DT 30011 (full review) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30011 (full review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30011

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 11th June 2022

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Greetings from Kolkata. We are having a friendly and straightforward Saturday puzzle from Cephas this time too that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind reading and important feedback.

‘Wistaria’ is a plant of a genus Wistaria of papilionaceous plants, some of the species among the most magnificent ornamental climbers known in English gardens, named after the American anatomist Casper Wistar. The wrong spelling ‘Wisteria’, the answer to the clue of 20a, is also used and which is attributed to Thomas Nuttall, who named it.

‘Axe’, the answer to the clue of 15d, made me recollect a poem that I learnt in my early school days. It ran thus: If all seas were one sea, What a great sea that would be! And if all the trees were one tree, What a great tree that would be! If all the axes were one axe, What a great axe that would be! And if all the men were one man, What a great man he would be! And if the great man took the great axe, And cut down the great tree, And let it fall into the great sea, What a great splish splash that would be!

‘Palmistry’, the answer to the clue of 19d, is also known as palm reading, chiromancy or chirology. It originated from ancient India and is now popular and fashionable worldwide as a way of seeing a person’s fate and personality by reading the palm lines. From India, it spread to Tibet, China and many countries in Europe. I learnt from the net that in Renaissance magic, palmistry was classified as one of the seven ‘forbidden arts’, the other being aeromancy, geomancy, hydromancy, necromancy, pyromancy and scapulimancy. It was actively suppressed by the Catholic Church during the 16th century. Both Pope Paul IV and Pope Sixtus V issued papal edicts against various forms of divination, including palmistry. Still, there is a long tradition of practising palmistry with both Jewish and Christian mysticism. Islam strongly condemns divination in all forms and considers palmistry as haram, an Arabic term meaning ‘forbidden’. There have been many conflicting interpretations of various lines and palmar features across various teachings of palmistry. The contradictions between different interpretations as also the lack of evidence for predictions of palmistry have caused palmistry to be viewed as a pseudoscience by academics.

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Across

6a    Note small punishment that is not severe (4,1,3,5)
JUST A FEW LINES: Double definition; the second referring to LINES (small punishment) as a school punishment of writing out a phrase or sentence a wearisome number of times that are sometimes reduced to JUST A FEW (not severe) as not that harsh as usual or, specifically, JUST A FEW LINES that leads to the first denoting a short informal handwritten letter, message or note

8a    Oscar caught a vet struggling in range (6)
OCTAVE: O (Oscar) as the letter represented by Oscar in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, C (caught) as the abbreviation for caught by as in cricket and an anagram (struggling) of A VET take to the definition of the range or notes or keys from any one to its eighth note on a musical scale

9a    Beau reportedly has devilish faults exhibiting self-importance (8)
BOASTFUL: BEAU meaning a dandy or a rich, fashionable young man serving as a homophone heard by the audience (reportedly) in lieu of BO as an exclamation said suddenly to surprise someone who is unaware of one’s presence is followed by (has) an anagram (devilish) of FAULTS, leading to the definition of an adjective meaning showing excessive pride and self-satisfaction in one’s achievements, possessions, or abilities

10a    Low state of mind when daughter leaves (3)
MOO: MOO[D] (state of mind) as a temporary state of mind or feeling having D (daughter) as the genealogical abbreviation for daughter coming out or being removed (when leaves), arriving at the definition of a verb, pertaining especially to a cow, meaning to make the characteristic deep resonant vocal sound of cattle


11a    All out
hit (6)
STRIKE: Double definition; the first being a noun referring to a refusal to work organised by a body of employees by remaining outside the place of work as a form of protest, typically in an attempt to gain some concessions from their employer and the second a verb meaning to hit someone forcibly and deliberately with one’s hand or to accidentally hit a part of one’s body against something

12a    Lamb’s tender (8)
SHEPHERD: A cryptic way of arriving at the definition of a person who tends and rears sheep from lamb’s tender or the tender of a lamb, where tender is a person who looks after someone else and lamb is a young sheep, especially one that is less than one year old or without permanent teeth


14a    Coming from boozer, Matthew in mountain resort (7)
ZERMATT: Part of or hidden inside (coming from) booZER MATThew guides to the definition of a mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing and hiking in the canton of Valais in southern Switzerland

