Thursday, January 23, 2014 — DT 27301

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27301
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, October 5, 2013
Setter Cephas (Peter Chamberlain)[Note 2]
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27301 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27301 - Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Prolixic & Big Dave (Hints)[Note 3] gnomethang (Review)
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 understanding the wordplay or definition █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog █ - yet to be solved
Notes [1] 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. [2] There appears to be somewhat of a consensus in the comments section of Big Dave's blog that the setter is Cephas. [3] Although this blog entry is posted under Big Dave's name, it would appear that the bulk of it may have been written by Prolixic.

Introduction

Today's puzzle may not be very difficult, but it does, never-the-less, provide a very enjoyable solve. My vote for COD (clue of the day) definitely goes to 13a which elicited an audible chuckle when the penny dropped.

A Note on Underlining

For some time now, it has been the practice in reviews on Big Dave's Crossword Blog to underline the definition in clues as an aid to solvers. I have also instituted this practice on my own blogs.

However, I find that bloggers — myself included — are sometimes inconsistent in their underlining practices. In fact, not only do bloggers demonstrate inconsistency from one review to the next, they sometimes are inconsistent from one clue to another within the same review.

The purpose of this piece is to explain criteria that I have formulated for underlining portions of a clue.

For most clues, the decision as to which part of the clue to underline is very straightforward. Other cases, however, pose a challenge — and it is those cases that I would like to discuss here.

To set the stage, let's take a look at the characteristics of various types of clue that we might encounter in a puzzle.
With a few exceptions, cryptic crossword clues provide two ways to arrive at the solution. An example of a clue having more than two ways would be a triple definition. A simple cryptic definition (a clue type for which Rufus is well-known) would be a clue providing only a single path to the solution.

In the case of those clues which provide two paths to the solution, we commonly refer to these two aspects of the clue as the definition and the wordplay. However, this terminology breaks down in clues such as 7d in today's puzzle:

• 7d   Do for vegetarians? (9)

Here "do" (a party) is the definition. However, the phrase "for vegetarians" cannot truly be called wordplay. Rather it is explanatory text that adds context to the definition, generally narrowing its scope (in a cryptic fashion).

Under a more generalized nomenclature, the two parts of a clue are called primary indication and subsidiary indication. The primary indication is almost always — if not, in fact, always — a definition. The subsidiary indication may take various forms, such as wordplay, explanatory text as discussed earlier, or a cryptic definition as is the case in clue 13a in today's puzzle:

• 13a   Artist doing nudes? The underwear could go here (6,6)

Here, the latter part of the clue is a definition (primary indication) of BOTTOM DRAWER. The cryptic definition which constitutes the first part of the clue is the subsidiary indication which leads us to the same result (but under a much different interpretation).

Sometimes, there is a very fine line between a clue being a double definition — in which case, the clue effectively has two primary indications since neither definition can be considered subsidiary to the other — and a clue such as 13a where one part can be considered primary and the other part subsidiary.

Hopefully this will help throw some light on why bloggers such as Big Dave, gnomethang and myself sometimes choose to apply varying forms of underlining to the same clue.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Cook apple and fry stick insects with it (8)

The wordplay parses as an anagram (cook) of {APPLE + (and) FRY}.

In the surface reading, a stick insect^[5] would be a long, slender, slow-moving insect that resembles a twig. Many species appear to lack males and the females lay fertile eggs without mating. Hopefully human females don't develop this ability.

6a   Be put back in charge to get refund (6)

9a   Hedge sparrow's second character with rook I scutinise (6)

R^[5] is an abbreviation for rook that is used in recording moves in chess.

10a   Mariner's fears are misplaced (8)

11a   Confine engineers near stern (8)

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

12a   Clump thug in audience with iron before end of act (6)

The symbol for the chemical element iron is Fe^[5] (from Latin ferrum).

13a   Artist doing nudes?  The underwear could go here (6,6)

See the discussion above in "A Note on Underlining" regarding the underlining in this clue. I observe that Big Dave (or, in all likelihood, Prolixic), gnomethang and I have all used the same underlining in this clue.

16a   Surplus with these revised accounts (7,5)

19a   Bet spades draw with diamonds (6)

In the cryptic analysis, draw is is used in the sense of to draw a card from a deck of cards.

