Thursday, February 1, 2018 — DT 28563

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28563
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, October 20, 2017
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28563]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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 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

Introduction

The southeast corner put up fierce resistance forcing me to resort to electronic assistance to complete the puzzle.

A couple of the clues are anagrams in which there does not appear to be an explicit anagram indicator present. This caused me to spend some time contemplating the nature of these "implied" anagrams.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Awkward German chaps not given right // drinks (10)

6a   Endless humiliation /for/ phoney (4)

9a   One financially successful // forger? (10)

The solution, if split (5,5), would describe a forger.

The hint given by Deep Threat in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog does not parse. I can only surmise that he inadvertently got the numeration wrong and had intended to write "If you are financially successful you —– —– (4,5). If you are a forger you could also be said to do this."

10a   Risk rises -- // dagger // being concealed (4)

A kris^[5] (also archaic creese^[5]) is a Malay or Indonesian dagger with a wavy-edged blade.

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The convoluted clue structure places the definition in the middle of the clue. Were one to restructure the clue, it might read:

• Dagger /being/ concealed in risk rises (4)

which means the same from the perspective of cryptic analysis but loses any meaningful surface reading.

12a   Rush /from/ wood after break of day (4)

13a   City // made to look bad by secret lie (9)

Leicester^[5] is a city in central England, on the River Soar, the county town of Leicestershire. It was founded as a Roman settlement where the Fosse Way crosses the Soar (AD 50-100).

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The simple explanation (as given by Deep Threat in his review) is that the wordplay in this clue is an anagram (bad) of SECRET LIE. One could certainly use that explanation if the clue had, for instance, contained the phrase "bad secret lie" as in the following (which admittedly is not the finest of cryptic clues but is the best I could come up with to illustrate the point):

• Bad secret lie /in/ city (9) 

However, the clue reads "bad by secret lie" rather than "bad secret lie". The simple explanation fails to account for the word "by" and perhaps several other words as well.

I can only suggest that one might interpret the cryptic meaning of this clue to be "[the letters comprising the name of this] city [can be] made to look [like something] bad by [arranging them in the form of an anagram] SECRET LIE" in which the "something bad" would be a ""SECRET LIE".

Finding myself unable to parse this clue to isolate an explicit anagram indicator, I have to conclude that the existence of the anagram is being conveyed implicitly. Thus, it would appear we may have here an even more complex version of an implied anagram than what we see at 23a. 

15a   Sailor with spots // stays dry (8)

"sailor" = AB (show explanation )

In the Royal Navy, according to Oxford Dictionaries, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman^[10] (also called able-bodied seaman) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.

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16a   Old country /with/ ancient South Americans invaded by the French (6)

As Deep Threat points out in his review, the Maya were an ancient Central American — not South American — people. Granted, after the puzzle had been distributed in syndication, after The Daily Telegraph had gone to press, and after Deep Threat had downloaded the puzzle, the clue was corrected on the Telegraph Puzzles website to read:

• Old country /with/ ancient Central Americans invaded by the French (6)

The Maya^[10] were an American Indian people of Yucatan, Belize, and northern Guatemala, having an ancient culture once characterized by outstanding achievements in architecture, astronomy, chronology, painting, and pottery.

"the French" = LA (show explanation )

In French, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

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Malaya^[5] is a former country in southeast Asia, consisting of the southern part of the Malay Peninsula and some adjacent islands (originally including Singapore), now forming the western part of the federation of Malaysia and known as West Malaysia.

The area was colonized by the Dutch, Portuguese, and the British, who eventually became dominant; the several Malay states federated under British control in 1896. The country became independent in 1957, the federation expanding to become Malaysia in 1963.

In his review, Deep Threat would have been more precise had he said "name of a former Asian country" rather than "former name of an Asian country" as the former country is now part of a larger federation.

18a   Quality /of/ Britain admitted by the enemy (6)

In cryptic crosswords, we often find that time is the enemy, expressed by Irish poet William Butler Yeats as "The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time"^[a] meaning that innocence and beauty are each subject to the ravages of time. 

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^[a] BrainyQuote

20a   According to Spooner, obese bird /in/ unseemly conflict (3-5)

The Rev. W. A. Spooner has bequeathed to us the name for an oft-encountered slip of the tongue. (show explanation )

A spoonerism^[5] is a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures. It is named after the Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), an English scholar who reputedly made such errors in speaking.

