Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29716 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, July 1, 2021 | |
Setter
Likely Giovanni (Don Manley) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29716]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Miffypops | |
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
Although not confirmed, this puzzle has almost certainly been set by Giovanni. One almost always has augmented their vocabulary by the time they finish one of his creations.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
| 7a | Live next to farmland? // That can be put up with (8) |
Arable[5] is used as a noun meaning arable land or crops ⇒
vast areas of arable and pasture.
Yes, they are synonymous
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I initially had misgivings as to whether the solution really matches the definition. I think my difficulty stems from the fact that the definition is a postpositive adjectival clause (consequences that can be put up with) and the solution is a prepositive adjective ( bearable consequences). The entry in Webster’s New World College Dictionary illustrates this point to a tee. It defines bearable[12] as 'that can be borne or endured; tolerable'. |
| 9a | School // hurt endlessly by quarrel (6) |
Harrow School[5] (informally Harrow) is a boys' public school* in northwest London, founded under Queen Elizabeth I in 1571.
* although North Americans would consider it to be a private school (show more )
In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system.
In Britain, a public school[2] is a particular category of independent school, namely a secondary school, especially a boarding school, run independently of the state and financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees.
Another category of independent school is the private school[2,5] which is a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees.
What we in North America would call a public school[2] is known in the UK as a state school[5] or a maintained school*.
* In England and Wales, a maintained school[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority.
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* although North Americans would consider it to be a private school (show more )
In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system.
In Britain, a public school[2] is a particular category of independent school, namely a secondary school, especially a boarding school, run independently of the state and financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees.
Another category of independent school is the private school[2,5] which is a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees.
What we in North America would call a public school[2] is known in the UK as a state school[5] or a maintained school*.
* In England and Wales, a maintained school[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority.
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| 10a | Dog led off // to be put in kennel, say? (6) |
| 11a | Approve of // what twit here can be seen to do (4,4) |
Hold with (something)[5] is an informal British expression meaning to approve of (something).
| 12a | 'Customers,' I plea, 'must get special treatment. // They are very valuable!' (8,6) |
I didn't think* that plea was a verb—a view supported by virtually all of my dictionaries. However, The Chambers Dictionary defines plea[1] as a verb meaning to dispute in a lawcourt.
* I didn't pick up on this point while solving the puzzle; it was only while writing the review that misgivings arose.
| 15a | Tense /with/ father and son getting agreement finally (4) |
| 17a | Pottery // expert bringing learner aboard (5) |
In the wordplay, "expert" is used as an adjective.
"learner " = 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.
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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.
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| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
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Delft[10] (also called delftware) is tin-glazed earthenware made in Delft (a town in the southwestern Netherlands) since the 17th century, typically having blue decoration on a white ground or a similar earthenware made in England.
| 19a | A knight trailing behind king, hard // ruler (4) |
"knight " = N [chess notation]
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
- K[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight.
- K[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king.
- N[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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Khan[5] is a title given to rulers and officials in central Asia, Afghanistan, and certain other Muslim countries.
| 20a | Soppiness // conveyed by one way of thinking (14) |
| 23a | Next door /there's/ a player of records needing a bit of money (8) |
The cent[5] is a monetary unit in various countries*,
equal to one hundredth of a dollar, euro, or other decimal currency
unit. However, in Britain — despite having adopted a decimal currency
system — one hundredth of a pound is known as a penny rather than a cent.
* Collins English Dictionary lists some 85 jurisdictions having the cent[10] as a monetary unit worth one hundredth of their respective standard units (show list ).
American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United States, the Vatican City, the Virgin Islands, and Zimbabwe.
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* Collins English Dictionary lists some 85 jurisdictions having the cent[10] as a monetary unit worth one hundredth of their respective standard units (show list ).
American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United States, the Vatican City, the Virgin Islands, and Zimbabwe.
