Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29675 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, May 14, 2021 | |
Setter
proXimal (Steve Bartlett) | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29675]
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Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Deep Threat | |
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 think Mustafa G, in a comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, sums up this puzzle very well, "Excellent puzzle, best ... combination this week of challenge, enjoyment, and satisfaction".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 | Snout reported in prison public // fully recognises (5,6,3) |
Scratching the Surface
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| On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, several Brits report they were misled by thinking that snout[5] is being used as an informal British term for a cigarette or tobacco. |
| 9a | Racing vehicle /in/ church, a fun event (7) |
| 10a | For all to see in message, father's // blunder (4,3) |
"for all to see " = U [universal; British film classification]
| 11a | Vessel // heading off later (4) |
| 12a | Scientific tool // that's rewritten comic prose (10) |
| 14a | Injure // head in smacking roughly against article (6) |
| 15a | Execute // bishop, second person snared by queen, maybe (5,3) |
A queen[5] is an adult female cat that has not been spayed.
| 17a | Woolly garment/'s/ stain turned water hazy (8) |
| 18a | Male in the morning penning antelope /in/ oversize container (6) |
The gnu[5] (also called wildebeest) is a large dark African antelope with a long head, a beard and mane, and a sloping back.
A magnum[5] is a wine bottle of twice the standard size, normally 1.5 litres.
| 21a | Clerics // a Yankee has converted on coral island (10) |
An ayatollah[5] is a high-ranking religious leader among Shiite Muslims, especially in Iran.
| 22a | Following // cross, where ball would be for goal? (4) |
Scratching the Surface
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In soccer, a cross[5] is a pass of the ball across the field towards the centre close to one's opponents' goal ⇒ Beckham's low cross was turned into the net by Cole. |
| 24a | Drugs // work, I answer group in review (7) |
"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 ⇒
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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.
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Faux pas in Deep Threat's Hint
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| There's a minor typo in Deep Threat's hint on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. While it should have been obvious, it caused me to do a double take before recognizing it for what it is. His hint should read "... an abbreviation for a (musical) work ..." (rather than "word"). |
| 25a | Fine ale around that is // gift (7) |
| 26a | Hostility // if elder nuns sin all over the place (14) |
Down
| 1d | Maybe footballers // close to promotion skipped in underwear (7) |
Knickers[5] is a British term for panties.
Scratching the Surface
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| Sports leagues in the UK typically operate on a process of promotion and relegation[7]
in which teams are transferred between two divisions based on their
performance for the completed season. The best-ranked teams in the lower
division are promoted to the division above, and the worst-ranked teams
in the higher division are relegated [moved down] to the
division below. This process can continue through several
levels, with teams being exchanged between levels 1 and 2, levels 2 and
3, levels 3 and 4, and so on. An alternate system of league organization which is used in the US, Canada and Australia is a closed model which always has the same teams playing, with occasional admission of expansion teams and relocation of existing teams, and with no movement between the major league and minor leagues. |
| 2d | Virtual assistant: 60 secs engaged in speech // test (4,11) |
Amazon Alexa[7], also known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant AI [artificial intelligence] technology developed by Amazon.
| 3d | Overturning alcoholic drink /is/ mistake (4) |
Pils[5] is another name for Pilsner[5] (also Pilsener), a lager beer with a strong hop flavour, originally brewed at Pilsen in the Czech Republic.
Origin: abbreviation for Pilsner
| 4d | Bonehead // in IT withholds screens (6) |
| 5d | Vile // reason an earl regularly stripped (8) |
Scratching the Surface
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| An earl[5] is a British nobleman ranking* above a viscount and below a marquess. * the third highest of the five ranks of British nobility — duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron |
| 6d | Horse-rider // requests trial, one totally unlimited (10) |
| 7d | No-one can rule pub out, /it's/ impossible to say (15) |
| 8d | Yield // when discharged (6) |
| 13d | Exhibitionist // who's tailored hat (10) |
A boater[5] is a flat-topped hardened straw hat with a brim.
| 16d | City/'s/ chapter gathering both sides in part of church (8) |
Carlisle[5] is a city in northwestern England, the county town of Cumbria.
Scratching the Surface
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A chapter[5] is the governing body of a religious community or knightly order ⇒ land granted by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| 17d | Kelvin casual, playing // horn (6) |
In the SI* system of units, K is the symbol for kelvin[5], the base unit of thermodynamic temperature (equivalent in size to the degree Celsius), first introduced as the unit used in the Kelvin scale.
* SI[2] is the abbreviation for Système International d'Unités (International System of Units), the modern scientific system of units, used in the measurement of all physical quantities.
| 19d | Relatives // married, not me (7) |
| 20d | Irritated // chap cut short FBI agent (6) |
Fed[5] is an informal US term for a federal agent or official, especially a member of the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] ⇒
I don’t think he has any friends since he ratted to the Feds.
| 23d | Rogue content in spiked // headwear (4) |
A kepi[12,15] is a French military cap with a flat circular top and a stiff, nearly horizontal visor.
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
