Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29778 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, September 11, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29778 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29778 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Gazza (Hints)Rahmat Ali (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
I found this to be an especially gentle mental workout.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 | Vivacity /in/ dancing priest (6) |
| 5a | European // elegance (6) |
| 10a | Sport in need of capital, // yet to pay (5) |
| 11a | Most ill-advised, // if nothing else (9) |
| 12a | Contract, // massive thing by the sound of it (7) |
A titan*[5,10] is a person or thing of very great strength, intellect, importance, or size ⇒
a titan of American industry.
* In Classical Greek mythology, the Titans and Titanesses[7]
were members of the second order of divine beings, descending from the
primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. (show more )
Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans most famously included the first twelve children of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Heaven). They were giant deities of incredible strength, who ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and also composed the first pantheon of Greek deities.
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Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans most famously included the first twelve children of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Heaven). They were giant deities of incredible strength, who ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and also composed the first pantheon of Greek deities.
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| 13a | Weave altered /for/ loom worker? (7) |
The cryptic definition alludes to the mechanism that causes the loom to work rather than the person operating the loom.
| 14a | Clear solution // we later amended, I am to put in (9) |
Limewater[10] (or lime water[5]) is a clear colourless solution of calcium hydroxide in water, formerly used in medicine as an antacid.
| 17a | Prompt // author (5) |
Jonathan Swift[5] (1667–1745) was an Irish satirist, poet, and Anglican cleric; known as Dean Swift. He is best known for Gulliver’s Travels (1726), a satire on human society in the form of a fantastic tale of travels in imaginary lands.
| 18a | Imagine // cooler country on the borders (5) |
| 19a | Small lamp /bringing/ shop into vision (9) |
Sidelight[10] is a British term for a small light on either side of the front of a motor vehicle, used to indicate the presence of the vehicle at night rather than to assist the driver.
North American term: parking light[14]
| 21a | Conflict /in/ road adjoining nightclub (7) |
| 23a | Support // in reverse (7) |
Third Opinion
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| In their hints and review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza and Rahmat Ali both show the second definition as merely "reverse". However, I think it must be "in reverse". Reversing[5] is the British term for backing up (an automobile). Thus, I would think that for the solution to be "backing", the definition would have to be "reversing". |
| 25a | Starting eating, article to consume (9) |
| 26a | One judge // filled with wrath (5) |
| 27a | Oh gosh, // weapon found in river (4,2) |
The Dee[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland and England — not to mention Ireland and Australia, the most prominent being:
- a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
- a river that rises in North Wales and flows into England, past Chester and on into the Irish Sea
| 28a | Microscopic, // quite a few ticks? (6) |
... 60 ticks to be precise.
Down
| 2d | Change of mood /in/ jazz-like music? (5) |
Swing[5] is a style of jazz or dance music with a flowing but vigorous rhythm.
| 3d | Tory on leave // immediately (5,4) |
| 4d | Claw // that's attached locked on nicely, initially (5) |
| 5d | Under the table, // like the ceiling? (9) |
| 6d | Coffee /is/ yet to arrive, having little time to drink (5) |
Latte[5] is a type of coffee made with espresso and hot steamed milk, milkier than a cappuccino.
| 7d | Chuck quaffing draught /is/ performing a trick (9) |
| 8d | Human // right breached by leader in theory (6) |
| 9d | Bond // money impressing me (6) |
The cent[5] is a monetary unit in various countries*,
equal to one hundredth of a dollar, euro, or other decimal currency
unit. However, in Britain — despite having adopted a decimal currency
system — one hundredth of a pound is known as a penny rather than a cent.
* Collins English Dictionary lists some 85 jurisdictions having the cent[10] as a monetary unit worth one hundredth of their respective standard units (show list ).
American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United States, the Vatican City, the Virgin Islands, and Zimbabwe.
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* Collins English Dictionary lists some 85 jurisdictions having the cent[10] as a monetary unit worth one hundredth of their respective standard units (show list ).
American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United States, the Vatican City, the Virgin Islands, and Zimbabwe.
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| 15d | Little // negative thing, awful clue (9) |
For followers of the Comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, this may sound like an observation from Brian!
| 16d | International desire /for/ trial run (4,5) |
International[5] is a British term for a game or contest between teams representing different countries in a sport ⇒
the Murrayfield rugby international.
Test[5] (short for Test match[5]) denotes an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒
the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies.
| 17d | Second choice /for/ variety (9) |
| 18d | Racket // that has strings (6) |
Fiddle[5] (noun) is an informal British term for an act of defrauding, cheating, or falsifying ⇒
a major mortgage fiddle.
| 20d | Faulty gadget // identified (6) |
| 22d | Happen // to enter bloc, curious (5) |
| 23d | How might one stick things up? // Crikey! (2,3) |
The exclamation crikey[5] is an informal British expression of surprise ⇒
It might not be clever but, crikey, it sounds like fun.
The expression by gum[5] is a mainly Northern English exclamation used for emphasis ⇒
if he wants it done by Friday, by gum, he'd better get cracking!.
| 24d | Sleep inside that thing, // not suitable (5) |
Key to Reference Sources:
[1] - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
[2] - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
[3] - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
[4] - TheFreeDictionarycom (Collins English Dictionary)
[5] - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Dictionary of English)
[6] - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Advanced American Dictionary)
[7] - Wikipedia
[8] - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
[9] - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)
[15] - CollinsDictionary.com (Penguin Random House LLC/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd )
Signing off for today — Falcon
