Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29728 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, July 15, 2021 | |
Setter
(Likely) Giovanni (Don Manley) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29728]
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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
The parsing of 18D was a mystery until I had brushed up on British motorways.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 | Title of lady // in London adventure (4) |
Dona[10] (Portuguese) or Doña[10] (Spanish) is a title of address equivalent to Mrs or Madam placed before a name to indicate respect.
| 3a | Fellow in something like Prodigal Son story // not beyond redemption (10) |
At Oxford and Cambridge universities, a fellow[10] is a member of the governing body of a college who is usually a member of the teaching staff.
A don[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son[7] is one of the parables of Jesus in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32.
| 8a | Old baddy leading men -- // a fine speaker? (6) |
"old " = O [linguistics]
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.
hide
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
OFr[Old French]; (ii)
OE[Old English].
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.
hide
| 9a | Source of annoyance -- clothes items I have /being/ scratchy (8) |
| 10a | Poet // thus keeps mostly happy, animated within (6) |
Sappho[5] (early 7th century BC*) was a Greek lyric poet who lived on Lesbos, a Greek island in the eastern Aegean, off the coast of north-western Turkey. Many of her poems express affection and love for women, and have given rise to her association with female homosexuality.
* One can't believe everything written in dictionaries. Sappho[7] (c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was actually born in the late 7th century BC and died in the early 6th century BC.
| 11a | Peculiarities // are initially evident in very good stars (8) |
Aries[5] is a small constellation (the Ram), said to represent the ram in Greek mythology whose Golden Fleece was sought by Jason and the Argonauts.
| 12a | What's conjured up by a dreamer /may be/ rum (8) |
Demerara[5] (also demerara rum) is a dark rum fermented from molasses, made in Guyana.
Scratching the Surface
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In the surface reading, the setter may have expected us to interpret rum[5] as a dated informal British expression meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly. |
| 14a | People // run (4) |
| 16a | Duck on huge lake /in/ city (4) |
"duck " = O [cricket term]
In cricket, a duck[5] (short for duck's egg) is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒
In British puzzles, "duck" is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.
hide
In cricket, a duck[5] (short for duck's egg) is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒
he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg[5] meaning a zero score in a game.
In British puzzles, "duck" is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.
hide
| 18a | Provide group with tuition -- // something children enjoy (5,3) |
The first part of the clue could be a literal interpretation of the solution.
The cartoon in Miffypops' review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is certain to resonate with readers in Ottawa!
| 19a | Military barrier /could be/ made by cadets, OK? (8) |
| 20a | One offering high-level protection (6) |
| 21a | Order one sent out /for/ military supplies (8) |
| 22a | Pass /with/ low exam grade -- fall from high standard? (6) |
| 23a | Hot matters to be dealt with? // One can control the heat (10) |
| 24a | Dirty // son with something greasy (4) |
Down
| 1d | Sort involved with demo // who tells us the end is nigh? (8) |
| 2d | Hint needed in a knotty situation? // The opposite (8) |
| 3d | Theatre upset erstwhile // actor (9) |
Rep[2,5] is an informal short form for repertory theatre (also simply repertory). It can refer either to the performance of various plays, operas, or ballets by a company at regular short intervals ⇒
once, when I was in rep, I learned Iago in three days) or to a repertory theatre or company ⇒
the Birmingham Rep*.
* Birmingham Repertory Theatre[7], commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a theatre located in Birmingham, England.
| 4d | Trade times never altered /in/ repeat notice (15) |
| 5d | A river once more rising -- // this one at a border? (7) |
The Niagara River[5] flows northwards for 56 km (35 miles) from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Canada and the US.
| 6d | Officers /given/ hits feel unwell inside (8) |
Here and There
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About the only definitive statement that one can make is that a bailiff is a court official as the duties of persons holding this title vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. (show more )
According to Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries), a bailiff[5] is:
Wikipedia says that "In parts of Canada, bailiffs[7] are responsible for the service of legal process. In some jurisdictions, duties of the bailiff include the service of legal documents, repossession and evictions in accordance with court judgments, application of wheel clamps and the execution of arrest warrants." These duties would appear to be similar to those of a British bailiff. Nevertheless, "In Ontario, provincial bailiffs provide primary transportation of prisoners between correctional facilities such as jails and prisons. ... Duties normally associated with bailiffs in other jurisdictions, such as residential evictions, seizures, and other processes order by the court, are performed by sheriffs under the office of the Attorney General of Ontario or "private" bailiffs if initiated without a court order." As for the US, "Many in the United States use the word bailiff[7] colloquially to refer to a peace officer providing court security. More often, these court officers are sheriff's deputies, marshals, corrections officers or constables. The terminology varies among (and sometimes within) the several states." hide |
| 7d | Spectators seeing six departing // vessels (5) |
| 13d | Pressing after short break /to be/ on the up again (9) |
| 15d | Pet // about to be given a bit of food (8) |
| 16d | Seats /of/ old empire gone with onset of socialism (8) |
The Ottoman Empire[5] was The Turkish empire, established in northern Anatolia by Osman I at the end of the 13th century and expanded by his successors to include all of Asia Minor and much of south-eastern Europe. After setbacks caused by the invasion of the Mongol ruler Tamerlane in 1402, Constantinople was captured in 1453. The empire reached its zenith under Suleiman in the mid 16th century; it had greatly declined by the 19th century and collapsed after the First World War.
| 17d | Exaggerate the merits of // maidens possibly facing 'orrible situation (8) |
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.
An aitch (H) dropped by the setter in the clue—in imitation of cockney
speech mannerisms (show more )—indicates that the solver must also drop one in the solution.
A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow[7] church).
The cockney[5] dialect is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang[5], a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
hide
A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow[7] church).
The cockney[5] dialect is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang[5], a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
hide
| 18d | Go on to Doncaster bypass maybe /and/ prepare to shoot ahead (4,3) |
Similar to 18a, the first part of the clue could be a literal interpretation of the solution.
Doncaster[7] is a town in South Yorkshire, England. Doncaster is situated on the A1(M) and M18 motorways. The 15-mile (24 km) A1(M) motorway bypass was opened in 1961.
| 19d | Yell // not acceptable after request for silence (5) |
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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