Saturday, March 31, 2018

Saturday, March 31, 2018 — Easter Egg Hunt


Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, the setters treat us to a traditional Easter egg hunt. I trust you finished with a full basket.

I found the puzzle to be a tad more difficult than we usually get from Cox and Rathvon, providing a rather vigorous mental workout.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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
- yet to be solved

Click here for an explanation of conventions and symbols used in explaining the parsing of clues.


The purpose of this article is to explain the conventions and symbols that I use on this blog in explaining the parsing of clues.

Legend:

The following symbols are used in reviews:
  • "*" anagram
  • "~" sounds like
  • "<" indicates that the preceding letters are reversed
  • "( )" encloses contained letters
  • "_" replaces letters that have been deleted
  • "†" indicates that the word is present in the clue

The review of a clue takes the following general structure:

#a/d   Clue containing parsing markup (num*)

* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)


Explanations pertaining to the definition (or second definition in a double definition) and solution.

Explanatory Box
An explanatory box provides additional information about the clue. In most cases this information will not necessarily help in solving the clue but provides information about the clue. In the case of the weekday syndicated Daily Telegraph puzzles, such information is often intended to help the North American solver appreciate how the clue may be perceived by a British solver. These boxes may also provide information on people, places, films, television programmes, works of art and literature, etc. mentioned in the clue.

Although the titles of these boxes will usually be drawn from a standard list, I do occasionally throw in a title specifically suggested by the subject at hand. The standard titles include:
  • Scratching the Surface - an explanation of the surface reading of the clue
  • Delving Deeper - in-depth information pertaining to a subject mentioned in an explanation
  • Behind the Picture - for weekday puzzles, information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
  • What did he/she/they say? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
  • What are they talking about? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
One box that may provide information that could prove helpful in solving the clue is the following:
  • Here and There - for weekday puzzles, discusses words whose British meaning differs from their North American meaning

Note that there are many types of cryptic crossword clue and it is not my intention to exhaustively go through all of them here. I will only deal with clue types to the extent necessary to explain the conventions and symbols used on the blog. Furthermore, be aware that, in the world of cryptic crosswords, there seems to be an exception to every rule.

With one exception that I can think of, cryptic crossword clues provide two routes to the solution. These are commonly referred to as the definition and wordplay. While these terms serve well for most clues, there are some cases where the more formal terms of primary indication and subsidiary indication may be more appropriate.

Most cryptic crossword clues consist of a definition (primary indication) and wordplay (subsidiary indication). The definition may be a "precise definition" (a definition that is either taken straight from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion) or it may be a "cryptic definition" (a definition misleadingly phrased so as to misdirect the solver either with respect to the meaning of the definition as a whole or to an incorrect sense of a word used in the definition).

The only type of clue that I can think of where there are not two ways of finding the solution are those in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition.
I identify precise definitions by marking them with a solid underline in the clue and cryptic definitions by marking them with a dotted underline.
In clues in which both definition and wordplay are present, the two parts of the clue combine to provide an overall meaningful statement (the surface reading) which usually bears no relationship to the underlying cryptic reading of the clue. In some cases, an extra word or phrase will be inserted into the clue to create a meaningful link between the definition and wordplay. I define clues which contain such a link word or link phrase as having an explicit link and clues which contain no link word or link phrase as having an implicit link.
I mark the existence of an explicit link by enclosing the link word or link phrase between forward slashes (/link/) and mark the existence of an implicit link with double forward slashes (//) positioned between the definition and wordplay.
Examples

A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.

The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:

  • 4d   Fellow left work // a failure (4)
Here the definition is "a failure" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as F (fellow; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.) + OP (work; abbrev. used in music) which gives us the solution F|L|OP. The double forward slashes (//) between the definition and wordplay indicate the existence of an "implicit link" between the two parts of the clue (that is, no extra words are inserted into the clue to form the link).

The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:
  • 29a   Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)
Here the definition "female going to match" is cryptic (the setter is attempting to misdirect our thoughts to a sports event rather than a marriage ceremony) and thus is marked with a a dotted underline. The wordplay is {RIDES (travels) + (with) MA (mother)} contained in (in) BID (advance) giving us the solution B(RIDES|MA)ID. As in the first example, the double forward slashes indicate the presence of an implicit link.

The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:
  • 18d   Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)
Here the definition is "staggering" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as N ([chess symbol for] knight) contained in (caught in) an anagram (misplaced) of BIG BLOW producing the solution WOBBLI(N)G. Finally, forward slashes mark the link word (/is/).
I also use distinctive underlining to mark &lit.[7] and semi-&lit. clues. Note that the reviewers on Big Dave's Crossword Blog generally prefer to refer to these clue types by the less pretentious names of all-in-one or semi-all-in-one clues respectively.

