Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29756 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, August 17, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29756]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Mr K | |
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
My forward progress came to a halt with a couple of clues remaining. Just as I was about to throw in the towel, the final two answers came to me.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 | Scandinavian almost admits criminal must // refuse job (7) |
Dustman[5] is a British term for a man employed to remove household refuse from dustbins*.
* Dust[10] is a British term for ashes or household refuse; dustbin[10] is a British term for a garbage can or trash can.
| 5a | God -- a church answer /for/ something that makes everything better (7) |
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.
| 9a | Writer/'s/ novel I want (5) |
Mark Twain[5] (1835–1910) was an American novelist and humorist; pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), give a vivid evocation of Mississippi frontier life.
| 10a | One perhaps makes you ring // author (9) |
Oliver Goldsmith[5] (1728–1774) was an Irish novelist, poet, essayist, and playwright. Notable works: The Vicar of Wakefield (novel, 1766), The Deserted Village (poem, 1770), and She Stoops to Conquer (play, 1773).
| 11a | Purses out, rushed /to find/ shop (10) |
| 12a | Combs over regularly -- // it gets blown in the wind (4) |
Wind[5] (also winds) denotes wind instruments, or specifically woodwind instruments, forming a band or a section of an orchestra ⇒
these passages are most suitable for wind alone.
| 14a | Enough lace is prepared /for/ seat (6-6) |
A chaise longue[5] is a sofa with a backrest at only one end*.
* Origin: French, literally 'long chair'; in North America, the spelling has been corrupted to become chaise lounge[5].
| 18a | Massage report's sure captivating son // -- it reduces wrinkles (7,5) |
Trouser press[5] is an especially British term for an electrical appliance that is used for taking the creases out of trousers.
| 21a | American swallowing nothing? On the contrary, // one's probably hammered (4) |
| 22a | Friend in European city follows daughter, // mum or dad? (10) |
| 25a | Hostility /from/ Tyson -- I am mad boxing him, at heart (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Mike Tyson[5] is an American boxer. He became undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1987, winning the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles. He was imprisoned in 1992 for rape; after his release in 1995 he reclaimed the WBC and WBA titles in the following year. His 1997 fight with Evander Holyfield ended when Tyson was disqualified for snacking on Holyfield's ear.[7] |
| 26a | Artist father's gone // to bury (5) |
| 27a | Demolish // half of Rhodes, ancient city (7) |
In Homeric legend, Troy[5]
(also called Ilium) is the city of King Priam, besieged for ten years by the Greeks during
the Trojan War. (show more )
Troy was regarded as having been a purely legendary city until Heinrich Schliemann identified the mound of Hissarlik on the northeastern Aegean coast of Turkey as the site of Troy. The city was apparently sacked and destroyed by fire in the mid 13th century BC, a period coinciding with the Mycenaean civilization of Greece.
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Troy was regarded as having been a purely legendary city until Heinrich Schliemann identified the mound of Hissarlik on the northeastern Aegean coast of Turkey as the site of Troy. The city was apparently sacked and destroyed by fire in the mid 13th century BC, a period coinciding with the Mycenaean civilization of Greece.
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Scratching the Surface
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| Rhodes[5] is the capital of the island of Rhodes, a port on the northernmost tip. It was founded c.408 BC and was the site of the Colossus of Rhodes[5], a huge bronze statue of the sun god Helios, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The statue, built c.292–280 BC, stood beside the harbour entrance at Rhodes for about fifty years. |
| 28a | Commitment /from/ kings and queens perhaps beginning to change direction (7) |
Down
| 1d | Hate // delta on eastern river (6) |
The River Test[7] is a river in Hampshire, England. It has a total length of 40 miles (64 km) and it flows through downland* from its source near Ashe to the sea at the head of Southampton Water. In its upper reaches it is a chalk stream, and is used for fly fishing for trout. The river plays a significant part in Richard Adams' novel Watership Down.
* Downs[10] (also called downland) are rolling upland [go figure], especially in the chalk areas of southern Britain, characterized by lack of trees and used mainly as pasture.
| 2d | Monkey with one/'s/ food (6) |
| 3d | One in favour of the Queen/'s/ new crimson hat (10) |
| 4d | New lamp left off, /producing/ hours of darkness (5) |
| 5d | Large animal // opposite brook (5,4) |
| 6d | Relative picked up hot // snack (4) |
Here and There
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In Britain, nosh[5,10] is an informal term for food or a meal ⇒ It's not posh nosh, just slightly more upmarket pub grub, so anyone after a real culinary experience should perhaps steer clearwhereas in North America the word denotes a snack or small item of food ⇒ have plenty of noshes and nibbles conveniently placed. |
| 7d | Game // writer heading off to purchase container (8) |
| 8d | Adult allowed to wear most of these // jumpers? (8) |
"adult " = A [former British film classification]
The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]
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The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]
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Scratching the Surface
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The surface reading almost certainly alludes to a sweater which is known in Britain as a jumper[5] (show explanation ).
In Britain, a jumper[5] is a knitted garment typically with long sleeves, worn over the upper body (in other words, a sweater). The dress that North Americans call a jumper[5] is known to the Brits as a pinafore[5]—defined as a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or jumper [sweater]. Thus, if a British lass were to wear a pinafore over her jumper and a North American gal were to wear a jumper over her sweater, they would be dressed identically. hide |
| 13d | Initially often overheard pronouncement, say, with a bloomer? (4-1-5) |
This is an &lit. clue in which the entire clue is what I think of as a descriptive definition as well as wordplay.
* in this case, a description of a situation in which the expression might be used rather than a precise definition such as one that might be found in a dictionary
A bloomer[10] is a plant that flowers, especially in a specified way ⇒
a night bloomer.
Bloomer[5] is a dated informal British term for a serious or stupid mistake ⇒
About 45 minutes later, he committed his bloomer, and there is no doubt in my mind that the champion jockey made the elementary mistake of thinking that he had the race won aboard the second - favourite.
| 15d | At home with Brazilian money -- pity penny's missing, // actually (2,7) |
The real[5] has been the basic monetary unit of Brazil since 1994, equal to 100 centavos.
| 16d | Measure // flag (8) |
A standard[5] is a military or ceremonial flag carried on a pole or hoisted on a rope.
| 17d | Government // plot is deviously taking in one Conservative (8) |
"Conservative " = C | CON [member of British political party]
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
The Conservative Party[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership that emerged from the old Tory Party* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s.
* Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
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| 19d | Somewhat dim or talentless // human being (6) |
| 20d | End of lockdown too soon? // Virtually (6) |
| 23d | Wally distastefully pens upsetting // poem (5) |
An idyll[5] is a short description in verse or prose of a picturesque scene or incident, especially in rustic life.
| 24d | River at the bottom of low // uncultivated land (4) |
Moor[5] is a chiefly British term for a tract of open uncultivated upland, typically covered with heather.
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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