Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29858 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29858]
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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
I found this puzzle to be both challenging and highly enjoyable.It is a bit eerie to watch the video accompanying Mr K's hint for 22a on Big Dave's Crossword Blog of the Foo Fighters with 11-year old Nandi Bushell behind the drum kit given the death less than one week ago of the band's drummer Taylor Hawkins.
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 | Shorten // a game (7) |
| 5a | Coming // right after a competitor (7) |
| 9a | Tutor group encapsulating university // place of debate (5) |
The setter has seemingly used "tutor group" as a loose description of a group in which students are taught.
In Britain, a form[5] is [or, perhaps more correctly,was] a class or year in a school, usually given a specifying number. This is somewhat similar to the North America concept of a grade although the numbering system for forms and grades are vastly different. (show more )
The term "form" seems to have become passé as Miffypops in his review of DT 28163 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog refers to "sixth-former" as "What a schoolchild would be during the year before university back in the old days. This would now be known as year 13 or 14." Furthermore, Wikipedia (see table below) characterizes the term "form" as an "alternative/old name".
A form[7] is a class or grouping of students in a school. The term is used predominantly in the United Kingdom, although some schools, mostly private, in other countries also use the title. Pupils are usually grouped in forms according to age and will remain with the same group for a number of years, or sometimes their entire school career.
Forms are normally identified by a number such as "first form" or "sixth form". A form number may be used for two year groups and differentiated by the terms upper and lower [in general, this would seem to apply primarily for the sixth form]. Usually the sixth form is the senior form of a school [although this apparently does not hold true for New Zealand where they would appear to have a seventh form]. In England, the sixth form is usually divided into two year groups, the lower sixth and upper sixth, owing to the 3-year English college/university system. In Scotland or North America, the 6th form is usually a single year, owing to the 4-year college/university system. If there is more than one form for each year group they will normally be differentiated by letters, e.g., "upper four B", "lower two Y". Schools do not follow a consistent pattern in naming forms [in the foregoing quotation witness Miffypops' reference to "year 14", a term which does not appear in the table below].
Wikipedia would appear to be at best ambiguous and at worst inconsistent on the relationship between the British and American systems of naming school years. The article from which the table below is excerpted shows that the British first form is equivalent to the American 6th grade. On the other hand, the article cited above states "In North America, the 1st Form (or sometimes 'Form I') is equivalent to 7th Grade." However, this latter statement may in fact be a comparison between the few North American schools to use the form system and the vast majority of North American schools that don't rather than a comparison between British and American schools.
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The term "form" seems to have become passé as Miffypops in his review of DT 28163 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog refers to "sixth-former" as "What a schoolchild would be during the year before university back in the old days. This would now be known as year 13 or 14." Furthermore, Wikipedia (see table below) characterizes the term "form" as an "alternative/old name".
A form[7] is a class or grouping of students in a school. The term is used predominantly in the United Kingdom, although some schools, mostly private, in other countries also use the title. Pupils are usually grouped in forms according to age and will remain with the same group for a number of years, or sometimes their entire school career.
Forms are normally identified by a number such as "first form" or "sixth form". A form number may be used for two year groups and differentiated by the terms upper and lower [in general, this would seem to apply primarily for the sixth form]. Usually the sixth form is the senior form of a school [although this apparently does not hold true for New Zealand where they would appear to have a seventh form]. In England, the sixth form is usually divided into two year groups, the lower sixth and upper sixth, owing to the 3-year English college/university system. In Scotland or North America, the 6th form is usually a single year, owing to the 4-year college/university system. If there is more than one form for each year group they will normally be differentiated by letters, e.g., "upper four B", "lower two Y". Schools do not follow a consistent pattern in naming forms [in the foregoing quotation witness Miffypops' reference to "year 14", a term which does not appear in the table below].
Wikipedia would appear to be at best ambiguous and at worst inconsistent on the relationship between the British and American systems of naming school years. The article from which the table below is excerpted shows that the British first form is equivalent to the American 6th grade. On the other hand, the article cited above states "In North America, the 1st Form (or sometimes 'Form I') is equivalent to 7th Grade." However, this latter statement may in fact be a comparison between the few North American schools to use the form system and the vast majority of North American schools that don't rather than a comparison between British and American schools.
Naming of School Years (British System vs American System)[7]
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| Age Range | British System | American System | |
| Name | Alternative/Old Name | Name | |
| 11-12 | Year 7 | First form | 6th grade |
| 12-13 | Year 8 | Second form | 7th grade |
| 13-14 | Year 9 | Third form | 8th grade |
| 14-15 | Year 10 | Fourth form | 9th grade |
| 15-16 | Year 11 | Fifth form | 10th grade |
| 16-17 | Year 12 | Lower sixth form | 11th grade |
| 17-18 | Year 13 | Upper sixth form | 12th grade |
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| 10a | Laws from grand old Democrat /producing/ unavoidable catastrophes (4,2,3) |
G as an abbreviation for grand is one North American usage that the Brits would appear to have embraced (show more ).
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.
Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒
he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒
I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.
G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
- Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)[5].
- Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars[2].
- Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)[4,10].