In an &lit. clue[7] (or all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.
In future, I will mark such clues with a combined solid and dashed underline. Although this is a departure from past practice, it would seem to make more sense than using a dotted underline as I have in the past). Henceforth, the dotted underline will be reserved for cryptic definitions.
In a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue), either:
  • the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay; or
  • the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.
For these clues, I will mark the definition with a solid underline and the wordplay with a  dashed underline. This means that a portion of the clue may have a solid underline, a portion of the clue may have a dashed underline and a portion of the clue may have a combined solid and dashed underline.
One final clue type is what I characterize as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. For example, in DT 28560 (setter unknown) the following clue appears:
  •  26d   Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)
As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The 'precise definition' is "heroic exploit" and is indicated by a solid underline.

Given the numeration, the precise definition could give rise to at least two solutions, DEED or FEAT. However, the 'cryptic elaboration' ("whichever way you look at it") indicates that the solution is a palindrome thereby immediately eliminating one of the two obvious choices.

Note that the part of the clue that I have called 'cryptic elaboration' does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as the wordplay would do in most other types of clue). Rather it merely provides a piece of additional information (elaboration) related to the 'precise definition'.

Again, this approach is a departure from past practice, but like the other changes mentioned previously is intended to remove inconsistencies in the way that I have been applying parsing markup to clues. The markup rules that I have been using until now evolved bit-by-bit over a long period of time resulting in some degree of internal inconsistency.

hide explanation

{Insert CLUES here}

Across

1a   Turning enthusiastic about good // West Indian music (6)

RE(G)GAE or REG(G)AEa reversal (turning) of EAGER (enthusiastic) containing (about) G (good; abbrev.)

4a   Novel of old literature /is/ well-illuminated (8)

FLOOD*-LITan anagram (novel) of OF OLD + LIT (literature; abbrev.)

9a   Safecrackers/’/ agreement about two thousand dollars (5)

YE(G|G)S — YES (agreement) containing (about) {G ([first] thousand dollars) + G ([second] thousand dollars)}

10a   Italian painter/’s/ company including Roger, itinerant soldier (9)

C(ORREG*|GI)O — CO (company; abbrev.) containing (including) {an anagram (itinerant) of ROGER + GI ([US] soldier) }

Correggio[5] (c.1494–1534) was an Italian painter. The soft, sensual style of his devotional and mythological paintings influenced the rococo of the 18th century. He is best known for his frescoes in Parma cathedral.

11a   English shorebird by a lake // that never changes (7)

E|TERN|A|L — E (English; abbrev.) + TERN (shorebird) + A () + L (lake; abbrev.)

I found the construction of this clue to be a bit awkward. Here eternal would seem to be used as a noun, the Eternal[5] being a name used to refer to an everlasting or universal spirit, as represented by God a man entirely under the sway of the Eternal and not of the material.

I think the clue would read much more smoothly if eternal were to be used as an adjective:
  • English shorebird by a lake /that is/ never changing (7)
12a   Near // small room with oxygen (5,2)

CLOSE T|O — CLOSET (small room) + O ([symbol for the chemical element] oxygen)

13a   Skater/’s/ parental guidance about gym feeling strange (5,7)

P(EGGY FLEMIN*)G — PG (parental guidance; film classification) containing (about) an anagram (strange) of GYM FEELING

US figure skater Peggy Fleming[5] was the 1968 Olympic Champion and a three-time World Champion (1966-1968) in Ladies' singles.

17a   Jets fan base /and/ some hockey players taking small swig, for example (12)

WIN(NIP|EG)GERS — WINGERS (some hockey players) containing (taking) {NIP (small swig) + EG (for example; abbrev.)}

The Winnipeg Jets[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).

22a   Moving eyelid, blinked at last /and/ surrendered (7)

YIELDE*|Dan anagram (moving) of EYELID + D {final letter (at last) of blinkeD}

24a   Weaving lie, find // one not believing (7)

INFIDEL*an anagram (weaving) of LIE FIND

25a   Making poor creature stuffed with bit of gefilte fish (9)

BE(G|GAR)ING — BEING (creature) containing (stuffed with) {initial letter (bit of) Gefilte + GAR (fish)}

Scratching the Surface
Gefilte fish[5] (Yiddish 'stuffed fish') is a dish of stewed or baked stuffed fish, or of fish cakes boiled in a fish or vegetable broth.

26a   Three generals taking note /in/ system of shorthand (5)

G(RE)G|G_ — GGG (three generals; general being a film classification) containing (taking) RE ([musical] note)

Gregg shorthand[7] is a form of shorthand that was invented by John Robert Gregg in 1888. Like cursive longhand, it is completely based on elliptical figures and lines that bisect them. Gregg shorthand is the most popular form of pen stenography in the United States.

27a   Made darling // quit grabbing attention (8)

END(EAR)ED — ENDED (quit) containing (grabbing) EAR (attention)

28a   Spur found in battle // green (6)

V(EGG)IE — EGG (spur; verb) contained in (found in) VIE (battle; verb)

Perhaps this clue should have ended with a question mark to acknowledge that not every veggie is a green.

Down

1d   Recited Frost’s // poems (6)

RHYMES~sounds like (recited) RIME (frost) + S ('s)

Scratching the Surface
Robert Frost[5] (1874–1963) was an American poet, noted for his ironic tone and simple language; full name Robert Lee Frost. Much of his poetry reflects his affinity with New England, including the collections North of Boston (1914) and New Hampshire (1923). He won the Pulitzer Prize on three occasions (1924; 1931; 1937).