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| 25a | Changing address /may be/ generating strong feelings (6) |
| 27a | Margaret, having secured victory, /is/ making high-pitched cry (6) |
Meg[7] is a feminine given name, often a short form of Margaret, Megan, Megumi (Japanese), etc.
| 28a | Precision /of/ a Christian creed laid down by saints (8) |
The Nicene Creed[5] is a formal statement of Christian belief which is very widely used in Christian liturgies, based on that adopted at the first Council of Nicaea in 325.
In the solution, nice[10] is used in the sense of precise or skilful ⇒
a nice fit.
Down
| 1d | The fellow leading soldiers up -- // a courageous man (4) |
| 2d | Very sad // end for establishment with smoke rising (6) |
Smoke[5] is used in the sense of an informal name for a cigarette or cigar ⇒
He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit a smoke.
| 3d | The second character /is/ one of the little women (4) |
Beth[5] is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Little Women[7] is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—detailing their passage from childhood to womanhood, and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters. Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts.
| 4d | Put back // nearly all the bits of the bookcase? (6) |
| 5d | Portray footballer /as/ a nuisance (8) |
A back[5] is a player in a team game who plays in a defensive position* behind the forwards ⇒
their backs showed some impressive running and passing.
* except, of course, in North American football where there are both offensive backs and defensive backs (however, the intended "footballer" here is assuredly a soccer player)
| 6d | Match being held inside cannot upset // competitor (10) |
Test[5] (short for Test match[5]) denotes an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒
the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies.
| 8d | Forbidden to go wild? Not in // county town (7) |
Bedford[5] is a town in south central England, on the River Ouse, the county town of Bedfordshire.
| 13d | Classical poetry /with/ phrases I'd translated about love (10) |
"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).
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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).
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In ancient Greece, a rhapsody[5] was an epic poem, or part of a poem, of a suitable length for recitation at one time.
| 14d | Ointment // not to waste left hidden (5) |
| 16d | Volunteers covering a little land down under, a province, /and/ an African country (8) |
"volunteers " = TA [Territorial Army, "old" name for the Army Reserve]
"province " = NI [Northern Ireland]
Northern Ireland[5] (abbreviation NI[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the northeast part of Ireland.
According to Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries), Northern Ireland[5] is the only major division of the United Kingdom to hold the status of province, with England[5], Scotland[5] and Wales[5] considered to be countries.
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Northern Ireland[5] (abbreviation NI[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the northeast part of Ireland.
According to Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries), Northern Ireland[5] is the only major division of the United Kingdom to hold the status of province, with England[5], Scotland[5] and Wales[5] considered to be countries.
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Tanzania[5] is a country in East Africa with a coastline on the Indian Ocean. (show more )
Tanzania consists of a mainland area (the former Tanganyika) and the island of Zanzibar. A German colony (German East Africa) from the late 19th century, Tanganyika became a British mandate after the First World War and a trust territory, administered by Britain, after the Second, before becoming independent within the Commonwealth in 1961. It was named Tanzania after its union with Zanzibar in 1964.
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Tanzania consists of a mainland area (the former Tanganyika) and the island of Zanzibar. A German colony (German East Africa) from the late 19th century, Tanganyika became a British mandate after the First World War and a trust territory, administered by Britain, after the Second, before becoming independent within the Commonwealth in 1961. It was named Tanzania after its union with Zanzibar in 1964.
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| 18d | Little kid facing monstrous mice /is/ sending a message (7) |
Something described as totemic[5] is regarded as being symbolic or representative of a particular quality or concept. Here the phrase "sending a message" is being used in the sense of symbolizing.
| 21d | One gets cold and anxious, no end, // when it's freezing (3,3) |
| 22d | Around five the French worker /gets/ to bunk off (6) |
"the French " = LE [French definite article]
"worker " = ANT
The terms "worker" and "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.
A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.
In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.
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The terms "worker" and "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.
A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.
In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.
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Bunk off[5] is an informal British term meaning to abscond or play truant from school or work.
Levant[5] is an archaic term meaning to run away, typically leaving unpaid debts ⇒
the clerk had levanted before his employer returned from America.
| 24d | Quality /of/ gem perhaps initially not evident (4) |
| 26d | Reportedly recognises // organ (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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