Puzzle at a Glance
| |
|---|---|
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29724 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, July 10, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29724 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29724 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Tilsit (Hints)crypticsue (Review) | |
BD rating
| |
| Difficulty - ★★★ | Enjoyment - ★★ |
Falcon's experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ | |
|
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
| |
|
Notes
| |
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, September 25, 2021 edition of the National Post. As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review. | |
Introduction
I realize the review is appearing a bit late today. I interrupted my work on it when it was about 99% complete, then forgot I hadn't finished it.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 | |
|
|
| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | US city // is behind new online map (11) |
| 7a | In error, Greek character backing // exercise system (7) |
Eta[5] is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet (Η, η).
Pilates[10] is a system of gentle exercise performed lying down that stretches and lengthens the muscles, designed to improve posture, flexibility, etc. It is named after Joseph Pilates (1880–1967), its German inventor.
| 8a | Threatened // people defeated by first shot (7) |
In tennis and similar games, ace[5] means:
- (noun) a service that an opponent is unable to return and thus wins a point
- (verb) serve an ace against (an opponent)
| 10a | Starter in Rajasthan filling belly; boy, // it's hot! (8) |
Tum[2] is a colloquial British name for the stomach.
Turmeric[5] is a bright yellow aromatic powder obtained from the rhizome of a plant of the ginger family, used for flavouring and colouring in Asian cooking and formerly as a fabric dye.
Fact Check
| |
|---|---|
| The clear consensus among those commenting at Big Dave's Crossword Blog is that turmeric is bitter not hot and used more as a colouring agent than a flavouring agent. |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Rajasthan[5] is A state in western India, on the Pakistani border; capital, Jaipur. The western part of the state consists largely of the Thar Desert. |
| 11a | Twins // placing car behind empty garage (6) |
Mini[7] is an automobile brand, currently owned by BMW, but originally introduced as a model under the Austin and Morris marques by the now defunct British Motor Corporation (BMC).
Gemini[5] is a northern constellation (the Twins), said to represent the twins Castor and Pollux, whose names are given to its two brightest stars.
| 13a | Country // lady needing no introduction (4) |
Oman[5,7], officially the Sultanate of Oman, is an Arab country at the southeastern corner of the Arabian peninsula.
| 14a | Extra // odd Italian forms (10) |
| 16a | Prehistoric monument // seen on the ground, inspiring gasps initially (10) |
As an anagram indicator, ground is used as the past tense or past participle of the verb grind[5]. An anagram indicator is typically a word that denotes movement or transformation. Grind denotes transformation, for example, in the sense of grain being ground into flour.
Stonehenge[5] is a megalithic* monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. (show more )
* Megalith[5] is an archaeological term for a large stone that forms a prehistoric monument (e.g. a standing stone) or part of one (e.g. a stone circle).
Completed in several constructional phases from c.2950 BC, it is composed of a circle of sarsen stones* surrounded by a bank and ditch and enclosing a circle of smaller bluestones**. Within this inner circle is a horseshoe arrangement of five trilithons with the axis aligned on the midsummer sunrise, an orientation that was probably for ritual purposes.
* Sarsen[5] (also sarsen stone) is a sandstone boulder of a kind which occurs on the chalk downs of southern England. Such stones were used in constructing Stonehenge and other prehistoric monuments.
** Bluestones[5] are the smaller stones made of dolerite found in the inner part of Stonehenge.
*** A trilithon[5] (also trilith) is a megalithic structure consisting of two upright stones and a third across the top as a lintel.
hide
* Megalith[5] is an archaeological term for a large stone that forms a prehistoric monument (e.g. a standing stone) or part of one (e.g. a stone circle).
Completed in several constructional phases from c.2950 BC, it is composed of a circle of sarsen stones* surrounded by a bank and ditch and enclosing a circle of smaller bluestones**. Within this inner circle is a horseshoe arrangement of five trilithons with the axis aligned on the midsummer sunrise, an orientation that was probably for ritual purposes.
* Sarsen[5] (also sarsen stone) is a sandstone boulder of a kind which occurs on the chalk downs of southern England. Such stones were used in constructing Stonehenge and other prehistoric monuments.
