Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29818 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, October 28, 2021 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29818]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
StephenL | |
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
For a change, it was the southwest rather than the northwest that held me up today. However, the delay was not due to the content of the puzzle but to my carelessness in bunging in an answer I couldn't parse. It seemed to meet all other requirements so I just threw it in with the intention of figuring it out later—bad, bad decision! Fortunately, I did eventually twig to my error.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 | Certain care is lousy /for/ jail (11) |
| 10a | New commercial includes excellent, // fantastic girl (5) |
" new " = N[5] [in place names on maps]
In classical mythology, a naiad[5] is a water nymph* said to inhabit a river, spring, or waterfall.
* A nymph[5] is a mythological spirit of nature imagined as a beautiful maiden inhabiting rivers, woods, or other locations.
| 11a | Slander // when being about individual (9) |
" individual " = " one " = I[2] [Roman numeral]
| 12a | Always // consort with English flier first (9) |
The tern[5] is a seabird related to the gulls, typically smaller and more slender, with long pointed wings and a forked tail.
| 13a | Initially indignant, rather angry, then enraged (5) |
I have marked this as an &lit. clue in which the entire clue is not only what I think of as a descriptive definition* but is also the wordplay.
* in this case, a description of the process of a state of anger building to to a peak rather than a precise definition such as one might find in a dictionary
I realize this approach allows the setter a fair bit of licence—perhaps too much. In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, StephenL takes a contrary view, marking the clue as a semi-&lit. in which the entire clue supplies the wordplay in which a precise definition is embedded.
- Initially indignant, rather angry, then enraged (5)
| 14a | Army without backing /for/ decoration (6) |
"army " = TA [Territorial Army, former name for the Army Reserve]
| 16a | State // secret (8) |
| 18a | Drainage somehow /needed for/ plant (8) |
The gardenia[5] is any of several species of tree or shrub of warm climates, with large, fragrant white or yellow flowers.
| 20a | Judge follows concerned with // discharge (6) |
| 23a | Tent // top's ends are pronounced (5) |
| 24a | Soldier /in/ drama with guns shot (9) |
In the UK (and no doubt also in Canada)*, a guardsman[5] is a soldier of a regiment of Guards.
* in the US, a guardsman is a member of the National Guard.
| 26a | Drive off in Open, // go too far? (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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| The surface reading alludes to action in a golf tournament. In golf, drive[5] means to strike (a ball) from the tee, typically with a driver*. * A driver[5] is a golf club with a flat face, long shaft, and large head (originally of wood), [capable of hitting the ball a long distance that is] used for driving from the tee. While to the rest of the world the golf tournament in question is the British Open, in typical British fashion, it is known in the UK as simply The Open[7]. |
| 27a | Brief // session Republican rejected (5) |
" Republican " = R[5] [US, member or supporter of the Republican Party]
Brief[5] is used in a British sense meaning a set of instructions given to a person about a job or task ⇒
his brief is to turn round the county's fortunes.
Remit[5] is a mainly British term denoting the task or area of activity officially assigned to an individual or organization ⇒
the committee was becoming caught up in issues that did not fall within its remit.
| 28a | Sprinter's persevering holding // place sporadically (11) |
Down
| 2d | Row /with/ denials embracing single sweetheart (5) |
" single " = " one " = I[2] [Roman numeral]
" sweetheart " = E ['heart' of swEet]
| 3d | Slow movement /from/ author after article (7) |
Dante[5] (1265–1321), full name Dante Alighieri, was an Italian poet. (show more )
His reputation rests chiefly on The Divine Comedy (c.1309–20), an epic poem describing his spiritual journey through Hell and Purgatory and finally to Paradise. His love for Beatrice Portinari is described in Vita nuova (c.1290–4).
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His reputation rests chiefly on The Divine Comedy (c.1309–20), an epic poem describing his spiritual journey through Hell and Purgatory and finally to Paradise. His love for Beatrice Portinari is described in Vita nuova (c.1290–4).
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In music, an andante[5] is a movement, passage, or composition marked to be performed andante (i.e., at a moderately slow tempo) ⇒
The playing is adequate - I mostly disagree with the quartet on how fast an andante should be played.
| 4d | Creepy // scream catching boring thing (6) |
| 5d | Riposting // by elevated dishonesty (8) |
| 6d | Absorbed by Minister, Ministry // ends (7) |
| 7d | Hearing // Independent State contains endless scrap (13) |
" Independent " = I[1] [politician with no party affiliation]
Post Mortem
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| Fairly early in the solve, I carelessly bunged in INTERROGATION without being able to fully parse it. It fits the definition (at least as well as the actual answer) as well as all the checking letters, save the starter for 14a. It was only when the penny finally dropped on 14a that I realized and corrected the mistake. Needless to say this greatly slowed down progress in the southwest quadrant. I see from the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog that I am far from alone in taking this route. |
| 8d | Accommodation for one who's collared? (8) |
A vicarage[5] is the residence of a vicar*.
* A vicar[5] is a member of the clergy, although the meaning of the term varies
among religious denominations (show more ).
The term vicar may mean:
The term vicar may mean:
- in the the Church of England, an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman;
- in other Anglican Churches, a member of the clergy deputizing for another;
- in the Roman Catholic Church, a representative or deputy of a bishop;
- in the US Episcopal Church, a clergyman in charge of a chapel;
- a cleric or choir member appointed to sing certain parts of a cathedral service.
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, StephenL writesDog collar[5] is an informal name for a clerical collar.Here the collar is a dog or clerical collar.. |
| 9d | I'm entertained, tipsily /getting/ hazy (13) |
| 15d | Very poor // leader of Senate cornered (8) |
| 17d | Confirm // change in dosage (8) |
| 19d | Maiden Queen's captured by period // author (7) |
"maiden " = M [scoreless over in cricket]
In cricket, a maiden[5], also known as a maiden over and denoted on cricket scorecards by the abbreviation m.[10], is an over* in which no runs are scored.
* An over[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.
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In cricket, a maiden[5], also known as a maiden over and denoted on cricket scorecards by the abbreviation m.[10], is an over* in which no runs are scored.
* An over[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.
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"Queen " = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth]
The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.
* A cipher[5] (also cypher) is a monogram[5] or motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.
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The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.
* A cipher[5] (also cypher) is a monogram[5] or motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson[5] (1803–1882) was an American philosopher and poet. He evolved the concept of Transcendentalism, which found expression in his essay Nature (1836).
| 21d | Back // runner losing head after tip (7) |
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, StephenL tells us we needAscot Racecourse[7] is a British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. One of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, the course enjoys close associations with the British Royal Family, being approximately six miles from Windsor Castle.a runner (at Ascot say) .... |
| 22d | Insect // male, one's eating insect (6) |
" one " = I[2] [Roman numeral]
The mantis[5] (also called praying mantis) is a slender predatory insect with a triangular head, which waits motionless for prey with its large forelegs folded like hands in prayer.
| 25d | Reminders /being/ married, a little upset (5) |
" married " = M [m[5]; in genealogies]
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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