2d   Pair of goalies kept inside aged badly // under restraint (6)

GA(G|G)ED — {G + G} (pair of goalies) contained in (kept inside) an anagram (badly) of AGED

3d   Time away // Ben’s arranged embraced by expert (7)

A(BSEN*)CEan anagram (arranged) of BENS contained in (embraced by) ACE (expert)

5d   Verse // penned by Joely Richardson (5)

_LY|RIC_hidden in (penned by) JoeLY RIChardson

Scratching the Surface
Joely Richardson[7] is an English actress, known for her role as Julia McNamara in the FX* drama series Nip/Tuck (2003–10) and Queen Catherine Parr in the Showtime* series The Tudors (2010).

* FX and Showtime are US cable and satellite television services

6d   Another // captain of fiction getting into crude rock (3,4)

O(NE MO)RE — NEMO (captain of fiction) contained in (getting into) ORE (crude rock)

Captain Nemo[7] (Latin for "Nobody")—also known as Prince Dakkar—is a fictional character created by the French science fiction author Jules Verne (1828–1905). Nemo appears in two of Verne's novels, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1874) as well as making a cameo appearance in Verne's play Journey Through the Impossible (1882).

7d   Accepted holding diploma’s equivalent, // ran (6,2)

LEG(GED) IT — LEGIT (accepted) containing (holding) GED (diploma's equivalent)

GED[3,11] stands for general equivalency diploma.

Delving Deeper
General Equivalency Development or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills.

The American Council on Education (ACE), in Washington, D.C. (U.S.), which owns the GED trademark, coined the initialism to identify "tests of general equivalency development" that measure proficiency in science, mathematics, social studies, reading, and writing. Passing the GED test gives those who do not complete high school, or who do not meet requirements for a high school diploma, the opportunity to earn their high school equivalency credential.

Leg it[5] is an informal British* term meaning to run away ⇒ he legged it after someone shouted at him.

* Although the entry in Oxford Dictionaries is a bit ambiguous as to whether the descriptor "British informal" applies to this sense of the definition or not, I assume that it does. At any rate, the expression is not found in any of the American dictionaries that I consulted.

8d   Detailed, // although sketchy (8)

THO|ROUGH — THO (although; abbrev.) + ROUGH (sketchy)

10d   Fragrance /of/ cut wood in pine product (7)

CO(LOG)NE — LOG (cut wood) contained in (in) CONE (pine product)

14d   Phileas takes drink, // getting misty (7)

FOG(GIN)G — FOGG (Phileas) containing (takes) GIN (drink)

Phileas Fogg[7] is the protagonist in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.

15d   Subject to influence /and/ respect when dressed in black (8)

S(WAY)ABLE — WAY (respect; the final version differs in this respect from the initial draft) contained in (when dressed in) SABLE (black)

16d   Released // new gun, deep outside of Georgia’s capital (8)

UNPE(G)GED or UNPEG(G)EDan anagram (new) of GUN DEEP containing (outside of) G (Georgia's capital [initial letter]

18d   State // in princess’s name (7)

IN|DIANA — IN (†) + DIANA (princess's name)

Diana, Princess of Wales[5] (1961–1997) was the former wife of Prince Charles; title before marriage Lady Diana Frances Spencer. The daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer, she married Prince Charles in 1981; the couple were divorced in 1996. She became a popular figure through her charity work and glamorous media appearances, and her death in a car crash in Paris gave rise to intense national mourning.

19d   Displaced person/’s/ official directive to go right around university (7)

REF(U)GEE — {REF ([sports] official) + GEE (directive [to a horse] to go right)} containing (around) U (university; abbrev.)

20d   Bit of work, getting bed remade /for/ Swedish tennis great (6)

E(DBE*)RG — ERG (bit of work) containing (getting) an anagram (remade) of BED

In physics, the erg[5] is a unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one dyne when its point of application moves one centimeter in the direction of action of the force.



Swedish tennis player Stefan Edberg[5] won the Australian Open in 1985 and Wimbledon in 1990 and 1991.

21d   Place with fever /and/ affliction (6)

PL|AGUE — PL (place; abbrev. used in street names) + (with) AGUE (fever)

23d   Doctor, I have // urge to overwork (5)

DR|IVE — DR (doctor; abbrev.) + IVE (I have; contraction)

Epilogue

We have several contenders today for theme. Given the season, I have opted to go with the hidden EGGs of which there are 14 in the puzzle (four of which are reversed). However, we have even more occurrences of GG as there is one that is not accompanied by an E. There also seems to be a minor Jules Verne theme going on with mention of Captain Nemo (6d) and Phileas Fogg (14d). Finally, at various points, the puzzle gets either a G (26a) or PG (13a) rating from the censors.

