Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29773 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, September 6, 2021 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29773]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
pommers | |
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
I think pommers, in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, sums up this puzzle to a T—"a tad trickier that normal" with "three or four clues which are quite obscure".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 | Wizard's local /in/ Herts town (7,3) |
Harry Potter[7] is the title character in a series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Local[5] is an informal British term for a pub convenient to a person’s home ⇒
had a pint in the local.
Herts.[5] is the abbreviation for Hertfordshire[5], a county of southeastern England, one of the so-called "Home Counties" surrounding London.
Potters Bar[7] is a town in Hertfordshire, England, 21 km (13 miles) north of central London.
| 6a | Report /made by/ knight during case (4) |
"knight " = N [chess notation]
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
- K[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight.
- K[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king.
- N[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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| 10a | Article: key // passage (5) |
| 11a | Decide // to turn off before pit (9) |
| 12a | Move // on horseback, approaching hurdles (2,6) |
Up sticks[5] is an informal British expression meaning to go to live elsewhere⇒
We've all wanted to do it - up sticks and live in the sun..
Origin: From nautical slang to up sticks ‘set up a boat's mast’ (ready for departure).
| 13a | Pressure escort // to appeal (5) |
| 15a | Put away gun, // sort he loaded to protect student (7) |
"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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| 17a | Receives inside information about // savings (4,3) |
Gen[5] is an informal British term for information ⇒
you’ve got more gen on him than we have.
| 19a | Decay, reportedly beneath /and/ round building (7) |
The word "UNDER" , when pronounced in a non-rhotic accent (show explanation
) typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially
southeastern England), sounds like "UNDA".
Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.
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Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.
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| 21a | Striking // foreigner in street (7) |
| 22a | Check the compiler's // not all there (5) |
"the compiler's " = MY
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
Today, the the creator of the puzzle has made the scenario more complicated by placing "compiler" in a possessive context.
hide
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
Today, the the creator of the puzzle has made the scenario more complicated by placing "compiler" in a possessive context.
hide
Barmy[5] (adjective) is an informal British term meaning:
- mad; crazy ⇒
I thought I was going barmy at first
- extremely foolish ⇒
this is a barmy decision
| 24a | Skilfully handling // English novelist (8) |
Henry Fielding[5] (1707–1754) was an English novelist. He provoked the introduction of censorship in theatres with his political satire The Historical Register for 1736. He then turned to writing picaresque novels, notably Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749). Fielding was also responsible for the formation of the Bow Street Runners* in 1749.
* London's first professional police force
| 27a | Smitten // with cycling star -- our editor! (9) |
| 28a | Synthetic material // you'll find in many longbows (5) |
| 29a | Obscure European // coin worth ten cents (4) |
"European " = E [as in E number]
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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| 30a | Naively optimistic, // continued drinking whiskey next to Romeo (6-4) |
Down
| 1d | Map /of/ factory, incomplete (4) |
| 2d | Appraise one in storyline, // one like Brian Trubshaw? (4,5) |
Brian Trubshaw[7] (1924–2001) was a leading test pilot, and the first British pilot to fly Concorde, in April 1969.
| 3d | Regular time /for/ meeting (5) |
Meeting[5] is used in the sense of an organized event at which a number of races or other sporting contests are held.
| 4d | Subordinate going on about right // cocktail (7) |
Side[10] is used in the sense of not main; in other words, subordinate or incidental ⇒ (i)
side door(ii)
side road.
A sidecar[5] is a cocktail of brandy and lemon juice with orange liqueur.
| 5d | Train as mobile // mechanic, say (7) |
| 7d | A-team // notwithstanding (5) |
| 8d | Glutton // welcomes embracing start of diet -- funny guy! (6,4) |
Greedy guts[5] is a derogatory informal British term for a greedy person.
| 9d | Offer /of/ support also set out (8) |
| 14d | Lacking money /for/ a buttery biscuit (10) |
The British use the term biscuit[3,4,11] for a range of foods that include those that would be called either cookies or crackers in North America. What we know as cookies might be referred to in the UK as sweet biscuits and crackers as savoury biscuits.
A North American biscuit[5] is similar to what is known in Britain as a scone.
| 16d | Misguided notes involving northern New York // poet (8) |
Alfred Tennyson[5], 1st Baron Tennyson of Aldworth and Freshwater (1809–1892) [commonly known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson] was an English poet, Poet Laureate from 1850. His reputation was established by In Memoriam (1850), a long poem concerned with immortality, change, and evolution. Other notable works: ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ (1854) and Idylls of the King (1859).
| 18d | Always // without, failing to get by (9) |
| 20d | American, leader of team leading // early on (2,5) |
| 21d | Narrow // lake in poster (7) |
| 23d | True masculine // domain (5) |
| 25d | Showy dresser, // extremely dishy? (5) |
| 26d | Girl /in/ papers supporting soldiers heading off (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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