Tuesday, March 13, 2018 — DT 28591

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28591
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28591]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
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

The 2Kiwis — together with a sizeable number of commenters on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — found this puzzle to be very challenging indeed. Unfortunately, a significant amount of time has passed between when I solved this puzzle and the present (when I am writing the review) and I can't definitively say how difficult I found the puzzle to be. However, it does not seem to me that I found it as difficult as the reviews would suggest.

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: "*" 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.

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Across

1a   Goods // vehicle from Germany heads in for repair (11)

Merc^[5] is an informal term for a Mercedes car.

Here and There (or Now and Then)

I would say that North Americans would apply the name Merc to a different automobile, the Mercury — although this brand has now been defunct since 2010. Mercury[7] is a defunct division of the American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company. Marketed as an entry-level premium brand for nearly its entire existence, Mercury was created in 1938 by Edsel Ford. Forming half of the Lincoln-Mercury Division, the brand was intended to bridge the price gap between the Ford and Lincoln vehicle lines. In a similar context, Buick and Oldsmobile played the same role within General Motors while the Chrysler Division did so within Chrysler Corporation (following the end of DeSoto and the creation of Imperial).

9a   Pause, welcoming coach/'s/ check (9)

10a   Exile must lose right /to get/ storage facility (5)

11a   Report of bloke /seeing/ natural water feature (6)

Bloke^[5] is an informal British^* term for a man ⇒ he’s a nice bloke.

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^* British, but certainly very familiar to anyone on this side of the pond who has ever watched a British film or television programme

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Here and There
While the words geezer and geyser are pronounced quite differently in North America, they are pronounced similarly in Britain with geezer () and geyser () both being pronounced GHEE-zah. In North America, the word geezer () is pronounced GHEE-sur and the word geyser () is pronounced GUY-sur.

12a   Succeed in cadging // exotic fedora worn by the Spanish (8)

"the Spanish" = EL (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

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13a   Violent type // joining couple of sailors (6)

"sailor" = TAR (show explanation )

Tar^[5] is an informal, dated nickname for a sailor. The term came into use in the mid 17th century and is perhaps an abbreviation of tarpaulin, also used as a nickname for a sailor at that time.

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In present day usage^*, a tartar is a harsh, fierce, or intractable person ⇒ my new Company Commander is a horrible tartar.^* }

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^* Historically, a Tartar was a member of the combined forces of central Asian peoples, including Mongols and Turks, who under the leadership of Genghis Khan conquered much of Asia and eastern Europe in the early 13th century, and under Tamerlane (14th century) established an empire with its capital at Samarkand.

15a   Cooler time /for/ person of conviction? (8)

Bird^[10] is British slang for prison or a term in prison, especially in the phrase do (one's) bird. In this example of Cockney rhyming slang (show explanation ), bird is shortened from birdlime, rhyming slang for time (as in a prison sentence).

Rhyming slang^[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.

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As you can see from comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Brits spell the solution either jailbird or gaolbird (with the pronunciation of the two versions being identical). While either spelling fits the grid and matches the checking letters, the former is the version that was used by the setter.

18a   Bill's to be inclusive of new // gates (8)

A postern^[10] is a back door or gate, especially one that is for private use.

19a   A doctor with English degree /and/ simple kind of life (6)

"doctor" = MO (show explanation )

A medical officer^[5] (abbreviation MO^[5]) is a doctor in charge of the health services of a civilian or military authority or other organization.

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21a   Works hard /getting/ a victory in track sports, initially (8)

A Slip of the Fingers

V[10] is the symbol for victory. The victory-freedom sign[7] is famously associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II. In a later incarnation, it became the "peace sign" of the 1960s hippy movement. However, one should be certain one knows how to properly make the sign lest they repeat the faux pas made by US President George H. W. Bush and others (show explanation ). A V sign[7] made with the fingers and with the palm facing out may be a victory sign (as made famous by Sir Winston Churchill) or a peace sign (arising from the 1960s counterculture movement). However, in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, when made with the palm facing in, it means "F**k off"*. * The Brits would seem to need two fingers to get across an idea that North Americans manage to convey with a single finger. For a time in the UK, "a Harvey (Smith)" became a way of describing the insulting version of the V sign, much as "the word of Cambronne" is used in France, or "the Trudeau salute" is used to describe the one-fingered salute in Canada. This happened because, in 1971, show-jumper Harvey Smith was disqualified for making a televised V sign to the judges after winning the British Show Jumping Derby at Hickstead. (His win was reinstated two days later.) Harvey Smith pleaded that he was using a Victory sign, a defence also used by other figures in the public eye. Sometimes foreigners visiting the countries mentioned above use the "two-fingered salute" without knowing it is offensive to the natives, for example when ordering two beers in a noisy pub, or in the case of United States president George H. W. Bush, who, while touring Australia in 1992, attempted to give a "peace sign" to a group of farmers in Canberra—who were protesting about U.S. farm subsidies—and instead gave the insulting V sign. Steve McQueen in Le Mans Steve McQueen gives a British (knuckles outward) V sign in the closing scene in the 1971 motorsport movie 'Le Mans'. A still picture of the gesture was also recorded by photographer Nigel Snowdon and has become an iconic image of both McQueen and the 24 hours of Le Mans. hide explanation

23a   A French star - good /but/ not recognised (6)

"a French" = UN (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un^[8].

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"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[10] for good likely relates to its use in grading school assignments or tests.

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26a   Go through again // having regard to limit (5)

27a   Only receiving Italian broadcast /for/ game (9)

"Italian" = IT, in reference to either the language or the vermouth (show explanation )

This cluing might be explained in a couple of ways:

• It.^[10] is an abbreviation for Italian (or Italy).