Incidentally, I chose the picture used to illustrate the review prior to having solved the puzzle.
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)
[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)
Signing off for today — Falcon

Friday, March 30, 2018

Friday, March 30, 2018 — DT 28604 (Good Friday Bonus Puzzle)

Prologue

It being Good Friday, the National Post did not publish today and did not include a Friday puzzle in Thursday's edition as it sometimes does. Therefore, as a Bonus Puzzle, here is DT 28604 for those who may happen to have some extra time on their hands this holiday Friday.

I'm taking the chance that the National Post will skip this puzzle. If I am wrong, then you will have gotten an early start on Monday's puzzle. If that turns out to be the case, I will post a replacement puzzle from the archives on Monday so you are not left with nothing to occupy your time.
Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28604
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28604]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Kath
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
Notes
It being Good Friday, the National Post did not publish. This puzzle is the one that I expect would have appeared had an edition been produced today.

Introduction

This puzzle should provide you with a relatively gentle mental workout to tide you over the Easter holiday period.

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.

Click here for an explanation of conventions and symbols used in explaining the parsing of clues.


The purpose of this article is to explain the conventions and symbols that I use on this blog in explaining the parsing of clues.

Legend:

The following symbols are used in reviews:
  • "*" anagram
  • "~" sounds like
  • "<" indicates that the preceding letters are reversed
  • "( )" encloses contained letters
  • "_" replaces letters that have been deleted
  • "†" indicates that the word is present in the clue

The review of a clue takes the following general structure:

#a/d   Clue containing parsing markup (num*)

* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)


Explanations pertaining to the definition (or second definition in a double definition) and solution.

Explanatory Box
An explanatory box provides additional information about the clue. In most cases this information will not necessarily help in solving the clue but provides information about the clue. In the case of the weekday syndicated Daily Telegraph puzzles, such information is often intended to help the North American solver appreciate how the clue may be perceived by a British solver. These boxes may also provide information on people, places, films, television programmes, works of art and literature, etc. mentioned in the clue.

Although the titles of these boxes will usually be drawn from a standard list, I do occasionally throw in a title specifically suggested by the subject at hand. The standard titles include:
  • Scratching the Surface - an explanation of the surface reading of the clue
  • Delving Deeper - in-depth information pertaining to a subject mentioned in an explanation
  • Behind the Picture - for weekday puzzles, information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
  • What did he/she/they say? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
  • What are they talking about? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
One box that may provide information that could prove helpful in solving the clue is the following:
  • Here and There - for weekday puzzles, discusses words whose British meaning differs from their North American meaning

Note that there are many types of cryptic crossword clue and it is not my intention to exhaustively go through all of them here. I will only deal with clue types to the extent necessary to explain the conventions and symbols used on the blog. Furthermore, be aware that, in the world of cryptic crosswords, there seems to be an exception to every rule.

With one exception that I can think of, cryptic crossword clues provide two routes to the solution. These are commonly referred to as the definition and wordplay. While these terms serve well for most clues, there are some cases where the more formal terms of primary indication and subsidiary indication may be more appropriate.

Most cryptic crossword clues consist of a definition (primary indication) and wordplay (subsidiary indication). The definition may be a "precise definition" (a definition that is either taken straight from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion) or it may be a "cryptic definition" (a definition misleadingly phrased so as to misdirect the solver either with respect to the meaning of the definition as a whole or to an incorrect sense of a word used in the definition).

The only type of clue that I can think of where there are not two ways of finding the solution are those in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition.
I identify precise definitions by marking them with a solid underline in the clue and cryptic definitions by marking them with a dotted underline.
In clues in which both definition and wordplay are present, the two parts of the clue combine to provide an overall meaningful statement (the surface reading) which usually bears no relationship to the underlying cryptic reading of the clue. In some cases, an extra word or phrase will be inserted into the clue to create a meaningful link between the definition and wordplay. I define clues which contain such a link word or link phrase as having an explicit link and clues which contain no link word or link phrase as having an implicit link.
I mark the existence of an explicit link by enclosing the link word or link phrase between forward slashes (/link/) and mark the existence of an implicit link with double forward slashes (//) positioned between the definition and wordplay.
Examples

A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.

The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:

  • 4d   Fellow left work // a failure (4)
Here the definition is "a failure" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as F (fellow; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.) + OP (work; abbrev. used in music) which gives us the solution F|L|OP. The double forward slashes (//) between the definition and wordplay indicate the existence of an "implicit link" between the two parts of the clue (that is, no extra words are inserted into the clue to form the link).

The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:
  • 29a   Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)
Here the definition "female going to match" is cryptic (the setter is attempting to misdirect our thoughts to a sports event rather than a marriage ceremony) and thus is marked with a a dotted underline. The wordplay is {RIDES (travels) + (with) MA (mother)} contained in (in) BID (advance) giving us the solution B(RIDES|MA)ID. As in the first example, the double forward slashes indicate the presence of an implicit link.

The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:
  • 18d   Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)
Here the definition is "staggering" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as N ([chess symbol for] knight) contained in (caught in) an anagram (misplaced) of BIG BLOW producing the solution WOBBLI(N)G. Finally, forward slashes mark the link word (/is/).
I also use distinctive underlining to mark &lit.[7] and semi-&lit. clues. Note that the reviewers on Big Dave's Crossword Blog generally prefer to refer to these clue types by the less pretentious names of all-in-one or semi-all-in-one clues respectively.

