Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29866 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, December 23, 2021 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29866]
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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
I guess I never quite got tuned to RayT's wavelength today and, so, used more outside help than I should have needed.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
| 7a | One rants madly, // booming (8) |
| 9a | Gold pieces /forming/ circles (6) |
| 10a | Before end of game, bolt // naked (4) |
Bolt[5] is used in the sense of a bar that slides into a socket to fasten a door or window.
| 11a | Do // go on about Queen favourite (10) |
"Queen " = ER[5] [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 spelled 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 spelled 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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| 12a | Almost finish in Sin // City (6) |
Venice[5] is a city in north-eastern Italy (show more ).
Situated on a lagoon of the Adriatic, Venice is built on numerous islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. It was a powerful republic in the Middle Ages and from the 13th to the 16th centuries a leading sea power, controlling trade to the eastern Mediterranean. After the Napoleonic Wars Venice was placed under Austrian rule and was incorporated into a unified Italy in 1866.
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Situated on a lagoon of the Adriatic, Venice is built on numerous islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. It was a powerful republic in the Middle Ages and from the 13th to the 16th centuries a leading sea power, controlling trade to the eastern Mediterranean. After the Napoleonic Wars Venice was placed under Austrian rule and was incorporated into a unified Italy in 1866.
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Post Mortem
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| I really should have solved this one unaided and kicked myself for not having done so. |
| 14a | Praise // a piano break including Liszt's first (8) |
Scratching the Surface
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| 15a | Person recounting at the bank? (6) |
| 17a | Drain's ideally trapping // contents (6) |
| 20a | External protection for animals' young? (8) |
A marsupium[5] (plural marsupia) is a pouch that protects eggs, offspring, or reproductive structures, especially the pouch of a female marsupial mammal.
Post Mortem
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| I consider failing to solve this one unaided to be forgivable. While I am very familiar with the animals possessing this anatomical structure, it is the first time I have encountered the name of the structure itself. |
| 22a | Pine perhaps missing one // award (6) |
| 23a | Brutality /of/ pose with prison shot (10) |
| 24a | /For/ section of Church // sin doesn't begin (4) |
Despite appearing at the beginning of the clue, the word "for" is effectively a link word.
An apse[5] is a large semicircular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof and typically at the church's eastern end.
| 25a | Last // coffee before mid-afternoon (6) |
| 26a | Fantastic plane, the // jumbo! (8) |
A jumbo[5] is a very large person or thing ⇒
With the jumbos invading the fringe villages during nights, villagers are spending sleepless nights to save themselves, forget about saving their crops and habitations.
Origin: Early 19th century (originally of a person): probably the second element of mumbo jumbo. Originally denoting a large and clumsy person, the term was popularized as the name of an elephant at London Zoo, sold in 1882 to the Barnum and Bailey circus.
Scratching the Surface
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| In the surface reading, jumbo[5] denotes a very large airliner (originally and specifically a Boeing 747). |
Down
| 1d | Degenerate /is/ modest about these days? (8) |
| 2d | Advance // care of yours truly (4) |
| 3d | Front of Sun with busty // model (6) |
Scratching the Surface
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The Sun was once known for its Page 3[7] feature, a large photograph of a topless, bare-breasted female glamour model which was usually published on the print edition's third page. Following sustained protests from feminists and puritans, the feature was discontinued in January 2015. |
| 4d | Posh menu unusually // plain (8) |
| 5d | Obtain rare elements finding // anomaly (10) |
I interpret "obtain rare elements" to denote the letters (elements) making up the words "obtain rare" with "finding" being the anagram indicator. The implication is that a particular arrangement of the elements find or reveal the solution. This is analogous to the use of words such as "producing" as an anagram indicator.
| 6d | Start to seriously rubbish American // prestige (6) |
Tat[5] is an informal British term for tasteless or shoddy clothes, jewellery, or ornaments ⇒
the place was decorated with all manner of gaudy tat.
| 8d | Two seafarers /producing/ battle-axe (6) |
A tartar[5] is a harsh, fierce, or intractable person.
Origin: Historically, a Tartar was a member of the combined forces of central Asian peoples, including Mongols and Turks, who under the leadership of Genghis Khan conquered much of Asia and eastern Europe in the early 13th century, and under Tamerlane (14th century) established an empire with its capital at Samarkand.
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, StephenL describes the solution asWhile most dictionaries show the term as being non gender specific, Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary defines tartar[14] as someone, especially a woman in a position of authority, who is fierce, bad-tempered, and strict.a grumpy female. |
| 13d | Mad about opening of live sensuality // show (10) |
| 16d | Former partner virtuous accepting huge // revelation (8) |
| 18d | Service // all the same with vacuous nag (8) |
In the Church of England, evensong[10] (also called Evening Prayer or vespers) is the daily evening service of Bible readings and prayers prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer. In the Roman Catholic Church, evensong[10] is an archaic name for vespers[10], the sixth of the seven canonical hours of the divine office*, originally fixed for the early evening and now often made a public service on Sundays and major feast days.
* the divine office[10] comprises the canonical prayers recited daily by priests, those in religious orders, etc.
| 19d | Practically insane sweetheart /making/ pass (6) |
" sweetheart " = E ['heart' of swEet]
Post Mortem
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| I tried desperately to make DEFILE work but, of course, found the route blocked. Furthermore, I couldn't seem to move on and find a new route. |
| 21d | Take part /of/ a spy, reportedly (6) |
| 22d | Prominent // criminal is over trouble (6) |
Post Mortem
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| The right trouble would not come to mind and I wasn't thinking of "prominent" in the correct context. |
| 24d | Pain /from/ ailment could hurt, even initially (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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