Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29678 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29678]
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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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Notes
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This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, August 7, 2021 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
I learned a new British term for an unpleasant smell at 17d. Has anyone else noticed that the Brits seem to have as many terms for an unpleasant smell as the Inuit do for snow?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 | OAP scrubbing head with fruit with bad acne/'s/ emergence (10) |
Scratching the Surface
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| In Britain, the abbreviation OAP[5] stands for old-age pensioner. |
| 6a | Quantity some keep in tankard (4) |
The whole clue could serve as the definition in which the wordplay is embedded.
Scratching the Surface
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| A tankard[5] is a tall beer mug, typically made of silver or pewter, with a handle and sometimes a hinged lid. |
| 9a | How to walk // slowly (4,2,4) |
The first part of the clue is a literal interpretation of the solution.
| 10a | Parrot /from/ Spain husband caught over and over (4) |
"caught " = C [cricket notation]
| 12a | Spots the Queen/'s/ bit of bacon (6) |
"the Queen " = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth]
The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.
* A cipher[5] (also cypher) is a monogram[5] or motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.
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The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.
* A cipher[5] (also cypher) is a monogram[5] or motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.
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A rasher[5] is a thin slice of bacon ⇒ (i)
two rashers of lean bacon; (ii)
he cut into one of the rashers on his plate.
| 13a | Dressing up // military volunteers -- flipping exhausting (8) |
"military volunteers " = TA [Territorial Army, "old" name for the Army Reserve]
Scratching the Surface
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Flipping[5,10]
(adjective
or adverb) is an informal British term used for emphasis or to express mild annoyance ⇒ (i) are you out of your flipping mind?; (ii) it’s flipping cold today. Origin: a euphemism for the taboo word f**king |
| 15a | Greediest man's silly // argument (12) |
| 18a | Silver-tongued // model took posh men around sierra (6-6) |
| 21a | Travellers here // left in boat surrounded by affectations of superiority (8) |
"left in boat " = PORT [nautical term]
| 22a | Tax // returns in Yemeni art schools (6) |
| 24a | Murdoch maybe // in ruins, oddly (4) |
| 25a | Yank with new perfume, leaving Charlie // particularly fortunate (6-4) |
| 26a | Choke with fourth of cream // crackers (4) |
Crackers[5] is an informal British term meaning insane or extremely angry.
Gaga[5] is an informal term meaning no longer in possession of all one's mental faculties, especially on account of old age or very enthusiastic and excited about someone or something.
Scratching the Surface
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| Cream cracker[5] is a British term for a dry unsweetened biscuit eaten chiefly with cheese. * The British use the term biscuit[3,4,11] for a range of foods that include those that would be called either cookies or crackers in North America. Cookies might be referred to as sweet biscuits and crackers as savoury biscuits. A North American biscuit[5] is similar to what is known in Britain as a scone. As can be seen by this definition, the term cracker is also used in Britain for essentially the same food items as in North America. |
| 27a | Disputed // church claim about rear of organ diameter (10) |
Down
| 1d | Grey animal on river? // Seal (6) |
Grey is a common colour for this animal—especially in cartoons.
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.
| 2d | Want // pressure let out (6) |
"let out " = LEASE [questionably British]
Let[5] is a British* term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i)
* However, based on its appearance in US dictionaries[3,11], I seriously doubt this word is as exclusively British as Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries) would have us believe.
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Let[5] is a British* term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i)
she let the flat [apartment] to a tenant; (ii)
they’ve let out their house.
* However, based on its appearance in US dictionaries[3,11], I seriously doubt this word is as exclusively British as Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries) would have us believe.
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Please[5] is used in the sense of wish or desire (to do something) ⇒
Even more than staying in a hotel you will have the freedom to get up when you like, stay up as late as you choose, come and go as you please, and eat when you want.
| 3d | EU perhaps // repositioned above Britain (12) |
| 4d | Failing to ignore large // part of 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.
| 5d | City uncovered stone /for/ writer (10) |
Chester[5] is a city in northwestern England, the county town of Cheshire.
G. K. Chesterton[5] (1874–1936) was an English essayist, novelist, and critic; full name Gilbert Keith Chesterton. His novels include The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904) and a series of detective stories featuring Father Brown, a priest with a talent for crime detection.
| 7d | Bent // hip, 100 and wrinkled (8) |
Bent (on)[5] may be used in the sense of determined to do or have ⇒
a mob bent on violence.
On the other hand, I suppose one might also interpret bent[10] in the geometrical sense of not (standing) straight (i.e., vertical).
| 8d | However tense, start to share // ideas (8) |
| 11d | Replace ten fleeces /in/ long period inside (4,8) |
As an anagram indicator, "replace" is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of 'reposition' rather than 'substitute'.
| 14d | Bats he let feast -- // they normally come out at night (5,5) |
As an anagram indicator, bats[5] is used as an informal, dated term meaning mad (either [mentally] disturbed or in a frenzied state).
| 16d | Checking // wood cut by saw (8) |
| 17d | Lamenting // unpleasant smell in old vase? Just the opposite (8) |
Ming[1] (originally Scottish) means*:
- (noun) an unpleasant smell; a stink
- (verb) to look or smell unpleasant
* This sense of the word ming is found in only one of my regularly consulted reference sources, The Chambers Dictionary. Judging by an article on the BBC website to which Mr K links in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the word has gained considerable currency among young Brits.
Nefarious Misdirection
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The setter has been extremely clever in laying a trap in this clue as Ming[5] can mean Chinese porcelain made during the Ming dynasty* ⇒ a priceless Ming vase. * the dynasty that ruled China 1368–1644 founded by Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398) |
| 19d | Scoundrel/'s/ naughty urge (3,3) |
| 20d | Joined // university and connected with no one (6) |
Uni[5] is an informal (originally Australian) short form for university ⇒
he planned to go to uni.
| 23d | Be up /for/ wickedness (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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