Friday, March 9, 2018 — DT 28589

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28589
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, November 20, 2017
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28589]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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

If, like me, you enjoy cryptic definitions then you will surely love this puzzle in which Rufus, the acknowledged master of this genre of clue, is on the top of his form.

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 parsing and explaining the clues.

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

Legend: The following symbols may appear in reviews: "*" anagram "~" sounds like "<" indicates that preceding letters are reversed "( )" encloses contained letters "_" replaces letters that have been deleted "†" indicates that the preceding 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 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 - information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What did he/she/they say? - an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What are they talking about? - 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 - 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   Book for the picture show (5)

This is a cryptic definition of the book you would once have pulled out when you wanted to show someone your pictures. Now you would likely just grab your smart phone.

Click here for an explanation of the parsing of and markup applied to this clue.

This clue is a cryptic definition comprising a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. Despite being termed a 'precise definition', the word "book" is hardly very precise as it could define any number of potential solutions. It is the cryptic elaboration that allows us to identify the particular type of book we need from among the many possibilities that exist.

As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The precise definition (embedded within the cryptic definition) is "book" and is indicated by a solid underline.

hide explanation

4a   Sally is involved with transport // curriculum (8)

8a   Fifty winning // scholarship (8)

9a   Yet it's not the place for a deep sleep (5.3)

The key word in this cryptic definition is deep, the deep^[5] being a literary term for the sea ⇒ denizens of the deep.

11a   Page in script of Cinderella (7)

This "page" is not the medium on which the script is printed but a role in the script.

Buttons^[7] is the name of a character in the Cinderella pantomime^*. Buttons is the servant of Cinderella's father, Baron Hardup, and is Cinderella's friend. In many productions, he is in love with Cinderella and is constantly trying to express his feelings to her, only for her to remain unaware of his love for her or reply that she loves him only as the brother she never had.

The name Buttons comes from the nickname given to Victorian pageboys, whose costume the pantomime character wears — a traditional red or blue bellboy's costume with polished buttons down his front and a pillbox hat.

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^* A pantomime^[5] is a traditional British theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, which involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas.

13a   Convey // ecstasy (9)

15a   Where to obtain counter-intelligence? (11.4)

18a   Ring, evidently embarrassed -- it /shows/ shame (9)

21a   Bank that may appear in the current recession (7)

22a   British? Always time /for/ a drink! (8)

24a   Cure for love-sickness? (8)

This cryptic definition is a play on the word dote^[5] (dote on or dote upon) meaning to be extremely and uncritically fond of ⇒ she doted on her two young children. Rufus is whimsically suggesting that the solution is a cure for those who dote excessively.

25a   Two adjacent pieces /in/ a gradual sequence (3,2,3)

The second of the two definitions is how a dictionary might define this well-known expression; the first is a literal interpretation.

26a   Sees a new way, // relaxes (5)

Down

1d   Robust // seamen often are so described (4-6)

In the Royal Navy, according to Oxford Dictionaries, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman^[10] (also called able-bodied seaman) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.

2d   Launch // report on cricket side (5,3)

In cricket, the off^[5]  (also called off side) is the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) towards which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The other half of the field is known as either the leg^[5] (also called leg side) or on^[5] (also called on side) ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg.

3d   Human resources // that feminists fight against? (8)

4d   Type of pudding /served as/ seconds before now (4)

Sago^[7] is a starch extracted from the spongy centre, or pith, of various tropical palm stems. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas — not to mention British school children.

Sago is often produced commercially in the form of "pearls". Sago pearls can be boiled with water or milk and sugar to make a sweet sago pudding. Sago pearls are similar in appearance to tapioca pearls and the two may be used interchangeably in some dishes. In the UK, both sago and tapioca have long been used in sweet milk puddings which, apparently, are an unwelcome staple at British boarding schools.

5d   People living around // pubs (6)

Although I did consider other possibilities, in the end I decided to mark this clue as a double definition with the first definition being a bit cryptic implying "people living nearby".

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Local^[5] is an informal British term for a pub convenient to a person’s home ⇒ a pint in the local.

6d   Sailor capsized, boom shattered -- // it's hollow-stemmed (6)

The sailor first seen at 1d reappears in abridged form.

7d   Small child/'s/ slide (4)

10d   Talks about port // transport (8)

Rio de Janeiro^[5] (commonly known as Rio) is a city in eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast. The chief port of Brazil, it was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.

12d   Homeless pet // seen in street light shadow (5.3)

14d   Do as you're told /and/ become a priest! (4.6)

The phrase take holy orders^[5] means to become an ordained member of the clergy ⇒his first ambition was to take holy orders^*.

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^* Holy orders^[5] is the sacrament or rite of ordination as a member of the clergy, especially in the grades of bishop, priest, or deacon.

16d   Time to dine on stews (8)

Click here for an explanation of the parsing of and markup applied to this semi-all-in-one clue.

This is a semi-all-in-one clue (more formally known as a semi-&lit. clue). In this case, the entire clue provides the definition and thus is marked with a solid underline while a portion of the clue (marked with a dashed underline) serves as the wordplay.

hide explanation

17d   You're probably surprised when they go up (8)

19d   One's learned // to park a vehicle in street (6)

20d   I tarry, resorting /to/ curiosity (6)

As an anagram indicator, "resorting" is used in the somewhat whimsical sense of 'sorting again'.

As a link word, to^[10] is a preposition used to indicate equality ⇒ 16 ounces to the pound.

22d   Insult // that's found on the wire (4)

In clues structured such as this, I find it helpful to mentally insert the word "something" into the second definition producing "[something] that's found on the wire".

23d   Direction // taken by the astronaut (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