Puzzle at a Glance
| |
|---|---|
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29832 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29832 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29832 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
crypticsue (Hints)crypticsue (Review) | |
BD rating
| |
| Difficulty - ★ | Enjoyment - ★★★ |
Falcon's experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ | |
|
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
| |
|
Notes
| |
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
A lighter workout today following a couple of more strenuous ones.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 | |
|
|
| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | Fish // photographer (7) |
The snapper[5] is a marine fish that is typically reddish and is valued as food.
| 5a | Failure // to put fastener on the ceiling? (5-2) |
Fuzzy Logic
| |
|---|---|
This is a clue in which the elements of the wordplay are quite clear but the precise way of assembling them is not quite clear making the parsing a nightmare for a reviewer. In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, crypticsue parses the wordplay as a simple charade: SCREW (fastener; noun) + UP (on the ceiling) Alternatively, one can avoid having to categorize "to put" as a link phrase by parsing the wordplay as: SCREW (to put fastener; verb) + UP (on the ceiling) which, if one were to interpret the entire wordplay as a phrase, could almost constitute a cryptic definition: SCREW UP (to put fastener on the ceiling) I have chosen to mark the clue according to the latter interpretation, not because I consider it to be any better than crypticsue's interpretation but simply to illustrate the leeway available here for interpretation. |
| 9a | Tramp wandering around old, old // bar (7) |
" old " = O[12] [linguistics;
OFr(Old French),
OE(Old English)]
A taproom[5] is a room in which alcoholic drinks, especially beer, are available on tap; a bar in a pub or hotel.
| 10a | Top // bowler (7) |
In cricket, a spinner[5] is a bowler who is expert in spinning* the ball.
* In cricket, spin[5] means to impart a revolving motion to (a ball) when bowling. ⇒ (i)
the ball spun in viciously; (ii)
they had to spin the ball wide.
| 11a | Tailors are, not entirely surprisingly, // relating to clothes (9) |
| 12a | Puppy // beginning to walk requiring assistance (5) |
| 13a | Many years // on in heaven, looking back (5) |
Yonks[5] is an informal British term for a very long time ⇒
I haven't seen him for yonks.
| 15a | Coffee cup // missed, tea brewed (9) |
| 17a | Item that presses // switch as on timer (5,4) |
| 19a | Conservative // prerogative (5) |
| 22a | Nothing seen in cutting // pack of cards (5) |
| 23a | Hurry to get water /for/ plant (9) |
Speedwell[5] is a small creeping herbaceous plant of north temperate regions, with small blue or pink flowers.
| 25a | Crack /in/ huge inn repaired (7) |
| 26a | Loss of power consuming leader in Rome, // a shocker (7) |
| 27a | Pardon // me, nasty drunk! (7) |
| 28a | Suffering // evident in unit, or men triumphant? (7) |
Down
| 1d | Day is fairly empty /for/ meet (7) |
| 2d | Ambitious taking foot off? // Painkiller // required (7) |
The setter has configured the clue in such a way that the linkword "required" is positioned at the end of the clue rather than in its customary spot between the wordplay and definition.
| 3d | Advertisement // for doctor (5) |
| 4d | Memo about a // surplus (9) |
| 5d | Inside shorts is a lengthy // fibre (5) |
Sisal[5] is the fibre (used especially for ropes or matting) made from the sisal plant, a Mexican agave with large fleshy leaves.
| 6d | Unstable rate, I warn, // drops (9) |
| 7d | Lacking success, // wife out more, presumably? (7) |
" wife " = W [w[2]; genealogy]
| 8d | A meaty fib? (4,3) |
Pork pie[10] (often shortened to porky) is mainly British and Australian rhyming slang (show more ) for a lie [in the sense of an untruth].
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.
* 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). Cockney is also the name of the dialect or accent typical of cockneys, which is characterised by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang.
While one commonly sees only the shortened form of rhyming slang, pork pie is one of those cases where both the full expression and the shortened version seem to be in general use.
hide
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.
* 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). Cockney is also the name of the dialect or accent typical of cockneys, which is characterised by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang.
While one commonly sees only the shortened form of rhyming slang, pork pie is one of those cases where both the full expression and the shortened version seem to be in general use.
hide
| 14d | Periods set up, one's // intervals (9) |
In music, an interval[5] is the difference in pitch between two sounds ⇒
Therefore, there are 12 intervals of a half-step forming what is called an octave.
In music, a semitone[3] is an interval equal to a half tone in the standard diatonic scale. Also known (but only in North America*) as a half step or halftone.
* Although Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries) characterizes semitone[5] as a British term, that does not appear to be the case. While the terms half step[3,4,5,10,11] and halftone[3,4,5,10,11] would clearly seem to be used only in North America, I found no dictionary (other than Lexico) that claims semitone[3,4,10,11] to be an exclusively British term.
Another way to look at it, a semitone[12] is the difference in pitch between any two immediately adjacent keys on the piano.
| 16d | Vegetable // piece split (9) |
A piece[5] is a figure or token used to make moves in a board game ⇒
a chess piece.
A man[5] is a figure or token used in playing a board game ⇒
Mr Kravchuk, who prides himself on his chess-playing prowess, did not give up his man easily.
Origin: from French mange tout, literally ‘eat all’.
| 17d | Orange // pottery (7) |
A satsuma[5] is a tangerine of a hardy loose-skinned variety, originally grown in Japan.
Satsuma[5] (also Satsuma ware) is Japanese pottery from Satsuma (a former province of south-western Japan), ranging from simple 17th-century earthenware to later work made for export to Europe, often elaborately painted, with a crackled cream-coloured glaze.
| 18d | Make round article // made of clay (7) |
| 20d | Explosive // category including topless men (7) |
| 21d | Everyone in trial, // most lofty (7) |
| 23d | Unsavoury -- // like an apple core? (5) |
| 24d | Stop // ruminants stealing last of breakfast (5) |
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.