Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29921
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 26th Feb 2022
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A very friendly and straightforward Saturday puzzle from Chalicea that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and valuable feedback.
RIP, as part of the wordplay in 20a is also the abbreviation for the Latin expression requiescat in pace meaning ‘may he or she rest in peace’ that is more commonly used as a condolence message in the event of death of an individual. The net made some addition to my knowledge. RIP is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and peace. The phrase was first used on tombstones sometime before the fifth century. It became ubiquitous on the tombs of Christians in the 18th century and for High Church Anglicans, Methodists and well as Roman Catholics in particular and served as a prayerful request that their soul should find peace in the hereinafter. When the phrase became conventional, the absence of a reference to the soul led people to suppose that it was the physical body that was enjoined to lie peacefully in the grave. This is associated with the Christian belief that the soul is parted from the body upon death, but that the body will be reunited with the soul on the Judgment Day.
I was also inquisitive to know more about the role of the paramedics that formed part of the clue of 4d. I learnt that the primary role of a paramedic is to stabilise patients with life-threatening injuries and transport them to a higher level of care, typically to an emergency department. As the nature of their job so demands, the paramedics may rush to work in many environments that may include roadways, forests, mountains, people’s homes, sites of natural calamities, in the hospitals or inside the aircrafts or ships etc. They may also have to work in non-emergency situations, such as transporting chronically or terminally-ill patients to and from treatment centres and operate in expanded roles by assisting with public health and primary health care and preventive services to underserved populations in the form of in-home care to ill patients at risk of hospitalisation, a practice that goes by the name of community paramedicine. With advances in medical technology, such as defibrillators for restarting a heart after a heart attack, paramedics became an essential part of emergency medicine and today hundreds of thousands of people owe their lives and debts of gratitude to these good samaritans. However, the paramedics are also exposed to several hazards when lifting patients and equipment, treating patients with infectious diseases and transporting the patients from their homes or other accidental sites to the treatment centres via ground or air vehicles. Therefore, stretchers, among other things, may although be needed by them for use by their patients, but, due to the perilous nature of their own job, gloves, respirators, isolation gowns etc. may also be required by them for their own use – for their very safety!
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Across
1a One following another win I have (10)
SUCCESSIVE: SUCCESS (win) as the accomplishment of aim or purpose followed by I’VE (I have) as a contraction of ‘I have’ lead to the definition of an adjective meaning coming or following one after the other
6a Dad intermittently uses way through mountains (4)
PASS: PA (dad) as a childish or familiar word for father followed by the alternate letters (intermittently) of uSeS take to the definition of a narrow passage through or over a range of mountains
8a Curious as purist finds a higher level (8)
UPSTAIRS: An anagram (curious) of AS PURIST guides to the definition of the part of a building above the ground floor or the upper floor or floors of a building
9a Study after tabloid backed plot (6)
GARDEN: DEN (study) as a room, often secluded, in a house or apartment, designed to provide a quiet and informal atmosphere for conversation, reading, writing, academic work etc preceded by or following (after) RAG (tabloid) as a newspaper, typically one regarded as being sleazy or of low quality coming backwards (backed) as a reversal in the across clue, arriving at the definition of a piece of ground adjoining a house in which grass, flowers and shrubs may be grown
10a Strict limits of territory in land one owns (8)
PROPERTY: PROPER (strict) as strictly conforming to a principle, norm or condition followed by the letters of the two edges or extremes (limits) of T[ERRITOR]Y take to the definition of a piece of land owned by somebody
11a One accepting offer involving Liberal speaker (6)
TALKER: TAKER (one accepting offer) as one who is willing to accept something that is being offered including L (Liberal) as the abbreviation for Liberal, a member of the Liberal Party guide to the definition of a person who speaks or converses, often in a specified way