In an &lit. clue[7] (or all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.
In future, I will mark such clues with a combined solid and dashed underline. Although this is a departure from past practice, it would seem to make more sense than using a dotted underline as I have in the past). Henceforth, the dotted underline will be reserved for cryptic definitions.
In a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue), either:
  • the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay; or
  • the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.
For these clues, I will mark the definition with a solid underline and the wordplay with a  dashed underline. This means that a portion of the clue may have a solid underline, a portion of the clue may have a dashed underline and a portion of the clue may have a combined solid and dashed underline.
One final clue type is what I characterize as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. For example, in DT 28560 (setter unknown) the following clue appears:
  •  26d   Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)
As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The 'precise definition' is "heroic exploit" and is indicated by a solid underline.

Given the numeration, the precise definition could give rise to at least two solutions, DEED or FEAT. However, the 'cryptic elaboration' ("whichever way you look at it") indicates that the solution is a palindrome thereby immediately eliminating one of the two obvious choices.

Note that the part of the clue that I have called 'cryptic elaboration' does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as the wordplay would do in most other types of clue). Rather it merely provides a piece of additional information (elaboration) related to the 'precise definition'.

Again, this approach is a departure from past practice, but like the other changes mentioned previously is intended to remove inconsistencies in the way that I have been applying parsing markup to clues. The markup rules that I have been using until now evolved bit-by-bit over a long period of time resulting in some degree of internal inconsistency.

hide explanation

Across

8a   Violent protesters // initially roaring 'Tories out' (7)

10a   Preserving energy, Romans relaxed -- // slaves driving galley, maybe (7)

11a   Voting system not nice, unfortunately, /in/ US university (9)

Proportional representation[5] (abbreviation PR) is an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them ⇒ PR has been a success in Germany.



Princeton University[5,6] is an Ivy League university at Princeton in New Jersey, one of the most prestigious in the US. It was founded in 1746.

12a   Criticise /or/ clap? (5)

I initially found myself in a similar position as Kath who remarks in her review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog I had a bit of a dither about this one – I can’t quite make clap = the answer somehow.

Clap[5] is being used in the sense of an explosive sound, especially of thunder a clap of thunder echoed through the valley.

Though we wouldn't use clap and blast interchangeably* due — as Jose points out in the thread arising from Comment #20 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — "tradition, convention, and habit", we must accept that they mean virtually the same thing, both words denoting an explosive sound.

* One would speak of a "clap or thunder" or a "dynamite blast" but not a "thunder blast" or a "clap of dynamite".

13a   Where men are on board // ship beside revolutionary (5)

On the seas of Crosswordland, you will rarely go wrong in assuming that a ship is a steamship (abbreviation SS[5]).

"revolutionary" = CHE (show explanation )

Che Guevara[7] (1928–1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.

hide explanation

14a   Snack // to put with something sparkling and European (7)

Asti[7] (formerly known as Asti Spumante) is a sparkling white Italian wine (show more ).

Asti is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but production is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.

hide explanation



Toastie[5] is an informal British term for a toasted sandwich or snack.

17a   I'm so interfering, travelling /as/ a politician? (7,8)

19a   Country // folk appearing in operatic piece (7)

An aria[5] is a long accompanied song for a solo voice, typically one in an opera or oratorio.

Armenia is a landlocked country in the Caucasus of southwestern Asia; population 3,000,000 (estimated 2015); official language, Armenian; capital, Yerevan.


Armenia[5] is a landlocked country in the Caucasus of southwestern Asia (show more ).

The Armenian homeland fell under Turkish rule from the 16th century and with the decline of the Ottomans was divided among Turkey, Iran, and Russia. In 1915 the Turks forcibly deported 1,750,000 Armenians to the deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia; more than 600,000 were killed or died on forced marches. Russian Armenia was absorbed into the former Soviet Union in 1922 and gained independence as a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991. Since 1988 there has been conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh (an ethnically Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan) and the predominantly Azerbaijani territory of Naxçivan (an Azerbaijani autonomous republic that is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by a narrow strip of Armenia).

hide explanation

21a   Bottle  -- // optic possibly applied to it? (5)

Bottle[5] is an informal British term denoting the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous ⇒ I lost my bottle completely and ran.

Scratching the Surface
Optic[5] is a British trademark for a device fastened to the neck of an inverted bottle for measuring out spirits.

24a   Old communist // figure turning back on Left (5)

Vladimir Ilich Lenin[5] (1870–1924; born Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov) was the principal figure in the Russian Revolution and first premier of the Soviet Union 1918–24.

As LetterboxRoy points out at Comment #12 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, "24a is a little over-underlined" in Kath's review.

26a   Dreadful experience /being/ near horse nursing temperature (9)

Nigh[5] is an archaic or literary term meaning near ⇒ (i) the end is nigh; (ii) a car weighing nigh on two tons.

27a   Boy captures // the work of Shakespeare, for example (7)

English playwright William Shakespeare[5,6] (1564–1616), in addition to his many plays, also wrote more than 150 sonnets, which were published in 1609, as well as narrative poems.