16a    Frequent complainant upset cabby snorting lines (7)
CRY BABY: An anagram (upset) of CABBY inhaling (snorting) RY (lines) as the abbreviation for Railway, taking to the definition of someone who cries or complains too easily or frequently, like a baby

20a    I swear it could be a climbing plant (8)
WISTERIA: An anagram (could be) of I SWEAR IT guides to the definition of a climbing plant of the pea family, with hanging clusters of fragrant flowers, typically pale bluish-lilac in colour and native to eastern Asia and North America


23a    Bring into force (6)
ENLIST: ENLIST (bring into) an intransitive verb meaning to bring or enter into an enterprise, cause etc, where ‘bring into’ is a part of the clue, cryptically leading to the definition of a transitive verb meaning to persuade someone to enter into an engagement to serve in the armed force by taking the entire clue as a wordplay

24a    Man legitimate extremists love (3)
LEO: The outermost or extreme letters (extremists) of L[EGITIMAT]E followed by O (love) as the score for zero in a game of tennis take to the definition of a name of man or boy

25a    Work Timothy is managing to start in hope (8)
OPTIMISM: OP (work) as the abbreviation for opus number used to denote one work of musical composition from many, TIM (Timothy) as the abbreviation for Timothy, especially in biblical references, IS from the clue and M[ANAGING] with its starting or first letter (to start), arriving at the definition of a noun meaning hopefulness and confidence about the future or success of something

26a    View prison heard to be picturesque (6)
SCENIC: A combo of homophones heard by the audience (heard) of SEE (view) as to look at or watch something and NICK (prison) as an informal term for prison takes to the definition of an adjective meaning visually attractive, especially in a quaint or charming way

27a    Rake strolling round sliding smoothly (6-7)
ROLLER-SKATING: An anagram (round) of RAKE STROLLING guides to the definition of a verb in the present continuous form meaning gliding across or travelling on a hard surface on roller skates


Down

1d    Mass epic develops seeking relief from reality (8)
ESCAPISM: An anagram (develops) of MASS EPIC guides to the definition of a noun meaning the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy

2d    Downtrodden place for artist (8)
PAVEMENT: A cryptic way of arriving at the definition of a place or rather a small part of the surface of the place that alone may be ideal to and thus occupied by a certain artist that is otherwise downtrodden or treated badly and unfairly with people trampling, treading or somewhat pressing down or crushing with their feet, when walking on it


3d    Like speaker perhaps in so many words (7)
VERBOSE: A cryptic way of arriving at the definition of a person who is garrulous or loquacious or tending to talk a great deal

4d    Val’s a centenarian going around French region (6)
ALSACE: Part of or hidden inside (going around) vALS A CEntenarian guides to the definition of a historical region in north-eastern France on the Rhine River plain, bordering Germany and Switzerland

5d    Not much of a song (6)
SNATCH: Taking the entire clue as a wordplay gives the definition meaning a fragment of song, verse or talk that is cryptically arrived at also from a part of the clue ‘not much’, where SNATCH (not much) as an adjective denotes something brief, fragmentary, hurried or in small bits or ‘not much’

6d    Sailor with tourist trapping that man, one once terrifying in London (4,3,6)
JACK THE RIPPER: JACK (sailor) as a common term for a sailor having alongside (with) TRIPPER (tourist) as a person on a trip or on holiday confining (trapping) HE (that man) as the third person singular pronoun referring to a male person, leading to the definition of an unidentified serial killer who was a terror in the impoverished districts in and around Whitechapel in the East End of London in 1888

7d    Unfashionable person criticising training (6-7)
SQUARE-BASHING: A charade of SQUARE (unfashionable person) as a person considered to be old-fashioned or boringly conventional in attitude or behaviour and BASHING (criticising) as criticising someone severely, usually in a public way leads to the definition of a slang term in the British military meaning marching drills and other military exercises performed repeatedly on a parade ground or barrack square


13d    Lively but not starting to be inquisitive (3)
PRY: [S]PRY (lively) as an adjective meaning active, especially of an old person is but devoid of its starting letter S (but not starting), taking to the definition of a verb meaning to inquire too closely into a person’s private affairs