12a Conceal skin (4)
HIDE: Double definition; the first being a verb meaning to keep secret or keep out of sight and the second a noun referring to the skin of an animal, especially the larger animals, sometimes used derogatorily or facetiously for human skin
14a Fugitive on exposed jeep skirting smoky air (7)
REFUGEE: A combo of the preposition RE (on) as a commercial jargon used to indicate ‘with reference to’, ‘concerning’ or ‘regarding’ and [J]EE[P] as without the cover or not covered (exposed) or having the outmost letters removed going round the edges of (skirting) FUG (smoky air) as a warm, stuffy or smoky atmosphere in a room, arriving at the definition of a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster or a person in hiding in another country
18a Finally driving unfinished road in close country (7)
ENGLAND: A combination of the last or final letter (finally) of [DRIVIN]G and LAN[E] (road) as a narrow road, especially in a rural area that is devoid of its last letter or not finished (unfinished) is placed inside (in) END (close) as the final part of something, taking to the definition of a country that is part of the United Kingdom and sharing land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north
20a Wimp died; what’s on their gravestone? (4)
DRIP: D (died) as the abbreviation for dead or died followed by RIP (what’s on their gravestone) as the abbreviation for the Latin expression requiescant in pace meaning ‘may they rest in peace’ that appears as engraved on a gravestone and serves as a common epitaph written in memory of a person who had died or a prayer for the dead person to lie peacefully in the grave, leading to the definition of a weak and ineffectual person
23a Lorry briefly going round cold northern region (6)
ARCTIC: ARTIC (lorry briefly) as the colloquial shortened version of ‘articulated lorry’ that is made easier to manoeuvre by having its front section flexibly attached to the rear end so that it can move at an angle to it is embracing or taking within its fold (going round) C (cold) as the abbreviation for cold, arriving at the definition of a polar region that is located at the northernmost part of Earth
24a Coming onto the stage, fill with delight (8)
ENTRANCE: Double definition; the first being a noun meaning an act of entering or coming onto the stage by an actor or dancer and the second a verb meaning to fill with enthusiastic or rapturous delight
25a Gathering around essentially historical group of trees (6)
FOREST: FEST (gathering) as a festival, party or gathering devoted to a particular activity or interest is placed around (around) the essence or innermost letters (essentially) of histORical, leading to the definition of a dense collection of trees covering an extensive tract of land
26a With great effort lifts about one ton – most weighty (8)
HEAVIEST: HEAVES (with great effort lifts) as hauls or lifts something heavy with great effort having surrounded (about) I (one) as the Roman numeral for one is followed by T (ton) as the symbol of a metric ton or a metric unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms, leading to the definition meaning hardest or most difficult to lift or carry or having the most weight
27a Name of some winter months? (4)
TERM: Part of or hidden inside (some) winTER Months guides to the definition of a word used in a specially understood or defined sense
28a Clearly record pocketing money in front of telly, oddly (10)
DISTINCTLY: A formation of DISC (record) as a gramophone record taking or receiving (pocketing) TIN (money) as a slang term for money is placed before (in front of) the oddly-placed letters (oddly) of TeLlY, arriving at the definition of an adverb meaning in a way that is readily distinguishable by the senses
Down
1d Troubled courts holding record for one creating figures (8)
SCULPTOR: An anagram (troubled) of COURTS having inside (holding) LP (record) as a colloquial term for a long-playing record take to the definition of an artist engaged in the art of making representative or abstract forms, especially by carving stone or wood or by casting metal or plaster
2d Initially coax United States to overcome mismanaged trade (6)
CUSTOM: The first or initial letters (initially) each of Coax United States To Oversome and Mismanaged guide to the definition of a regular trade or business
3d Rubber retreads we try from time to time (6)
ERASER: Every now and then (from time to time) as the use of alternate letters of rEtReAdS wE tRy leads to the definition of a piece of soft rubber used for erasing something written, typed etc
4d Support for paramedics? (9)