28a   Loving // a swindle, gang (7)

Do[5] is an informal British term meaning to swindle ⇒ a thousand pounds for one set of photos — Jacqui had been done.

Down

1d   Subject inspiring reverence primarily, // one circling the globe (6)

As a containment indicator, inspire[5] is used in the sense of to breathe in (air) or inhale.



A tropic[5] is the parallel of latitude 23°26ʹ north (tropic of Cancer) or south (tropic of Capricorn) of the equator.

2d   Around pit, person keeping busy, /as/ boss about (8)

3d   Part of orchestra /that's/ supersonic when vibrating (10)

4d   Stumble after a few drinks, // going one way then the other (5,4)

5d   Dreary // poet sent up (4)

Bard[10] is an archaic or literary term for a poet, especially one who writes lyric or heroic verse or is of national importance.

6d   This person is overlooking agreement /in/ effect (6)

"this person is" = IM (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.

Today, the setter has made the scenario slightly more complicated by combining "this person" with the verb "to be"* producing "this person is" which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").

* Although in the surface reading "this person's" is a contraction of "this person has", for cryptic purposes it is interpreted as "this person is".

hide explanation

7d   King has designed a winter // scarf, say (8)

"king" = K (show explanation )

K[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

hide explanation

9d   Genesis character // in paradise then (4)

In the Bible, Seth[10] is the third son of Adam and Eve, given by God in place of the murdered Abel (Genesis 4:25).

15d   A story on country /producing/ hostility (10)

16d   Where one finds chicks, ear's bitten // seriously (2,7)

17d   Perfect // female, unruly (8)

18d   Freshwater reptile /bringing/ one salmon up in ten (8)

A parr[5] is a young salmon (or trout) between the stages of fry and smolt, distinguished by dark rounded patches evenly spaced along its sides.

Here and There
A terrapin[5] (called turtle in North America*) is a freshwater turtle, especially one of the smaller kinds of the Old World.

* Terrapin[5] is a US term for a small edible turtle with lozenge-shaped markings on its shell, found in coastal marshes of the eastern US.

20d   Two relatives meeting // tomorrow in Madrid? (6)

Nana[5] (in Britain, also spelled nanna) is an informal term for one's grandmother.



In Spanish, mañana[8] means 'tomorrow'.

22d   Go // green, changing policy finally (6)

23d   A grand queen going to a // city in India (4)

While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms (show more ).

Grand[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.

G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:
  • Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)[5].
  • Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars[2].
  • Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)[4,10].
hide explanation

"queen" = R (show explanation )

Queen may be abbreviated as Q, Qu. or R.

Q[5] is an abbreviation for queen that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

Qu.[2] is another common abbreviation for Queen.

In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms*, Regina[5] (abbreviation R[5]) [Latin for queen] denotes the reigning queen, used following a name (e.g. Elizabetha Regina, Queen Elizabeth) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Regina v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

* A Commonwealth realm[7] is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares the same person, currently Elizabeth II, as its head of state and reigning constitutional monarch, but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms. There are currently sixteen Commonwealth realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific island nations.

Thus Queen Elizabeth signs her name as 'Elizabeth R' as seen here on Canada's paint-stained constitution.

hide explanation



Agra[5] is a city on the Jumna River in Uttar Pradesh state, northern India; population 1,638,200 (est. 2009). The capital of the Mogul empire 1566–1658, it is the site of the Taj Mahal.

25d   Want // to work hard, you announce? (4)

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)
[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)
Signing off for today — Falcon

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Thursday, March 29, 2018 — DT 28603

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28603
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28603]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
2Kiwis
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

As the 2Kiwis say in the intro to their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, "Jay was in gentle mood again today."

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.

Click here for an explanation of conventions and symbols used in explaining the parsing of clues.


The purpose of this article is to explain the conventions and symbols that I use on this blog in explaining the parsing of clues.

Legend:

The following symbols are used in reviews:
  • "*" anagram
  • "~" sounds like
  • "<" indicates that the preceding letters are reversed
  • "( )" encloses contained letters
  • "_" replaces letters that have been deleted
  • "†" indicates that the word is present in the clue

The review of a clue takes the following general structure:

#a/d   Clue containing parsing markup (num*)

* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)


Explanations pertaining to the definition (or second definition in a double definition) and solution.

Explanatory Box
An explanatory box provides additional information about the clue. In most cases this information will not necessarily help in solving the clue but provides information about the clue. In the case of the weekday syndicated Daily Telegraph puzzles, such information is often intended to help the North American solver appreciate how the clue may be perceived by a British solver. These boxes may also provide information on people, places, films, television programmes, works of art and literature, etc. mentioned in the clue.