15d    Cut reference lines endlessly (3)
AXE: AXE[S] (reference lines) as fixed reference lines for the measurement of coordinates is not having the ending letter S (endlessly), leading to the definition of a verb meaning to cut or strike with a tool used for chopping wood


17d    Monitor cooked her toast (8)
RHEOSTAT: An anagram (cooked) of HER TOAST guides to the definition of a variable resistor used as power control instrument to monitor the speed of motors, the intensity of light, heaters and ovens


18d    News with description of gunshot wound? (8)
BULLETIN: BULLET IN (description of gunshot wound) as describing a wounded or injured person shot from a firearm and the bullet still somewhere inside the body, leading to the definition of a noun meaning a short official statement or broadcast summary of news

19d    One who says the future is in our own hands (7)
PALMIST: A cryptic way of arriving at the definition of a person who foretells your future from what they claim to see in the lines on your hand

21d    Unfortunately let rip a number of times (6)
TRIPLE: An anagram (unfortunately) of LET RIP guides to the definition of a predeterminer meaning three times as much or as many

22d    Attacker finding assistant protected by senior cleric (6)
RAIDER: AIDE (assistant) as an assistant to an important person, especially a political leader is sheltered (protected) by RR (senior cleric) as the abbreviation for Right Reverend, a title given to a bishop or a Moderator of the Church of Scotland, arriving at the definition of a noun meaning a marauder or a person who attacks an enemy in their territory

There were several clues that I liked in this pangrammatic puzzle such as 6a, 9a, 10a, 12a, 26a, 27a, 2d, 6d, 7d, 18d, 19d; 18d being the best of the lot. Thanks to Cephas for the entertainment, to BD for the encouragement and to Gazza for the assistance. Looking forward to being here again. Have a nice day.

12 comments on “DT 30011 (full review)

  1. I always enjoy reading your reviews, Rahmat Ali, thank you for the trouble to which you go in making them so interesting.

    The clue I enjoyed most in that puzzle was 12a, and earlier this week we enjoyed some very tender lamb chump chops for supper!

    My best wishes for your mother to enjoy a swift and full recovery.

    1. Thank you once again, Mustafa G, for enjoying reading my review and wish you bon appétit in the times ahead. And thank you so much for your best wishes for my mother for a swift and full recovery. Incidentally, she was getting ready to be discharged from the nursing home at approximately the same time when you were writing your comment. She is now back home and feeling much better. Hope BD is also recovering fast, but I expect tilsit to update news related to his progress from time to time. Meanwhile, I continue praying to the Almighty for him.

    1. Thank you once again, Fez, for liking my review and thank you so much also for your best wishes for me and particularly my mother. At around the same time when you were writing your comment, my mother was getting ready to be discharged from the nursing home. She is now back home and feeling much better. Hope BD is also recovering fast, but tilsit to update news related to his progress from time to time. Meanwhile, I continue praying to the Almighty for him.

  2. I also liked18d the best but got it straight away (unusually for me!).
    When I was a young child, most days on the news, there was a bulletin about Churchill who was ill in hospital.
    I could never understand why they kept shooting him when he was dying!

  3. Very good and and thank you for some explanations. However I have a problem with 17 down. Rheostat is a device used for controlling things like Motors and lights but not monitoring…. 😬
    it’s basically a variable resistor which by sliding up and down can be used to speed up Motors or dim lights for example!

    1. You’ve changed your alias since your last comment (10 years ago!) so this one needed moderation. Both aliases will work from now on.

    2. Thank you so much, John, for liking my review. For 17d, I have based my source from linquip.com/blog/potentiometer-vs-rheostat that highlights the difference between a potentiometer and a rheostat. In one place, it mentions, “While a potentiometer is employed to detect the unknown EMF (Electro Magnetic Field) and control the voltage of a circuit, a rheostat is used to monitor the flow of current within a circuit.” In another paragraph, it broadly defines rheostat thus: “A rheostat is a common type of variable resistors that is employed to monitor the flow of current by raising or reducing the resistance manually. It can modify the resistance in a system without interruption. Rheostats are usually utilized as power control instruments to monitor the speed of motors, the intensity of light, heaters, and also ovens.” This writer has stressed on the word ‘monitor’ in place of ‘control’ and ‘regulate’ normally used by others in their blogs.

      1. Well explained. I always find it odd when someone pops I’m up once in 20 years to complain about a definition.

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