Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29739 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, July 28, 2021 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29739]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
2Kiwis | |
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 16, 2021 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
Jay and the 2Kiwis provide a fairly gentle puzzle and review to make my first day back from a short vacation an easy one. However, it does appear that I must have inadvertently pressed the "Publish" button a couple of hours prematurely this morning. As a result, a few early birds saw merely a template without content.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 | Supports // career employed by Building Society (6) |
BS[2] is the abbreviation for building society[2], a British term for a finance company that lends money to its members for buying or improving houses, and in which customers can invest money in accounts to earn interest. Many building societies now provide cheque accounts and other general banking services.
| 5a | Delights confronting credit // controller in aircraft (8) |
Tick[5] (used in the phrase on tick) is an informal British term meaning credit ⇒
the printer agreed to send the brochures out on tick.
Origin: The term apparently originates as a short form for ticket in the phrase on the ticket, referring to an IOU or promise to pay.
| 9a | Her day on guard is weird -- // crude but effective (5-3-5) |
| 10a | Something afoot /due to/ policy reversal in the USA? (4-4) |
From a British perspective, flip-flop[5] is an informal North American term for an abrupt reversal of policy.
| 11a | Slim // women -- not in twelves, possibly! (6) |
| 12a | Native maybe // held by boys, terrified (6) |
Native[5] is a British term for an oyster reared in British waters.
| 14a | With regard to cover the French /must get/ a wake-up call (8) |
"the French " = LE [French definite article]
| 16a | Son involved in sadly real pay // freeze (8) |
| 19a | Work out price of a pound // of ribs (6) |
Cost[5] is used as a verb in the sense of to estimate the price of ⇒
it is their job to plan and cost a media schedule for the campaign.
"pound " = L [British monetary unit]
The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L[10].
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra* .
* In ancient Rome, the libra[5] was a unit of weight, equivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.
hide
The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L[10].
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra* .
* In ancient Rome, the libra[5] was a unit of weight, equivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.
hide
Costal[5] is an adjective meaning relating to the ribs.
| 21a | Office item /required from/ Times editor lacking content (6) |
Scratching the Surface
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The Times[7]
is a British daily national newspaper based in London. (show more )
The paper began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register and became The Times on 1 January 1788. The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. (headed by Australian-born American publisher and media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch). The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. hide |
| 23a | Speed /of/ star with no heart (8) |
| 25a | Expert attacks -- before running // incentive scheme (6-7) |
Hare[5] (present participle haring) is a British expression meaning to run with great speed ⇒
he hared off between the trees.
| 26a | Judged /to be/ oddly steady after crowds losing head (8) |
| 27a | An offence in, say, // relaxing (6) |
Down
| 2d | Recover after game // in the countryside (7) |
| 3d | Fool/'s/ mate? Pressure (5) |
| 4d | Work or call shy // academic (9) |
| 5d | Bush // minor loses love for exercise (7) |
"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).
hide
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).
hide
| 6d | Tall tales /of/ fish rising on poles (5) |
| 7d | Fumed during links /for/ Hamlet and Othello, perhaps (9) |
Hamlet[7] (in full The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark)
is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date
between 1599 and 1602. (show more )
Set in Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet. Claudius had murdered his own brother and seized the throne, also marrying his deceased brother's widow.
hide
Set in Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet. Claudius had murdered his own brother and seized the throne, also marrying his deceased brother's widow.
hide
Othello[7] (in full The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1601 and 1604. (show more )
The play revolves around four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his beloved wife, Desdemona; his loyal lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted but ultimately unfaithful ensign, Iago.
Othello is a brave and competent soldier of advanced years and Moorish background in the service of the Venetian Republic. He elopes with Desdemona, the beautiful daughter of a respected Venetian senator. After being deployed to Cyprus, Othello is manipulated by Iago into believing Desdemona is an adulteress. Othello murders her and, upon discovering Iago's deceit, kills himself.
hide
The play revolves around four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his beloved wife, Desdemona; his loyal lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted but ultimately unfaithful ensign, Iago.
Othello is a brave and competent soldier of advanced years and Moorish background in the service of the Venetian Republic. He elopes with Desdemona, the beautiful daughter of a respected Venetian senator. After being deployed to Cyprus, Othello is manipulated by Iago into believing Desdemona is an adulteress. Othello murders her and, upon discovering Iago's deceit, kills himself.
hide
| 8d | Stone wrapped in Lycra -- broken // quartz? (7) |
The stone[5] (abbreviation st[5]) is a British unit of weight equal to 14 lb (6.35 kg) ⇒
I weighed 10 stone.
The question mark indicates that quartz is a definition by example.
| 13d | Press on at faulty // switch (9) |
| 15d | Blow hot and cold /as/ sick during leave (9) |
| 17d | A support thus erected /is/ suitable (7) |
| 18d | Former Conservative gets employed /and/ forgiven (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.
hide
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.
hide
| 20d | Argentina -- upset without a right // means of defence (7) |
Fact Check
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| This clue triggered an alarm in my brain as I solved it but I did not follow up on it. However, my apprehensions were proven to be justified by comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. An antigen is not a "means of defence" — rather it is "the attacker not the defender". An antigen[5] is a toxin or other foreign substance which induces an immune response in the body, especially the production of antibodies. |
| 22d | Rider's requirement /of/ rules for audition (5) |
| 24d | Manages to take in island // remains (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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