• Italian^[10] is another name for Italian vermouth. It^[5] is an informal, dated British term for Italian vermouth ⇒ he poured a gin and it.

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Here and There

The 2Kiwis illustrate their hint with a picture of the card game that North Americans — and presumably New Zealanders — know as solitaire. However, from a British perspective, solitaire[10] is the US name for the card game patience. In Britain, solitaire[10] (also called pegboard) is a game played by one person, especially one involving moving and taking pegs in a pegboard or marbles on an indented circular board with the object of being left with only one.

28a   One of ten // damn changes -- make a remark about that (11)

In the Bible, the Ten Commandments^[5] are the divine rules of conduct given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, according to Exod. 20:1–17.

Down

1d   The special one /needs to see/ bishop in power (2,5)

"bishop" = RR (show explanation )

Right Reverend^[5] (abbreviation RR^[2]) is a title given to a bishop, especially in the Anglican Church ⇒ the Right Reverend David Jenkins, Bishop of Durham.

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2d   Reliable prisoner loses head, /being/ out of practice (5)

3d   Arc heroes running in this? (5,4)

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.

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Failing to Scratch the Surface

I fail to understand the surface reading of this clue. Could arc, by any chance, refer to the term story arc[7] (also known as narrative arc) which denotes an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and films? I did manage to find one reference using arc in this sense in which an Arc Hero was described as a TV trope (along with Arc Villain, etc.). In any event, while all of this would hardly seem relevant, I have no better explanation. I assume that it is I who may be missing something in the surface reading as the clue did not generate any discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog and it is certainly not like Jay to use a clue with a meaningless surface reading.

4d   Fix // one's heart trouble (4)

5d   Dashed, needing time for female // domestic (8)

Dashed^[5] is a dated informal British term used for emphasis ⇒ (i) it's a dashed shame; (ii) she was dashed rude.

Infernal^[5] is an informal term denoting irritating and tiresome (used for emphasis) ⇒ you're an infernal nuisance.

Scratching the Surface
Domestic[5] (noun) denotes a person who is paid to help with cleaning and other menial tasks in a person's home.

6d   Supply // the essence of Freud, ne'er written up (5)

The essence of something is its core element. In a down clue, "written up" is a reversal indicator.

Scratching the Surface
Austrian neurologist and psychotherapist Sigmund Freud[5] (1856–1939) was the founder of psychoanalysis as both a theory of personality and a therapeutic practice.

7d   Cheers up in Kentucky with accomplished // sort of cricket (7)

Cheers^[5] is an informal British expression of gratitude or acknowledgement for something ⇒ Billy tossed him the key. ‘Cheers, pal.’.

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

In official postal use, the abbreviation for the US state of Kentucky is KY^[5].

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The katydid^[5] is a large, typically green, bush cricket that is native to North America. The male makes a characteristic sound which resembles the name.

8d   Suitable // place to the south of a quiet river in Italy (8)

"quiet" = P (show explanation )

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

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The Po^[7] is a river that arises in the Cottian Alps and flows eastward across northern Italy entering the Adriatic Sea through a delta near Venice.

14d   Investigate // hearse crashing when circling about by river (8)

In their review, the 2Kiwis parse this clue as an anagram (crashing) of HEARSE containing (when circling) {C (about; abbrev. for circa) + (by) R (river; abbrev.)}.

On the other hand, I parse it as {an anagram (crashing) of HEARSE containing (when circling) C (about; abbrev. for circa)} following (by) R (river; abbrev.)}.

Either approach seems to work.

16d   Beast set up trend, oddly // having put a film on (9)

17d   Relations camp without protection /in/ America (5,3)

Uncle Sam^[5] is a personification of the federal government or citizens of the US. It is said (from the time of the first recorded instances) to have arisen as an expansion of the letters US.

18d   Bed, and public relations work /for/ a supporter of mine! (7)

Pit^[5] is an informal British term for a person's bed.

"work" = OP (show explanation )

In music, an opus^[5] (plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.

The abbreviation Op.^[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..

Opus^[5] can also be used in a more general sense to mean an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

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A pitprop^[10] is a support beam in a mine shaft.

20d   Increase // production of gunmetal endlessly (7)

22d   A flavouring, mostly // jelly (5)

24d   Make one // section of carpet in Uxbridge to be sent north (5)

Scratching the Surface
Uxbridge[7] is a town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is located fifteen miles (24 km) west-northwest of Charing Cross, * Charing Cross is considered to mark the centre of London.

25d   Jumper found in this sort of market? (4)

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 "jumper" is hardly very precise as it could define any number of potential solutions — from a kangaroo to a girl's sweater (in Britain) or a girl's dress (in North America). It is the cryptic elaboration that allows us to identify the particular type of jumper 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 "jumper" and is indicated by a solid underline.

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Scratching the Surface

The surface reading almost certainly alludes to a pullover (sweater) which is known in Britain as a jumper[5] (show explanation ). In Britain, a jumper[5] is a knitted garment typically with long sleeves, worn over the upper body (in North American parlance, a sweater — in particular, a pullover). The dress that those of us in North America call a jumper is known to the Brits as a pinafore[5] (a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or [British] jumper [i.e., North American sweater]). Thus, if a British lass were to wear a pinafore over her jumper and a North American gal were to wear a jumper over her sweater, they would be dressed identically. The terms sweater[5] and pullover[5] would also appear to be in common use in the UK. Although the definitions given for sweater in most British dictionaries would seem to imply that the term applies only to a pullover, Collins English Dictionary defines a cardigan[10] to be a knitted jacket or sweater with buttons up the front. hide explanation

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