Although the titles of these boxes will usually be drawn from a standard list, I do occasionally throw in a title specifically suggested by the subject at hand. The standard titles include:
  • Scratching the Surface - an explanation of the surface reading of the clue
  • Delving Deeper - in-depth information pertaining to a subject mentioned in an explanation
  • Behind the Picture - for weekday puzzles, information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
  • What did he/she/they say? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
  • What are they talking about? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog
One box that may provide information that could prove helpful in solving the clue is the following:
  • Here and There - for weekday puzzles, discusses words whose British meaning differs from their North American meaning

Note that there are many types of cryptic crossword clue and it is not my intention to exhaustively go through all of them here. I will only deal with clue types to the extent necessary to explain the conventions and symbols used on the blog. Furthermore, be aware that, in the world of cryptic crosswords, there seems to be an exception to every rule.

With one exception that I can think of, cryptic crossword clues provide two routes to the solution. These are commonly referred to as the definition and wordplay. While these terms serve well for most clues, there are some cases where the more formal terms of primary indication and subsidiary indication may be more appropriate.

Most cryptic crossword clues consist of a definition (primary indication) and wordplay (subsidiary indication). The definition may be a "precise definition" (a definition that is either taken straight from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion) or it may be a "cryptic definition" (a definition misleadingly phrased so as to misdirect the solver either with respect to the meaning of the definition as a whole or to an incorrect sense of a word used in the definition).

The only type of clue that I can think of where there are not two ways of finding the solution are those in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition.
I identify precise definitions by marking them with a solid underline in the clue and cryptic definitions by marking them with a dotted underline.
In clues in which both definition and wordplay are present, the two parts of the clue combine to provide an overall meaningful statement (the surface reading) which usually bears no relationship to the underlying cryptic reading of the clue. In some cases, an extra word or phrase will be inserted into the clue to create a meaningful link between the definition and wordplay. I define clues which contain such a link word or link phrase as having an explicit link and clues which contain no link word or link phrase as having an implicit link.
I mark the existence of an explicit link by enclosing the link word or link phrase between forward slashes (/link/) and mark the existence of an implicit link with double forward slashes (//) positioned between the definition and wordplay.
Examples

A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.

The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:

  • 4d   Fellow left work // a failure (4)
Here the definition is "a failure" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as F (fellow; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.) + OP (work; abbrev. used in music) which gives us the solution F|L|OP. The double forward slashes (//) between the definition and wordplay indicate the existence of an "implicit link" between the two parts of the clue (that is, no extra words are inserted into the clue to form the link).

The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:
  • 29a   Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)
Here the definition "female going to match" is cryptic (the setter is attempting to misdirect our thoughts to a sports event rather than a marriage ceremony) and thus is marked with a a dotted underline. The wordplay is {RIDES (travels) + (with) MA (mother)} contained in (in) BID (advance) giving us the solution B(RIDES|MA)ID. As in the first example, the double forward slashes indicate the presence of an implicit link.

The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:
  • 18d   Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)
Here the definition is "staggering" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as N ([chess symbol for] knight) contained in (caught in) an anagram (misplaced) of BIG BLOW producing the solution WOBBLI(N)G. Finally, forward slashes mark the link word (/is/).
I also use distinctive underlining to mark &lit.[7] and semi-&lit. clues. Note that the reviewers on Big Dave's Crossword Blog generally prefer to refer to these clue types by the less pretentious names of all-in-one or semi-all-in-one clues respectively.

In an &lit. clue[7] (or all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.
In future, I will mark such clues with a combined solid and dashed underline. Although this is a departure from past practice, it would seem to make more sense than using a dotted underline as I have in the past). Henceforth, the dotted underline will be reserved for cryptic definitions.
In a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue), either:
  • the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay; or
  • the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.
For these clues, I will mark the definition with a solid underline and the wordplay with a  dashed underline. This means that a portion of the clue may have a solid underline, a portion of the clue may have a dashed underline and a portion of the clue may have a combined solid and dashed underline.
One final clue type is what I characterize as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. For example, in DT 28560 (setter unknown) the following clue appears:
  •  26d   Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)
As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The 'precise definition' is "heroic exploit" and is indicated by a solid underline.

Given the numeration, the precise definition could give rise to at least two solutions, DEED or FEAT. However, the 'cryptic elaboration' ("whichever way you look at it") indicates that the solution is a palindrome thereby immediately eliminating one of the two obvious choices.

Note that the part of the clue that I have called 'cryptic elaboration' does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as the wordplay would do in most other types of clue). Rather it merely provides a piece of additional information (elaboration) related to the 'precise definition'.

Again, this approach is a departure from past practice, but like the other changes mentioned previously is intended to remove inconsistencies in the way that I have been applying parsing markup to clues. The markup rules that I have been using until now evolved bit-by-bit over a long period of time resulting in some degree of internal inconsistency.

hide explanation

Across

1a   Pure // terror, no mistake, during hunt (6)

5a   Bound to protect soldiers // in ranks (6)

"engineers | soldiers" = RE (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

10a   Branch office's first // dance (5)

The limbo[5] is a West Indian dance in which the dancer bends backward to pass under a horizontal bar that is progressively lowered to a position just above the ground.

11a   Contact business // that puts a limit on pitch (9)

Pitch[5] is a British term for an area of ground marked out or used for play in an outdoor team game ⇒ a football [soccer] pitch.

