Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29777 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, September 10, 2021 | |
Setter
Zandio | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29777]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Deep Threat | |
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 did eventually succeed in subduing this beast unaided but it took a considerable amount of time to do so. The bottom half went in first leaving the top half virtually untouched. I was afraid for a while that I was going to be completely shut out in the upper regions. However, the clues did slowly surrender one by one.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 | Slow boat going to Spain, // transporter that's sunk (4) |
The Tube[5] (British trademark) is the underground railway system in London ⇒
a cross-London trek on the Tube. The term "the tube" can also refer to a train running on the Tube ⇒
I caught the tube home.
| 3a | Massive smash coming up with 'Shaking All Over'? (10) |
Scratching the Surface
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| "Shakin' All Over"[7] is a song originally performed by English rock and roll group Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. The tune was written by the band's leader Johnny Kidd. Their recording reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1960 but was not a hit outside Europe. In other parts of the world the song is better known by recordings from other artists. A version by Canadian band Chad Allan and the Expressions, later known as The Guess Who, reached #1 in Canada in the spring of 1965. |
| 9a | They regularly dip /and/ rise, first to last (4) |
| 10a | Actor Nigel changes // set for a new scene? (10) |
| 11a | Feels anger // stops after this? (4,3) |
| 13a | Used by rabble-rouser, van terrorised // man (7) |
Man[5] is a dated term for a manservant or valet ⇒
get me a cocktail, my man.
| 14a | Old coin located beside Scottish island claimed by the Spanish // academic (11) |
A ducat[10] is any of various former European gold or silver coins, especially those used in Italy or the Netherlands.
Iona[5] is a small Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Mull [a larger island]. It is the site of a monastery founded by St Columba in about 563.
"the Spanish " = EL [Spanish definite article]
| 18a | Pair of idiots batting, getting knocked back /and/ hit (11) |
In cricket, a player who is batting is said to be in[5]. Conversely, a player
who is fielding is said to be out[5]. The ins and outs of cricket are explained in thisexplanation of cricket for a foreigner (which may well leave you unsure whether you are coming or going—therefore, I have also provided a translation).
CRICKET: AS EXPLAINED TO A FOREIGNER...Now, should you have not quite followed that explanation, here is my attempt to clarify the "ins" and "outs" of cricket:
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.
Simple!
You have two sides [teams], one out in the field and one in [batting]. Each man that's in the side [in Britain, one says "in a side" rather than "on a team"] that's in [batting] goes out [I believe this means that he forgoes the cucumber sandwiches in the clubhouse in order to go out to the playing area to bat], and when he's out [dismissed] he comes in [returns to the clubhouse for more cucumber sandwiches] and the next man goes in [bats] until he's out [dismissed]. When they are all out [all players (but one) on the batting side are dismissed], the side that's out [fielding] comes in [bats] and the side that's been in [batting] goes out [fields] and tries to get those coming in [to bat], out [dismissed]. Sometimes you get men still in [batting] and not out [Since batsmen must always bat in pairs, the team is dismissed once ten of the eleven players have been dismissed, leaving no partner for the lone remaining player. Although the team is "out" (dismissed), the eleventh player is said to be "not out".].hide
When a man goes out [from the clubhouse to the playing area] to go in [bat], the men who are out [fielding] try to get him out [dismissed], and when he is out [dismissed] he goes in [returns to the clubhouse] and the next man in [scheduled to bat] goes out [from the clubhouse to the playing area] and goes in [bats]. There are two men called umpires who stay out [on the playing area] all the time [(they never get to eat cucumber sandwiches)] and they decide when the men who are in [batting] are out [dismissed]. When both sides have been in [batted] and all the men have been out [dismissed], and both sides have been out [dismissed] twice after all the men have been in [batted], including those who are not out [the eleventh player who has batted but not been dismissed], that is the end of the game.
Note: In cricket, the division of play is called an 'innings', rather than an 'inning' as in baseball. The word "innings' (like the words 'fish' or 'sheep') can be either singular or plural. A cricket match consists of four innings* (or sometimes two innings) with ten "outs" (dismissals) per innings. In cricket, each team's at bat is called an innings whereas, in baseball, each team's at bat constitutes a half inning. Thus, in baseball, the visiting team bats in the top of each inning and the home team bats in the bottom of each inning. In cricket, one side bats in the first and third innings and the other team bats in the second and fourth innings.Simple! (although the remarks concerning the cucumber sandwiches may not be entirely accurate)
| 21a | Casanova // in Paris, dear, embracing what comes to hand? (7) |
The masculine singular form of the French word for dear is cher[8].
A Casanova[5] is a man notorious for seducing women.
