Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29925 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, March 3, 2022 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29925]
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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 me, today's puzzle by RayT proved to be a sterner test than usual.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 | Brilliant // detailed revenue lesson (12) |
The setter uses "detailed" in a whimsical cryptic crossword sense meaning having the tail removed — analogous to the formation of words such as deflowered or defrocked.
| 8a | Old lady, impatient, possibly /in/ buff (7) |
Nan[5] is an informal British term for one's grandmother.
Nankeen[5] is an archaic term for the yellowish-buff colour of nankeen, a type of cotton cloth.
Origin: from the name of the city of Nanking, where the cloth was first made.
| 9a | Laugh /with/ time left in job (7) |
" time " = T [t[1]; symbol used in physics]
" left " = L [l[2]]
| 11a | The woman's embracing university // incels? (7) |
"university " = MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology]
Really?
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| Are the terms "incel" and "hermit" synonymous? The former are "involuntarily celebate" while the latter would seem to "voluntarily celebate". |
| 12a | Heretic // cheers over robbery (7) |
Cheers[5] is an informal British expression of gratitude or acknowledgement for something ⇒
Billy tossed him the key. ‘Cheers, pal.’.
Ta[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒
‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.
| 13a | Teams /putting/ fish on board (5) |
Ide[5] is another name for the orfe[5], a silvery freshwater fish of the carp family, which is fished commercially in eastern Europe.
"on board " = 'contained in SS' [SS = steamship]
"teams " = SIDES
Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
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Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒
there was a mixture of old and young players in* their side.
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii)
They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.
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| 14a | Bounder we arrested pocketing // lingerie? (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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Bounder[5] is a dated informal British term for a dishonourable man ⇒ he is nothing but a fortune-seeking bounder. |
| 16a | Surfaces packed with endless sea // doves? (9) |
| 19a | Queen following top // criminal act (5) |
"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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| 21a | Deviation /of/ entitled man after spank (7) |
| 23a | This compiler rejected game's // uses (7) |
"this compiler " = ME
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
hide
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
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| 24a | Spoken English accompanying Church // hymn (7) |
" English " = E[2]
" church " = CH [ch[2]]
| 25a | Small insect, beginning to nip, // bit (7) |
" small " = S[5] [clothing size]
| 26a | Arrest nude in frolics /being/ abandoned (12) |
Abandoned[10] is used as an adjective meaning unrestrained or uninhibited ⇒
wild, abandoned dancing.
Down
| 1d | One impaled acquiring new // cut (7) |
" new " = N[5] [in place names on maps;
N Zealand]
Cut[3] means to refuse to speak to or recognize (someone); in other words, to snub ⇒
cut me dead at the party.
| 2d | Believes // what's seen at end of programme? (7) |
| 3d | Tiny, // oddly main nucleus spinning (9) |
| 4d | African capital city referencing ants, initially (5) |
The entire clue serves as the wordplay in which the definition is embedded.
Accra[5], the capital of Ghana, is a port on the Gulf of Guinea.
| 5d | One more // from America, not here (7) |
| 6d | Current contained by broken cattle // grid (7) |
" current " = I[2] [electric current; symbol used in physics]
| 7d | Eager // moving round cities' haunts (12) |
| 10d | Break in using crowbar? /That's/ ingenious! (12) |
| 15d | Remedy sipped, say, /for/ indigestion (9) |
| 17d | Sort of bridge // game (7) |
Pontoon[5] is a British name for the card game vingt-et-un (known in North America as blackjack[5]).
| 18d | Perfect on gallery /to see/ film (7) |
"gallery " = TATE
The Tate Gallery[5] (commonly known simply as the Tate) is a national museum of art in London, England founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened.
* I think it would be safe to surmise that by that time the original collection could no longer be considered "modern".
In addition to Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the Tate group[7] of galleries also includes Tate Liverpool and Tate St. Ives.
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The Tate Gallery[5] (commonly known simply as the Tate) is a national museum of art in London, England founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened.
* I think it would be safe to surmise that by that time the original collection could no longer be considered "modern".
In addition to Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the Tate group[7] of galleries also includes Tate Liverpool and Tate St. Ives.
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| 19d | Legend /of/ trick encasing prone individual (7) |
| 20d | Made stink collaring waiter finally // having forks (7) |
Pong[5] is an informal British term meaning:
- (noun) a strong, unpleasant smell ⇒
corked wine has a powerful pong
- (verb) to smell strongly and unpleasantly ⇒
the place just pongs of dirty clothes
| 22d | Indulgence /of/ sweetheart in restaurant (5) |
" sweetheart " = E ['heart' of swEet]
Trat[1] is a short form for trattoria[5], an Italian restaurant.
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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