Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29759 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, August 20, 2021 | |
Setter
silvanus | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29759]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
LetterboxRoy | |
BD rating
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| Difficulty - tba | Enjoyment - tba |
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, November 13, 2021 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
For the second consecutive day, a new blogger joins the crew on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. Today, it is LetterboxRoy sitting in for Deep Threat.No star ratings are provided on Big Dave's Crossword Blog (the site seems to have been encountering some issues on the day this puzzle appeared in The Daily Telegraph). However, personally I found this puzzle to be challenging but very enjoyable. While I did manage to complete it unaided, I embarrassingly failed to grasp the wordplay at 2d.
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 | Move by government at last /becoming/ economical (6) |
| 5a | Extreme // custom Dorset regularly observed (6) |
Scratching the Surface
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| In the surface reading, Dorset[5] could conceivably allude to the county of southwestern England. However, it would perhaps better fit the clue to think of it as a reference to a prehistoric culture which flourished in the American Arctic during the 1st millennium AD and was displaced by the Thule culture. |
| 10a | Chose // page thumb-marked originally in dictionary (5) |
OED[5] is the abbreviation for the Oxford English Dictionary.
Delving Deeper
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| The Oxford English Dictionary[7] (OED),
published by the Oxford University Press, is a descriptive (as opposed
to prescriptive) dictionary of the English language. As well as
describing English usage in its many variations throughout the world,
it traces the historical development of the language, providing a
comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers. The second
edition, published in 1989, came to 21,728 pages in 20 volumes. The OED should not be confused with the Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE). In 1998 the New Oxford Dictionary of English (NODE) was published. Having as its aim to cover current English only, without the historical focus, NODE was not based on the OED. Instead, it was an entirely new dictionary produced with the aid of corpus linguistics [the study of language as expressed in corpora (samples) of "real world" text]. NODE (under the new title of the Oxford Dictionary of English, or ODE) continues to be the principal source for Oxford's product line of current-English dictionaries, including the Concise Oxford Dictionary and New Oxford American Dictionary, with the OED now only serving as the basis for scholarly historical dictionaries. Lexico, the online version of Oxford Dictionaries from which I regularly draw material is based on the ODE. |
| 11a | Introduce changes /in/ rebate (9) |
| 12a | Foretaste /of/ survey on flipping English Received Pronunciation! (7) |
RP[5] is the abbreviation for received pronunciation.
Delving Deeper
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|---|---|
Received pronunciation[5] (also received standard) is the standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in southern England, widely accepted as a standard elsewhere ⇒ Standard English at that time was British English with received pronunciation. |
Scratching the Surface
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Flipping[5,10]
(adjective
or adverb) is an informal British term used for emphasis or to express mild annoyance ⇒ (i) are you out of your flipping mind?; (ii) it’s flipping cold today. Origin: a euphemism for the taboo word f**king |
| 13a | Editorials beginning to alter, /bringing/ Telegraph subscribers perhaps (7) |
Leader[10] (also called leading article) is a mainly British term for the leading editorial in a newspaper.
The Daily Telegraph[7] is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper, founded in 1855 as The Daily Telegraph and Courier, which is published in London and distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally [... and is the newspaper in which this puzzle initially appeared].
| 14a | State /of/ bird having swallowed stone sadly (9) |
Mina[1,2,11,12] is a seemingly rare* [at least, outside the borders of Crosswordland] alternative spelling of myna (also mynah), any of various large, southeast Asian birds of the starling family, some of which can be taught to imitate human speech.
* Among the several dictionaries that I consult on a regular basis, this spelling is found only in the four cited sources.
| 17a | Reject // skipper essentially going aboard small vessel (5) |
| 18a | Sport in which Jack plays important role? (5) |
Bowls[5] (known in North America as lawn bowling[5]) is a game played with heavy bowls [balls], the object of which is to propel one’s bowl so that it comes to rest as close as possible to a previously bowled small ball (the jack). Bowls is played chiefly out of doors (though indoor bowls is also popular) on a closely trimmed lawn called a green.
| 19a | Court verdict /makes/ sense (9) |
| 21a | Twig at intervals swimming coach admits /being/ confused (7) |
| 23a | Conceded // everyone was in debt (7) |
| 25a | Mask thief fashioned /that's/ rudimentary (9) |
| 26a | Content leaving employment after month /in/ music group (5) |
| 27a | Celebrity very averse ultimately // to go hungry (6) |
"very " = V [context uncertain]
The abbreviation* v (or v.)[1,2,5,10] stands for very.