Origin: Italian adventurer Giovanni Jacopo Casanova[5] (1725–1798); full name Giovanni Jacopo Casanova de Seingalt. He is famous for his memoirs describing his sexual encounters and other exploits.
| 22a | Bishop first to eat egg on the counter, // most substantial (7) |
| 23a | Out of shape Corsica don // boxes, getting squeezed for notes (10) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Corsica[5] is a mountainous island off the west coast of Italy,
forming an administrative region of France. It was the birthplace of Napoleon I. I can't say which of several meanings of don[5] is intended—none seem particularly apropos:
a ten-pound note. |
| 24a | What traditionally was carried up the hill -- // light when delivered! (4) |
In the traditional English nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill"[7], the pair go up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
| 25a | Penned in doggerel, one line's spreading // sad feelings (10) |
| 26a | Oppose // West End show? (4) |
The West End[5] is the entertainment and shopping area of London—the London equivalent of Broadway and Fifth Avenue respectively.
Down
| 1d | Turned up what thieves might hide and drop here? (4,4) |
I suppose the entire clue is intended to be a cryptic definition of a spot where thieves might stash their ill-gotten gains in which the wordplay is embedded. However, the clue does not quite work for me*—it seems to point to what is being stashed rather than location where it is being stashed.
* and I see that Deep Threat makes a similar comment in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
| 2d | Dig electronic signal // that's useful for eating out (8) |
| 4d | Forwards /including/ a captain? (5) |
Forwards[5] is used as an adverb meaning towards the the front.
| 5d | Lots of money /taken from/ you, and aboard ship (9) |
"aboard ship " = 'contained in SS' [SS = steamship]
| 6d | Rowing, // equalling travels around two rivers (11) |
| 7d | Creature // lawn firm fails regularly to rub out (6) |
| 8d | Fraction /of/ this clue plus this letter? (6) |
| 12d | Officer /is/ stern over alarm I'd set off (4,7) |
Rear admiral[5] is a rank of naval officer, above commodore and below vice admiral.
| 15d | Static charged particle going about small // entry (9) |
| 16d | Americans enjoy this // wretched dance (8) |
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat describes baseball asa version of rounders enjoyed by Americans and a good many others.
Rounders[5,7]
is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. It is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a
small, hard, leather-cased ball with a cylindrical wooden, plastic, or
metal bat. The players score by running a circuit around four bases on
the field.
Gameplay centres on a number of innings, in which teams alternate at batting and fielding. Points (known as 'rounders') are scored by the batting team when one of their players completes a circuit past four bases arranged in the shape of a diamond without being put 'out'. The batter must strike at a good ball and attempt to run a rounder in an anti-clockwise direction around the first, second, and third base and home to the fourth, though they may stay at any of the first three. A batter is out if the ball is caught; if the base to which they are running to is touched with the ball; or if, while running, they are touched with the ball by a fielder. The game is popular among British and Irish school children, particularly among girls. [Sound at all familiar?] (read on )] The game of rounders[7] has been played in England since Tudor times, with the earliest reference being in 1744 in A Little Pretty Pocket-Book where it was called base-ball. In 1828, William Clarke in London published the second edition of The Boy's Own Book, which included the rules of rounders and also the first printed description in English of a bat and ball base-running game played on a diamond. The following year, the book was published in Boston, Massachusetts. Rounders is played under slightly different rules in Britain and Ireland. Rounders is also linked to British baseball, which is still played in Liverpool, Cardiff and Newport. Although rounders is assumed to be older than (British) baseball, literary references to early forms of 'base-ball' in England pre-date use of the term rounders. Both the 'New York game' [from which modern (American) baseball evolved] and the now-defunct 'Massachusetts game' versions of baseball, as well as softball, share the same historical roots as rounders and bear a resemblance to the Irish version of the game. hide Who knew that baseball—the quintessential American game—was, in fact, imported from Britain! |
| 17d | Fifty per cent of adults add up // in the mind (8) |
| 19d | Dash off /to see/ son perform in pool? (6) |
| 20d | Tintin's // naughty knees-up? (6) |
I presume the word "naughty" alludes to the French dance being rather more explicit than the British dance.
Knees-up[5] is British slang for a lively party or gathering ⇒
we had a bit of a knees-up last night.
Delving Deeper
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| "Knees Up Mother Brown"[7]
is a song that became popular in English pubs in the early part of
the 20th century and was particularly associated with Cockney culture.
The expression "knees up" came to mean a party or a dance. The tune has
been adopted by football [soccer] fans for various chants. Here it is performed by Noel Harrison and Petula Clark: |
The cancan[5] is a lively, high-kicking stage dance originating in 19th-century Parisian music halls and performed by women in long skirts and petticoats.
Scratching the Surface
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| Tintin[7] is the titular protagonist of The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé, pen name of Georges Remi (1907–1983). A reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy, he appears as a young man, around 14 to 19 years old with a round face and quiff hairstyle. |
| 22d | Where deposits build up // both sides of the Nile, say (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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