Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29814 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, October 23, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29814 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29814 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Gazza (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, January 29, 2022 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
The "Falcon's Experience" graph above looks like a rainbow today. I found parts of this puzzle extremely difficult although it seems to have posed no major hurdles for most Brits.In the puzzle, there's a Nina (sometimes called an Easter Egg)—a hidden feature such as a secret message. If you read Comment #41 in the hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, you will discover the significance of the 14d/8d combination and also likely the clues at 2d and 21d.
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 | Award // half-decent speech (10) |
Decoration[5] is used in the sense of a medal or award conferred as an honour ⇒
a decoration won on the field of battle.
| 6a | 'Paddington's Home' // screened by picture palace from the East End (4) |
Paddington Bear[7]
is a fictional character featured in more than twenty children's books
written by British author Michael Bond. Paddington, a friendly bear from
"darkest Peru"—with his old hat,
battered suitcase, duffel coat and love of marmalade—has
become a classic character from British children's literature. (show more )
In the first story, A Bear Called Paddington, Paddington is found at Paddington railway station in London by the Brown family, sitting on his suitcase (bearing the label "WANTED ON VOYAGE") with a note attached to his coat which reads, "Please look after this bear. Thank you." Author Michael Bond has said that his memories of newsreels showing trainloads of child evacuees leaving London during the war, with labels around their necks and their possessions in small suitcases, prompted him to do the same for Paddington.
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In the first story, A Bear Called Paddington, Paddington is found at Paddington railway station in London by the Brown family, sitting on his suitcase (bearing the label "WANTED ON VOYAGE") with a note attached to his coat which reads, "Please look after this bear. Thank you." Author Michael Bond has said that his memories of newsreels showing trainloads of child evacuees leaving London during the war, with labels around their necks and their possessions in small suitcases, prompted him to do the same for Paddington.
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Scratching the Surface
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| Picture palace[5] is a dated British term* for a cinema [British name for a movie theatre]. * This being a term with which I am very familiar, I am surprised to see it labelled as British; however, its absence from US dictionaries would seem to confirm its British pedigree.
The East End[5] is the part of London east of the City (show explanation ) as far as the River Lea, including the Docklands—an area whose residents are known as cockneys.
The City[5], or simply City, is short for the City of London[5]—not to be confused with the city of London. The City of London[7] is a city and ceremonial county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the conurbation has since grown far beyond the City's borders. The City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. It is one of two districts of London to hold city status, the other being the adjacent City of Westminster. It is widely referred to simply as the City (often written as just "City" and differentiated from the phrase "the city of London" by capitalising "City") and is also colloquially known as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (2.90 km2), in area. Both of these terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. This is analogous to the use of the terms Wall Street and Bay Street to refer to the financial institutions located in New York and Toronto respectively. hide |
| 10a | Nuts // quite like what a cricketer might hold (5) |
Who do you believe?
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The term batty is found in both British and US dictionaries and is an informal term meaning either:
bats in the belfry. |
Batty[2] means batlike, referring to a bat (the mammal). While the definition relates to the flying mammal, the setter makes the whimsical leap of logic that it can be extended to include a cricket bat.
| 11a | Picked up something from Rome // that smells nice (9) |
Popery[5] is a derogatory, mainly archaic term specifically denoting the doctrines, practices, and ceremonies associated with the Pope or the papal system and, more generally, for Roman Catholicism ⇒
the Anglicans campaigned against popery.
| 12a | Air // support on course to cover Matthew and son (8) |
Matthew the Apostle[7], also known as Saint Matthew and possibly as Levi, was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.
| 13a | Article with yours truly /as/ subject (5) |
| 15a | Men provided something cold /for/ opening (7) |
| 17a | Female with pride (7) |
A pride[5] is a group of lions forming a social unit.
| 19a | Support for the board? (7) |
Board[5,10] is an archaic term for a table, especially one used for eating at, and especially when laden with food ⇒
he looked at the banquet which was spread upon his board.
| 21a | Resent band/'s/ attitude (7) |
Set[5] is used in the sense of a group of people with common interests or occupations or of similar social status ⇒
it was a fashionable haunt of the literary set.
| 22a | Some man I certified /gets/ better (5) |
| 24a | Owner /of/ business backed worker accepting trophy (8) |
"worker " = ANT
The terms "worker" and "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.
A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.
In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.
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The terms "worker" and "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.
A worker[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.
In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.
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Occupant[5] is used in the sense of the holder of a position or office.
| 27a | Theatre regularly ignored Friends character? // Blow it! (9) |
Monica Geller[7], portrayed by American actress Courteney Cox, is one of the six main characters who appear on the American sitcom Friends which aired for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004.
