Monday, May 4, 2009 (DT 25814)

Originally published Thursday, January 1, 2009 in the Daily Telegraph

Introduction

On weekdays, the National Post publishes a cryptic crossword from the Daily Telegraph in London. The puzzles appear in Canada approximately four months after they originally ran in Britain. Today's puzzle was originally published on January 1, 2009 as DT Cryptic 25814.

Since the Telegraph publishes these puzzles six days per week and the Post only five days per week (the cryptic crossword published by the Post on Saturday coming from a different source), the time interval between publication in the Telegraph and publication in the Post gradually lengthens. Every so often, the Post will skip a number of puzzles to shorten the publication gap.

Also, due to the differing lengths of the respective publication cycles, the puzzles usually end up being published on a different day of the week in Canada than in the UK. Thus, if there is any weekly cycle to the Telegraph puzzles, this would be disrupted in Canada. In the Telegraph, the Saturday puzzle is apparently a "prize" puzzle, one in which solvers can win prizes by submitting correct solutions.

Tip of the Day

I have discovered a couple of web sites which discuss the Daily Telegraph puzzles. One of these is Crossword Ends in Violence (5). Sharp readers will note that the name of the website is itself a cryptic crossword clue.

Another site that I regularly consult is AnswerBank, but I was unable to find any questions posted there concerning today's puzzle.

Musical References

Today's puzzle utilizes a common device, the use of references to musical notation and other musical terms.

13ac Quietly allude to favour (6)

which parses as follow:

13ac Quietly [P] allude [REFER] /to\ favour [P|REFER} (6)

"P" is a substitute for "quietly" as "p" is the musical notation for piano (musical direction meaning soft or quiet). Similarly, "F" would substitute for "loud" (forte), "PP" for "very quiet" (pianissimo), and "FF" for "very loud" (fortissimo). Another common musical reference is to substitute "OP" for "work" (op. is the abbreviation of opus).

A New Element to Our Notation

Today, I had to add the first new element to the notation defined in the initial edition of this blog. In 21d, we encountered a common device in which the solution "sounds like" the clue. For such situations I will use

Element 9 (E9) - the operator "~" indicates that the solution string "sounds like" a string in the clue

In addition to "rumoured", many expressions can be "sounds like" indicators, some common ones being "say", "state", "hear".

Today's Puzzle

I think I was able to complete today's puzzle on my own. However, there is one entry that I do not understand the wordplay for (or, at least, I am uncertain of).

23d Game in which American's been shot? (5)

The question mark at the end of a clue usually indicates that the clue is a pun or other form of play on words. Such clues are usually not subject to rigorous parsing.

From the intersecting entries, the solution is "B_N_O". A game could be BINGO or BUNKO (or BUNCO depending on your preference). I am leaning toward BUNKO (swindle, con game) as the solution. However, I have the strange feeling that I am overlooking something in the clue.

Across

1ac P(A)UNCH

4ac CON|SOMME

9ac M|AD|RID

10ac ROU(LET)TE

12ac CAR(PET)ED

13ac P|REFER

15ac ORAL HYGIENIST (play on words, as indicated by "?")

18ac POETIC LICENCE (or LICENSE, as you prefer - another play on words)

22ac NI|BB|LE - {crusts (outside edges)} of Brown Bread

24ac APPARENT* - PAPER CAN'T {be changed (anagram)} {without (delete)} carbon [-C]

26ac HAND|CUFF

27ac GA(LAX)Y

28ac P(L)OTTERS

29ac PARTED - what one's hair might be; also means left

Down

1d PU<|MICE - Winning [UP] {over (reversed) [= PU<]} 2d UNDERTONE*

3d C(HIM)ERA*

5d OB(O)E

6d SPL|URGE - SuPpLy {odds (odd letters)}

7d MOT|IF - MOT is abbreviation for Ministry of Transport and refers to a mandatory annual vehicle inspection in the UK

8d EXEC|RATE

11d KEY|HOLE

14d EGG|CUPS - another play on words

16d INELEGANT* - GET A LINEN {suit (anagram)}

17d OPEN S|HOP

19d ILL|I|C|IT - Sick [ILL] individual [I], and cold [C] - IT /'s\ unlawful [ILL|I|C|IT]

20d NIAGA<|RA - Once more [AGAIN] {rising (reversed) = NIAGA<} artist [RA (Royal Academy)] Note: because this is a "down" entry, "rising" indicates reversal of the letters 21d STAYED~ - {rumoured (sounds like)} to be sober and dull [STAID]

23d BUNKO - or BUNCO (or maybe BINGO) - not sure about this one

25d A(FA)R - A right [R] {= [A^R]} {to welcome (outside)} footballers [FA (Football Association)] /from\ a distance [A(FA)R]

That's a wrap for today.