Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29790 | |
Publication date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, September 25, 2021 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to full review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29790 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29790 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog review written by
Tilsit (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
As Tilsit says in his intro on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, this puzzle has a bit of a different feel to it than the usual Daily Telegraph "Saturday" puzzle.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 | Send // watch to be wound back (5) |
| 4a | Marine species // lookin' to catch you, ultimately (3,6) |
| 9a | Woodworker // adds fish to log (9) |
| 10a | Day at home // that's smooth and silky (5) |
| 11a | Stretch /where/ angler repositioned line, finally (7) |
| 12a | Tedious novel // ceases to exist (4,3) |
| 13a | Inexplicable thing // being in game as every other character sent off (6) |
The solution could have been clued as a simple anagram of IN GAME; however, the setter has chosen to follow a more interesting path to reach the destination.
| 15a | Terms in list // are endless in magazine (8) |
| 18a | Journalist // on carrier (8) |
| 20a | A burden // describing some clues (6) |
| 23a | Top police force // take a nosedive (7) |
The Met[5] is the common name for the Metropolitan Police in London — otherwise known as Scotland Yard (show more ).
The Metropolitan Police Service[7] (widely known informally as the Met[5]) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police. The Met also has significant national responsibilities such as co-ordinating and leading on counter-terrorism matters and protection of the British Royal Family and certain members of Her Majesty's Government and others as deemed appropriate. The Met is also referred to by the metonym Scotland Yard after the location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The Met's current headquarters is New Scotland Yard, in Victoria.
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The Metropolitan Police Service[7] (widely known informally as the Met[5]) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police. The Met also has significant national responsibilities such as co-ordinating and leading on counter-terrorism matters and protection of the British Royal Family and certain members of Her Majesty's Government and others as deemed appropriate. The Met is also referred to by the metonym Scotland Yard after the location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The Met's current headquarters is New Scotland Yard, in Victoria.
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| 24a | After opening of trading, currency /in/ difficulty (7) |
Rouble[5] is the British spelling of ruble, the basic monetary unit of Russia and some other former republics of the USSR, equal to 100 kopeks.
| 26a | Authoritarian // back on ship (5) |
| 27a | Right in the main? (9) |
The main[5] is an archaic or literary term for the open ocean.
Starboard[5] is the side of a ship or aircraft that is on the right when one is facing forward.
| 28a | Interred, a rogue // learned new skills (9) |
| 29a | Fruity // edges of raspberry? (5) |
Fruity[5] is an informal British expression meaning sexually suggestive in content or style.
Down
| 1d | Fraudster, // one playing tennis you might say? (9) |
A double definition; the second one whimsical.
| 2d | Mushroom // added with first of lentils (5) |
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| Black morel |
| 3d | Other plays with me, // one's proven (7) |
In physics and mathematics, a theorem[5] is a general proposition not self-evident but proved by a chain of reasoning.
| 4d | Crossword writer /in/ sun at the end of the day? (6) |
Double definition; the second a shade whimsical.
I thought the second part of this clue was clear enough but it seems to have caused problems for lots of Brits. At the end of the day the sun sets and so could whimsical be described as a "setter".
| 5d | Dog // on telly, bitter (8) |
Telly[5] is an informal British term for television ⇒ (i)
there’s a cowboy film on telly; (ii)
a black-and-white telly.
Bitter[5] is a British name for beer that is strongly flavoured with hops and has a bitter taste ⇒ (i)
a pint of bitter; (ii)
the company brews a range of bitters.
An Airdale[5] is a large terrier of a rough-coated black-and-tan breed.
Origin: from Airedale, a district in Yorkshire, England where the dog was bred
| 6d | Bacon // poor as her sausage sandwiches (7) |
A rasher[5] is a thin slice of bacon ⇒ (i)
two rashers of lean bacon; (ii)
he cut into one of the rashers on his plate.
The Story Behind the Picture
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| Rahmat Ali illustrates his explanation of this clue on Big Dave's Crossword Blog with a picture showing rashers of British bacon which is what we would call back bacon*[5]. The Brits would refer to our bacon as streaky bacon[5]. * Brits also use the term back bacon; however, when they use the term bacon unqualified, they would be referring to back bacon. |
| 7d | Awkward problem, // sexy King Edward? (3,6) |
King Edward[5] is an oval potato of a variety with a white skin mottled with red.
Origin: named after King Edward VII
| 8d | Group /has/ nothing to break your fall (5) |
A nonet[5] is:
- a group of nine people or things, especially musicians
- a musical composition for nine voices or instruments
| 14d | Minder put off /being/ foolish (9) |
Scratching the Surface
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Minder[5] is a mainly British term meaning:
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| 16d | Number in the sixties, // a short way back (9) |
"Yesterday"[7] is a song originally recorded by the Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. Although credited to "Lennon–McCartney", the song was written solely by Paul McCartney. It remains popular today with more than 2,200 cover versions, and is one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music.
| 17d | Plane is not dismantled /for/ scrap (8) |
| 19d | A minor revolutionary leading a // nation (7) |
Romania[5] is a country in south-eastern Europe with a coastline on the
Black Sea. (show more )
In the Middle Ages the area consisted of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, which were swallowed up by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th–16th centuries. The two principalities gained independence in 1878. After the Second World War, in which it supported Germany, Romania became a Communist state under Soviet domination. After 1974 the country pursued an increasingly independent course under the virtual dictatorship of Nicolae Ceauşescu. His regime collapsed in violent popular unrest in 1989 and a new democratic constitution was introduced. Romania joined the EU in 2007.
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In the Middle Ages the area consisted of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, which were swallowed up by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th–16th centuries. The two principalities gained independence in 1878. After the Second World War, in which it supported Germany, Romania became a Communist state under Soviet domination. After 1974 the country pursued an increasingly independent course under the virtual dictatorship of Nicolae Ceauşescu. His regime collapsed in violent popular unrest in 1989 and a new democratic constitution was introduced. Romania joined the EU in 2007.
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| 21d | Outfit // a huge hit (7) |
Clobber[5] is an informal British term for clothing, personal belongings, or equipment ⇒
I found all his clobber in the locker.
In the second definition, clobber is used as a noun meaning, as Rahmat Ali puts it in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, "a very hard strike or blow". However, I can find no source to support the word being used as a noun in this sense; it can only be a verb.
| 22d | Attitude about right /for/ thread (6) |
| 23d | Model // in picture, so pumped up (5) |
| 25d | Something elasticated in // mind (5) |
Elasticated[5] is a British term meaning (of a garment or part of a garment) made with rubber thread or tape and able to be stretched easily ⇒
trousers with elasticated waists.
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
