Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29929 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29929]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Mr K | |
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
There are a couple of nice cryptic definitions in today's puzzle – or perhaps they are a bit more than simply cryptic definitions.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 | Bank worker/'s/ more comfortable getting article for uniform (7) |
" uniform | Uniform " = U[5] [NATO Phonetic Alphabet[7]]
| 5a | Brown top from Tesco with peculiar // fit (7) |
Rum[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒
it’s a rum business, certainly.
Scratching the Surface
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Tesco PLC[7] is a British multinational groceries and general
merchandise retailer. (show more )
Headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England, it is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in the world measured by revenues. It has shops in five countries across Europe, and is the market leader of groceries in the UK (where it has a market share of around 28.4%). hide |
| 9a | Typical // American university student is after top grade (5) |
"student " = L [driver under instruction]
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
hide
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
 |
| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
hide
| 10a | Hold back // prisoner with small drill (9) |
" small " = S[5] [clothing size]
| 11a | Frightful shock lasting 24 hours? (3,4,3) |
A shock[5] is an unkempt or thick mass of hair ⇒
a man with a shock of ginger hair.
Another View
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| While I saw this clue as simply a cryptic definition, Mr K (in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog) makes a plausible argument that it is an &lit. (all-in-one) clue in which the entire clue is both wordplay and definition with the wordplay being BAD (frightful) + HAIR (shock) + DAY (lasting 24 hours). |
| 12a | Some flipping criticism -- hopefully // they show resistance (4) |
The ohm[5] is the SI* unit of electrical resistance.
* SI[5] denoting the international system of units of measurement [from French Système International].
Scratching the Surface
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Flipping[5,10]
(adjective
or adverb) is an informal British term used for emphasis or to express mild annoyance ⇒ (i) are you out of your flipping mind?; (ii) it’s flipping cold today. Origin: a euphemism for the taboo word f**king |
| 14a | Amazingly // doctor slips, hurrying out of hospital (12) |
| 18a | This sentence is in this // page by Sterne, awfully edgy (7,5) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Laurence Sterne[5] (1713–1768) was an Irish novelist. He is best known for his nine-volume work The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy (1759–67), which parodied the developing conventions of the novel form. |
| 21a | Poet/'s/ ordinary recording (4) |
"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).
hide
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).
hide
Vid[5] is an informal short form for video ⇒
I've got it on vid now.
Ovid[5] (43 BC–c.17 AD) was a Roman poet; full name Publius Ovidius Naso. He is particularly known for his elegiac love poems (such as the Amores and the Ars Amatoria) and for the Metamorphoses, a hexametric epic which retells Greek and Roman myths.
Post Mortem
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| I got the word ODIC stuck in my head and, despite my best efforts, could not get past it. |
| 22a | One working with rock // star initially moans dreadfully following sound quality (10) |
| 25a | Clever, // fashionable chap cut debts (9) |
"chap " = GENT
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy – although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
hide
Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy – although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].
[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.
hide
| 26a | Lord, // for example, imprisoned in story (5) |
The term liege[10] can mean either a liege lord* or a liegeman** – in this clue, it is the former.
* 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].
| 27a | Larger // kitchen tool in Spain? On the contrary (7) |
| 28a | Cart pulled back miles by an // outdoor labourer (7) |
A dray[2,5,10] is a low horse-drawn cart without fixed sides, for delivering beer barrels or other heavy loads.
" miles " = M [m or m.[2]]
Yardman[10] can mean:
- (railways) a worker in a railway yard
- (building) a worker in a lumberyard
- (nautical) a sailor of the royal or upper yards*
- (US) a person employed to do various outdoor jobs
* A yard[10] is a cylindrical wooden or hollow metal spar, tapered at the ends, slung from a mast of a square-rigged or lateen-rigged vessel and used for suspending a sail. A royal yard is a yard from which a royal sail is suspended – a royal sail[5] being a sail above a sailing ship's topgallant sail. Above the royal sail are the skysail and moonraker.[7]
Down
| 1d | Caught old man getting // fat (6) |
"caught " = C [cricket notation]
| 2d | Learn about end of Oliver // Hardy (6) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Laurel and Hardy[5] were an American comedy duo consisting of Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson) (1890–1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). British-born Stan Laurel played the scatterbrained and often tearful innocent, Oliver Hardy his pompous, overbearing, and frequently exasperated friend. They brought their distinctive slapstick comedy to many films from 1927 onwards. |
| 3d | Drunk, I turned all // grumpy (3-7) |
| 4d | In theatre curtains // come round at intervals (5) |
| 5d | Timid // camper's covering topless resident (9) |
| 6d | Cracked // almonds? (4) |
| 7d | Swine blocking the way? (4,4) |
Another View
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| Once again, I saw this clue as simply a cryptic definition. However, as in 11a, Mr K sees it as an &lit. (all-in-one) clue in
which the wordplay is HOGS (swine) following (blocking) ROAD (the way). I was initially skeptical of this interpretation as I believe "blocks" is usually employed as a containment indicator (in the sense of plugs). However, I suppose one might argue that HOGS is blocking ROAD because – given English is written left to right – positioning HOGS after ROAD prevents any further letters being appended to ROAD. |
| 8d | Scatter seed in my // imagination (5,3) |
| 13d | Various // bananas sir mislaid (10) |
| 15d | Small Parisian coat contains old // cake (5,4) |
The French word petit[8] means 'small'.
" old " = O[12] [linguistics;
OFr(Old French),
OE(Old English)]
A petit four[10] is any of various very small rich sweet cakes and biscuits [cookies] , usually decorated with fancy icing, marzipan, etc.
| 16d | Being hostile to // work and assuming an attitude (8) |
"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 ⇒
hide
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.
hide
| 17d | First person to call upper-class European // something sweet (8) |
Here and There
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Ring[5] is an informal—more or less British—term for:
I'll give you a ring) than as a verb ( I'll ring you). (show more ) |
"upper-class " = U [upper class]
In Britain, U[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒
The term, an abbreviation of upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).
In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).
hide
In Britain, U[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒
U manners.
The term, an abbreviation of upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).
In Crosswordland, the letter U is frequently clued by words denoting "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).
hide
" European " = E[2]
| 19d | Upset faces after he loses husband/'s/ respect (6) |
" husband " = H [h[2]; genealogy]
| 20d | Lock up // trainee (6) |
| 23d | Horrid // adult breaking new pen (5) |
"adult " = A [former British film classification]
The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]
hide
The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]
hide
" new " = N[5] [in place names on maps;
N Zealand]
| 24d | Regularly consult // king (4) |
Cnut[5] is a variant spelling of Canute (died 1035), Danish king of England 1017–35, Denmark 1018–35, and Norway 1028–35, son of Sweyn I. He is remembered for demonstrating to fawning courtiers his inability to stop the rising tide; this has become distorted in folklore to suggest that Canute really expected to turn back the tide.
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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