Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29880 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, January 10, 2022 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29880]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
pommers | |
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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Notes
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This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, April xx, 2022 edition of the National Post. | |
Introduction
I would say that pommers is correct in his assessment of this puzzle on Big Dave's Crossword Blog that "the head scratchers were a bit trickier than normal".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 | Reasonable series covering grand // amusement park (10) |
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].
| 6a | Rubbish, mostly, /in/ skip (4) |
Rubbish[10,14] is the common British name for garbage or trash. It is used here in the sense of nonsense (foolish words or speech).
Tripe[5] is an informal term* for nonsense or rubbish (foolish words or speech) ⇒
you do talk tripe sometimes.
* "Formally", tripe is the first or second stomach of a cow or other ruminant used as food.
Scratching the Surface
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Skip[5] is the British name for a dumpster[14], a large transportable open-topped container for building and other refuse ⇒ I’ve salvaged a carpet from a skip. |
| 10a | Run off with // some gorgeous tea lady (5) |
Scratching the Surface
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Tea lady[5] is a British term for a woman employed to make and serve tea in a workplace ⇒ Any company that still employs a tea lady gets my vote of approval!. |
| 11a | Join // business partner (9) |
| 12a | Others treated by me /in/ old people's place? (4,4) |
| 13a | Join // military group close to castle (5) |
| 15a | Courageous heading off // each evening (7) |
| 17a | Hot snack // to eat is prepared (7) |
Toastie[5] is an informal British term for a toasted sandwich or snack.
| 18a | Fundamentally, // a skill is required to pen article (2,5) |
| 21a | Papers Lily forged, about // perfect (7) |
" about " = C [c.[2]; circa (Latin)]
| 23a | Follow the old lady/'s/ doctrine (5) |
| 24a | Visit Juliet? That's right, /for/ macaroni (8) |
† the official NATO spelling is Juliett[7] (to facilitate use by speakers of languages other than English), an inconvenient fact that setters—not to mention dictionary editors—choose to ignore
Ay (variant spelling of aye[5,10]) is an archaic or dialect (except in voting by voice) expression of assent* ⇒
aye, you're right there.
* The term is still in use when voting to signify "I assent" ⇒
all in favour say ayeand in nautical circles, in the form aye aye, as a response accepting an order ⇒
aye aye, captain.
A macaroni[5] is an 18th-century British dandy who imitated continental fashions.
Popinjay[5] is a dated term for a vain or conceited person, especially one who dresses or behaves extravagantly.
| 27a | All agreed // a sum union needs to get distributed (9) |
| 28a | Provides staff, English, /for/ minister's house (5) |
" English " = E[2]
A manse[5] is a house provided for a minister of certain Christian Churches, especially the Scottish Presbyterian Church.
| 29a | Border // TV channel (4) |
Side[5] is an informal British term for a a television channel considered as one of two or more that are available ⇒
what’s on the other side?.
Origin: This expression dates from an era when there were only two channels to choose from—and is presumably an allusion to the two sides of a phonograph record
| 30a | Unexpected ending in 'Londonderry Air', London // music hall song (3,3,4) |
"Any Old Iron"[7] is a song sung by English music hall performer Harry Champion as part of his act and which he recorded in 1911.
Scratching the Surface
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| The "Londonderry Air"[7] is an Irish air that originated in County Londonderry, Ireland. It is popular among the American Irish diaspora and is well known throughout the world. The tune is played as the victory sporting anthem of Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. The song "Danny Boy" uses the tune, with a set of lyrics written in the early 20th century. |
Post Mortem
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| Impatient to start writing the review, I threw in the towel too early on this clue which was my last one in. Having got the solution, reverse engineering the wordplay should have been a piece of cake. Moreover, a bit more thought earlier in the solving process might even have allowed me to get the solution without resorting to electronic help. |
Down
| 1d | Unable to move // quickly (4) |
| 2d | Undemonstrative character // in charge on European mountain (7) |
" in charge " = IC [i/c[2]]
"European " = E [as in E number]
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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Berg[5] is a South African term for a mountain or hill.
An iceberg[10] (slang, mainly US) is a person considered to have a cold or reserved manner.
The Story Behind the Picture
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| I am sure most readers will recognize the illustration in pommers' review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog as a head of iceberg lettuce. |
| 3d | See about the Italian/'s/ jacket (5) |
In Italian, the masculine singular form of the definite article is il[8].
A gilet[5] is a light sleeveless padded jacket.
| 4d | One making elegant speech, last in lady // chapel (7) |
An oratory[5] is a small chapel, especially for private worship.
Really ... ?
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I guess the builders of Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal somewhat exceeded specifications! |
| 5d | Just beginning, // first of newcomers on slope (7) |
| 7d | One having no illusions // about top celebrities (7) |
The term A-list[5] denotes a real or imaginary list of the most celebrated or sought-after individuals, especially in show business ⇒ [as modifier]
an A-list celebrity.
| 8d | After start of picnic, mention // cup of tea? (10) |
The phrase not one's cup of tea[5] is an informal expression meaning not what one likes or is interested in.
| 9d | Truth /of/ account supported by clergyman's office (8) |
A curacy[5] is the office of a curate, or the tenure of this ⇒
he served his curacy in Northampton.
* In the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, a curate[5,7] is member of the clergy engaged as assistant to a vicar, rector, or parish priest.
| 14d | Details of cabinet reshuffle? (3,3,4) |
I would say this clue as a cryptic definition which consists of a precise definition accompanied by "cryptic elaboration".
*The "cryptic elaboration" does not supply a second independent route to the solution but rather provides supplementary information related to the precise definition (namely, that the "details" of a cabinet reshuffle consist of a list of those ministers who are "in" and those who are "out").
Here and There
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| It seems there is little or no difference between a shuffle and a
reshuffle. I could well be mistaken, but I get the impression that the
latter term may be the more common term in the UK while I feel the
former is more likely to be used in North America. A reshuffle[5] is an act of reorganizing or rearranging something ⇒ he was brought into the government in the last reshuffle. A shuffle[5] is a change of order or relative positions; a reshuffle ⇒ the Prime Minister may have to consider a cabinet shuffle in the spring. |
| 16d | One inside thanks girl /for/ liqueur (3,5) |
Ta[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒
‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.
Tia Maria[5] (trademark) is a coffee-flavoured liqueur based on rum, made originally in the Caribbean.
| 19d | Hollow-cheeked // witch, nuisance, turned up (7) |
| 20d | Printing error involving husband working /in/ violent windstorm (7) |
" husband " = H [h[2]; genealogy]
The Story Behind the Picture
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| In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers illustrates this clue with a photo of the Eurofighter Typhoon[7], a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon is manufactured by a consortium of the European aerospace company Airbus, the British aerospace company BAE Systems and the Italian aerospace company Leonardo. |
| 21d | I'm finished with ordinary // painting technique (7) |
"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).
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Impasto[5] is the process or technique of laying on paint or pigment thickly so that it stands out from a surface.
| 22d | Student/'s/ large money-spinner? (7) |
" large " = L[5] [clothing size]
| 25d | Wayfarer /with/ small number on loco (5) |
| 26d | Study occupied by a // college administrator (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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