Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29837 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, November 19, 2021 | |
Setter
Zandio | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29837]
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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
The puzzle being from Zandio, we should expect a bit of quirkiness—and he doesn't disappoint in that respect.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 | Flower we could cut small twice with a similar result (7) |
This is a difficult clue to analyze. I have opted to mark the entire clue as wordplay in which a precise definition is embedded. I did consider marking the word "flower" as strictly the definition and not including it in the wordplay. However—in my opinion—that would leave the wordplay incomplete as I don't believe one could reasonably be expected to arrive at the solution if given only "we could cut small twice with a similar result".
| 5a | Costs /of/ Queen's son good for Left (7) |
" good " = G [g or g.[1]; a grade of numismatic coin perhaps]
| 9a | Enthusiastic /in/ punt with initial change of direction (5) |
Punt[2,3,4,5,10,11] is a chiefly British term which means:
- (verb) to gamble or bet, especially against the bank (as in roulette and some card games such as faro) or on horses or other sporting events
- (noun) such a gamble or bet
| 10a | They come round once a week, // unsettling us with arty ads (9) |
| 11a | Squashes /that could make/ a snack (10) |
| 12a | Religious education brings in very little money, /or/ 'ready' (4) |
In the UK, religious education[10] (abbreviation RE[5]) is a subject taught in schools which educates about the different religions of the world.
"penny " = P [p (British currency)] and "very little money" = "1p" (one penny)
Scratching the Surface
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Ready*[5,10] is an informal British term for ready money*[5,10], funds for immediate use or, in other words, available money or cash ⇒ Because I haven't got the readies to hand, I could offer a pittance now and promise to pay the rest at a date more to my convenience. |
| 14a | Degrees of difference between the seasons? (12) |
| 18a | Aunt Clare got staggering // praise (12) |
| 21a | Not a person that fails to finish /in/ time (4) |
| 22a | A spinning top is one's pick-me-up (10) |
A cryptic definition of a flying vehicle powered by a spinning top.
| 25a | Declared // hands with ace, diamonds, holding it back (9) |
In golf, ace[5] is an informal term for a hole in one [thus "1" on a scorecard]. In some card games, an ace also counts as one.
" diamonds " = D[2] [card suit]
| 26a | A trio of Democrats taking ecstasy // carried on (5) |
" Democrat " = D[5] [member or supporter of the US Democratic Party]
"ecstasy " = E [the illicit drug Ecstasy]
E[5] is an abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy* or a tablet of Ecstasy ⇒ (i)
* Ecstasy[5] is an illegal amphetamine-based synthetic drug with euphoric effects, originally produced as an appetite suppressant. Also called MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
hide
E[5] is an abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy* or a tablet of Ecstasy ⇒ (i)
people have died after taking E; (ii)
being busted with three Es can lead to stiff penalties.
* Ecstasy[5] is an illegal amphetamine-based synthetic drug with euphoric effects, originally produced as an appetite suppressant. Also called MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
hide
| 27a | Wiped // part of article, an editorial (7) |
| 28a | Everyone /needs/ some organisation (7) |
Down
| 1d | Bust /of/ Romeo pinched by barbarian (6) |
" Romeo " = R[5] [NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]]
| 2d | They produce 4 // parts of the body (6) |
The
numeral "4" is a cross
reference indicator pointing to clue 4d (show more ).
To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light* identified by the cross reference indicator.
The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.
* light-coloured cell in the grid
hide
To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light* identified by the cross reference indicator.
The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.
* light-coloured cell in the grid
hide
| 3d | Street battle over heartless boy snatching stray // food (10) |
| 4d | Nothing odd about impulse -- itch -- /to achieve/ harmony? (5) |
| 5d | Reconstruction of car held at // church (9) |
| 6d | Some ground // article goes on about twice (4) |
The first instance of " about " = C [c[2]; circa (Latin)].
| 7d | More fancy getting into Gilbert & Sullivan -- // what must be going down? (8) |
Yes, it is found in at least one dictionary: G & S[10] is the abbreviation for Gilbert and Sullivan.
Scratching the Surface
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| Gilbert and Sullivan[7] refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. |
| 8d | Doctor Seuss framing what he might write with // anxiety (8) |
| 13d | Still /in/ post on a railway (10) |
| 15d | After sales talk, study's done up // with decorations (9) |
| 16d | Rising carbon -- I'm about to support green business (8) |
" carbon " = C[2] [chemical symbol]
| 17d | Intimate // German noun censor has camouflaged (8) |
Much to my surprise intimate[5] can mean either:
- state or make known
- imply or hint
| 19d | Creatively representing us, do it here? (6) |
The entire clue is a cryptic definition of the workplace of an artist (someone who creatively represents us on canvas or in stone, for instance) in which the wordplay is embedded.
| 20d | With little water, // right to tuck into liquid daily (6) |
| 23d | Funding part of UK -- that's upset // another country (5) |
"part of UK " = NI [Northern Ireland]
Northern Ireland[5] (abbreviation NI[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the northeast part of Ireland.
According to Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries), Northern Ireland[5] is the only major division of the United Kingdom to hold the status of province, with England[5], Scotland[5] and Wales[5] considered to be countries.
hide
Northern Ireland[5] (abbreviation NI[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the northeast part of Ireland.
According to Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries), Northern Ireland[5] is the only major division of the United Kingdom to hold the status of province, with England[5], Scotland[5] and Wales[5] considered to be countries.
hide
| 24d | Feline // figure seen within banks of lagoon (4) |
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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