Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29699 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, June 11, 2021 | |
Setter
proXimal (Steve Bartlett) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29699]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Deep Threat | |
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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Notes
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This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, August 21, 2021 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
Remarkably for me, I not only quickly recognized that the puzzle could potentially be a pangram but—even more remarkable—the likelihood, given its appearance in The Daily Telegraph on a Friday, that there would be no X (one of the trademarks of proXimal).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 | Flustered // following circuit of racetrack, possibly discontented (6) |
The setter uses "discontented" to indicate the removal of the inner letters of "P
Here and There
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While the use of flap[5] as a noun to mean a state of agitation or a panic is common in North America, Brits also use flap as a verb to mean to be agitated or panicky[5] ⇒ it's all right, Mother, don't flapand as an adjective to mean in a state or nervousness or panic; or, in other words, in a flustered state[1]. |
| 4a | One's depressed to divide characters (5,3) |
| 10a | Reportedly, skates stick /and/ cause trouble (5,4) |
Raise Cain[2] (or raise the devil[10] or raise the roof[2]) is a colloquial expression* meaning to make a lot of noise or to be extremely angry.
* Although Webster’s New World College Dictionary indicates that the expression raise Cain[12] is US slang, I actually found the term in more British dictionaries than US dictionaries (with no mention of it not being a British term)
| 11a | Sheltered /in/ base with dawn breaking outside (5) |
In mathematics, e[5] is the transcendental* number that is the base of Napierian or natural logarithms, approximately equal to 2.71828.
* A transcendental number[5] is a number such as e or π that is real but not a root of an algebraic equation with rational coefficients.
Awn[1] (verb) means to shelter with an awning*.
* I scoured my dictionaries and The Chambers Dictionary is the only one in which this meaning is to be found.
| 12a | Prune // around Aussie bush, but not the front (3,4) |
The expression the outback[5] specifically refers to the remote and usually uninhabited inland districts of Australia ⇒
a two-week tour of the outback. More generally, the term outback[5] denotes any remote or sparsely populated inland region ⇒
the outback of Ontario.
* I can't say that I've ever heard the term applied to Ontario other than by Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries).
| 13a | Uncovered roux in large enough // container (7) |
Just as discontented indicated the removal of the inner letters in 1a, uncovered is an indication to remove the outer letters of
An ampoule[5] (US ampul) is a small sealed glass capsule containing a liquid, especially a measured quantity ready for injecting.
Scratching the Surface
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| Roux[5] is a mixture of fat (especially butter) and flour used in making sauces. |
| 14a | Figure // needing support to involve personnel department (5) |
| 15a | Fixed ado with brute /that's/ stubborn (8) |
| 18a | Many // cross receiving pound gratuity (8) |
A mule[5] is a cross between a donkey and a horse (strictly, the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse*), typically sterile and used as a beast of burden.
* The offspring of a female donkey and a male horse is properly called a hinny[5].
"pound | pounds " = L [British monetary unit]
The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L[10].
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra* .
* In ancient Rome, the libra[5] was a unit of weight, equivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.
hide
The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L[10].
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra* .
* In ancient Rome, the libra[5] was a unit of weight, equivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.
hide
| 20a | Object /when/ bird blocks drive (5) |
| 23a | No // official American centre for koalas (7) |
| 25a | Wickedness /of/ year spent in retirement (7) |
| 26a | Nothing around Zulu area /for/ food (5) |
From a British perspective, zip[5] is an informal North American term meaning 'nothing at all'.
| 27a | Jam-packed // deliveries left Yemen port (9) |
A delivery[5] is an act of throwing, bowling, or kicking a ball, especially a cricket ball.
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.
| 28a | Genteel // manoeuvring ideally to bag king (8) |
| 29a | Rushed eating starters in Indian, carefully // seasoned (6) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Indian[5] is an informal British term for an Indian meal or restaurant. |
Down
| 1d | Instilling love to rectify awful // savagery (8) |
"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
| 2d | One flies // by in upward course (7) |
Rota[5] is a British term for a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job ⇒
a cleaning rota. The entry in The Chambers Dictionary reads:
rota noun a roster; a course, round, routine or cycle of duty, etc. ....
| 3d | Pressure on cleric before a Christian observance /is/ common (9) |
"Christian observance " = LENT
In the Christian Church, Lent[5] is the period preceding Easter, which is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, and so includes forty weekdays [including Saturdays]*.
* This is rather oversimplified as the beginning and end of Lent actually varies among churches. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lent begins on Clean Monday (the Monday preceding Ash Wednesday) and ends on the Friday preceding Palm Sunday (however, fasting continues through Holy Week). In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent ends on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday preceding Good Friday).
hide
In the Christian Church, Lent[5] is the period preceding Easter, which is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, and so includes forty weekdays [including Saturdays]*.
* This is rather oversimplified as the beginning and end of Lent actually varies among churches. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lent begins on Clean Monday (the Monday preceding Ash Wednesday) and ends on the Friday preceding Palm Sunday (however, fasting continues through Holy Week). In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent ends on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday preceding Good Friday).
hide
| 5d | Tingling feeling // chap in sand needlessly hides (4,3,7) |
| 6d | Squeeze // fifty in temporary quarters (5) |
| 7d | We're told save banter /for/ lavish meal (7) |
Those who pronounce the meal as "ban-kwit" will likely have little trouble with this clue. For those who say "ban-kwet", finding the solution may prove to be considerably more difficult.
| 8d | Clear oddly greasy // wrinkles (6) |
| 9d | Painter /of/ sailor and child with fish (7,7) |
To Brits, pollock is likely to be seen as a variant or North American spelling* of pollack[5], an edible greenish-brown fish (Pollachius pollachius) of the cod family, with a protruding lower jaw. Found in the northeastern Atlantic (i.e., European coastal waters), the fish is popular with anglers.
Delving Deeper
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Two other species of fish are also known as pollock in North America:
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Jackson Pollock[5] (1912–1956) was an American painter. He was a leading figure in the abstract expressionist movement and from 1947 became the chief exponent of the style known as action painting, whereby he poured, splashed, or dripped paint on to the canvas.
| 16d | Update /of/ work supporting journalist infiltrating party (9) |
"work " = OP [opus]
In music, an opus[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.
The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..
Opus[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒
hide
In music, an opus[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.
The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..
Opus[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒
he was writing an opus on Mexico.
hide
| 17d | Shaded // yard, once renovated (8) |
In the definition, shade[5] (used in the past tense "shaded") is a verb meaning to darken or colour (an illustration or diagram) with parallel pencil lines or a block of colour.
| 19d | Composed // a French female a final letter (7) |
| 21d | Sounding agreeable, // doctor covers tips for lumbago (7) |
| 22d | Push forward /in/ short formal line (6) |
| 24d | Petty // scam disheartened everyone (5) |
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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