Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29939 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, March 19, 2022 | |
Setter
Chalicea (Shirley Curran) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29939 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29939 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Tilsit (Hints)crypticsue (Review) | |
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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As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.
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Introduction
Like most of the puzzles which appear on Saturday in the UK, this one is not overly challenging.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 | Backchat and criticism /for/ a cosmetic (8) |
Backchat[5] is an informal British term for rude or cheeky remarks made in reply to someone in authority.
North American term: back talk
Stick[5] is an informal British term denoting severe criticism or treatment ⇒
I took a lot of stick from the press.
| 5a | Trousers, with top trimmed, might contain these (4) |
To my mind, the entire clue is a cryptic definition in which the wordplay is embedded. In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, crypticsue marks the definition as solely the word "these". I defy anyone to solve a clue based only on that single word.
Here and There
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| In
Britain – as evident from the discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog – the word pants[5] generally does not mean trousers* as it does in North America. Rather, it refers to underwear — specifically men's undershorts or women's panties (the latter otherwise known as knickers[5] to the Brits). * Then again, this may not have always been the case or may not be true in all parts of the UK as evidenced by the following observation made by Lincoln Latic in a comment on my review of DT 28909 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog: I didn’t see this [pants used as a synonym for trousers] as an Americanism. I grew up in the northwest of England (before the big influx of Americanisms into the language) and ‘pants’ was the usual term for trousers. You had short pants as a real youngster then progressed into long pants as you got older which for most of us was when you were nearly at the end of primary school probably around aged 9 or 10. What most people consider ‘pants’ refers to now, were called underpants because they went under your pants. While the term might be American for trousers, the saying itself is used a lot in England. Of course, there, "ants in one's pants" would unequivocally refer to ants in one's underpants. But, come to think of it, the expression may well refer to ants in one's underpants in North America too. |
| 9a | Cube cooked in empty // grill (8) |
| 10a | Utilise // printer's measurement stratagem (6) |
In printing, the em[2] is a unit of measurement, based on the 12-point lower-case 'm', used in spacing material, and in estimating dimensions of pages.
| 11a | Organisation of Easter Sunday not seen, sadly, on this earlier day (8) |
As in 5a, I see the entire clue as a cryptic definition in which the wordplay is embedded. Once again, crypticsue and I differ on the markup as she limits the definition to merely "earlier day".
| 12a | Offshoot /of/ British stock farm (6) |
" British " = B[1]
| 14a | Determination // concerning explanation (10) |
| 18a | Virology crudely interrupted by America // using force? (10) |
| 22a | Submerges /in/ river in undulating pasture-land (6) |
" river " = R [R or R.[2]; on maps]
A down[10] (also called downland) is a rolling upland*, especially in the chalk areas of southern Britain, characterized by lack of trees and used mainly as pasture.
* how ironic is that, down or downland is a British term for upland?
| 23a | Tortuous clue she'd // programme (8) |
| 24a | In an orderly way, // almost, with time for beginning of romance (6) |
" time " = T [t[1]; symbol used in physics]
| 25a | Structures carrying transport // through channels (8) |
| 26a | Trend // restricted, we hear (4) |
| 27a | In no particular place // when year changes (8) |
Down
| 2d | Quietly enraged // buccaneer (6) |
| 3d | Man going into Conservative // hypothesis (6) |
| 4d | Raucous ego running riot, // not deterred by danger (10) |
| 6d | Many // hesitant words interrupting common sense (8) |
Nous[5] is an informal British term meaning common sense or practical intelligence ⇒
if he had any nous at all, he’d sell the film rights.
| 7d | Use up about a pound on birds now and then // -- very impressive (8) |
"a pound " = L [British monetary unit]
The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L[10].
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra* .
* In ancient Rome, the libra[5] was a unit of weight, equivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.
hide
The pound[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L[10].
The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra* .
* In ancient Rome, the libra[5] was a unit of weight, equivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.
hide
| 8d | A slight obsession about New York, // nothing specific (8) |
| 9d | Runs away from skirmish /in/ the wild (4) |
"runs " = R [cricket notation]
| 13d | Group // offering (10) |
| 15d | Testimony /of/ English study in immorality (8) |
" English " = E[2]
| 16d | Clueless, // I admit, about two major components of air (8) |
Nitrogen[5] (symbol N) is the chemical element of atomic number 7, a colourless, odourless unreactive gas that forms about 78 per cent of the earth’s atmosphere.
Oxygen[2] (symbol O) is the chemical element of atomic number 8, a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas that constitutes about 21% (by volume) of the Earth's atmosphere.
| 17d | Press caught youngster // resistant to change (4-4) |
"caught " = C [cricket notation]
| 19d | Outside each day, cut // field (6) |
" each " = EA [ea.[2]]
" day " = D [d[2]]
| 20d | Sinew /of/ edible shellfish we're told (6) |
| 21d | Schemes of identification /for/ low islands (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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