Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29744 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, August 3, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29744]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Mr K | |
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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Notes
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This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, October 23, 2021 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
I found this to be a very enjoyable solving experience. I started slowly but the pace picked up as more and more checking letters fell into place. Toward the end, I did fear I might have to resort to electronic help but suddenly everything just fell into place.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 | Typical // Conservative I caught following girl (7) |
"Conservative " = C [member of British political party]
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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"caught " = C [cricket notation]
Classic[5] is used in the sense of very typical of its kind ⇒
Hamlet is the classic example of a tragedy.
| 5a | Finish cooking mice /for/ native (7) |
| 9a | Boss first to leave // plant (5) |
| 10a | Crossword compiler might need this // work out -- one's dumpy (9) |
| 11a | Get rid of loads here? (10) |
| 12a | Melody, // a flipping melody (4) |
| 14a | Foolish // doctor loved clinic outside Spain (3-9) |
| 18a | At sea, turn and row boat, catching one // fish (7,5) |
| 21a | The woman had // to abandon // hut (4) |
This clue delivers a triple play—wordplay followed by two definitions.
| 22a | One classification including artist, regularly // annoying (10) |
| 25a | Soldier on // exercises runs hard (9) |
"runs " = R [cricket notation]
| 26a | 1970s music, say, // is constant in party (5) |
In mathematics, C[5] (or c) is a symbol used to represent either the third fixed constant to appear in an algebraic expression, or a known constant. (show more ) Specifically in physics, c[5] is the symbol for the speed of light in a vacuum (which is a constant).
In mathematics, a constant[5] is a quantity or parameter that does not change its value whatever the value of the variables, under a given set of conditions.
In physics, a constant[5] is a number expressing a relation or property which remains the same in all circumstances, or for the same substance under the same conditions.
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In mathematics, a constant[5] is a quantity or parameter that does not change its value whatever the value of the variables, under a given set of conditions.
In physics, a constant[5] is a number expressing a relation or property which remains the same in all circumstances, or for the same substance under the same conditions.
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"party " = DO
Do[5,12] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[12] term* for a party or other social event ⇒
* Although one US dictionary (Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12]) supports the contention by Lexico (Oxford Dictionary of English)[5] that this usage is at least chiefly British, two other US dictionaries[3,11] do not.
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Do[5,12] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[12] term* for a party or other social event ⇒
the soccer club Christmas do.
* Although one US dictionary (Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12]) supports the contention by Lexico (Oxford Dictionary of English)[5] that this usage is at least chiefly British, two other US dictionaries[3,11] do not.
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| 27a | Source of songs, perhaps -- // river birds (7) |
The Dee[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland and England — not to mention Ireland and Australia, the most prominent being:
- a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
- a river that rises in North Wales and flows into England, past Chester and on into the Irish Sea
| 28a | Demonstrate capturing fine // badger (7) |
Down
| 1d | Vulgar // programme on the radio (6) |
| 2d | Climbing volunteers wear out // clothing (6) |
"volunteers " = TA [Territorial Army, former name for the Army Reserve]
| 3d | Uniform and suit -- // everything's taken off here (5,5) |
Strip[5] is a British term* denoting the identifying outfit worn by the members of a sports team while playing ⇒
the team’s away strip is a garish mix of red, white, and blue.
* in North American parlance, a uniform
| 4d | Fuzz on bottom of the // brush (5) |
| 5d | Surprise // drink in the morning (3-6) |
From a British perspective, an eye-opener[10] is a US and Canadian term for an alcoholic drink taken early in the morning.
| 6d | Blokes dismissing European // failures (4) |
Bloke[5] is an informal British* term for a man ⇒
he’s a nice bloke.
* Very British, but certainly also very familiar to anyone on this side of the pond who has ever watched a British film or television programme.
From a British perspective, dude[5] is an informal, mainly North American term for a man or guy (often as a form of address).
Origin: Late 19th century (denoting a dandy); probably shortened from doodle, perhaps with allusion to Yankee Doodle Dandy
"European " = E [as in E number]
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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| 7d | Move gran around // tree (8) |
| 8d | Give orders to ordinary // Royal Marine (8) |
"ordinary " = O [British academic qualification]
Historically, in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), O level[5] (short for ordinary level[5]) was a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A (advanced) level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
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Historically, in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), O level[5] (short for ordinary level[5]) was a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A (advanced) level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
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The Royal Marines[5,10] is a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) founded in 1664. It is a corps of soldiers specially trained in amphibious warfare. One of their nicknames is "The Commandos".[7]
| 13d | Energy // to stand and make an exit (3-2-3-2) |
| 15d | Colleagues -- // excellent people -- swallowing old whiskey (2-7) |
Corker[5] is an informal term* for an excellent or astonishing person or thing ⇒
There have been some real corkers, but for unalloyed wonderfulness the latest Porsche 911 is about as good as a car can get.
* Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary designates the term as "British, informal, old-fashioned". However, it is found in all my US dictionaries with no designation as being British.
| 16d | Temporary accommodation // cold and wild -- father departs (8) |
| 17d | Long street missing both ends, // where one may find cones (4,4) |
| 19d | France is protecting a company/'s/ disaster (6) |
Mr K's explanation of the wordplay on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is not quite correct. The A is not sandwiched between F(ine) and IS; rather, we have F(ine) + IS containing A + CO (company).
| 20d | Fail to notice // some hanger-on giving up (6) |
| 23d | Freeze // pleasant drink, removing lids (3,2) |
| 24d | Fine time to arrive /for/ food! (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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