Puzzle at a Glance
|
|---|
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28765 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, June 14, 2018 | |
Setter
RayT (Ray Terrell) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28765] | |
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
| |
Introduction
Despite Her Majesty failing to make her customary appearance, this puzzle was set by RayT. As usual, it has drawn mixed reviews — both in terms of difficulty and enjoyment.Reading through the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog often introduces one to snippets of colloquial British speech. Today, at Comment #11, MalcolmR uses the expression "widdershins"[5] (also spelled withershins) — a Scottish word that can mean either anticlockwise (as he uses it) or in a direction contrary to the sun's course (considered as unlucky).
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:
|
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)
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:
|
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.
ExamplesI 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.
A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.
The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:
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).
- 4d Fellow left work // a failure (4)
The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:
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.
- 29a Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)
The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:
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/).
- 18d Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)
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)
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 Pretty dull blokes start to try // flattery (12)
"blokes" = MEN (show explanation )
Bloke[5] is an informal British* term for a man ⇒
* Very British, but certainly also very familiar to anyone on this side of the pond who has ever watched a British film or television programme
hide explanation
Bloke[5] is an informal British* term for a man ⇒
he’s a nice bloke.
* Very British, but certainly also very familiar to anyone on this side of the pond who has ever watched a British film or television programme
hide explanation
8a Turn up // heat and run off (7)
9a Mate // by employing skill with knight (7)
"knight" = N (show explanation )
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
hide explanation
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
- K[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight.
- K[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king.
- N[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
hide explanation
As a containment indicator, think of employ in the sense of to take on (staff); that is, when a firm employs or takes on workers, the workers might be said to enter the firm.
11a Tempted // brood to accept tailless bird (7)
Seed[5] is an archaic term (chiefly in biblical use) denoting a person's offspring or descendants ⇒
as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed.
12a Labour leader facing confused Tories // hangs around (7)
Scratching the Surface
| |
|---|---|
The Labour Party[5] is a left-of-centre political party in Britain whose leader is Jeremy Corbyn[5]. (show more )
The party was formed to represent the interests of ordinary working people that since the Second World War has been in power 1945–51, 1964–70, 1974-9, and 1997–2010. Arising from the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century, it replaced the Liberals as the country’s second party after the First World War. hide
A Tory[10] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain [or, for that matter, in Canada]. The British Conservative Party, under Prime Minister Theresa May, lost its majority in the 2017 general election and now governs with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, a Northern Irish political party. (show more )
Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s. The Conservative Party[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority. hide |
13a A small bird /is/ livid (5)
The Chambers Dictionary defines livid[1] thus:
- livid adj black and blue; of a lead colour; discoloured; pale, ashen; extremely angry (informal)
14a American 'rock' includes 'roll' /in/ profusion (9)
The Story Behind the Picture
| |
|---|---|
| When she wrote her review in June, Kath would have had no way of knowing how appropriate her choice of picture would prove to be for those of us in Canada who would see the puzzle some five months later. The picture suits the occasion even though it would appear to have been taken in the fields of Lantana Nursery at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas and not in those of Flanders. |
16a Some finesse? Let's attempt to turn // vulgar (9)
19a Somewhat modish and rather trim initially (5)
The entire clue serves as the wordplay in which the definition is embedded.
21a Relatives // like to go around free (7)
This clue was proving to be quite a challenge — until the light bulb literally went on and I realized that it says "free" and not "tree".
23a Writer/'s/ old volume follows inspection, we hear (7)
"volume" = V (show explanation )
In physics and chemistry, V[5] is a symbol used to represent volume in mathematical formulae ⇒
hide explanation
In physics and chemistry, V[5] is a symbol used to represent volume in mathematical formulae ⇒
pV = nRT.
hide explanation
Anton Chekhov[5] (1860–1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer. Chekhov's work, portraying upper-class life in pre-revolutionary Russia with a blend of naturalism and symbolism, had a considerable influence on 20th-century drama. Notable plays: The Seagull (1895), Uncle Vanya (1900), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904).
24a Literate // English smutty about sex (7)
"sex" = IT (show explanation )
It[2,5] (usually written in quotation marks, "it") is an informal term for sex appeal* or sexual intercourse ⇒ (i)
* Chambers 21st Century Dictionary considers this sense to be an "old use" (Chambers' terminology for archaic, obsolete or old-fashioned). "It"[7] (written in quotation marks) is a term that has come to mean sex appeal — although, in its earliest manifestation, it seems that the term pertained more to personality than to glamorous looks. Despite having been used as early as 1904 by Rudyard Kipling, the term was popularized in the 1927 film It starring Clara Bow (who became known as the "It Girl").
hide explanation
It[2,5] (usually written in quotation marks, "it") is an informal term for sex appeal* or sexual intercourse ⇒ (i)
the only thing I knew nothing about was ‘it’; (ii)
they were caught doing ‘it’ in the back seat of his car.
