Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29810 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 | |
Setter
X-Type | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29810]
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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
The northeast slowed me down and raised a few question marks in my mind. Not only had I never before encountered the moulding, the computing term is not, to my knowledge, commonly used in this sense in North America. I also had difficulty accepting that the guitar accessory is a bridge although I did eventually find it defined as such in The Chambers Dictionary (which often contains meanings that are seemingly not to be found in any other source).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 | Partner-in-crime // caught in police camera (only half working) (10) |
"caught " = C [cricket notation]
| 6a | Headgear given to Oscar /for/ playing bridge? (4) |
I'm far from being an expert on musical instruments, but I am surprised to see a capo defined as a bridge:
- On a violin, guitar, etc., a bridge[2] is a thin, movable, upright piece of wood or other material which supports the strings and keeps them stretched tight; that is, a bridge pushes the strings away from the instrument.
- A capo[15] is any of various devices for a guitar, lute, banjo, etc., that when clamped or screwed down across the strings at a given fret will raise each string a corresponding number of half tones; that is, a capo pushes the strings against the instrument.
| 10a | Staff turn /to get/ fruit (5) |
| 11a | Changes hat /in/ place where just one at a time is allowed (9) |
Tile[10] is old-fashioned British slang for a hat.
Sorting the Tiles
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| While this expression may be English slang — and specifically cockney
slang — it is apparently not rhyming slang but merely an
allusion to the fact that "roofs are covered with tiles, heads with
hats"[a]. The tile[5]
forming the basis of this allusion is a roofing tile, a thin rectangular
slab of baked clay or other material, used in overlapping rows for
covering roofs. This is probably the most common roofing material in Britain. [a] English Forward (englishforums.com) The Chambers Dictionary states that tile[1] is slang for a hat or a Scottish term for a top hat. Various other sources define tile (or tile hat) as an informal term for a stiff hat or high silk hat. Another informal term for such a hat is a stovepipe hat. In this case, the allusion would appear to be to a different type of tile[2], a tube-shaped piece of fired clay used for building drains. |
| 12a | Living thing // (northern one) in immoderate excitement (8) |
| 13a | Sacred performance on the radio -- /it's/ true (5) |
| 15a | At home, singer /gets/ bill (7) |
| 17a | What smoker might have /that's/ not as serious? (7) |
| 19a | Security device /gets/ secretary and student in place of those accused (7) |
PA[5] is an abbreviation used in Britain* for personal assistant.
* It is the abbreviation that is considered to be British, not the term itself. Even in North America, I would think that the use of the abbreviation may not be entirely unheard of
"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 | Free // rent again? (7) |
| 22a | Satan getting confused -- // he brings presents! (5) |
| 24a | Scotsman behind whisky dispenser? // Get some glasses here! (8) |
An optic[5] (British trademark) is a device fastened to the neck of an inverted bottle for measuring out spirits.
Behind the Picture
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| I would not think the whisky vending machine illustrating Mr K's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is an optic—and I suspect he did not intend to imply it is. Here is what an optic—actually a set of four optics—looks like:  |
| 27a | Trip /with/ former partner and dog having commotion (almost) on the way back (9) |
| 28a | Reproduced sound // from Saudi office (5) |
| 29a | Powder // smuggled into eastern tattoo salon (4) |
In the wordplay, eastern[5] is a reversal indicator used in the sense of coming from the east.
| 30a | Deals /with/ mere criminal penned by representatives (10) |
Down
| 1d | Charity /from/ members, we hear (4) |
I think we've seen something similar very recently; now, when might that have been? Oh, how about yesterday!
In a non-rhotic accent (show explanation ) typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially southeastern England), the words "arms" and "alms" are pronounced similarly which you can judge for yourself from the following speech samples: "arm" and "alms" . [Note: for the first word, a speech sample is available only in the singular.]
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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| 2d | Brought about /and/ violently driven to top of cliff (9) |
| 3d | A means of making cloth set up /to make/ money (5) |
| 4d | Current leader of chain in coffee // network (7) |
| 5d | Sweet // creature seen around Arkansas (7) |
Sweet[5] is the British term for a piece of candy[5] ⇒
a bag of sweets.
| 7d | Mimicking // a request to self-isolate? (5) |
I am very familiar with the term ping[10] in computing where it means to send a test message to (a computer or server) in order to check whether it is responding or how long it takes it to respond.
However, as in the case of many technical terms, ping[5] seems to have slipped into common parlance—at least in the UK—with a less technical meaning, namely to send an electronic message to (someone) ⇒
at least a dozen people have pinged me or called to tell me this.
The question mark at the end of the clue indicates that the wordplay is not referring to just any old electronic message but rather to a very specific example of an electronic message—one received through Britain's National Health Service (NHS) Coronavirus test-and-trace system app[b]. This is an exposure notification app that works similarly to the COVID Alert app deployed in Canada. As explained on the BBC News website:
"If you have the app, and you spend enough time close to another person
using it, you will receive a "ping" alert if they later test positive
for Covid... If you are "pinged" you're advised - but not legally obliged - to self-isolate for 10 days."
[b] "Coronavirus: How does the NHS test-and-trace system and app work?", BBC News
| 8d | It's obvious and merited -- reportedly, /it's'/ reversed! (10) |
| 9d | Moulding /and/ shaping a star female (8) |
An astragal[5] is a moulding or wooden strip of semicircular cross section ⇒
Of the 286 planes, the majority were simple mouldings like common ogees, astragals, beads, hollows and rounds.
* I have taken the liberty of "correcting" the spelling of "moulding" as Lexico inexplicably uses the US spelling "molding".
| 14d | Maybe princess's group of deputies on ship // strip? (10) |
Diana, Princess of Wales[5] (1961–1997), the former wife of Prince Charles, is often referred to as Princess Di. (show more )
The daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer, she married Prince Charles in 1981; the couple were divorced in 1996. She became a popular figure through her charity work and glamorous media appearances, and her death in a car crash in Paris gave rise to intense national mourning.
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The daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer, she married Prince Charles in 1981; the couple were divorced in 1996. She became a popular figure through her charity work and glamorous media appearances, and her death in a car crash in Paris gave rise to intense national mourning.
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| 16d | I have a go at the French attempt // to worship image (8) |
| 18d | A place to drink, or grow, a certain beverage? (3,6) |
| 20d | Aware // ruler should receive present (7) |
| 21d | Followers // always holding one up (7) |
| 23d | German after old // Mexican food (5) |
The German word for 'after' is nach[8].
"German after " = NACH
"old " = O [linguistics]
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.
hide
In linguistics, O[12] is the abbreviation for Old ⇒ (i)
OFr[Old French]; (ii)
OE[Old English].
However, a second entry from this same source shows o (lower case) meaning old (not capitalized) suggesting that the use of this abbreviation may not necessarily be confined to the field of linguistics.
Another possibility arises from the British abbreviation OAP[5] standing for old-age pensioner.
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| 25d | Charles Manson's first // opening? (5) |
Chas.[5] is an abbreviation for Charles.
Scratching the Surface
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| Charles Manson[7] (1934–2017) was an American criminal who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. In July and August 1969, cult members committed a series of nine murders at four locations. In 1971, Manson was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, including film actress Sharon Tate. |
| 26d | Provide small space, initially, // to sleep (4) |
Do[5] is used in the sense of make or have available and provide ⇒
many hotels don't do single rooms at all.
Doss[5] is an informal British term meaning to sleep in rough accommodation or on an improvised bed ⇒
he dossed down on a friend’s floor.
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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