Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29754 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, August 14, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29754 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29754 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
crypticsue (Hints)Rahmat Ali (Review) | |
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 6, 2021 edition of the National Post. As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review. | |
Introduction
Judging by comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, most seem to have found this puzzle relatively easy. Like several of those who commented, I took a while to get started. However, I made good progress once I had established a foothold.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 | Two Europeans // finish (6,6) |
It took me a long time to realize that I should be looking for two European nationalities rather than the citizens of two European countries.
French polish[5] (also french-polish) is a shellac polish that produces a high gloss on wood ⇒
a coat of French polish was brushed over the repair.
| 8a | Aussie native infiltrating company, // genteel English establishment? (3,4) |
Roo[5] is an informal Australian term for a kangaroo.
| 9a | Last of yen, plenty /for/ Japanese fare (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| The yen[5] is the basic monetary unit of Japan. Nevertheless, the fare in the definition is not the charge to ride the bullet train. |
| 11a | Sausage /in/ cold range reduced (7) |
Chorizo[5] is a spicy Spanish pork sausage.
| 12a | Aristocracy // always received by servant (7) |
A page[5] (historical) is a man or boy employed as the personal attendant of a person of rank.
The peerage[5] is the nobility in Britain or Ireland as a class, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.
| 13a | Carried over by workmates, nice // small picture (5) |
| 14a | Wood entirely /in/ foil (9) |
| 16a | Two garments /for/ baseball player (9) |
| 19a | Island /in/ Corsica, pricey (5) |
| 21a | Rotten // sound of cat getting back into bed (7) |
| 23a | Groom pleased, // slipped away (7) |
| 24a | Ship's captain, // delicate flier? (7) |
The skipper[5] is a small brownish mothlike butterfly with rapid darting flight.
| 25a | It's not a bad // stop (7) |
| 26a | Wine coming together /for/ traditional event (5,7) |
White wedding[5] is a British term for a traditional church wedding at which the bride wears a formal white dress ⇒
She wants a white wedding and marriage in a church, and to be a virgin..
From the usage examples provided by Lexico for "white wedding", one can see that Brits consider the phrase "white wedding dress" not to mean "a wedding dress that is white" but, rather, "a dress to be worn at a white wedding".
Although the two interpretations amount to the same thing, there is clearly a subtle difference in perspective.
Down
| 1d | Standards to preserve on // vessels (7) |
A flagon[5] is a large container in which drink is served, typically with a handle and spout.
| 2d | Self-seeker // say starts to obsess, thinking immensely selfish thoughts (7) |
| 3d | Succeed with technology? // You're joking! (4,3,2) |
IT[5] is the abbreviation for information technology.
Come off it[5] is an informal British phrase* used to vigorously express disbelief ⇒
Oh, come off it, you're not that special..
* Lexico is the only dictionary I looked at to characterize this expression as British and as the term is one with which I am familiar and it appears in US dictionaries, maybe it is not as British as Lexico imagines
| 4d | Gorgeous celebrity, // leg raised (3-2) |
Pin[5,10] (usually plural) is an informal term for a leg ⇒
she was very nimble on her pins.
| 5d | Animal // in Mali one's seen (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Mali[5] is a landlocked country in West Africa, south of Algeria. Former name (until 1958) French Sudan. |
| 6d | Little golden item, // royal (7) |
Sultana[5,14]* is a British name for a small, light brown, seedless raisin used in foods such as puddings and cakes.
* Despite being characterized as British by the two British sources cited, I found only one US reference that describes it as such. Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines sultana[12] as (a) a small, white, seedless grape used for raisins and in wine making and (b) British such a raisin. Despite this, sultana raisins are certainly widely available in Canada.
A sultana[5] is a wife or concubine of a sultan* or other woman in a sultan's family.
| 7d | Those blending in with surroundings // never leave exclusive groups (5,7) |
I would say that this clue parses as STICK (never leave;
stick (with someone) through thick and thin) + IN (exclusive;
the 'in' crowd) + SECTS (groups). However, I find myself in a minority as both crypticsue and Rahmat Ali seem to have seen things differently in their hints and review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.
A stick insect[5] (in North America, also known as a walking stick) is a long, slender, slow-moving insect that resembles a twig. Many species appear to lack males and the females lay fertile eggs without mating.
| 10d | Fascinating // period obligatory (12) |
| 15d | Accessing plant, media // controlled (9) |
| 17d | Monstrous // giant's head bagged by hero is hideous (7) |
| 18d | Something musical // beat film (7) |
"film " = ET [E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.
hide
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.
hide
| 19d | Bread // one covered with butter after tea (7) |
Cha (variant spelling of char[5]) is an informal British name for tea [in the sense of a drink].
In Indian cookery, chapati (variant spelling of chapatti[5]) is a thin pancake of unleavened wholemeal bread cooked on a griddle.
| 20d | Skill of footballers // succeeding (7) |
| 22d | Hurled // from one side to the other, reportedly (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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