Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29741 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, July 30, 2021 | |
Setter
Zandio | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29741]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Deep Threat | |
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
I always find Zandio's puzzles challenging but also a lot of fun. However, I resorted to electronic help earlier than I might have had I not been faced with a looming blogging deadline.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 | Sisters have this responsibility // ahead (8) |
In Britain, a sister[5] (often Sister) is a senior female nurse, typically in charge of a ward.
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat calls this clue a double definition. However, I would not consider it to be such as the first part does not satisfy the specified numeration.
Post Mortem
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| A list of candidates identified with the aid of a word finder program did include the correct solution. However, I didn't write it in as I was unable to parse it. |
| 5a | One shows one's sad // to split (4) |
| 9a | Detectives crack, /getting/ wind up (8) |
"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).
hide
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).
hide
Wind up[5] is a British* expression meaning to arrange the affairs of and dissolve a company ⇒
the company has since been wound up.
* although I believe this term is commonly used in Canada
| 10a | Promises // magic // times (6) |
In the first definition, spell[5] is used in the sense of mean or have as a result ⇒
the plans would spell disaster for the economy.
Post Mortem
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| Although it did occur to me that "magic times" was a bit odd, I dismissed this misgiving by rationalizing it as a cryptic definition. It never occurred to me that it might be a triple definition. |
| 11a | Using force /in/ street unacceptably after wife leaves (8) |
| 12a | Expansion keeping Times /in/ rear (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 |
| 14a | Promoted team relegated -- /it's/ over! (6,4) |
"team " = SIDE
Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
hide
Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒
there was a mixture of old and young players in* their side.
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii)
They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.
hide
In a sports context, promote[5] means to transfer (a team) to a higher division of a league ⇒
they were promoted from the Third Division [to the Second Division] last season. Conversely, relegate[5] is a British term meaning to transfer (a sports team) to a lower division of a league ⇒
United were relegated to division two.
Delving Deeper
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| Sports leagues in the UK typically operate on a process of promotion and relegation[7]
in which teams are transferred between two divisions based on their
performance for the completed season. The best-ranked teams in the lower
division are promoted to the division above, and the worst-ranked teams
in the higher division are relegated [moved down] to the
division below. This process can continue through several
levels, with teams being exchanged between levels 1 and 2, levels 2 and
3, levels 3 and 4, and so on. An alternate system of league organization which is used in the US, Canada and Australia is a closed model which always has the same teams playing, with occasional admission of expansion teams and relocation of existing teams, and with no movement between the major league and minor leagues. |
Could the solution to this clue be a hint on solving 26a?
| 18a | Playing card incorporating old-fashioned diamonds /is/ familiar (10) |
| 22a | Grasp mat shoved over to conceal // labels (6) |
| 23a | Leave // via Acton, unusually (8) |
In Britain, the word vacation[5] denotes a fixed holiday period between terms in universities and law courts ⇒
the Easter vacation. In North America, such a period might be called a break[7]. The British use the word holiday(s)[5,10] for what North Americans (especially our neighbours south of the border)* would call vacation[5], a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation ⇒ (i)
I spent my summer holidays on a farm; (ii)
Fred was on holiday in Spain.
* however, I am accustomed to hearing the terms vacation and holiday being used interchangeably in this sense
Scratching the Surface
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| Acton[7] is a town and area in west London, England, within the London Borough of Ealing. In addition, there are also at least nine hamlets and villages throughout the UK named Acton[7]. |
| 24a | Love gear, popular // creation (6) |
| 25a | Seal needs a blue // place to live (8) |
A bung[5] is a stopper for closing a hole in a container ⇒
The bung was pressed into the hole to seal it.
| 26a | Figure // half-a-dozen will turn up (4) |
The solution to 14a may give you a hint on solving the wordplay in this clue.
| 27a | Was banking // made secure using pressure not force? (8) |
Down
| 2d | Weight rose rapidly up, partly /in/ place of relaxing (6) |
| 3d | A cycle put together // roughly (6) |
| 4d | Loving deep novel /that's/ coming out (10) |
| 6d | Former cop journalist // blasted (8) |
Plod[5] (also PC* Plod) is an informal British term for a police officer ⇒
a bunch of plods arrived, offering me a lift to the cop shop.
Origin: The term is an allusion to Mr Plod the Policeman in the Noddy stories for children by English children's writer Enid Blyton[7] (1897–1968).
* PC[5] is a British designator for police constable ⇒
PC Bartholomew made his report.
| 7d | Reference /given by/ uncle? (8) |
| 8d | HQ designed without a // cellar (8) |
| 9d | Little // sprint (4) |
| 13d | In which we see authors // retail imagined and true shapes (10) |
| 15d | Papers /showing/ what striker wants from full-back -- Rio, for instance (8) |
In soccer [football to the Brits], striker[10] is an informal term for an attacking player, especially one who generally positions himself or herself near the opponent's goal in the hope of scoring.
In certain team games, a full back[1,5] (also full-back[14] or fullback[2,4,10,14]; US fullback[3,5,11,12,15]) is a player in a defensive position, playing at the side of the field in soccer and hockey and behind the other backs in rugby.
Rio de Janeiro[5] [commonly known as Rio] is a city in eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast. The chief port of Brazil, it was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.
| 16d | A boring broadcast on quiet // times is often part of this formula (8) |
Translation: The solution often involves multiplication.
| 17d | Tents pitched on major road by extremists in Green // lobby (8) |
The A1[7] is the longest numbered road in the UK, at 410 miles (660 km). It connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
| 19d | Loveless dance, the French // twist (6) |
"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
The tango[5] is a ballroom dance originating in Buenos Aires, characterized by marked rhythms and postures and abrupt pauses.
"the French " = LE [French definite article]
Scratching the Surface
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| The twist[5] is a dance with a twisting movement of the body, popular in the 1960s. |
| 20d | Packed /and/ shaved, getting the middle bit twice (6) |
| 21d | Recognised // novel being read aloud (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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