STRETCHER: A cryptic way or arriving at the definition of a support in the form of a framework of two poles with a long piece of canvas, slung between them, used for carrying sick or injured people that is needed, inter alia, by members of an ambulance crew trained in a number of live-saving skills, including infusion and cardiac care, typically in a setting outside a hospital
5d Number in rowing team on Severn occasionally (8)
EIGHTEEN: EIGHT (rowing team) as a team of eight persons in a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing is placed upon (on) the occasional or alternate letters (occasionally) of sEvErN, taking to the definition of a number that is one more than seventeen or equivalent to the product of two and nine
6d Type of bars, standard with all the Spanish (8)
PARALLEL: A combo of PAR (standard) as a norm or standard and (with) ALL from the clue is followed by EL (the Spanish) as the definite article ‘the’ in Spanish language used with singular, masculine words guide to the definition of one of the parallel rails on posts used in gymnastics
7d Taking sides, asked the French to note essential framework (8)
SKELETON: Taking away or removing the outermost letters (taking sides) of [A]SKE[D] followed by LE (the French) as the definite article ‘the’ in French language used with singular, masculine words, TO from the clue and N (note) as the abbreviation of note, arriving at the definition of an outline of anything or a scheme reduced to its essential or dispensable elements
13d Ed sent up style of writing with negative effect for subordinate (9)
DEPENDENT: ED taken upwards (sent up) as a reversal in the down clue, PEN (style of writing) as a person’s style or quality of writing and (with) DENT (negative effect) as an adverse effect or as an appreciable effect, especially of lessening, leading to the definition of an adjective meaning of a person, subject or submissive to the power or sovereignty of another or others or in grammar, subordinate to another clause, phrase or word
15d All in quarantine — very onerous (8)
EVERYONE: Part of or hidden inside (in) quarantinE VERY ONErous guides to the definition of every person or everybody or all the persons in a group
16d Ma erupts in a frenzy going against the flow (8)
UPSTREAM: An anagram (in a frenzy) of MA ERUPTS guides to the definition of an adjective meaning going against the current or moving or situated in the opposite direction from that in which a stream or river flows
17d Cultivated pair of journalists hugging posh moggie (8)
EDUCATED: ED and ED (pair of journalists) as the two editors represented by their abbreviated version and each being in charge of the final content of a newspaper or magazine embracing (hugging) U (posh) as characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes and CAT (moggie) as a slang term for a cat, guiding to the definition of an adjective meaning displaying culture, taste and knowledge or cultivated
19d Latterly, Romeo going for daughter in a proper fashion (8)
DECENTLY: RECENTLY (latterly) as not long ago or of late having R (Romeo) as the letter represented by Romeo in the NATO phonetic alphabet getting replaced by (going for) D (daughter) as the abbreviation for daughter, arriving at the definition of an adverb meaning in a way with generally accepted standards of respectable or moral behaviour
21d Highly motivated household finally torn apart (6)
DRIVEN: The last or final letter (finally) of [HOUSEHOL]D is followed by RIVEN (torn apart) as split, divided or torn apart violently, taking to the definition of an adjective meaning determined and ambitious or strongly compelled to achieve a goal
22d Still holding second piece put in (6)
INSERT: INERT (still) as lacking the ability or strength to move is containing (holding) a bit or a very small part or only the first letter (piece) of S[ECOND], taking to the definition of a verb meaning to place, fit or push something into something else
The clues that I liked in this puzzle were 8a, 9a, 18a, 20a, 24a, 1d, 5d, 6d, 7d, 17d and 19d; the winner according to me being 17d. Many thanks to Chalicea for the entertainment and to BD for the encouragement. Looking forward to being here again. Have a pleasant day.
Your reviews are invariably very detailed and you clearly put a lot of thought and time into them; so thank you!
This was one of the few times where I completed the crossword without any aid either electronically or from my father who has been doing them for longer than I’ve been alive😀. It was 08.00 when I finished this so maybe the hints hadn’t even been written.
Thank you so much, Dawn, for liking my detailed reviews.
I seem to remember I had a parsing issue on this but if I did I can’t bring it to mind now. Anyway, top review Rahmat, many thanks.
Thank you once again, Stephen L, for liking my review.
Many thanks Rahmat – a good read and much appreciated. And a lovely puzzle too, thanks Chalicea.
Thank you once again, Fez, for liking my review.
3*/4*…
liked 15D ” All in quarantine — very onerous (8) “