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A kite^[5,10] is a diurnal medium to large bird of prey that feeds on small mammals and insects which typically has a long forked tail and long broad wings and frequently soars on updraughts of air.

23a   What could make you groan at us /and/ bark (9)

Angostura^[5] (also angostura bark) is an aromatic bitter bark from certain South American trees, used as a flavouring, and formerly as a tonic and to reduce fever.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat informs us that the solution is an extract of tree bark most commonly seen as a bitter flavouring in some cocktails. Angostura[5] is short for Angostura bitters[5], a trademark for a kind of tonic [carbonated soft drink with a bitter flavour]. The bitters were first produced in the town of Angostura* (hence the name), but do not contain angostura bark.[7] * Angostura[5] was the former name (until 1846) for Ciudad Bolívar[5], a city in southeastern Venezuela. The name was changed to honour the country’s liberator, Simón Bolívar.

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The precise nature of the wordplay in this clue is merely implied. If we analyze the wordplay from a cryptic perspective it can be seen to say:

• What [arrangement of letters] could make [for] you [(the solver)] GROAN AT US

Nowhere in the clue is there an explicit indication of an anagram operation. The solver must infer from the non-specific indicator "could make" that it is an anagram operation that is required. Compare this with the more complex implied anagram at 13a.

24a   Trick /makes/ character go the wrong way (4)

26a   Stylish // award for work in theatre (4)

From a British perspective, tony^[5,10] is an informal US and Canadian term^* meaning fashionable among wealthy or stylish people ⇒ a tony restaurant.

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^* The Chambers Dictionary (otherwise known on Big Dave's site as the Big Red Book or BRB) lists toney^[1] (or tony) as slang meaning high-toned or fashionable without characterizing the usage as being North American.

Perhaps unfamiliarity with this North American expression is why Deep Threat attempts to explain the definition by resorting to French.

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The Tony Award^[7], (informally Tony and officially the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre".

27a   The style of some station announcements (1,1,1,7)

I have marked this as a cryptic definition as I believe the setter expects us to be misdirected into thinking of announcements of upcoming stops by the conductor on a railway coach.

If, like myself, your first thought is of a television station, then the clue is not very cryptic. Moreover, if like myself, you are unfamiliar with the solution, the clue becomes virtually unfathomable without help.

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BBC English^[5] is a form of standard spoken English associated with BBC announcers ⇒ they have chosen not to abandon the speech patterns of their region for the blander cadences of BBC English.

28a   Lots of pieces of paper // to peruse, twice as many at the end (4)

29a   One bishop has little hesitation to get into affair /that's/ un-bishop-like! (10)

"bishop" = RR (show explanation )

Right Reverend^[5] (abbreviation RR^[2]) is a title given to a bishop, especially in the Anglican Church ⇒ the Right Reverend David Jenkins, Bishop of Durham.

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Down

1d   Singer celebrating magic moments /in/ Italian lake (4)

Perry Como^[7] (1912–2001) was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than sixty years, he sold millions of records and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time.

As access to the video posted by Deep Threat on Big Dave's site has been blocked, here is another version for those who might wish to listen to the song (which I had never before heard).

"Magic Moments"^[7] is a popular song with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David, one of the first compositions by that duo. The song was published in 1957. The biggest hit version of the song was recorded by Perry Como and released by RCA Victor in December 1957, becoming a hit early in 1958. The peak position in the United States is hard to track precisely, due to the multiple charts used in Billboard magazine. The overall impact of the song probably fell just below the top ten. The song was also a 1958 hit in Italy, while in the United Kingdom it spent eight weeks at number one in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Como's biggest ever hit there.

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Lake Como^[5] is a lake in the foothills of the Alps in northern Italy.

2d   Plants /found in/ reference books (7)

3d   One having room with couch /or/ typist's chair possibly (12)

4d   Mark at Old Trafford // completely exhausted, having little energy after game (4,4)

"little energy" (abbreviation for energy) = E (show explanation )

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae.

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Go^[7] is a board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,500 years ago (from whence it spread, first to Korea and Japan, and then worldwide). The game is noted for being rich in strategy despite its relatively simple rules. According to chess master Edward Lasker: "The rules of Go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play Go." The name Go is derived from the Japanese name of the  game "igo".