Post Mortem
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| Entering an incorrect solution at 16d caused grief here. It did not help that Friends is a show that I rarely—if ever—watched. |
| 28a | Logs I ordered // somewhere in Ireland (5) |
Sligo[5] is a a seaport in the Republic of Ireland located on Sligo Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic. It is the county town of Sligo, a county in the province of Connacht.
| 29a | Look // unpleasant for the audience (4) |
| 30a | Rich // remark made to tailor for a job well done (4-6) |
As published in the National Post, the clue is identical to the one that appeared in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph.
As Gazza writes in his hint on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, "I don’t really understand why you’d compliment a tailor in such a way – surely it’s what you might say to a cobbler who’d done a good repair?".
The clue was later revised on the Telegraph Puzzles website to read:
- Rich remark made to cobbler for a job well done (4-6)
Down
| 1d | Obligation // of French telecom company (4) |
"telecom company " = BT [British Telecom]
BT[5] (the abbreviation for British Telecom) is a trade name of BT Group plc[7] (trading as BT and formerly known as British Telecom), a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broadband and mobile services in the UK, and also provides subscription television and IT services.
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BT[5] (the abbreviation for British Telecom) is a trade name of BT Group plc[7] (trading as BT and formerly known as British Telecom), a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broadband and mobile services in the UK, and also provides subscription television and IT services.
* the designation plc stands for public limited company[7] (show more )
The designation plc (standing for public limited company[7]) is used in the UK, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. The term "public limited company" and the "PLC"/"plc" suffix were introduced in 1981; prior to this, all limited companies bore the suffix "Limited" ("Ltd."), which is still used by private limited companies.
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The designation plc (standing for public limited company[7]) is used in the UK, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. The term "public limited company" and the "PLC"/"plc" suffix were introduced in 1981; prior to this, all limited companies bore the suffix "Limited" ("Ltd."), which is still used by private limited companies.
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| 2d | Girl /with/ unusually nice heart (9) |
| 3d | Perhaps write right // verse (5) |
| 4d | Joint // league leader? (7) |
Joint[5] is a British term* for a large piece of meat cooked whole or ready for cooking ⇒
a joint of ham.
Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
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there was a mixture of old and young players in* their side. (show more)
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii)
They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.
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| 5d | Food // over at breakfast? (7) |
| 7d | Mysterious // meteoroid oddly missing base (5) |
In mathematics, e[5] is the transcendental* number that is the base of Napierian or natural logarithms, approximately equal to 2.71828.
* A transcendental number[5] is a number such as e or π that is real but not a root of an algebraic equation with rational coefficients.
| 8d | See 14 Down |
| 9d | Coward // cut up over Scottish golfing resort (8) |
Royal Troon Golf Club[7] is a links golf course founded in 1878 located in Troon, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow.
Poltroon[5] is an archaic or literary term for an utter coward.
| 14d & 8d | Strange haunting moves Trinity // College (10,10) |
The University of Nottingham[7] is a public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Scratching the Surface
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| Trinity College[7] is a popular name for institutions of higher learning around the world. Three of the best known are: |
Oops!
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| In a rare miscue on his part, the ever meticulous Rahmat Ali erroneously includes the word "Trinity" in both the wordplay and definition in his explanation. The definition is merely "college" as I show above. |
| 16d | Private // centre (8) |
Post Mortem
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| Going for INTERNAL here led to my downfall at 27a. |
| 18d | Important // German city Italy almost rebuilt (9) |
Essen[5] is an industrial city in the Ruhr valley, in northwestern Germany.
| 20d | Controversial // European aim (7) |
"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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| 21d | Chap // I'm backing with each moving line (7) |
Chap[3,4,11] (show more ) is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada.
Chap[3,4,11] is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
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[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
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| 23d | Swear // dog's evil at first (5) |
| 25d | Group // own all but the last two (5) |
While posse[5] might be used in the sense commonly seen in Western movies, the term is now used in an informal sense to mean a group of people who have a common characteristic or occupation (
tea was handed round by a posse of mothers) or a group of young people who socialize together, especially to go to clubs or raves [clandestine, often illegal, dance parties]* (
A couple of girls in Jessica's posse strolled by and scowled at me).
* several usage examples (including the one cited) refer to the members of the group as supporters of a particular individual in the group
| 26d | Promise // part of hospital will get oxygen for American (4) |
The symbol for the chemical element oxygen is O[5].
" American " = A[1]
References
Key to Reference Sources:
[1] - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
[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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