Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29882 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29882]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
2Kiwis | |
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
Events have conspired to delay this review—a plethora of other commitments including a heavy round of medical appointments combined with a looming tax deadline all came to pass at the same time.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 | Puzzled, /needing/ source of inspiration in the sack (7) |
| 5a | Run /from/ vehicles on the road (7) |
Run[5] is used in the sense of bring (goods) into a country illegally and secretly; in other words, smuggle ⇒
they run drugs for the cocaine cartels.
Delving Deeper
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| To put a fine point on it, I would say the terms "running" and "trafficking"
refer to different stages in the importation and distribution of
illegal drugs. Perhaps the latter term is broad enough to encompass the
former but I wouldn't think the reverse to be true. Traffic[5] means to deal or trade in something illegal ⇒ the government will vigorously pursue individuals who traffic in drugs. |
| 9a | Article found in mostly peaceful // stretch of water (5) |
| 10a | A good example /of/ register incorporating European fashion (4,5) |
" European " = E[2]
| 11a | Viewer /offering/ very little opportunity? (10) |
| 12a | Head // started to lose heart (4) |
| 14a | All the same // shelters, even in a storm (12) |
| 18a | Rice, if gently cooked, /will be/ astounding (12) |
| 21a | Assign a value to // degree (4) |
| 22a | Make no progress, in the main (5,5) |
The main[5] is an archaic or literary term for the open ocean.
| 25a | Planned // study assignment and read regularly (9) |
| 26a | Regret keeping vacant place /for/ Indian bread (5) |
The rupee[5] (abbreviation R[10]) is the basic monetary unit of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mauritius, and the Seychelles.
* A rupee is equal to 100 paise in India, Pakistan, and Nepal, and 100 cents in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and the Seychelles.
| 27a | Informed about old English hotel /getting/ a grip (7) |
" Old English " = OE[2]
" hotel " = H[5] [NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]]
| 28a | Pressure now on board /finding/ areas of activity (7) |
" pressure " = P [p[5]; symbol used in physics]
"on board " = 'contained in SS' [SS = steamship]
Down
| 1d | Change into // suit (6) |
| 2d | Threat /from/ expert supporting workers (6) |
| 3d | Outline // design of hotel suite (10) |
| 4d | Style of building // seen in Finland (or Iceland) (5) |
Doric[5] is a classical order of architecture characterized by a sturdy fluted column and a thick square abacus* resting on a rounded moulding.
* The abacus[5] is the flat slab on top of a capital[5] (the distinct, typically broader section at the head of a pillar or column), supporting the architrave[5] (a main beam resting across the tops of columns).
| 5d | Thinking of making contact? (9) |
A cryptic definition of communication through ESP.
| 6d | A million visiting church /for/ summit (4) |
| 7d | Acted nervously /seeing/ unusually gifted newspaper leader (8) |
| 8d | Settler // working one's time under officer (8) |
" time " = T [t[1]; symbol used in physics]
| 13d | Unsolicited opinion /from/ writer thrown out across yard (10) |
The
use of the word "writer" to clue PEN is likely to be slightly more
cryptic to the Brits than it is to us on this side of the pond. British
solvers will see "pen" as being a writing instrument rather than the person wielding that instrument. (show more )
In addition to defining pen[3,11] as a writing implement, North American dictionaries also define it as a writer or an author ⇒
hide
In addition to defining pen[3,11] as a writing implement, North American dictionaries also define it as a writer or an author ⇒
a hired pen, British dictionaries do not list this meaning although they do show pen[2,4] (or the pen[5,10]) as symbolically representing writing as an occupation (a sense of the word not found in US dictionaries).
hide
" yard " = Y [y or y.[1]]
One's pennyworth[5] is a British expression denoting a person's contribution to a discussion.
* Judging by the usage examples given by Lexico, the ante is usually raised to 'two pennyworth' ⇒
It is something I am quite interested in so I thought my two pennyworth might help..
Here and There
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The equivalent term in North America is two cents[5] (also two cents' worth) ⇒ Mom got her two cents in. Based on the definitions in Lexico, the North American term ("an unsolicited opinion") would seem to have a more negative connotation than the British expression. However, the clue does suggest the British term does, in fact, have the same connotation. |
| 15d | European jet fighter valued /for/ what 8 did (9) |
The European from 10a makes a return appearance.
A MiG[7] is a type of Russian jet fighter. The name comes from the initials of the two founders (Mikoyan and Gurevich) of the organization that designs the planes.
While rate can mean value in the sense of assign a value to (something), it can also mean value in another (presumably British) sense:
Rate[5,10] is an informal [almost certainly British*] term meaning to have a high opinion of ⇒ (i)
Mike certainly rated her, goodness knows why; (ii)
the clients do not rate the new system.
* at least when used as in the cited examples
The
numeral "8" is a cross
reference indicator pointing to clue 8d (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
| 16d | Old and battered // car oddly dumped in river -- mine (8) |
The Dee[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland and England—not to mention Ireland and Australia, the most prominent being:
- a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
- a river that rises in North Wales and flows into England, past Chester and on into the Irish Sea
| 17d | Measure, including most of additional // sugar (8) |
| 19d | Pressure in heavy defeats lifted // daze (6) |
" pressure " = P [p[5]; symbol used in physics]
| 20d | Smell found in empty canals /and/ small streams (6) |
| 23d | Range // limited by African desert (5) |
The Andes[5] are a major mountain system running the length of the Pacific coast of South America. Its highest peak is Aconcagua, which rises to a height of 6,960 m (22,834 ft).
| 24d | Check on oxygen // embargo (4) |
The symbol for the chemical element oxygen is O[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
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