Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29892 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, January 24, 2022 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29892]
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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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Introduction
For the Brits, this was typical "Monday" fare from Campbell. For us, it's an end-of-week treat.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 | Proven right, // victor pointed out (10) |
" victor " = V[5] [NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]]
| 6a | Box // available for use, no end (4) |
| 10a | Thanks Pedro, firstly when /bringing/ appetisers (5) |
Ta[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒
‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.
A tapa[3,11] (often tapas, especially in British dictionaries where the singular is rarely found [show more ])
is any of various small, savory Spanish dishes, often served as a snack
or appetizer (typically with wine or beer) or with other tapas as a
meal.
Among my regular online reference sources, the singular version (tapa[3,11]) is found in the two American dictionaries, but not in the three British dictionaries (which list the word only in the plural, tapas[2,4,5,10]). However, the singular version tapa[1] is found in my hard-copy edition of The Chambers Dictionary.
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Among my regular online reference sources, the singular version (tapa[3,11]) is found in the two American dictionaries, but not in the three British dictionaries (which list the word only in the plural, tapas[2,4,5,10]). However, the singular version tapa[1] is found in my hard-copy edition of The Chambers Dictionary.
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Origin: Spanish tapa, literally 'cover, lid' (because the dishes were given free with the drink, served on a dish balanced on, therefore ‘covering’, the glass).[5]
| 11a | Better being done // humbly (3,2,4) |
Cap[3] is used as a verb in the sense of to follow with something better; in other words, to surpass or outdo ⇒
the magician capped his last trick with a disappearing act that brought the audience to its feet.
| 12a | Arrogant // police officer, one facing other ranks (8) |
In the UK, a superintendent[5] (informally super) is a police officer ranking above chief inspector.
In the British armed forces, the term other ranks[5] (abbreviation OR[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.
| 13a | Loyal subject, // for example, in fiction (5) |
The term liege[10] can mean either a liege lord* or a liegeman** — in this clue, it is the latter.
* Liege lord[10] is a historical term for a feudal lord [nobleman] entitled to allegiance and service.
** Liegeman[5] is a historical term for a vassal [holder of land by feudal tenure] who owed feudal service or allegiance to a nobleman [liege lord].
| 15a | Quietly tell // high-ranking member of the clergy (7) |
Prelate[5] is a formal or historical term for a bishop or other high ecclesiastical dignitary.
| 17a | Bitterness /of/ promoted soldier, we hear (7) |
Ranker[5] is a British term for either:
- a soldier in the ranks; in other words, a private
- [or, as today] a commissioned officer who has been in the ranks
| 18a | Series about King George /may cause/ acute annoyance (7) |
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 King George was GR[5] – from the Latin Georgius Rex.
* 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.
| 21a | Convoy // a Republican's taken through Irish county (7) |
" Republican " = R[5] [member or supporter of the US Republican Party]
Cavan[5] (also County Cavan) is a county of the Republic of Ireland, part of the old province of Ulster.
Scratching the Surface
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| For the purposes of the wordplay, Republican refers to an American politician. However, in the surface reading of the clue, it refers to a British politician. In the UK, a republican[5] is an advocate of a united Ireland. |
| 23a | Long // tale about last in residence (5) |
| 24a | Conscious /of/ feeling many originally ignored (8) |
| 27a | There's value in how I iron (9) |
This falls just short of being 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 cryptic definition as well as wordplay. As the word "there's" really doesn't contribute to the wordplay, it is a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue) which is comprised of a cryptic definition with embedded wordplay.
The symbol for the chemical element iron is Fe[5] (from Latin ferrum).
| 28a | Spread // beyond Spain (5) |
| 29a | Vegetable /in/ line that's scary! (4) |
" line " = L [l.[5]; in textual references ⇒
l. 648]
| 30a | Biscuit: // particular kind plant recalled (6,4) |
The British use the term biscuit[3,4,11] for a range of foods that include those that would be called either cookies or crackers in North America. Cookies might be referred to as sweet biscuits and crackers as savoury biscuits.
A North American biscuit[5] is similar to what is known in Britain as a scone.
Brandy snap[5] is a British term for a crisp rolled gingerbread wafer, usually filled with cream.
Down
| 1d | Formally reject /having/ check on leader of organisation (4) |
| 2d | Name record, piece of music, // part of an orchestral suite (7) |
" name " = N [n or n.[1]]
The Planets[7], Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet* of the Solar System and its supposed astrological character.
* There is no movement for the planet Earth and Pluto was yet to be discovered at the time it was composed.
| 3d | Family // matter (5) |
| 4d | Attribute /of/ a writer (7) |
| 5d | Sovereign /in/ capital keeping agent up (7) |
Rome[5] is the capital of Italy, situated on the River Tiber about 25 km (16 miles) inland.
| 7d | /In/ lab, cope with modifying // clinical trial 'drug'? (7) |
| 8d | False lead // embarrassed Hercule, initially getting it wrong (3,7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Hercule Poirot[7] is a fictional Belgian detective, created by Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play (Black Coffee), and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975. |
| 9d | Wisecrack // aboard English ship (3-5) |
" English " = E[2]
| 14d | Happy carol, treated /as/ unauthenticated (10) |
| 16d | Organiser /may show/ irritation having to support a bishop (8) |
| 19d | Generally, // a game may be found in auction (2,1,4) |
| 20d | Retsina being drunk /is/ more unpleasant (7) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Retsina[5] is a Greek white or rosé wine flavoured with resin. |
| 21d | Box of cutlery /in/ a mess? (7) |
Canteen[5] is a British term for a specially designed case or box containing a set of cutlery.
| 22d | Meat // cooked in ovens (7) |
| 25d | Suggest // just taking son out (5) |
" son " = S [s[5]; genealogy]
| 26d | Look after // stronghold (4) |
A keep[5] is the strongest or central tower of a castle, acting as a final refuge.
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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