Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29940 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, March 21, 2022 | |
Setter
Campbell (Allan Scott) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29940]
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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
I find it interesting how the assessment of the puzzle changes during the course of the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. The initial comments tend to come from very experienced solvers who rate the difficulty level low. As the day progresses, the less experienced solvers weigh in rating the puzzle at a higher level of difficulty.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 | Slightly scary, // counterpart back in Cyprus (6) |
| 4a | Choose randomly /from/ all the players, a great many (4,4) |
| 9a | Expedition party turned back /making/ stand (6) |
"party " = DO
Do[5,12] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[12] term* for a party or other social event ⇒
* Although one US dictionary (Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12]) supports the contention by Lexico (Oxford Dictionary of English)[5] that this usage is at least chiefly British, two other US dictionaries[3,11] do not.
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Do[5,12] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[12] term* for a party or other social event ⇒
the soccer club Christmas do.
* Although one US dictionary (Webster’s New World College Dictionary[12]) supports the contention by Lexico (Oxford Dictionary of English)[5] that this usage is at least chiefly British, two other US dictionaries[3,11] do not.
hide
| 10a | Nice // at Naples, at sea (8) |
Scratching the Surface
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| Naples[5] is a city and port on the west coast of Italy, capital of Campania region. It was formerly the capital of the kingdom of Naples and Sicily (1816–60). |
| 11a | Has rector upset // band? (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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| A rector[3,4,11] is a member of the clergy in the Anglican, Episcopal, or Roman Catholic churches. |
| 13a | Bishop not participating in very tight // game (5) |
Depending on the dictionary, lotto (in addition to being another term for lottery) is either the former name for[1,2] or a game similar to[3,4,5,10,11,12] bingo.
| 14a | Government employee // cut verbal spin when broadcast (6,7) |
| 17a | Slide // headlong (6-7) |
Helter-skelter[5] is a British name for a fairground amusement consisting of a tall spiral slide winding around a tower.
| 21a | Small baked items /for/ operatives (5) |
" small " = S[5] [clothing size]
From a British perspective, operative[5] is a mainly North American term for a secret agent or private detective ⇒
a CIA operative.
| 23a | Unprepared, // I'm put out about concert (9) |
The term prom[5] (or Prom) is short for promenade concert[5], a British name for a concert of classical music at which a part of the audience stands in an area without seating, for which tickets are sold at a reduced price. The most famous series of such concerts is the annual BBC Promenade Concerts (known as the Proms), instituted by Sir Henry Wood in 1895.
Note: Prom[5], in the sense of a formal dance, is a North American expression.
| 24a | Hold on tightly crossing short incline /that's/ frightening (8) |
| 25a | American referendum over // space programme (6) |
" American " = A[1]
The Apollo program[7], also known as Project Apollo, was the third human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States' civilian space agency. The program was responsible for the landing of the first humans on Earth's Moon in 1969.
| 26a | French daily taking in a // fizzy drink (8) |
Le Monde[7] (English: The World) is a French daily evening newspaper continuously published in Paris since its first edition in December 1944. It is one of two French newspapers of record – the other being Le Figaro.
| 27a | Happy days // for model? (6) |
The expression happy days[5] is used as a drinking toast celebrating happy times.
Prosit[5] (also prost) is an expression used in drinking a person's health.
Origin: German, from Latin, literally ‘may it benefit’
Down
| 1d | Champion golfer/'s/ yarn (6) |
Sir Thomas Henry Cotton[7] (1907–1987) was an English professional golfer. He won the Open Championship* in 1934, 1937 and 1948, becoming the leading British player of his generation.
* known beyond the shores of the UK as the British Open
| 2d | Special changes encompassing work // of bishops (9) |
"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
| 3d | Saw // senior scout in lead (7) |
A Rover[5] (also Rover Scout) is a member of a Scouting organization aged around 17–24.
" lead " = PB [Pb[5] ; chemical symbol (from Latin plumbum)]
| 5d | Can we please fans // winning everything? (1,5,5) |
| 6d | Vessel // left during high water, heading for Rotterdam (7) |
" left " = L [l[2]]
Scratching the Surface
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| Rotterdam[5] is a city in the Netherlands, at the mouth of the River Meuse, 25 km (15 miles) inland from the North Sea. It is one of the world's largest ports and a major oil refinery, with extensive shipbuilding and petrochemical industries. |
| 7d | Style of painting // round Split? (2,3) |
Op art[5] is a form of abstract art that gives the illusion of movement by the precise use of pattern and colour, or in which conflicting patterns emerge and overlap. Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely are its most famous exponents.
Scratching the Surface
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| Split[5] is a seaport on the coast of southern Croatia. Founded as a Roman colony in 78 BC, it contains the ruins of the palace of the emperor Diocletian, built in about AD 300. |
| 8d | Leave /with/ group on Scottish river (3,5) |
The Forth[5] is a river of central Scotland, rising on Ben Lomond and flowing eastwards through Stirling into the North Sea.
| 12d | Consider taking in second pub with editor // quick to take offence (4-7) |
" second(s) " = S [s[2]; measure of time]
| 15d | A storage tower erected to store produce /in/ citadel (9) |
An acropolis[5] is a citadel* or fortified part of an ancient Greek city, typically one built on a hill.
* The Acropolis[5] is the ancient citadel at Athens, containing the Parthenon and other notable buildings, mostly dating from the 5th century BC.
| 16d | Medical // material (8) |
| 18d | Slip one prepared /for/ Greek character (7) |
Epsilon[5] is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ε, ε).
| 19d | Information sent over about old // soldier (7) |
" old " = O[12] [linguistics;
OFr(Old French),
OE(Old English)]
| 20d | Found // shelter (6) |
| 22d | Turn of phrase /in/ papers I'm carrying round (5) |
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
Definitely higher than * for me. Maybe a ***
ReplyDelete