Saturday, June 30, 2018 — O Canada

Introduction

On the eve of Canada Day, today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon takes us on a journey through the arts, history and geography of Canada. For visitors from beyond our borders, I have added explanations of the Canadian references found in the clues.

Everything is delayed with this weekend's puzzle as I was on an extended camping trip in an area with spotty cellular coverage. On top of that, I have a new smartphone and it took some time to accustom myself to its operation.

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^*)

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^* num = numeration

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

(Horizontal separator)

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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   Art style // seen in Canada Day (4)

_DA|DA_ — hidden (seen in) CanaDA DAy

Dada^[5] was an early 20th-century movement in art, literature, music, and film, repudiating and mocking artistic and social conventions and emphasizing the illogical and absurd.

Dada was launched in Zurich in 1916 by Tristan Tzara and others, soon merging with a similar group in New York. It favoured montage, collage, and the ready-made. Leading figures: Jean Arp, André Breton, Max Ernst, Man Ray, and Marcel Duchamp.

3a   Western capital // with heroes in disguise (10)

WHITEHORSE* — anagram (in disguise) of WITH HEROES

Whitehorse^[5,7] is the capital of Yukon Territory in north-western Canada. Situated on the Alaska Highway, it is the centre of a copper-mining and fur-trapping region. The city was named after the White Horse Rapids^* for their resemblance to the mane of a white horse. Whitehorse, as reported by Guinness World Records, is the city with the least air pollution in the world.

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^* The rapids no longer exist due to the damming of the river.

10a   Explorer of Canada /in/ vehicle with seats in rows (7)

CAR|TIER — CAR (vehicle) + (with) TIER (seats in rows)

Jacques Cartier^[5] (1491–1557) was a French explorer. The first to establish France's claim to North America, he made three voyages to Canada between 1534 and 1541.

11a   Rocky height running to // Ontario hub (7)

TOR|ON|TO — TOR (rocky height) + ON (running; operating) + TO (†)

A tor^[7] is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.

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Toronto^[5] is the capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada, situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

12a   Speaking aloud, irritate nude /in/ northwestern lake (5,4)

{GREAT BEAR}~ — sounds like (speaking aloud) {GRATE (irritate) + BARE (nude)}

Great Bear Lake^[5,7] is a large lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It drains into the Mackenzie River via the Great Bear River. It is the largest lake entirely in Canada (Lake Superior and Lake Huron straddling the Canada–US border are larger).

13a   Northern European keeps $100 /for/ ballet, perhaps (5)

DAN(C)E — DANE (Northern European) containing (keeps) C ($100)

14a   Nunavut’s leader moved into a // country (6)

N|ATION* — N (Nunavut's leader [initial letter]) + anagram (moved) of INTO A

Scratching the Surface
Nunavut[5] is a territory of northern Canada, created in 1999 as an Inuit territory from a part of Northwest Territories.

15a   Gang carrying Tina back next to a // province (8)

M(ANIT<)OB|A* — MOB (gang) containing (carrying) a reversal (back) of TINA (†) + (next to) A (†)

Manitoba^[5] is a province of central^* Canada, with a coastline on Hudson Bay. The area was part of Rupert's Land from 1670 until it was transferred to Canada by the Hudson's Bay Company and became a province in 1870.

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^* Manitoba may be central from a geographical perspective but in all other aspects it is considered to be a western province. Residents would no doubt be greatly offended to be lumped in with Ontario and Quebec as part of "Central Canada".

19a   Arctic explorer wearing tie /for/ Canadian sport (8)

LAC(ROSS)E — ROSS (Arctic explorer) containing (wearing) LACE (tie; a cord used to fasten shoes or a corset)

Sir John Ross^[5] (1777–1856) was a British explorer. He led an expedition to Baffin Bay in 1818 and another in search of the North-West Passage between 1829 and 1833.