A touchline[5,12] is either of the lines marking the side of the playing area in certain games, such as rugby or soccer.

12a   Well-mannered // chap left beyond the outskirts of Eastbourne (7)

Scratching the Surface
Eastbourne[5] is a town on the south coast of England, in East Sussex.

13a   Emerging // name with a fragrance (7)

14a   Composure /required/ if dragon's to be disturbed (4-5)

17a   Races in to purchase // something to relieve hunger (5)

"races" = TT (show explanation )

The Tourist Trophy[5] (abbreviation TT[5]) is a motorcycle-racing competition held annually on roads in the Isle of Man since 1907.

For many years, the Isle of Man TT[7] was the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. The race is run in a time-trial format on public roads closed for racing. Since, in a time trial, each competitor races alone against the clock, the event could be described as a "series of races". 

hide explanation

The Tourist Trophy[5] (abbreviation TT[5]) is a motorcycle-racing competition held annually on roads in the Isle of Man since 1907.



Butty[5] (also buttie) is an informal Northern English term for a filled or open sandwich ⇒ a bacon butty.

18a   Row about end of breeding // animal in zoo (5)

19a   Bug advanced carrying one // likely to cause disease (9)

21a   Drunken rake should welcome a fine // form of entertainment (7)

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, rake[5] is used in the sense of a fashionable or wealthy man of immoral or promiscuous habits.

23a   Agitated air following rejection of cheese /and/ wine (7)

Edam[5] is a round Dutch cheese, typically pale yellow with a red wax coating.



Madeira[5] is a fortified wine from the island of Madeira.

25a   Crooked advertiser ~ I held out /and/ negotiated (9)

Negotiate[5] is used in the sense of to find a way over or through (an obstacle or difficult route) she cautiously negotiated the hairpin bend.

26a   Gas // area on the west of Oregon (5)

27a   Single line found in smooth // traffic-free area of street (6)

"line" = L (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for line is l.[5]l. 648.

hide explanation

28a   Two ways /to be/ humble (6)

Down

2d   Person /creating/ buzz over article (5)

3d   Chatted in favour of /being/ romantically attached? (6,3)

4d   Applaud // European vote on quota raised (5)

5d   Sour end to cooked // filet mignon (9)

A tournedos[2] (also called filet mignon) is a small round thick cut of beef fillet that is usually grilled or sautéed and served with a rich sauce, often on a crouton bed with pâté.

Origin: 1870s: French, from tourner to turn + dos the back, reputedly because, when it was first served in French restaurants, it was considered such an unconventional dish that it had to be brought to the table 'behind the backs' of the customers.

6d   Spirit // stifled by cabinet hostility (5)

7d   Heroic hospital department about /to become/ focus of disturbance (9)

8d   Co-ordinates /of/ signal readjusted (6)

The word "of" is used as a link word between the definition and wordplay. (show explanation )

When used as a link word, "of" denotes that the definition is formed from the constituent parts found in the wordplay.

This is based on the preposition of[5] denoting the material or substance constituting something ⇒ (i) the house was built of bricks; (ii) walls of stone.

hide explanation

9d   Watch, // getting shilling admission (6)

In the British currency system used prior to the introduction of the current decimal currency system in 1971, a shilling[5] (abbreviation s[5]) was a coin and monetary unit equal to one twentieth of a pound or twelve pence.



Watch[2] (noun) is an old-fashioned term for a body of sentries on look-out duty; a watchman or body of watchmen.

15d   Africans // shifting earnings across Italy (9)

"Italy" = I [from IVR] (show explanation )

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Italy is I[5] [from Italian Italia].

hide explanation

16d   Downtrodden /and/ in a hurry to underpin work (9)

"work" = OP (show explanation )

In music, an opus[5] (plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.

The abbreviation Op.[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..

Opus[5] can also be used in a more general sense to mean an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

hide explanation

17d   Cover eyes, /having/ difficulty accommodating student congregation (9)

"student" = L (show explanation )

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

hide explanation



A fold[10] is a church* or the members of it.

* In Christianity, Jesus Christ is commonly depicted as a shepherd leading a flock with the church being their fold.

18d   Develop a liking for // scene with couple on the radio (4,2)

A take[5] is a scene or sequence of sound or vision photographed or recorded continuously at one time he completed a particularly difficult scene in two takes.

20d   After time, quietens // kids (6)

22d   Area report's written up to include // performance on stage (5)

23d   Spoilt young woman // married the first man (5)

"the first man" = ADAM (show explanation )

In the biblical and Koranic traditions, Adam[5] is the name of the first man. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam was created by God as the progenitor of the human race and lived with Eve in the Garden of Eden.

hide explanation

Madam[5] is an informal British term for a conceited or bossy girl or young woman she's a proper little madam.

24d   Images /of/ prisoner held by discontented interrogators (5)

The setter uses "discontented" to indicate that the inner letters of "InterrogatorS" are to be removed. This cryptic device is based on the whimsical logic that if disembowel means to remove one's innards, then it only stands to reason that discontent must mean to remove one's contents.

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)
[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)
Signing off for today — Falcon