* Although this abbreviation is found in most of my British dictionaries, it does not appear in any of my American dictionaries. Unfortunately no explanation is given as to the specific context in which one might encounter this usage. One possibility is when combined with G as a grade of VG (very good) on school tests or assignments. A second might be in the grading scale for numismatic coins[7] where VG and VF are the codes for 'Very Good' and 'Very Fine' respectively.
hide
The abbreviation* v (or v.)[1,2,5,10] stands for very.
* Although this abbreviation is found in most of my British dictionaries, it does not appear in any of my American dictionaries. Unfortunately no explanation is given as to the specific context in which one might encounter this usage. One possibility is when combined with G as a grade of VG (very good) on school tests or assignments. A second might be in the grading scale for numismatic coins[7] where VG and VF are the codes for 'Very Good' and 'Very Fine' respectively.
hide
| 28a | Meagre // salary lieutenant's right to divide (6) |
Down
| 2d | Loose // way of working police officer rejects (5) |
If, like me, you fail to identify the police officer, I am sure you will kick yourself. I, myself. am covered in metaphorical bruises from the beating I inflicted upon myself.
MO[5] is the abbreviation for modus operandi[5] which means:
- a particular way or method of doing something ⇒
every killer has his own special modus operandi
- the way in which something operates or works ⇒
THC has a quite precise modus operandi that taps into a specific brain function
Origin: Latin, literally ‘way of operating’
| 3d | Sid signed off, /getting/ dizzy spells (9) |
| 4d | Cast // finished broadcast (5) |
| 5d | Worker supports subordinate /revealing/ secret (9) |
Underhand[5] denotes Acting or done in a secret or dishonest way ⇒
underhand dealings.
| 6d | Tea that's inferior to instant // coffee (5) |
Cha (variant spelling of char[5]) an informal British name for tea [in the sense of a drink].
"instant " = MO [short period of time]
Mo[5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal term* for a short period of time ⇒
* Identified by several British dictionaries as being a British[5][14], chiefly British[2][4], or mainly British[10] term. However, one British[1] and two US dictionaries[11][12] do not specify that it is British. This meaning of the word "mo" is not found in a third US dictionary[3].
hide
Mo[5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal term* for a short period of time ⇒
hang on a mo!.
* Identified by several British dictionaries as being a British[5][14], chiefly British[2][4], or mainly British[10] term. However, one British[1] and two US dictionaries[11][12] do not specify that it is British. This meaning of the word "mo" is not found in a third US dictionary[3].
hide
Mocha[5] is a type of fine-quality coffee.
Origin: named after Mocha, a port in Yemen on the Red Sea, from where the coffee was first shipped
| 7d | Calculation device // I'll use, designed to impress friends occasionally around (5,4) |
| 8d | Old politician stops dog /finding/ fluffy ball (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
"politician " = MP
Pom[5] is short for Pomeranian[5], a small dog of a breed with long silky hair, a pointed muzzle, and pricked ears.
| 9d | Complete agreement /from/ offspring studying for degree? (6) |
Uni[5] is an informal (originally Australian) short form for university ⇒
he planned to go to uni.
One might—at least, in Crosswordland—refer to a son studying at university as a "uni son".
| 15d | Improved demand /for/ card game (9) |
Newmarket[5,7] is an English card game* in which the players put down cards in sequence, hoping to be the first to play all their cards and also to play certain special cards on which bets have been placed.
| 16d | Fair // goal (9) |
| 17d | Abrasive // individuals rustling sheep, what they do reportedly (5,4) |
| 18d | Change into // suit (6) |
| 20d | Dorothy is lifted, having worried // up till now (2,4) |
Dot[7] is a feminine given name or nickname (most often a short form of Dorothy).
| 22d | Weapon /that/ injures a troublemaker contains uprising (5) |
| 23d | Appear in Cambridge Footlights, say, /and/ behave badly (3,2) |
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club[7], commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University.
In Britain, up[5] means at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ⇒
they were up at Cambridge about the same time.
Thus to "appear in Cambridge Footlights, say" would be to ACT at university, or ACT UP.
| 24d | Restaurant employee, one spilled // Adam's wine (5) |
Adam's wine[10] is a British dialect term* for water.
* An expression that is similar to—and likely less common than—Adam's ale[10], an old-fashioned, humorous name for water.
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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