** Bluestones[5] are the smaller stones made of dolerite found in the inner part of Stonehenge.
*** A trilithon[5] (also trilith) is a megalithic structure consisting of two upright stones and a third across the top as a lintel.
hide
| 18a | Nation /that/ was controlled by me (4) |
| 21a | Eat // in drinking establishment (6) |
| 22a | I blacken the name of // Briton, say (8) |
A Briton[5] is a native or inhabitant of [the island of] Great Britain, or a person of British descent.
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Strictly speaking, Great Britain[5] is England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit although the name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. Usage: Great Britain is the name for the island that comprises England, Scotland, and Wales, although the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a political unit that includes these countries and Northern Ireland. The British Isles is a geographical term that refers to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and surrounding smaller islands such as the Hebrides and the Channel Islands |
| 24a | Aged, not decrepit, // did a dance (7) |
The tango[5] is a ballroom dance originating in Buenos Aires, characterized by marked rhythms and postures and abrupt pauses.
| 25a | A pressing household chore? (7) |
| 26a | Light // box to carry on banner (11) |
Post Mortem
| |
|---|---|
| From the checking letters, CANDLE would have been a nice fit as the first part of the solution. From the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I see I was far from the only one to fall into this trap. |
Down
| 1d | A student hugged by girl -- // that's infectious (7) |
"student " = L [driver under instruction]
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
hide
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
 |
| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
hide
| 2d | Spice /in/ stone cask brought up (6) |
A tun[5] is a large beer or wine cask.
| 3d | I sent a side to play /in/ Borneo etc (4,6) |
Borneo[5] is a large island of the Malay Archipelago, comprising Kalimantan (a region of Indonesia), Sabah and Sarawak (states of Malaysia), and Brunei.
The East Indies[5] comprises the islands of southeast Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago.
| 4d | Cat // rising in the morning, out of bed (4) |
The puma[5] is a large American wild cat (Felis concolor) with a plain tawny to greyish coat, found from Canada to Patagonia.
| 5d | Hang about, that is // intimate stuff (8) |
| 6d | Cult I connected to // area (7) |
| 7d | George of England perhaps, // unlikely star in panto (6,5) |
St George[5] is the Patron saint of England. (show more )
He is reputed in legend to have slain a dragon, and may have been martyred near Lydda in Palestine some time before the reign of Constantine. His cult did not become popular until the 6th century, and he probably became patron saint of England in the 14th century. Feast day, 23 April.
hide
He is reputed in legend to have slain a dragon, and may have been martyred near Lydda in Palestine some time before the reign of Constantine. His cult did not become popular until the 6th century, and he probably became patron saint of England in the 14th century. Feast day, 23 April.
hide
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Panto[5] is an informal British short form for pantomime[5], a traditional British theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, which involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas. |
| 9d | Platform for workers // teaching doctor (8,3) |
| 12d | Appalling // wind finally is blowing (10) |
| 15d | One creating a stir in the cup? (8) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| The surface reading may be intended to evoke the British expression a storm in a teacup[5] meaning great outrage or excitement about a trivial matter. North American equivalent: a tempest in a teapot |
| 17d | Natural // magic in a grotto, somewhat uplifting (7) |
| 19d | Drink // studied, moan out loud (3,4) |
Read[5] is a British term meaning to study (an academic subject) at a university ⇒ (i)
I’m reading English at Cambridge; (ii)
he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.
What did he say?
| |
|---|---|
In his hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Tilsit tells us to start withUni[5] is an informal (originally Australian) short form for university ⇒A homophone for a word that means studied (at uni) .... he planned to go to uni. |
| 20d | Two fathers requiring a // temple (6) |
In Christian belief, the Father[5] is a name for God as the the first person of the Trinity.
In India and East Asia, a pagoda[5] is a Hindu or Buddhist temple, typically in the form of a many-tiered tower.
| 23d | Leads in Ibsen dramas often lacking /for/ film star (4) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
|
Henrik Ibsen[5] (1828–1906) was a Norwegian dramatist. (show more )
He is credited with being the first major dramatist to write tragedy about ordinary people in prose. Ibsen’s later works, such as The Master Builder (1892), deal increasingly with the forces of the unconscious and were admired by Sigmund Freud. Other notable works: Peer Gynt (1867), A Doll’s House (1879), Ghosts (1881). hide |
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.