Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29769 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, September 1, 2021 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29769]
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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, November 27, 2021 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
I found some of this puzzle quite tricky and needed to resort to a bit of electronic help to finish.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 | Impotence /of/ father visiting Cuzco perhaps (10) |
Cuzco[5] is a city in the Andes in southern Peru; population 348,900 (est. 2007). It was the capital of the Inca empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533.
| 6a | Stag // party undressed by first of hens (4) |
Scratching the Surface
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Hen[5] is a British term for a woman who is about to get married and is attending a celebration with female friends and relatives ⇒ today's naughty hens don't want to share the stories with their other halves. Hen party[5] is a [likely British or chiefly British] term for a social gathering of women, especially a hen night* [the equivalent of a stag party for the fairer sex]. * Hen night[5] is an informal British term for a celebration held for a woman who is about to get married, attended only by women. |
| 10a | Feature of a hawk // leaving Marxist alone (5) |
| 11a | Medic performing easy // work off the record (9) |
Here and There
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There is no consensus among dictionaries on the meaning of the term medic. Most dictionaries show medic as being an informal
term for a physician, surgeon, intern or medical student. However, some
British dictionaries think it is a British term while some American
dictionaries consider it to be a US term. One British dictionary also includes medical orderlies within the definition.
The dictionaries do appear to agree on one point; namely, it is a US
usage to apply the name to a member of a military medical corps. (show more )
Here is how various dictionaries define medic. Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries)[5]:
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| 12a | Exploit delay in case of finance // body (8) |
| 13a | No through road /that's/ shut (5) |
Close[5] (often found in street names) is a British term for a residential street without through access ⇒
she lives at 12 Goodwood Close.
| 15a | Stumbles across church // army feature! (7) |
According to whimsical cryptic crossword logic, if leggy[5] means having attractively long legs then army must necessary mean having attractively long arms.
| 17a | Be quiet // because occupied by the French (7) |
"the French " = LE [French definite article]
| 19a | Writer's block, // and poet is upset (7) |
| 21a | Busy, /and/ furious dismissing Republican for good (7) |
"Republican " = R [member or supporter of US political party]
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.
hide
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
Although, in the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland, the abbreviation does not appear to apply to that usage.
hide
| 22a | Bill has no time /for/ problem (5) |
| 24a | Wrong maps included in quote /for/ temporary accommodation (8) |
| 27a | Think, love, before American /gets/ heavy (9) |
"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
| 28a | Recover strength /for/ meeting in common cause (5) |
| 29a | Irritated, /with/ tons stolen from shop (4) |
Here and There
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| The word "store" has a more restricted meaning in the UK than it does in North America. Brits would think of most stores as shops. From a British perspective, a store[5] is:
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| 30a | One's belt is loose, /that's/ apparent (10) |
Down
| 1d | Scrap // answer after seeing nothing in it (4) |
| 2d | Artist // is too cruel, represented with no end of hope (9) |
As an anagram indicator, represented is deceptively used* in the sense of re-presented[5], meaning to have presented (something) again, especially for further consideration or in an altered form.
* Remember, in cryptic crosswords, it is common practice to omit or insert punctuation at will—or on a whim.
A colourist[5] is an artist or designer who uses colour in a special or skilful way.
| 3d | Cash /from/ article failing to appear in atonement? (5) |
Pence[5] is a plural* form of penny[5],
a British bronze coin and monetary unit. (show more ).
* Both pence and pennies have existed as plural forms of penny since at least the 16th century. The two forms now tend to be used for different purposes: pence refers to sums of money (five pounds and sixty-nine pence) while pennies refers to the coins themselves (I left two pennies on the table). The use of pence rather than penny as a singular (the chancellor will put one pence on income tax) is not regarded as correct in standard English.
Today, a penny is equal to one hundredth of a pound and is the smallest denomination in Britain's modern decimal currency system introduced in 1971. The abbreviation for the modern penny or pence is p[5].
In the British currency system used prior to 1971, a penny[5] (abbreviation d[5] [for denarius]) was a coin or monetary unit equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound.
hide
* Both pence and pennies have existed as plural forms of penny since at least the 16th century. The two forms now tend to be used for different purposes: pence refers to sums of money (five pounds and sixty-nine pence) while pennies refers to the coins themselves (I left two pennies on the table). The use of pence rather than penny as a singular (the chancellor will put one pence on income tax) is not regarded as correct in standard English.
Today, a penny is equal to one hundredth of a pound and is the smallest denomination in Britain's modern decimal currency system introduced in 1971. The abbreviation for the modern penny or pence is p[5].
In the British currency system used prior to 1971, a penny[5] (abbreviation d[5] [for denarius]) was a coin or monetary unit equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound.
hide
| 4d | Fights // fixed cost to cover business degree (7) |
| 5d | Shifting worst, keeping the Spanish // tools (7) |
"the Spanish " = EL [Spanish definite article]
| 7d | Bother /found in/ a good half of ground (5) |
Good, which first appeared in 21a, returns for an encore performance.
Aggro[5] (abbreviation of aggravation or aggression) is an informal British term for:
- aggressive, violent behaviour ⇒
they do not usually become involved in aggro
- problems and difficulties ⇒
he didn’t have to deal with aggro from the desk clerk
| 8d | Action during championships /must get/ evidence of ownership (5,5) |
| 9d | Non-striker /may be/ bowling initially -- need support (8) |
Blackleg[5] is a derogatory British term for a person who continues working when fellow workers are on strike; in other words, a strike-breaker.
| 14d | Bear tweets, /finding/ sources of water! (10) |
Pipe[5] is used in the sense (said of a bird) to sing in a high or shrill voice.
Here and There
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| A standpipe is a source of water on both sides of the pond, but the word seemingly has quite a different meaning in North America than it does in the UK. In Britain, a standpipe[2,5] is a vertical pipe leading from a water supply, especially one connecting a temporary tap to the mains to provide an emergency supply in the street when household water is cut off. In North America, a standpipe[12,15] is:
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| 16d | Retired hotel employee, // one with business abroad (8) |
A porter is:
- (British) an employee in charge of the entrance of a hotel, block of flats [apartments], college, or other large building[5]
- (mainly British) a person in charge of a gate or door; a doorman or gatekeeper[10]
- a person employed by a university or college as a caretaker and doorkeeper who also answers enquiries[10]
- a person in charge of the maintenance of a building, especially a block of flats [apartments][10]
| 18d | Venue // suffering glitch in centre (9) |
| 20d | Opportunities to employ court // professionals (7) |
| 21d | Line dismissed by travelling salesmen // as a group (2,5) |
| 23d | Instrument // carried by fliers on a raid (5) |
| 25d | Rides a white horse? (5) |
A white horse[5] is a white-crested wave at sea ⇒
The spirit of the wave is physically embodied in the enormous white horses which are charging through the water as the three surfers surge forward.
Scratching the Surface
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| Horse[5] is an informal name for heroin. "Ride the white horse"[7] is drug culture slang for using heroin. |
| 26d | Promo // they upset intermittently (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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