Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29825 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, November 5, 2021 | |
Setter
Zandio | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29825]
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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
Today's puzzle is a typically Zandio creation—"loose and quirky" in the words of Deep Threat in his intro on Big Daves's Crossword Blog—requiring lots of lateral thinking, thinking outside the box or whatever other brand of unconventional thinking one can throw at it.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 | Well-read party that's considering writing? (4,4) |
| 5a | Boy gets a thank you /for/ composition (6) |
Ta[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒
‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.
A sonata[10] is an instrumental composition, usually in three or more movements, for piano alone (piano sonata) or for any other instrument with or without piano accompaniment (violin sonata, cello sonata, etc).
| 8a | Be suspended /and/ delay the sack? (4,2) |
If something is suspended, it's not falling down. Thus, to be suspended is to ...
| 9a | Chat with date, excited /to get/ engaged? (8) |
| 10a | Made a bob on getting to meet the Queen? (8) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Bob[5] is an informal British term for a shilling[5] which, in the British currency system used prior to the introduction of the current decimal currency system in 1971, was a coin and monetary unit equal to one twentieth of a pound or twelve pence. |
| 11a | Order // mixer only to be added? (6) |
| 12a | Vehicle // sabotaged to go bang (8) |
The Story Behind the Picture
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| I am pleased to see that Deep Threat has illustrated his hint with a picture of a true toboggan. The Brit's use the term toboggan for any vehicle (with or without runners) that travels on ice or snow. I think some early British visitor to North America must have taken the word back home without fully understanding the concept. |
| 13a | Vast area /of/ 100 miles covered by Ordnance Survey twice (6) |
" miles " = M [m or m.[2]]
In the UK, the Ordnance Survey[5] (abbreviation OS[5]) is an official survey organization, originally under the Master of the Ordnance, preparing large-scale detailed maps of the whole country.
| 15a | Acclimatise in Japan maybe (6) |
I think we must consider this to be a cryptic definition with an embedded precise definition. The phrase "in Japan maybe" suggests the orient, but neither it nor the shortened version "Japan maybe" are either a precise definition or standard wordplay for ORIENT thus ruling out both a double definition or a standard definition with wordplay.
| 18a | Pipes /in/ sight carrying whiskey explode (8) |
Although some Brits (especially Scots) may "explode" at the use of the Irish and American spelling "whiskey" in the clue, this is apparently the official NATO spelling.
| 20a | Cut // two journalists (6) |
A hack[5] is a writer or journalist producing dull, unoriginal work.
| 21a | Chilli sauce, perhaps // it's stolen (3,5) |
| 23a | Ban-the-bombers holding missiles back ring // military man? (8) |
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament[5] (CND) is a British organization which campaigns for the abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide and calls for unilateral disarmament.
| 24a | Some characters on board splash or escape // to the beach (6) |
| 25a | Express found among European ship/'s/ papers (6) |
"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.
hide
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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" ship " = SS[5] [steamship]
| 26a | Turning // left maybe, went by bike reportedly? (8) |
Turning[10] (also called turn)* is a road, river, or path that turns off the main way ⇒
take the fourth turning on the right.
* I would certainly expect North Americans to use turn rather than turning.
Down
| 1d | Simple // when written in pen (5) |
The Bic pen[7], an inexpensive disposable ballpoint pen manufactured by the French company Société Bic, is the best-selling pen in the world.
| 2d | I will need one input -- you will need two more (9) |
If this were a riddle, one would follow on with "What am I?".
| 3d | China's rising rugby player, // flier (7) |
China[5] is an informal British term for a friend (or, as the Brits would say, a mate*).
Origin: Cockney rhyming slang (show more ) from china plate (rhymes with 'mate').
A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow[7] church).
The cockney[5] dialect is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang[5].
Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
hide
* In Britain, mate[5]—in addition to being a person’s husband, wife, or other sexual partner—is an informal term for a friend or companion ⇒
Origin: Cockney rhyming slang (show more ) from china plate (rhymes with 'mate').
A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow[7] church).
The cockney[5] dialect is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang[5].
Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
hide
* In Britain, mate[5]—in addition to being a person’s husband, wife, or other sexual partner—is an informal term for a friend or companion ⇒
my best mate Steve.
In soccer, rugby and hockey [both field hockey and ice hockey], a wing[5] is an attacking player positioned near to one of the sidelines.
The lapwing[5] is a large plover typically having a black-and-white head and underparts and a loud call.
| 4d | Their residents who sleep in are taught a lesson (8,7) |
| 5d | Twisted element of magic in a Tasmanian // devil's character (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Tasmania[5]
is a state of Australia consisting of the mountainous island of
Tasmania itself and several smaller islands. The Tasmanian devil[5] is a heavily built marsupial with a large head, powerful jaws, and mainly black fur, found only in Tasmania. It is slow-moving and aggressive, feeding mainly on carrion. |
| 6d | The aim's to be converted, // having no church (7) |
| 7d | Commercial outfit beginning to export electronic // letter opener (9) |
" electronic " = E [E or e[2]; e-mail, email or E-mail[2]]
| 12d | Flying ace doubly hot, /in/ biting pain (9) |
What did he say?
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In Comment #18 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, retired dentist Steve Cowling writesNaturally, I rose to the bait. I discovered that "A 'hot tooth' is defined as a tooth that will not fully numb under a local anesthetic. Patients who are bothered by a hot tooth are often times in excruciating pain, ... But during treatment, your dentist may have difficulty fully numbing the tooth even though adequate anesthesia has been used."given my erstwhile profession, my COTD [clue of the day] has to be 12d. Those not in the know will not understand 'hot' with regard to teeth. .... |
| 14d | Support for someone unfortunately getting carried away (9) |
| 16d | Fashionable company meets occasionally /to deliver/ these? (7) |
I do not like this clue as there seems to be no way to determine the solution other than through the wordplay. Certainly, it would be virtually impossible for anyone to find the solution based solely on the demonstrative pronoun "these" standing alone.
In clues of this style, the entire clue often serves as a cryptic definition in which the wordplay is embedded. However, I see no meaningful way to decipher the solution from a reading of the entire clue.
| 17d | News // items with hospital being scrapped I'd put in (7) |
| 19d | Western delta is wild -- around November // it rarely dries out (7) |
" Western " = W[2]
| 22d | Beast /could be/ intimate without resistance (5) |
" resistance " = R[2] [electrical resistance, symbol used in physics]
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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