Saturday, May 16, 2009

Introduction

This being Saturday, today's puzzle is by Cox and Rathvon.

The Library

I have added another gadget to the blog. On the right-hand side of the page you should see a section headed "Library" where I have placed links for some of the websites mentioned in previous postings or contributed by readers.

A Note on Notation

Today, you will notice that I have introduced a term that is often encountered on websites that cover the world of cryptic crosswords. This word is "anagrind" which is shorthand for "anagram indicator".

I would also like to take this opportunity to explain my use of curly brackets "{}" - which, I realize, may sometimes appear to be inconsistent. I try to employ them to make the parsing more readable while, at the same time, attempting to avoid introducing too many levels of brackets. You may notice that I sometimes write a parsed clue as:

STRING_1 {operator} STRING_2

while at other times, I may include either STRING_1 or STRING_2 inside the curly brackets to emphasize the fact that the operator is acting upon that string:

STRING_1 {operator STRING_2}, or

{STRING_1 operator} STRING_2

For instance, in 1ac in today's puzzle, I have written:

{SOME DARN CLAN set off (anagrind)} to show that the anagrind operator is acting upon the string "SOME DARN CLAN".

This notation is still a work in progress and it will likely continue to evolve as I gain more experience with it, finding out what seems to work and what doesn't. Comments are always welcome.

Today's Puzzle

Comment #1

I have noticed that setters often seem to construct anagrams where it is not immediately obvious which word is the anagrind or in which the word that one might think to be the most obvious candidate for an anagrind turns out to be the wrong choice.

For example, take 13d in today's puzzle:

Plastic cup trash in vending machine? (8)

In this clue, the anagrind is "plastic". However, "trash" could well be a plausible anagrind in some other clue (in fact, speaking personally, "trash" springs to mind more readily than ''plastic" when looking for an anagrind).

As another example, take this example from DT 25788 (discussed in "Crossword Ends in Violence (5) - Primer #1" in the Library):

14d Ordering a hybrid South American flower (3, 6)

In this clue, the anagrind is "hybrid", although "ordering" would be a perfectly acceptable (and - to me - more obvious) anagrind.

Comment #2

I find that it is sometimes possible to parse a clue in more than one way. For example, take 15d in today's puzzle:

Ruined pacifier with bit of leftover Middle Eastern dish (4,5)

I have parsed this clue as:

15d {Ruined (anagrind) PACIFIER = [RICE PI^AF]} {with (containing, therefore outside)} {bit of (first letter of) leftover [L]} /\ Middle Eastern dish [{RICE PI(L)AF}*] (4,5)

However, I believe it would be equally valid to parse it as follows:

15d Ruined (anagrind) {PACIFIER with (plus) {bit of (first letter of) leftover [L] = [PACIFIERL]} /\ Middle Eastern dish [{RICE PILAF}*] (4,5)

In the first case, the anagrind (ruined) operates on the first string (PACIFIER) with the result then wrapping around the second string (L) to produce the solution.

In the second case, the first string and second string are first combined (PACIFIER + L) with the anagrind operating on this combined string to produce the solution.

These different interpretations are possible due to the multiple possible meanings that the word "with" can assume.

Finally, here is the solution to today's puzzle:

Across

1ac {SOME DARN CLAN set off (anagrind)} /\ fireworks [ROMAN CANDLES*] (5,7)

9ac {Doing an about-face (reversal indicator), betrays [RATS] immortal [GOD]} /\ Sirius [{DOG STAR}<](3,4) 10ac Explorer [CAR|TIER] /'s\ mode of transportation [CAR] : row [TIER] (7)

11ac {Ready (anagrind) TO NAP} /\ after exercising [{ON TAP}*] (2,3)

The rationale here must be that beer is typically consumed after exercising?

12ac {Pretentious [ARTY] liberal [L] getting into (inside)} long [P^INE] /,\ official position [P(ARTY L)INE] (5,4)

13ac Array [PAN|O|PLY] /\ cookware sample [PAN] with old [O] work [PLY] (7)

14ac Officer [MARS|HAL] /\ wounds [MARS] Henry [HAL] (7)

16ac {Get angry [SE^E RED] about (outside)} voltage [V] /\ cut [SE(V)E|RED](7)

19ac Get back /\ coat again (7) [RECOVER] - double definition

21ac St. Louis ballplayers [CARDS] complain ad nauseum [HARP] /and\ cheat [CARD S|HARP] (4,5)

23ac Danger [PERIL] /\ {in (hidden word indicator) improPER ILlumination} (5)

25ac {Returning (reversal indicator) sailor [TAR] taking (outside) = [RA^T<]} so long [TA-TA]} /\ knocking [RA(T-A-TA)T<] (3-1-3) 26ac Most important [S(ALIEN)T] /\ {foreigner [ALIEN] in the middle of (inside)} street [S^T](7)

27ac Answer [A] tart [PIE] president [CEO] {with trace of (first letter of) contempt [C] in (inside)} made-up [F^AKE] /\ child's play [A PIE|CE O|F (C)AKE] (1,5,2,4)

A president is the same thing as CEO? Hardly - but who am I to quibble.

Down

1d Show [RODE|O] /\ went on [RODE] {second of (second letter of) tours [O]} (5)

2d Huge amount [{MEG|A|TON}<] /, and\ {hardly a stone [NOT A GEM]} {turned (reversal indicator)} (7)

3d {Version of (anagrind) PETER PAN = [N^TE PAPER]} {including (outside)} love [O] /\ letter material [{N(O)TE PAPER}*] (9)

4d Wasting [A|TROPHY] /\ A cup [TROPHY] (7)

5d Propriety [D(ECO)RUM] /of\ Italian author [ECO] {wearing (inside) barrel [D^RUM]} (7)

6d Almost [NEARLY] {shaving the head (deleting the first letter)} /\ too soon [EARLY] (5)

7d Angle [F^ISH] {brackets (outside)} IN /\ conclusion [F(IN)ISH] (6)

8d Pastry [CRU^LLER] {containing (outside)} {a bit of (first letter of) egg [E]} /is\ less sweet [CRU(E)LLER] {? (word play indicator)} (8)

13d {Plastic (anagrind)} CUP TRASH /in\ vending machine [PUSHCART*] {? (word play indicator)} (8)

15d {Ruined (anagrind) PACIFIER = [RICE PI^AF]} {with (containing, therefore outside)} {bit of (first letter of) leftover [L]} /\ Middle Eastern dish [{RICE PI(L)AF}*] (4,5)

17d IT {lies in (inside)} actual [VER^Y] /\ truth [VER(IT)Y] (6)

18d One made to serve [D(RAFT)EE] /\ transport [RAFT] {afloat in (inside)} Welsh river [D^EE] (7)

19d {Rocky (anagrind) TRIES PRO} /in\ comeback [RIPOSTE*] (7)

20d [VER^A] Miles {around (outside)} Scottish peak [BEN] /,\ plant with flowers [VER(BEN)A] (7)

22d Exercise [SI|T-UP] /\ place [PUT] IS {back (reversal indicator)} (3-2)

24d {Never finished (delete last letter) second-mentioned [LATTER]} /\ coffee order [LATTE] (5)

And, with that, I will wrap it up for today.