S^[1] and D^[2] are abbreviations for spades and diamonds respectively, two suits in a deck of cards.

21a   Energy being interrupted, might stop filming (5,3)

23a   Not wanting light cream (3-5)

24a   The alternative to slacks! (6)

25a   Look  to make a cricket score? (6)

This is a prime example of the type of clue that causes grief for bloggers. While Big Dave (or Prolixic) has elected to treat the clue as a double definition, gnomethang has taken an alternative view.

As an aside, while there does not appear to be a break in the underlining in Big Dave's hint, when one examines the HTML source code for the webpage, one finds that there is, in fact, a break present. This bleeding together of adjacent sections of underlined code is an artifact of the WordPress software used to create Big Dave's blog.

Big Dave has underlined "Look" and "to make a cricket score", indicating that the clue is a double definition. On the other hand, gnomethang has underlined the word "Look" alone.

I would say that the stance adopted by gnomethang is consistent with the criteria that I have outlined in the section "A Note on Underlining" found above.

In cricket, glance^[5] means (1) to deflect (the ball) with the bat held slantwise or (2) play such a stroke against (the bowler) ⇒ Simpson glanced Statham’s fourth ball.

I would think that a glancing stroke might — or might not — produce a score. Consequently, I would argue that the phrase "to make a cricket score" does not define glance. Rather, I would categorize it as a subsidiary indication. In this clue, it is explanatory text — but rather than limit the scope of the definition (look), it limits the scope of the solution (glance). In other words, it indicates to us that we are looking for the type of glance that might produce a cricket score.

26a   Excited seeing the daughter crossing brook (8)

Down

2d   Odd lot missing from tall order being arranged in storeroom (6)

3d   To important person on the way up it's the turning-point (5)

4d   Loyal Irishman's nervous reaction, imbibing port (9)

Rio de Janeiro^[5] (commonly known as Rio) is a city in eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast; population 6,093,472 (2007). The chief port of Brazil, it was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.

In Crosswordland, the most popular name for an Irishman is must surely be Pat ...

5d   Sir sent back German dish (7)

... and most Germans seem to be named Otto.

6d   Make a response to 'Play it again'? (5)

Play It Again^[7] is a British documentary television series on BBC One, featuring celebrities trying to learn to play musical instruments.

This phrase is also part of one of the most quoted cinematic lines in history—although it was never actually uttered in the film. One of the lines most closely associated with Casablanca^[7], a 1942 American romantic drama film—"Play it again, Sam"—is a misquotation. When Ilsa first enters the Café Americain, she spots Sam and asks him to "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake." After he feigns ignorance, she responds, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'." Later that night, alone with Sam, Rick says, "You played it for her, you can play it for me," and "If she can stand it, I can! Play it!"

7d   Do for vegetarians? (9)

According to the underlining criteria discussed previously, the definition would be "do" with "for vegetarians" supplying the subsidiary indication. However, I note that my underlining is at variance with that used by both Big Dave (or Prolixic) and gnomethang on this clue.

Beanfeast^[5] is an informal British name for a celebratory party with plentiful food and drink. The term originally denoted an annual dinner given to employees by their employers, where beans and bacon were regarded as an indispensable dish.

8d   Deter reshuffles after support for course seesawed (8)

13d   Bishop is missing pasty -- a rare bird! (5,4)

B^[5] is an abbreviation for bishop that is used in recording moves in chess.

What might our bishop be missing? In Britain a pasty^[5] is a folded pastry case with a savoury filling, typically of seasoned meat and vegetables. A pasty^[5] could also be one of a pair of small round coverings for the nipples used by striptease dancers.

14d   Severe steward -- I will be ejected in mid-ocean perhaps (4,5)

15d   Extravagant faults we disguised (8)

17d   Fancy panties -- is that wise? (7)

18d   Not immediately obvious it is discarded from secondary name (6)

20d   One degree Celsius in river in thaw (2-3)

The Dee^[5] is a river in NE Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen. Another river of the same name rises in North Wales and flows past Chester and on into the Irish Sea.

22d   Majestic delight unfinished (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]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford 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)

Signing off for today — Falcon