Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29757 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 | |
Setter
NY Doorknob, aka Donnybrook (Paul Bringloe) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29757]
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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 Thursday Diversions page in the Wednesday, November 10, 2021 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
I felt this was not a Jay puzzle and that turned out to be the case. It was set by Paul Bringloe who, on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, uses the handle NY Doorknob (an anagram of his other pseudonym, Donnybrook).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
| 7a | Fruit stolen: // is it loaded for wide distribution? (9) |
| 8a | Snatching grouper's tail, ray /or/ another fish (5) |
The bream[5] is a greenish-bronze deep-bodied freshwater fish native to Europe.
Scratching the Surface
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| The grouper[5] is a large or very large heavy-bodied fish of the sea bass family, with a big head and wide mouth, found in warm seas. A ray[5] is a broad flat marine or freshwater fish with a cartilaginous skeleton, winglike pectoral fins, and a long slender tail. Many rays have venomous spines or electric organs. |
| 10a | Animal /in/ ancient times seen aboard ark? (6) |
Ark[5] is an archaic name for a ship or boat. The best known example is undoubtedly Noah's ark[5], the ship in which Noah, his family, and the animals were saved from the Flood, according to the biblical account (Genesis 6–8).
| 11a | Ignorant period // without Sun and Times? (4,4) |
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 |
| 12a | Brainless creature // Obama replaced absorbs energy (6) |
As an anagram indicator, "replace" is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of 'reposition' rather than 'substitute'.
An amoeba[5] (US spelling ameba) is a single-celled animal that catches food and moves about by extending fingerlike projections of protoplasm. Amoebas are either free-living in damp environments or parasitic.
Scratching the Surface
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| 14a | Fanatic /from/ Zimbabwe’s outside often (6) |
| 16a | Relatives installing large // oven (4) |
| 17a | Nature god banking silver /for/ heathen (5) |
In Greek mythology, Pan[5] is a god of flocks and herds, typically represented with the horns, ears, and legs of a goat on a man's body. His sudden appearance was supposed to cause terror similar to that of a frightened and stampeding herd, and the word panic is derived from his name.
| 18a | British quiet losing leader /in/ wild region (4) |
| 19a | Mania uncontrolled, student /becomes/ beast (6) |
"student " = L [driver under instruction]
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
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The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
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| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
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| 21a | Lure /and/ net damaged by rocks (6) |
| 24a | Range /of/ mushrooms sent back with cap trimmed (8) |
The cep[5] is an edible European mushroom with a smooth brown cap, a stout white stalk, and pores rather than gills, growing in dry woodland and much sought after as a delicacy.
Cap[5] is used as a verb in the sense of to follow or reply to (a story, remark, or joke) by producing a better one ⇒
he prayed no wit would cap his remark with some repartee.
| 26a | Good old boy allowed /to see/ Grail? (6) |
"old boy " = OB
In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2]) is:
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In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2]) is:
- a former male student of a school or college ⇒
an old boy of Banbury County School
- a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒
the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards
‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.
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In medieval legend, the Grail or the Holy Grail[5] is the cup or platter used by Christ at the Last Supper, and in which Joseph of Arimathea received Christ's blood at the Cross. Quests for it undertaken by medieval knights are described in versions of the Arthurian legends written from the early 13th century onward.
| 27a | Push away // social outcast making comeback (5) |
| 28a | Penny and I, with hesitation, going round town // that's radioactive (9) |
Luton[5] is an industrial town in Bedfordshire, England, to the north-west of London.
Plutonium[5] (chemical symbol Pu) is the chemical element of atomic number 94. (show more )
It is a dense silvery radioactive metal of the actinide series, used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and as an explosive in nuclear fission weapons. Plutonium only occurs in trace amounts in nature but is manufactured in nuclear reactors from uranium-238.
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It is a dense silvery radioactive metal of the actinide series, used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and as an explosive in nuclear fission weapons. Plutonium only occurs in trace amounts in nature but is manufactured in nuclear reactors from uranium-238.
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Down
| 1d | Smarten up /in/ grand accommodation (5) |
G as an abbreviation for grand is one North American usage that the Brits would appear to have embraced (show more ).
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒
I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
- Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)[5].
- Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars[2].
- Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)[4,10].
| 2d | Small step taken by male // astronaut (8) |
| 3d | Insect // collections retained in case of trouble (6) |
The tsetse[5] (also tsetse fly) is an African bloodsucking fly which bites humans and other mammals, transmitting sleeping sickness and nagana*.
* Nagana[5] is a disease of cattle, antelope, and other livestock in southern Africa, characterized by fever, lethargy, and oedema, and caused by trypanosome parasites transmitted by the tsetse fly.
| 4d | Form attachment /with/ 007? (4) |
James Bond[5] (known also by his code name 007) is a fictional British secret agent in the spy novels of English author Ian Fleming (1908–1964). Bond[7] is an intelligence officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6.
| 5d | Weapon a lawyer in America // ships (6) |
"lawyer in America " = DA [US district attorney]
| 6d | Has foe manipulated good // spy holed up here? (4,5) |
Good[5] is used in the sense of benefit or advantage to someone or something ⇒
In the end, the information proved to be of no good in resolving the mystery.
| 9d | Black artist leading religious school // forward (6) |
Zen[10] is a Japanese school of Buddhism, of 12th-century Chinese origin, teaching that contemplation of one's essential nature to the exclusion of all else is the only way of achieving pure enlightenment.
| 13d | Corner // Germanic invader (5) |
The Angles[5] were an ancient Germanic people, originally inhabitants of what is now Schleswig-Holstein, who came to England in the 5th century AD. The Angles founded kingdoms in Mercia, Northumbria, and East Anglia and gave their name to England and the English.
| 15d | Snatcher -- // from Leatherhead? (9) |
Kid[3] (also called kidskin) is soft leather made from the skin of a young goat.
Napper[5] is an informal British term for a person's head ⇒
a couple of men with shaven nappers.
Scratching the Surface
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| Leatherhead[7] is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Mole, and at the edge of the contiguous built-up area of London. The town is situated 21 mi (34 km) south of central London. |
| 17d | Partly spoiled, // not worth considering (6) |
| 18d | Courage /shown in/ the personal column? (8) |
| 20d | Friend // who cleans out the stables? (6) |
Here and There
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Mucker[5] is an informal British term for a friend or companion ⇒I spent a very pleasant evening down the pub with my old mucker Joseph Kaye, a good mate from school. Mucker[5] is a dated informal US term for a rough or coarse person ⇒ Billy was a mucker, a hoodlum, a gangster, a tough. |
A mucker[5] is a person who removes dirt and waste, especially from mines or stables.
| 22d | Drunken son /in/ mum's hosiery? (6) |
| 23d | Brother killed // rook and flightless birds (5) |
R[5] is an abbreviation for rook that is used in recording moves in chess. (show more )
A rook[5] (also known by the informal, old-fashioned term castle*[5]) is a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move (if not obstructed by another chess piece or pawn) any number of spaces in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two rooks at opposite ends of the first rank.
* It is apparent from numerous comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog over the years that chess purists hold that the proper name for this piece is a rook and that under no circumstances whatsoever is it ever to be referred to as a castle. Furthermore, they take great umbrage should those of us less attuned to the niceties of the "game of kings" happen to commit this cardinal sin.
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A rook[5] (also known by the informal, old-fashioned term castle*[5]) is a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move (if not obstructed by another chess piece or pawn) any number of spaces in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two rooks at opposite ends of the first rank.
* It is apparent from numerous comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog over the years that chess purists hold that the proper name for this piece is a rook and that under no circumstances whatsoever is it ever to be referred to as a castle. Furthermore, they take great umbrage should those of us less attuned to the niceties of the "game of kings" happen to commit this cardinal sin.
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The emu[5] is a large flightless fast-running Australian bird resembling the ostrich, with shaggy gray or brown plumage, bare blue skin on the head and neck, and three-toed feet.
In Roman mythology, the twin brothers Romulus[5] and Remus[5] are the traditional founders of Rome. The sons of Mars by a Vestal Virgin, Romulus and Remus were abandoned at birth but were found and suckled by a she-wolf and brought up by a shepherd family. Remus is said to have been killed by Romulus during an argument about the new city.
| 25d | Spot // second article in French (4) |
"second " = 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].
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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].
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"article in French " = LE [French definite article]
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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