which is a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees. What we in North America would call a public school[2] is known in the UK as a state school[5] or a maintained school*. * In England and Wales, a maintained school[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority. |
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Headmaster[5] (abbreviation HM[5]) is a British term for a man who is the head teacher in a school.
Down
| 1d | Mass demand /for/ protective covering (4) |
| 2d | The large knots restricting piano // wire (9) |
| 3d | Aida, say, // longing to be topless with artist (5) |
"artist " = RA [Royal Academician | Royal Academy]
Aida[7] is an opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901). Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it premièred in Cairo in 1871.
| 4d | Allowed to slice up eastern // vegetable (7) |
| 5d | Grew // scented wallflowers primarily for maiden (7) |
"maiden " = M [scoreless over in cricket]
In cricket, a maiden[5], also known as a maiden over and denoted on cricket scorecards by the abbreviation m.[10], is an over* in which no runs are scored.
* 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.
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In cricket, a maiden[5], also known as a maiden over and denoted on cricket scorecards by the abbreviation m.[10], is an over* in which no runs are scored.
* 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.
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| 7d | Tea bags in // this type of teapot? (5) |
Cha (also chai) is a variant spelling of char[5], an informal British name for tea [in the sense of a drink].
| 8d | Sorting out // instrument before I emit musical sounds (10) |
| 11d | Risk little noggin, finally, // in the interval (7) |
| 14d | Just // order a ban -- or else (10) |
| 16d | Go on // about river rising after front part of vessel docked (7) |
The Dee[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland and England — not to mention Ireland and Australia, the most prominent being:
- a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
- a river that rises in North Wales and flows into England, past Chester and on into the Irish Sea
| 18d | Hawking maybe // succeeded, since tit's injured (9) |
Stephen Hawking[5] (1942–2018) was an English theoretical physicist. His main work has been on space–time, quantum mechanics, and black holes. He is also noted for his bestselling book A Brief History of Time (1988).
Scratching the Surface
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| The tits, chickadees, and titmice[7] constitute the Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa. These birds are called either "chickadees" or "titmice" in North America, and just "tits" in the rest of the English-speaking world. |
| 20d | Retention of information in a computer, maybe -- // or in part (7) |
| 21d | Cutting // Italian flower, suggested removing head (7) |
Flower is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of something that flows — in other words, a river.
The Po[7] is a river that arises in the Cottian Alps and flows eastward across northern Italy entering the Adriatic Sea through a delta near Venice.
| 23d | Expressed disapproval // over and over in the sack (5) |
| 25d | Country // in Asia I'd nit-picked over (5) |
| 26d | Expensive // sweet (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
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