Sir James Clark Ross^[5] (1800–1862) was a British explorer. He discovered the north magnetic pole in 1831, and headed an expedition to the Antarctic from 1839 to 1843, in the course of which he discovered Ross Island, Ross Dependency, and the Ross Sea. He was the nephew of Sir John Ross.

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Lacrosse^[5] is a team game, originally played by North American Indians, in which the ball is thrown, carried, and caught with a long-handled stick having a curved L-shaped or triangular frame at one end with a piece of shallow netting in the angle.

21a   Write novel about northern // cold season (6)

WI(N)TER* — anagram (novel) of WRITE containing (about) N (northern; abbrev.)

24a   Too bad about Atwood’s second // book (5)

A(T)LAS — ALAS (too bad) containing (about) T (ATwood's second [letter])

Scratching the Surface

Margaret Atwood[5] is a Canadian novelist, poet, critic, and short-story writer. Notable works: The Edible Woman (1969), The Handmaid's Tale (1985), Cat's Eye (1989), and The Blind Assassin (Booker Prize, 2000). A television adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale[7] began airing on the streaming service Hulu in 2017. The first season of the show earned eight Emmy's in 2017, including Outstanding Drama Series. Season two premiered on April 25, 2018, and it was announced on May 2, 2018 that Hulu had renewed the series for a third season. Atwood appears in a cameo in the first episode as one of the Aunts at the Red Center.

26a   Egoyan and I sharply criticize // fragmentation (9)

ATOM|I|ZING — ATOM (Egoyan) + (and) I (†) + ZING (sharply criticize)

Atom Egoyan^[7] is a Canadian stage and film director, writer, and producer. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica (1994), a film set primarily in and around the fictional Exotica strip club. Egoyan's most critically acclaimed film is the drama The Sweet Hereafter (1997), for which he received two Academy Award nominations, and his biggest commercial success is the erotic thriller Chloe (2009).

27a   Jump hoops with Montreal’s ultimate // filmmaker (3,4)

LEA P|OO|L — LEAP (jump) + OO (hoops; two instances of a letter that looks like a hoop) + L (MontreaL's last [letter])

Léa Pool^[7] is a Swiss-Canadian filmmaker who also teaches film at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She has directed several feature films, including Anne Trister (1986) and Set Me Free (Emporte-moi) (1999), both of which screened at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, where the latter won the Special Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.

Scratching the Surface
Montreal[5] is a port on the St Lawrence River in Quebec, south-eastern Canada. Founded in 1642, Montreal was under French rule until 1763; almost two thirds of its present-day population are French-speaking.

28a   Fruit adorning // former Prime Minister (7)

PEARS|ON — PEARS (fruit) + ON (adorning)

Lester Bowles Pearson^[5] (1897–1972) was a Canadian diplomat and Liberal statesman, prime minister 1963–8. As Secretary of State for External Affairs (1948–57) he acted as a mediator in the resolution of the Suez crisis (1956) for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (l957).

29a   Pop star // dancing randy samba (5,5)

{BRYAN ADAMS}* — anagram (dancing) of RANDY SAMBA

Bryan Adams^[7] is a Canadian singer-songwriter who rose to fame in Canada and the United States with his 1983 album Cuts Like a Knife and turned into a global star with his 1984 album Reckless, which produced some of his best known songs, including "Run to You" and "Summer of '69". In 1991, he released "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from the album Waking Up the Neighbours and the song became a worldwide hit which went to number 1 in many countries, including 16 consecutive weeks in the United Kingdom, a new record. Adams also had the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Heaven", "All for Love" and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?"

30a   Literary governess // among hockey referees (4)

_EY|RE_ — hidden in (among) hockEY REferees

Jane Eyre^[7] (originally published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography) is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë, published in 1847 under the pen name "Currer Bell". The novel follows the experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester, the Byronic master of Thornfield Hall where she is employed as a governess.

