Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29913 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, February 17, 2022 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29913]
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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
For a RayT creation, this puzzle probably lies toward the easier end of the difficulty scale.I am going to be away for the next week or so. During my absence a "Vacation Edition" of the blog will appear providing simply the "tombstone" data for the puzzle I expect to appear on that day. Of course, the National Post does occasionally leap over a few (or a lot) of puzzles, so there is always the chance that the posts do not match the puzzles that are actually published.
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 | Socialist accepting ordinary politician /is/ played (6) |
"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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" politician " = MP[5] [Member of Parliament]
| 4a | Crushed lime acts /to produce/ plant (8) |
| 9a | Dandy purchases ancient city // office (6) |
Ur[5] was an ancient Sumerian city on the River Euphrates, in southern Iraq. It was one of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, dating from the 4th millennium BC, and reached its zenith in the late 3rd millennium BC.
| 10a | Special mess // fighting resistance in ruin (8) |
" resistance " = R[2] [electrical resistance, symbol used in physics]
A wardroom[5] is a commissioned officers' mess on board a warship.
| 11a | Toadyism // succeeding in empty fealty (8) |
| 13a | Grassy things /found by/ small borders (6) |
" small " = S[5] [clothing size]
| 15a | To err in public turning // honest (13) |
| 18a | Imaginary // spy with cig and alcohol drunk (13) |
| 22a | Cleric // frocked in correct ordination (6) |
A rector[3,4,11] is a member of the clergy in the Anglican, Episcopal, or Roman Catholic churches.
| 24a | Indifferent // doctor about to take over (8) |
| 26a | Back in profit I repaid // drink (8) |
| 27a | After work one ingested // sedative (6) |
"work " = OP [opus]
In music, an opus[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.
The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..
Opus[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒
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In music, an opus[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.
The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..
Opus[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒
he was writing an opus on Mexico.
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| 28a | Really // pious embracing retreat (8) |
| 29a | Rabble gutted, having wind /for/ feast (6) |
Feast[5] is used in the sense of to give (someone) a plentiful and delicious meal ⇒
For them, festivals are full of hassles, not to mention, the deluge of friends and relatives, who have to be feasted with the appropriate traditional dishes in the appropriate quantities.
Down
| 1d | Queen upset over expert // snub (6) |
"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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| 2d | Ethics taking time, // being human (9) |
" time " = T [t[1]; symbol used in physics]
| 3d | Flexible // sweetheart in charge, grabbing behind (7) |
" sweetheart " = E ['heart' of swEet]
" in charge " = IC [i/c[2]]
| 5d | Legendary King // left with listener (4) |
King Lear*[7] is a tragedy written in 1605 or 1606 by English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616). (show more )
The title character descends into madness after disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters (Goneril, Regan and Cordelia) based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.
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The title character descends into madness after disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters (Goneril, Regan and Cordelia) based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.
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* Lear[5], a legendary early king of Britain, is mentioned by the 12th century Welsh chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1139; first printed in 1508), an account of the kings of Britain.
| 6d | Description for most bananas? (7) |
| 7d | It's tiny, hardly obscuring naked girl initially (5) |
This is a hallmark RayT acrostic or initialism clue in which the entire clue* is a descriptive definition in which the wordplay is embedded.
* While one might argue that the word "initially" should not be part of the definition, excluding it would mean that the wordplay is not entirely contained in the definition – a situation which I don't consider to be acceptable.
| 8d | American term for term? (8) |
In German and US – and now some UK – universities, a semester[2] is an academic term lasting for half an academic year.
| 12d | Read occasionally and count, // occasionally (6) |
| 14d | Duff // note held by instrument (6) |
Duff[5] is an informal golfing term meaning to mishit (a shot) ⇒
he duffed the ball short of the green.
| 16d | Old battle // helmet? (9) |
The Battle of Balaclava[5] was a battle of the Crimean War, fought between Russia and an alliance of British, French, and Turkish forces in and around the small port of Balaclava (now Balaklava) in the southern Crimea in 1854. The battle ended inconclusively; it is chiefly remembered as the scene of the Charge of the Light Brigade.
While I tend to think of a helmet as an armoured and protective head covering worn by police officers, firefighters, soldiers, motorcyclists, bicyclists, etc., here helmet[2] is used in the sense of any covering for the head that has a shape similar to a helmet.
| 17d | Tackle // a very quiet fish (8) |
The roach[5] is an edible Eurasian freshwater fish of the carp family, popular with anglers. It can hybridize with related fishes, notably rudd and bream.
| 19d | House passes on hugging old // yobs (7) |
" house " = HO [ho.[1,10]]
" old " = O[12] [linguistics;
OFr(Old French),
OE(Old English)]
Yob[5] is an informal British term for a rude, noisy, and aggressive young person.
Origin: back slang [reversal] for boy
Hoodie[5,10] (also hoody) is an informal British term for a person, especially a youth, who wears a hooded sweatshirt, regarded by some as a potential hooligan.
| 20d | Lame // round of applause supporting Conservative (7) |
" Conservative " = C[5] [member of a British political party]
| 21d | Taxing // English following cut (6) |
" English " = E[2]
| 23d | Source of cash bank // laundered (5) |
| 25d | Settled up /for/ ring (4) |
Ring[3] (often used with up) is a chiefly British term meaning to call (someone) on the telephone ⇒ (i)
She rang me at noon; (ii)
Let's ring her up.
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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