* Chambers 21st Century Dictionary considers this sense to be an "old use" (Chambers' terminology for archaic, obsolete or old-fashioned). "It"[7] (written in quotation marks) is a term that has come to mean sex appeal — although, in its earliest manifestation, it seems that the term pertained more to personality than to glamorous looks. Despite having been used as early as 1904 by Rudyard Kipling, the term was popularized in the 1927 film It starring Clara Bow (who became known as the "It Girl").
hide explanation
25a UFO crash site, // alternatively returning balloon (7)
Roswell, New Mexico — according to conspiracy theorists — is the site of a purported UFO crash[7] in 1947 which was covered up by the US government. According to the US government, the object that crashed was a United States Army Air Forces* nuclear test surveillance balloon — although this information was only released in the 1990s. The conspiracy theorists were partially correct in that there was a cover up by the US government which — for nearly five decades following the crash — continued to maintain that the object was merely a conventional weather balloon.
* At the time of the incident, the military branch that was to become the US Air Force was still known as the United States Army Air Forces. Initially established as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF became a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 (a few months after the Roswell incident).
26a Dine out and tip in change /showing/ autonomy (12)
Pence[5] is a plural form* of penny[5], a British bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound and the smallest denomination in Britain's modern decimal currency system.
* Both pence and pennies have existed as plural forms of penny since at least the 16th century. The two forms now tend to be used for different purposes: pence refers to sums of money (five pounds and sixty-nine pence) while pennies refers to the coins themselves (I left two pennies on the table). The use of pence rather than penny as a singular (the chancellor will put one pence on income tax) is not regarded as correct in standard English.
Down
1d Thickness /of/ book perused by author, essentially (7)
"book" = B (show explanation )
The abbreviation for book is b[1,12] (or b.).*
* Although neither of the two dictionaries in which a listing for this abbreviation is found provide information on the context in which it is used, I would guess that it might be in publishing, in particular in bibliographies or footnotes and end notes in academic works when referencing one or more books in a series of books ⇒
hide explanation
The abbreviation for book is b[1,12] (or b.).*
* Although neither of the two dictionaries in which a listing for this abbreviation is found provide information on the context in which it is used, I would guess that it might be in publishing, in particular in bibliographies or footnotes and end notes in academic works when referencing one or more books in a series of books ⇒
see b. 3, p. 233.
hide explanation
2d Maybe Ugandan // affair's first lover keeps almost fertile (7)
Uganda[5] is a landlocked country in East Africa. (show more )
Ethnically and culturally diverse, Uganda became a British protectorate in 1894 and an independent Commonwealth state in 1962. The country was ruled 1971–9 by the brutal dictator Idi Amin, who came to power after an army coup. His overthrow, with Tanzanian military support, was followed by several years of conflict, partly resolved in 1986 by the formation of a government under President Yoweri Museveni.
hide
Ethnically and culturally diverse, Uganda became a British protectorate in 1894 and an independent Commonwealth state in 1962. The country was ruled 1971–9 by the brutal dictator Idi Amin, who came to power after an army coup. His overthrow, with Tanzanian military support, was followed by several years of conflict, partly resolved in 1986 by the formation of a government under President Yoweri Museveni.
hide
3d Dry heated ingredients turning // dry (9)
4d Flower part /is/ close protecting head of plant (5)
5d Wedded // male commonly pestered ... (7)
Terms such as "commonly (spoken)" are often used by setters to indicate that the initial aitch is to be dropped from a word. Although this speech characteristic is often associated with the cockney* dialect spoken in the East End of London, as once pointed out in a comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog "it’s not just Cockneys that don’t pronounce initial aitches – Yorkshire folk for example!".
* A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow[7] church).
6d ... old lady, enthusiastic /in/ buff (7)
Nan[5] is an informal British term for one's grandmother.
Nankeen[5] is an archaic term for the yellowish-buff colour of nankeen, a yellowish-buff cotton cloth ⇒
a waistcoat and knee breeches of nankeen.
Origin: from the name of the city of Nanking (also Nanjing) where it was first made
The Story Behind the Picture
| |
|---|---|
| Nankeens[5] is a historical* term for trousers made of nankeen. * I wonder at what point a word passes from the historical to the archaic! |
7d Support // coach upset with worker, one in bother (12)
"worker" = ANT (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.
hide 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.
hide explanation
10d Particularly // clever type is wrong (12)
15d Loose // salt seen in shifting dunes (9)
17d Star's unwanted touch? (7)
18d Building // of French erected providing formality (7)
"of French" = DE (show explanation )
19d Cowboy's hat? // Put it back, boy! (7)
Stet[5] (Latin, 'let it stand') is an instruction on a printed proof to indicate that a marked alteration should be ignored.
20d Within reach, I eventually // succeed (7)
22d Reportedly caught sight of // landscape (5)
Key to Reference Sources:Signing off for today — Falcon
[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)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.