" old " = O[12] [linguistics;
OFr(Old French),
OE(Old English)]
" old " = O[12] [linguistics;
OFr(Old French),
OE(Old English)]
| 11a | Great hotel plastered // completely (10) |
As an anagram indicator, plastered is used in the sense of drunk.
| 12a | Cutting remark /from/ hairdresser with no sign of hesitation (4) |
| 14a | Pavlova perhaps // bland mixed with treacle (6-6) |
Anna Pavlova[5] (1881–1931) was a Russian ballet dancer, resident in Britain from 1912.
Scratching the Surface
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| Pavlova[5] (named for the dancer) is a dessert consisting of a meringue base or shell filled with whipped cream and fruit. Treacle[3,11] is the British name for molasses. |
| 18a | Force-fed Roth novel // in private (3,3,6) |
Scratching the Surface
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|---|---|
| Philip Roth[5] is an American novelist and short-story writer. He often writes with irony and humour about the complexity and diversity of contemporary American Jewish life. Notable works: Portnoy’s Complaint (1969), Zuckerman Bound (1985), and American Pastoral (1997). |
| 21a | Arrogant // American swallowing French wine? On the contrary (4) |
" American " = A[1]
| 22a | Lack of ability // in role (10) |
| 25a | Theme // of title I'm adapting (9) |
A leitmotif[5] (also leitmotiv) is a recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation.
| 26a | Run scored in cricket // over (5) |
In cricket, an extra[5] is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited (in most cases) to the batting side rather than to a batsman. The types of extra[7] are no ball, wide, bye, leg-bye, and penalty runs.
Scratching the Surface
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| In the surface reading, over[5] is misleading used in the cricket sense of 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. |
| 27a | Get greater // mixture of letters in general (7) |
| 28a | The French yell, 'Attack!' (4,3) |
Down
| 1d | Half of freaky, odd characters leaving // fight (6) |
| 2d | Fish circling river -- it/'s/ not a common thing (6) |
" river " = R [R or R.[2]; on maps]
| 3d | Gary hoped desperately to welcome maiden // studying this? (10) |
"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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I see the latter part of the clue as a loose definition of a field of study. In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mr K sees things a bit differently.
| 4d | Behave after former lover/'s/ demand (5) |
| 5d | Real // gold in that case -- it's up on top of cabinet (9) |
| 6d | Cross // Germany with little jumper on (4) |
The term "little jumper" denotes a shortened name for an animal that jumps.
Roo[5] is an informal Australian term for a kangaroo.
A rood[2] is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one set on a beam or screen at the entrance to a church chancel*.
* The chancel[5] is the part of a church near the altar, reserved for the clergy and choir, and typically separated from the nave by steps or a screen.
| 7d | Virginia with cold year following relative/'s/ homelessness (8) |
" cold " = C [c or c.[1]; symbol found on water taps]
Gran[5] is an informal British term for one's grandmother*.
* While I am surprised to see it considered to be a British term, it is not found in most of my US dictionaries.
| 8d | Hen possibly // spotted insect (8) |
Ladybird[5] is the British name for a ladybug[5].
| 13d | Lear's ready to change // verse recited by them? (3,7) |
In the Anglican Church, a lay reader[5] is a layperson licensed to preach and to conduct some religious services, but not licensed to celebrate the Eucharist [Communion].
The latter part of the clue is a loose definition of people who, among other things, read verses from the Bible.
Scratching the Surface
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| Edward Lear[5] (1812–1888) was an English humorist and illustrator. He wrote A Book of Nonsense (1845) and Laughable Lyrics (1877). He also published illustrations of birds and of his travels around the Mediterranean. His best-known piece is likely the poem "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat"[7]. |
| 15d | Picked up in market ten Grolsch // glasses (9) |
A lorgnette[3,4,11] is a pair of eyeglasses or opera glasses mounted on a handle.
Scratching the Surface
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|---|---|
| Grolsch Brewery[7] (Koninklijke Grolsch N.V. - "Royal Grolsch"), known simply as Grolsch, is a Dutch brewery founded in 1615. |
| 16d | Have a fit // prisoner, very large, cutting exercise (8) |
" very " = V [v or v.[2]]
" large " = L[5] [clothing size]
| 17d | Administrator // on holiday with one left supporting spies (8) |
| 19d | Son, in part, runs ordinary // restaurant (6) |
" son " = S [s[5]; genealogy]
"runs " = R [cricket notation]
"ordinary " = O [British academic qualification]
Historically, in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), O level[5] (short for ordinary level[5]) was a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A (advanced) level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
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Historically, in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), O level[5] (short for ordinary level[5]) was a qualification in a specific subject formerly taken by school students aged 14-16, at a level below A (advanced) level. It was replaced in 1988 by the GCSE[5] (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
hide
| 20d | Dictator/'s/ heartless attempt to deliver a tirade (6) |
| 23d | Extremely bad // article with entire ending missing (5) |
" with " = W [w[2]]
| 24d | A Muslim independent ruler, primarily (4) |
This is an &lit. clue[7] (or, as they prefer to call it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, an all-in-one clue) in which the entire clue is a loose definition as well as wordplay—in this case, of an acrostic or initialism style.
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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