Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29681 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, May 21, 2021 | |
Setter
Zandio | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29681]
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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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Introduction
On the day this puzzle appeared in the UK, members of Big Dave's community learned that Kath (who at the time wrote the review every second Thursday) was in hospital having suffered a stroke a few days earlier. Consequently, you will find a not unexpected outpouring of love and good wishes for her on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.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 | What you'll need if you cry // in dispute? (2,5) |
| 5a | Assumed // one's invited for speech (7) |
| 9a | Instrument /that could make/ mobile ring (5) |
Mobile[5] (short for mobile phone) is a British term for a cell phone[5] (short for cellular phone) ⇒
we telephoned from our mobile to theirs.
| 10a | Prepare to cut // leave, reluctantly (3,3,3) |
The first part of the clue alludes to a literal interpretation of the idiom which constitutes the solution.
| 11a | City Road in revised // A-Z (10) |
Scratching the Surface
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| A-Z Maps is a British publisher of street maps, atlases, visitors’ guides, road atlases and maps for hikers. Its flagship product is the London A-Z Street Atlas. |
| 12a | Group of women wearing two costume sizes /for/ pool activity (4) |
The Women's Institute[5] (abbreviation WI[5]) is an organization of women, especially in rural areas, who meet regularly and participate in crafts, cultural activities, and social work. Now worldwide, it was first set up in Ontario, Canada, in 1897, and in Britain in 1915.
* Is it not rather ironic that Lexico should show the abbreviation for this organization—founded in Canada—as being British.
| 14a | Laura, girl cut out // for farming (12) |
| 18a | Lacking way /to get/ square (3,2,7) |
Post Mortem
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| My downfall was getting hung up on the idea that this was a cryptic definition alluding to someone unable to pay off their debts and fruitlessly spent time looking for a British slang term for money as the final word in the expression. |
| 21a | Male // hero, no maiden (4) |
"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.
hide
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.
hide
"male " = CHAP
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
hide
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
hide
| 22a | Conflict /caused by/ man mostly seen in jumper going to church (10) |
| 25a | Son entertained by silly 'alien' pun -- // 'one that sticks out on Earth' (9) |
| 26a | Love meeting when one's // well (5) |
"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 | Street with field at the end, // not common (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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A common[5] is a piece of open land for public use ⇒ we spent the morning tramping over the common looking for flowers. |
| 28a | Reports // occasional sightings of third fiend -- gosh! (7) |
Down
| 1d | Little group of shops // are broken into by villain (6) |
"villain " = CAD
Cad[2,3,4,5,10,11,12,14,15] is a dated informal British* term for a man who behaves dishonourably, especially towards a woman ⇒
* with the exception of Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries)[5], all the British dictionaries that I consulted[2,4,5,10,14] characterize this term as British while none of the American dictionaries do so[3,11,12,15]
hide
Cad[2,3,4,5,10,11,12,14,15] is a dated informal British* term for a man who behaves dishonourably, especially towards a woman ⇒
her adulterous cad of a husband.
* with the exception of Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries)[5], all the British dictionaries that I consulted[2,4,5,10,14] characterize this term as British while none of the American dictionaries do so[3,11,12,15]
hide
| 2d | Fortunate /having/ two kinds of spirit left by GP initially (2,4) |
Scratching the Surface
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| GP[5]
is the abbreviation* for general practitioner. * Despite Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries) characterizing the abbreviation GP (but not the full term general practitioner[5]) as a British usage, I would say that this abbreviation is certainly in general use in Canada. |
| 3d | His gown is ruffled -- rotten // exhibitionism! (7-3) |
Off[10] (said of food or drink) means having gone bad, sour, etc. ⇒
this milk is off.
| 4d | Drive // from Winnipeg, go north (3,2) |
| 5d | Bear // became hot and wild (2,7) |
| 6d | Imitate // character on the radio? (4) |
In radio communication, characters (such as letters) are replaced by code words to ensure intelligibility.
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet*[7], Echo[5] is a code word representing the letter E.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
| 7d | Old reliable // with coastal wartime housing (8) |
The hidden word indicator is "with ... housing".
| 8d | Idle army deployed // in visionary fashion? (8) |
| 13d | Keep // what wrestler wants? (10) |
A keep[5] is the strongest or central tower of a castle, acting as a final refuge.
| 15d | Ian drunk? Tiddly // before you know it! (2,1,6) |
Tiddly[5] is used in an informal British sense meaning little or tiny.
Escaping the trap
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Tiddly[5] is an informal British term meaning slightly drunk ⇒ we were all a little bit tiddly—and, as such, is sometimes used as an anagram indicator. I did initially fall into the trap and ended up spending a few moments exploring the possibility that the solution might involve an anagram of (tiddly) IAN DRUNK. |
| 16d | Thoughts // formerly admitted by upstanding pious person, politically correct (8) |
| 17d | On the way to getting drunk, leaves stick here (8) |
A cryptic definition of a device that prevents leaves from making it from the pot to the cup.
| 19d | College boy /offers/ togetherness (6) |
Uni[5] is an informal (originally Australian) short form for university ⇒
he planned to go to uni.
| 20d | Things people sing // against upper class being overthrown by English (6) |
"upper class " = 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
| 23d | Former band, say, // bang on (5) |
| 24d | Article about // author seeking privacy? (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
I see Kath made a brief appearance on the blog today. She seems to be doing somewhat better but not up to her regular solving gig. One of the sweetest in a very jolly group.
ReplyDeletePS:
ReplyDeleteRed asteroid calf exploded (5,6)
I have a possible answer but, if it is what you had in mind, there is an extra A in the anagram fodder.
DeleteSorry, you're right. I concoct anagrams instead of counting sheep and I neglected to check that one the next morning with a pencil and paper.
DeleteHow about:
Asteroid smashes into CFL president (5,6)
Richard,
DeleteShameful admission for an accountant ;)
Although I'm hardly in a position to point fingers after the number of errors in my review today on Big Dave's blog.