Down

1d   Ten-sided // picture framing past chief of Navy (9)

DEC(AGO|N)AL — DECAL (picture) containing (framing) {AGO (past) + N (chief [initial letter] of Navy}

2d   Sadly, Dr. Kate’s // gloomiest (7)

DARKEST* — anagram (sadly) of DR KATES

4d   Reportedly saves fanatically // great numbers (6)

HORDES~ — sounds like (reportedly) HOARDS (saves fanatically)

5d   Bombed out in test /for/ seminar (8)

T(UTO*)RIAL — anagram (bombed) of OUT contained in (in) TRIAL (test)

6d   Male staff /for/ king of Judea (5)

HE|ROD — HE (male) + ROD (staff)

Judea^[5] (an alternate spelling of Judaea) is the southern part of ancient Palestine, corresponding to the former kingdom of Judah.

Herod the Great^[5,7] (circa 74-4 BC) was Roman client king of Judea who ruled 37-4 BC. According to the New Testament, Jesus was born during his reign, and he ordered the massacre of the innocents (Matt. 2:16).

Delving Deeper

Herod the Great was the progenitor of the Herodian dynasty. Upon his death, the Romans divided his kingdom among three of his sons and his sister. Among his descendents are several rulers mentioned in the Bible: Herod Antipas (22 BC–circa 40 AD), son of Herod the Great, was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea 4 BC–AD 40. He was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist. According to the New Testament (Luke 23:7), Pilate sent Jesus to be questioned by him before the Crucifixion. Herod Agrippa I (10 BC–AD 44), grandson of Herod the Great, was king of Judaea AD 41–44. He imprisoned St Peter and put St James the Great to death. Herod Agrippa II (AD 27–circa 93), son of Herod Agrippa I, king of various territories in northern Palestine 50–c.93. He presided over the trial of St Paul (Acts 25:13 ff.).

7d   Encounter // famed diarist in foreign tour (3,4)

{RU(N IN)TO}* — NIN (famed diarist [Nin Anaïs]) contained in (in) anagram (foreign) of TOUR

Nin Anaïs^[5] (1903–1977) was an American writer, born in France. She published her first novel House of Incest in 1936 and went on to produce collections of short stories, essays, diaries, and erotica.

8d   Get melodramatic // in the motel (5)

_E|MOTE_ — hidden in (in) thE MOTEl

9d   Star performer // tossed visor out (8)

VIRTUOSO* — anagram (tossed) of VISOR OUT

16d   In claim, I turned // hostile (8)

INIMICAL* — anagram (turned) of IN CLAIM I

17d   Excessive pride /in/ rear can go awry (9)

ARROGANCE* — anagram (awry) of REAR CAN GO

18d   Put under attack, // fool fared poorly (8)

ASS|AILED — ASS (fool) + AILED (fared poorly)

20d   Grant hosts a large, grand // site in Alberta (7)

C(A|L|G)ARY — CARY (Grant; English-American actor Cary Grant^[7]) containing (hosts) {A (†) + L (large; abbrev. for clothing size) + G (grand; abbrev. for $1000 used by mobsters)}

Calgary^[5] is a city in southern Alberta, south-western Canada; population 988,193 (2006).

22d   Last of kids among number // needing a drink (7)

THIR(S)TY — S (last [letter] of kidS) contained in (among) THIRTY (number)

23d   Twice, returned clean // cheerleader’s tuft (6)

{POM-POM}< — two instances (twice) of a reversal (turned) of MOP (clean; as a verb)

24d   Head librarian has // to improvise (2,3)

_AD LIB_ — hidden in (has) heAD LIBrarian

25d   In retrospect, no opportunities /for/ stirring aid (5)

{SPO|ON}< — reversal (in retrospect) of {NO (†) + OPS (opportunities)}

Op^[12,14] is US slang for opportunity ⇒ a photo op.

Epilogue

Hope everyone enjoyed Canada Day. The sunshine and record high temperatures in the Ottawa area were a welcome change from the cold, wet, miserable July we experienced last year.

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)

Happy Canada Day — Falcon