Thursday, September 9, 2021

Thursday, September 9, 2021 — DT 29712


Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29712
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, June 26, 2021
Setter
chalicea (Shirley Curran)
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29712 – Hints]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29712 – 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
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

This puzzle generated much confusion—both when it originally appeared in the UK in June and in my mind now.

Usually when there are multiple versions of clues, it is because a problem is discovered with the clue after the print edition of The Daily Telegraph has been released. In such cases, the clue is corrected on the Telegraph Puzzles website but, of course, cannot be corrected in the print edition of the newspaper which has already been printed. This results in the existence of two versions of the clue.

However, in the case of today's puzzle, a different scenario unfolded. The correct puzzle was printed but an earlier draft was initially posted on the Telegraph Puzzles website. While the correct version was eventually posted on the website, anyone who had downloaded the puzzle prior to the change had the "incorrect" version of the clues.

Last evening, when I became aware of the existence of a second version of the puzzle, I jumped to the conclusion that the incorrect version had appeared in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph and would therefore be the one to be published (as is invariably the case) by the National Post. Last evening, I posted a warning that there would likely be errors in the puzzle published in the National Post. However, this morning I was astounded to see that the National Post had printed the correct clues. Still unaware of the full story, I revised last evening's post. Further research led me to an understanding of the full story and yet another revision to last evening's post.

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
  • "//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present
  • "/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present
  • "solid underline" - precise definition
  • "dotted underline" - cryptic definition
  • "dashed underline" - wordplay
  • "wavy underline" - whimsical and inferred definitions
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a Declined // rubbish diamonds (7)

"diamonds " = D [card suit]

Diamonds[2] (abbreviation D[2]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

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5a Army securing large essentially superior // case for weapon (7)

"large " = L [clothing size]

L[5] is the abbreviation for large (as a clothing size).

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9a Stick /with/ cold response one's covered up with lip (9)

A tic[2] is a habitual nervous involuntary movement or twitch of a muscle, especially of the face.

Are tics a response to stimuli? I found the following definition in a paper in a medical journal:

Stimulus-bound tics (SBTs) belong to stimulus-induced behaviors and are defined as tics that occur in response to internal or external stimuli.

Based on the maxim "the exception proves the rule", one must conclude that not all tics are a response to stimuli. If they were, there would be no need to define a special category of tics that are a response to stimuli.



Stick[5] is an informal British term denoting severe criticism or treatment ⇒ I took a lot of stick from the press.

10a Notions // partly guide assistants (5)

11a Pave with stones /and/ waterproofing material (5)

Pitch[5,11] means to pave (a road) with stones ⇒ another sort of stone is used for pitching streets.



Pitch[5,7] is a sticky resinous black or dark brown substance that is semi-liquid when hot and hardens when cold which can be natural or manufactured, derived from petroleum, coal tar, or plants. Various forms of pitch may also be called tar, bitumen, or asphalt. Pitch produced from plants is also known as resin.

Pitch was traditionally used to help caulk the seams of wooden sailing vessels, and to coat earthenware vessels for the preservation of wine. Pitch is also used in the waterproofing of wooden containers, the making of torches, the polishing of high-quality optical lenses and mirrors, and in jewellery making.

12a Shaver/'s/ strangely gone rusty (9)

13aTrembling, // chant about winter in Paris (9)

The French word for 'winter' is hiver[8].

Alternative Clue
The clue that originally appeared on the Telegraph Puzzles website was:
  • Trembling, /from/ mum: 'I'm engaged?' (9)
which parses as SH (mum; admonition to be quiet) + IVE RING ("I'm engaged"; "I've ring")

16a Portion /of/ pastry dish with starters of chicken and egg (5)

17a Characteristic /of/ drink of beer with nothing in it (5)

18a Lost /and/ found note with too much inside (9)

Found[5] is used in the sense of to make (an article) by melting and moulding metal.

"note " = N [publishing term]

The abbreviation for note is n[5] (used in a book's index to refer to a footnote) ⇒450n

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"too much " = OTT

OTT[5] (short for over the top) is an informal British expression denoting excessive or exaggerated ⇒ presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT.

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20a Style of music /in/ clubs Callas is performing (9)

"clubs " = C [card suit]

Clubs[2]) (abbreviation C[1]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

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Scratching the Surface
Maria Callas[5] (1923–1977) was an American-born operatic soprano, of Greek parentage; born Maria Cecilia Anna Kalageropoulos. She was a coloratura soprano whose bel canto style of singing was especially suited to 19th-century Italian opera.

Alternative Clue
The clue that originally appeared on the Telegraph Puzzles website was:
  • Style of music // Callas is performing (9)
which simply does not parse as there is a C missing from the anagram fodder.

23a Additional // craft recalled by one-time partner (5)

25a Sprite/'s/ pretty unknown (5)

"unknown " = Y [algebraic notation]

In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns.

In mathematical formulae, unknowns are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.

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26a Unable to part, detective leaves // unseen (9)

"detective " = DI [detective inspector]

A detective inspector (abbrevation DI[5]) is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

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27a Worry /of/ short show before noon (7)

"noon " = N

I found four dictionaries listing n as an abbreviation for noon, two British[1,2] and two American[11,12].

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28a Superlatively gloomy // day ship set out (7)

Ark[5] is an archaic name for a ship or boat. The best known example is undoubtedly Noah's ark[5], the ship in which Noah, his family, and the animals were saved from the Flood, according to the biblical account (Genesis 6–8).

Down

1d Unusually precise // instructions (7)

2dOn the radio, feeble // pretence (5)

A feint[5] is a deceptive or pretended blow, thrust, or other movement, especially in boxing or fencing.

Alternative Clue
The clue that originally appeared on the Telegraph Puzzles website was:
  • Threatened strike that comes to nothing? (5)

3d Most insignificant // website regularly supporting insult (9)

4d United over Yankee // god (5)

"Yankee " = Y [NATO Phonetic Alphabet]

In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet*[7], Yankee[5] is a code word representing the letter Y.

* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet

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5dGerman citizen/'s/ fast food (9)

I think the setter is whimsically suggesting that a citizen of the German city of Hamburg might be known as a Hamburger.

In fact, in German, a male citizen of Hamburg[7] is known as a Hamburger and a female citizen is a Hamburgerin. The correct term in English for both is apparently Hamburgian.[7]

6d Dishonesty // mostly in government houses (5)

7d Handle fellows with primarily tactful // management (9)

8d Again wait on // book (7)

14d Version of totalitarianism LA star rejected /as/ fake (9)

15d Presence of virus; // confine it somehow (9)

16d Problematic posers for university // academic (9)

17dTranquil, in the main? (7)

The main[5] is an archaic or literary term for the open ocean.

19d Are in retreat, // like one's neighbours? (7)

21d Approach // filthy place on the outskirts of Lille (5)

Scratching the Surface
Lille[5] is an industrial city in northern France, near the border with Belgium, the capital of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

22d Rising dust storm // continued (5)

A dust devil[5] is a small whirlwind or air vortex over land, visible as a column of dust and debris ⇒ the wind kicked up dust devils in the street.

24d Check on the French // set of data (5)

"the French " = LE [French definite article]

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le[8].

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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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