Puzzle at a Glance
| |
|---|---|
Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29865 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, December 22, 2021 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29865]
| |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
2Kiwis | |
BD rating
| |
| Difficulty - ★★★ | Enjoyment - ★★★★ |
Falcon's experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ | |
|
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
| |
Introduction
This then seasonally-themed puzzled was published in the UK three days before Christmas.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 | |
|
|
| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | Root /and/ branch ultimately is harder -- so chopped up (11) |
| 9a | Urban landscape features // line a politician puts up (9) |
" line " = L [l.[5]; in textual references ⇒
l. 648]
"politician " = MP[5] [Member of Parliament]
| 10a | See 11 Across (5) |
| 11a & 10a | Festive fare /of/ stewed bean curd, say (6) |
I did not find this food item listed in any of my usual reference sources but a Google search turned up plenty of recipes for it.
Brandy sauce would appear to be a Christmas tradition in English homes. In the cited reference, food blogger Christine Conte writes "Brandy sauce poured over Christmas pudding is the ultimate extravagance".
| 12a | Inexperienced volunteers full of energy /may find/ drink (5,3) |
"volunteers " = TA [Territorial Army, former name for the Army Reserve]
" energy " = E[2] [symbol used in physics]
| 13a | Plasterer's requirement // rejected in Isleworth (6) |
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
| Isleworth[7] is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. |
| 15a | Person missing // beat seen to be confused (8) |
| 18a | Turkey for one in unique dish, // like Marley perhaps (8) |
A Christmas Carol[7] is a novella by English writer Charles Dickens (1812–1870), first published in 1843. The novella tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come.
| 19a | The majority of officer // classes? (6) |
| 21a | Harangue // Thai bride, furiously rejecting hotel (8) |
" hotel " = H[5] [NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]]
| 23a | A sailor concerned with rejected // list of mistakes (6) |
| 26a | The very best // computer, without hesitation, is sent back (5) |
| 27a | Shout about barren ground /giving/ fruit (9) |
As an anagram indicator, ground is used as the past tense or past participle of the verb grind[5]. An anagram indicator is typically a word that denotes movement or transformation. Grind denotes transformation, for example, in the sense of grain being ground into flour.
| 28a | Order gift containing new one /that's/ always there (11) |
"order " = OM [Order of Merit]
The Order of Merit[7] (abbreviation OM[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).
hide
The Order of Merit[7] (abbreviation OM[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).
hide
" new " = N[5] [in place names on maps;
N Zealand]
Down
| 1d | Swimmer /using/ shed to hold a party? (7) |
Once a political powerhouse in the UK, the Liberal Party[5] (abbreviation Lib.[5]) is now virtually a spent force (show more ).
The Liberal Party[5] (abbreviation Lib.[5] or L[2])* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats.
A small Liberal Party still exists (founded in 1989 by members of the original Liberal Party opposed to its merger with the Social Democratic Party)[7]. It has never held a UK, Scottish, Welsh or European parliamentary seat, though it has had representation on local councils.[7]
* Although Lib.[5] may be the more common abbreviation for the Liberal Party in Britain — likely to distinguish it from the the Labour Party[5] (abbreviation Lab.[5]) — Chambers 21st Century Dictionary indicates that L[2] may also be used.
hide
The Liberal Party[5] (abbreviation Lib.[5] or L[2])* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats.
A small Liberal Party still exists (founded in 1989 by members of the original Liberal Party opposed to its merger with the Social Democratic Party)[7]. It has never held a UK, Scottish, Welsh or European parliamentary seat, though it has had representation on local councils.[7]
* Although Lib.[5] may be the more common abbreviation for the Liberal Party in Britain — likely to distinguish it from the the Labour Party[5] (abbreviation Lab.[5]) — Chambers 21st Century Dictionary indicates that L[2] may also be used.
hide
| 2d | Person who's graduated after short // steps? (5) |
Short[5] (noun) is a British term for a drink of spirits served in a small measure* or, as Collins English Dictionary puts it, a short[10] is a drink of spirits as opposed to a long drink such as beer.
| 3d | Suitable // exercises cut out in old books (9) |
" old " = O[12] [linguistics;
OFr(Old French),
OE(Old English)]
"books " = NT [New Testament]
In Crosswordland, the term "books"—sometimes (although not today) accompanied by a modifier—is commonly used to clue either the Old Testament (OT) or the New Testament (NT).
Today, as is often the case, the clue provides no indication whether the reference is to the former or the latter.
hide
In Crosswordland, the term "books"—sometimes (although not today) accompanied by a modifier—is commonly used to clue either the Old Testament (OT) or the New Testament (NT).
Today, as is often the case, the clue provides no indication whether the reference is to the former or the latter.
hide
The clue cleverly misdirects the solver to the wrong set of books!
| 4d | Section of church /seeing/ primate embracing son (4) |
" son " = S [s[5]; genealogy]
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.
| 5d | Chase // cool writer (8) |
Chase[5] (usually seen as an adjective) means to engrave (metal, or a design on metal) ⇒
a miniature container with a delicately chased floral design.
| 6d | Speed /of/ Virgin must be topped (5) |
The markup shown above interprets "Virgin" as an adjective meaning chaste. Were we to interpret "Virgin" as a noun, the word "of" must be included in the wordplay with chaste being clued by "of Virgin". The markup would then look as follows:
Speed // of Virgin must be topped (5)
| 7d | Sign /of/ maturity suppressed by most of journalists (7) |
I knew the solution only as a verb.
A presage[5] is an omen or portent ⇒
the fever was a sombre presage of his final illness.
| 8d | It may be seen in discreet // aid for viewers (8) |
| 14d | Note found in Aida's // works? (8) |
Aida[7] is an opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901). Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it premièred in Cairo in 1871.
In tonic sol-fa, te* is the seventh note of a major scale.
* From a perusal of several dictionaries, this would appear to be a British spelling. (show more )
The only spelling I found in the US dictionaries was ti[3,11,12]. Although the British dictionaries list both the te and ti spellings, some give the principal spelling as te[2,4,10] with ti[2,4,10] as a variant spelling while others have the principal spelling as ti[1,5] with te[1,5] being the variant spelling.
hide
The only spelling I found in the US dictionaries was ti[3,11,12]. Although the British dictionaries list both the te and ti spellings, some give the principal spelling as te[2,4,10] with ti[2,4,10] as a variant spelling while others have the principal spelling as ti[1,5] with te[1,5] being the variant spelling.
hide
| 16d | River crustacean the French /must find/ dreadful (9) |
The River Exe[7] rises on Exmoor in Somerset, 8.4 kilometres (5 mi) from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south*, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south (English Channel) coast of Devon.
* and, thus, away from the Bristol Channel
"the French " = LE [French definite article]
| 17d | Pointed remark on island prison /and/ tower (8) |
" island " = I[2] [on maps]
From a British perspective, the can[5] is an informal North American term for a prison ⇒
our friends will get a year or two in the can.
A barbican[5] is the outer defence of a castle or walled city, especially a double tower above a gate or drawbridge.
| 18d | Oddly spied people up /for/ a drink (7) |
A sidecar[5] is a cocktail of brandy and lemon juice with orange liqueur.
| 20d | One may examine // vacuous lady visiting Santa in trouble (7) |
| 22d | R /could be/ a womaniser! (5) |
In what is commonly known as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet*[7], Romeo[5] is a code word representing the letter R.
* officially the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet
| 24d | Concede // most of hunger is south of area (5) |
" area " = A[2] [geometry]
| 25d | Theatrical // party in dispute (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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.