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Old Trafford^[7] is a football [soccer] stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United Football Club. With a capacity of 74,994, it is the largest club football stadium^* in the United Kingdom.

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^* Old Trafford is exceeded in capacity only by Wembley Stadium^[7] which has a capacity of 90,000 and is owned by the governing body of English football, the Football Association (the FA), through its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL).

5d   Name this person turning up /to provide/ a sort of medicine (6)

"this person" = ME (show explanation )

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

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An emetic^[5] is a medicine or other substance which causes vomiting.

7d   Breathe freely -- /here's/ a sort of infusion (4,3)

Herb tea^[5,10], another name for herbal tea, is an infusion of herbs as a refreshing or medicinal drink.

8d   Scoundrels /in/ terrible crimes meeting social workers? (10)

"social workers" = ANTS (show explanation )

The word "worker" and the phrase "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.

A worker^[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.

In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.

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11d   Result of stress that is very undesirable for air travellers? (5,7)

Metal fatigue^[5] is weakness in metal caused by repeated variations of stress ⇒ evidence suggested the plane broke up in mid air because of metal fatigue.

14d   History teacher /is/ accomplished expert (4,6)

Master^[5] is a British term for a male schoolteacher.

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A past master^[5] is a person who is particularly skilled at a specified activity or art ⇒ he's a past master at keeping his whereabouts secret.

17d   Like certain swine, // eager and silly (8)

In addition to being wordplay, one might consider "eager and silly" to be yet another definition.

The adjective Garadene^*[5] means involving or engaged in a headlong or potentially disastrous rush to do something ⇒ do not follow the Gadarene rush.

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^* Garadene means 'inhabitant of Gadara' with reference to the story of the swine that rushed down a steep cliff into the sea (Matt. 8:28–32).

The Miracle of the Garadene Swine^[5] is one of the miracles performed by Jesus according to the New Testament. The story shows Jesus exorcising demons out of a man and into a herd of swine, causing the swine to run down a hill into a lake and drown themselves.

Delving Deeper

This incident involving the swine is also known as the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac (Gerasene meaning 'inhabitant of Gerasa"). The story appears in the three Synoptic Gospels, but not the Gospel of John. Mark (Mark 5:1-20) and Luke (Luke 8:26-39) have the events occurring in the city of Gerasa while Matthew (Matt. 8:28–34) places them in the city of Gadara. While the story appears to be set close to the Sea of Galilee, neither Gadara nor Gerasa is nearby; Gadara being 10km away or a three-hour walking distance, and Gerasa well over twice as far. The story was interpreted by Saints Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas to mean that Christians have no duties to animals. It has been a point of contention in discussions of Christianity and animal rights.

19d   Particular hue /of/ male political worker, leader of agitators (7)

An agent^[1] is a paid political party worker.

21d   Rock /from/ part of UK in fireplace feature (7)

"part of UK" = NI (show explanation )

Northern Ireland^[5] (abbreviation NI^[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the northeast part of Ireland; population 1,775,000 (est. 2008); capital, Belfast.

According to Oxford Dictionaries, Northern Ireland^[5] is the only major division of the United Kingdom to hold the status of province, with England^[5], Scotland^[5] and Wales^*[5] being countries.

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^* Oxford Dictionaries did not always describe Wales as a country. However, they changed this after I pointed out in a previous blog that England and Scotland were described as countries while Wales was shown as a principality. Do I really hold such power?

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What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat indicates that we need [t]he part of the UK which is not GB. The name in full of the United Kingdom[7] (UK) is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

22d   Maybe one /is/ having less feeling (6)

In this double definition, the second definition is a whimsical Crosswordland invention.

25d   When Christians celebrate // a bit (4)

Whit^[5] is a British short form for Whitsuntide^[5], the weekend or week including Whit Sunday.

Whit Sunday^[5] (also called Pentecost, US Whitsunday) is the seventh Sunday after Easter, a Christian festival commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2).

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Whit^[5,10] (usually used with a negative) means a very small part or amount; the smallest particle; iota; jot ⇒ (i) the last whit of warmth was drawn off by the setting sun; (ii) he has changed not a whit.

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)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon