Monday, April 30, 2018 — DT 28625 (Published Saturday, April 28, 2018)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28625
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28625]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K (formerly known as Mr Kitty)
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
Notes
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, April 28, 2018 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

For me, this puzzle was a marathon. I plodded fairly steadily through it until I had just 1a and a quartet of clues in the northeast remaining (6a, 21a, 8d and 11d). I spent more time on these clues than I had solving the remainder of the puzzle. Several clues were solved without understanding the parsing at the time and had to be laboriously decrypted at the end.

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^*)

---

^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

---

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.

hide explanation

Across

1a   Sweet // shot with son wearing black hat (10)

Topper^[5] is an informal term for a top hat ⇒ he raised his topper to her.

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Sweet^[5] is a British term for a piece of candy^[5] ⇒ a bag of sweets.

Gobstopper^[7] is a British term for the type of candy known in North America as a jawbreaker (or jaw breaker).

6a   Scene // right out of play (4)

9a   Dealing with // a bishop, exposed ... (5)

"bishop" = B (show explanation )

B^[5] is an abbreviation for bishop that is used in recording moves in chess.

A bishop^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a mitre, that can move any number of spaces in any direction along a diagonal on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two bishops, one moving on white squares and the other on black.

hide explanation

. . .
The ellipses linking 9a and 10a serve merely to extend the chess related surface reading across the two clues. They play no part in the cryptic reading of the clues and can be ignored.

10a   ... on the other hand, // the knight gets a win (4,5)

"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: 

• 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.

The dictionary fails to specify how one differentiates an abbreviation from a symbol.

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

12a   Isn't one suffering // stress? (7)

13a   Old region /producing/ gas (5)

Ozone^[5] is a colourless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odour and powerful oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light. It differs from normal oxygen (O₂) in having three atoms in its molecule (O₃).

15a   Date /of/ surveillance operation leader overlooked (4,3)

17a   One may be raised with pride (4,3)

19a   Friendly ball? Want a dance? (4,3)

In cricket, a long hop^[5] is a short-pitched, easily hit ball ⇒ he fascinated spectators by bowling slow full tosses and deliberate long-hops.

Playing The Bounces

In cricket, the bowler delivers the ball so that it bounces on the pitch [playing area] in front of the batsman and the batsman has to hit the ball after it has bounced. A long hop is a ball that strikes the pitch far in front of the batsman. It is an easier ball to hit as it gives the batsman more time to react to the bounce. The situation is somewhat analogous to baseball (which is what I was thinking about as I solved this clue), where it is the fielders who must play the bounces. A short hop (where the ball bounces on the turf close to the fielder) is more difficult to field than a long hop. Of course, cricket fielders also have to play the bounces.

21a   Roughly fifty, having fizzy lemon /in/ Irish town (7)

Clonmel^[7] is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Ireland.

22a   Caught by river, fish /in/ basket (5)

"caught" = C (show explanation )

In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out^[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.^[2,10] or c^[5] denotes caught (by).

hide explanation

24a   Harshly criticise article about superb // wonder drug (7)

27a   Dramatist // chooses LP in new compilation (9)

Sophocles^[5] (c.496–406 BC) was a Greek playwright. His seven surviving plays are notable for their complexity of plot and depth of characterization, and for their examination of the relationship between mortals and the divine order. Notable plays: Antigone and Oedipus Rex (also called Oedipus Tyrannus).

28a   It's farewell to the French /as/ one departs a rejected European Union (5)

"departs" = D (show explanation )

In travel timetables, departs is indicated by the abbreviation d^[5] ⇒ Plymouth d 0721.

hide explanation

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Adieu^[5] (from French: 'goodbye' or 'farewell') is a chiefly literary term that means:

• (exclamation) goodbye
• (noun) a goodbye ⇒ he whispered a fond adieu .

29a   Volatile oils /in/ storage chamber (4)

30a   Sort of daily // gamble crossing street with female (10)

What are they talking about?

At Comment #9 On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, spindrift suggests with respect to the original illustration used by Mr K in his review of this clue i’m not sure that the image for 30a is entirely appropriate given the photograph & the circumstances surrounding it. just saying, that’s all to which Mr K responds  Good point about the image. I didn’t look at the content when I made the small screenshot of today’s paper. I’ve now changed it to yesterday’s front page.. On the day this puzzle appeared in the UK, What the papers say - January 2 reports that: The Daily Telegraph carries a striking photograph of Emma Bowden, 48, and her 11-year-old daughter Heather, who were killed in a seaplane crash in Australia alongside Ms Bowden's fiance Richard Cousins, the chief executive of catering company Compass Group, and his two sons William and Edward. The paper reports that the same model of seaplane, a De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, had crashed in Canada in August 2015, killing another UK family.

Down

1d   Object /found in/ circle, pocketed by girl (4)

Here and There
From a British perspective, gal[5] is an informal North American term for a girl or young woman.

2d   Reserve ten, about right /for/ a present perhaps (4,5)

Here and There
Book token[5] is a British term for a voucher which can be exchanged for books costing up to a specified amount. It is a special case of a gift token[5] (aka gift voucher), a British term for a voucher given as a present which is exchangeable for goods. From a British perspective, gift certificate[5] is a North American term for gift token.

3d   Great figure /of/ Italian cast in bronze (5)

"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 Italy or Italian [language].


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

hide explanation

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A titan^{* [5]} is a person or thing of very great strength, intellect, or importance ⇒ a titan of American industry.

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^* In Classical Greek mythology, the Titans and Titanesses^[7] were members of the second order of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans most famously included the first twelve children of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Heaven). They were giant deities of incredible strength, who ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and also composed the first pantheon of Greek deities.

4d   Country lover // quiet at rising (7)

"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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5d   Eastern aquatic bird, on a lake // unaffected by time (7)

The tern^[5] is any of many species of seabird related to the gulls, typically smaller and more slender, with long pointed wings and a forked tail.

7d   Very good on a revolutionary // instrument (5)

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious.

8d   Fairy // ring sat on by mischievous child (6,4)

Bell^[5] is an informal British term meaning to telephone (someone) ⇒ no problem, I’ll bell her tomorrow.

Tinker^[5] is an informal British term for a mischievous child ⇒ little tinkers, we were.

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Tinker Bell^[7] is a fictional character from Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and its 1911 novelization Peter and Wendy. She has appeared in multiple film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 animated Walt Disney picture Peter Pan.

Behind the Picture
I believe the photo used by Mr K in his review is of French actress Ludivine Sagnier[7] who played Tinker Bell in the 2003 film version of Peter Pan.

11d   A sherry // in the morning? Approximately two, ultimately, downed (7)

This was my last clue to be solved (although I did still have a few parsings yet to sort out). Not being familiar with the Spanish sherry, I eventually managed to work it out from the convoluted wordplay and confirmed the result through one of my dictionaries.

Amoroso^[5] is a dark, sweet sherry.

14d   Incredible payments must be made to support area, // no matter what (2,3,5)

16d   More or less shut up upon greeting // jealous husband (7)

Although it did not take long to identify the jealous husband or the greeting, parsing the remainder of the wordplay was a challenge. I eventually realized that we need a reversal (up) of a short word meaning "more or less shut" or 'slightly ajar' ⇒ don't bother shutting the door, just push it to.

Othello^[7] is the title character in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (c. 1601–1604), a tragedy by English playwright William Shakespeare. This tightly constructed work revolves around four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his beloved wife, Desdemona; his loyal lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted but ultimately unfaithful ensign, Iago.

Othello is a brave and competent soldier of advanced years and Moorish background in the service of the Venetian Republic. He elopes with Desdemona, the beautiful daughter of a respected Venetian senator. After being deployed to Cyprus, Othello is manipulated by Iago into believing Desdemona is an adulteress. Othello murders her and, upon discovering Iago's deceit, kills himself.

Behind the Picture
The photo illustrating Mr K's review would appear to be from a production of Othello at the 2014 Summer Shakespeare Festival at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California.

18d   Tower /in/ settlement above a river (9)

My visit to Tuscany paid off here.

A campanile^[5] is an Italian bell tower, especially a free-standing one.

Size Matters

The Nile[5] is a river in eastern Africa, [disputably] the longest river in the world, which rises in east central Africa near Lake Victoria and flows 6,695 km (4,160 miles) generally northwards through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt to empty through a large delta into the Mediterranean. There are many factors, such as the source, the identification or the definition of the mouth, and the scale of measurement of the river length between source and mouth, that determine the precise meaning of "river length"[7]. As a result, the length measurements of many rivers are only approximations. In particular, there has long been disagreement as to whether the Nile or the Amazon is the world's longest river. The Nile has traditionally been considered longer, but in recent years some Brazilian and Peruvian studies have suggested that the Amazon is longer by measuring the river plus the adjacent Pará estuary and the longest connecting tidal canal.

20d   Appealing to the general public, // united in London area (7)

"united" = U (show explanation )

In the names of sports clubs, U^[5] is the abbreviation for United^[5] — in Britain, a word commonly used in the names of soccer and other sports teams formed by amalgamation ⇒ Man U [Manchester United].

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Poplar^[7] is a historic, mainly residential area of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

21d   Game // American, a stalwart in essence (7)

23d   There's training, after ten, in the Spanish // bar (5)

"training" = PE (show explanation )

PE^[5] is an abbreviation^* for physical education.

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^* In my experience, phys ed^{[3,6,11,12,14]} is the more common shortened form in North America.

hide explanation

"the Spanish" = EL (show explanation )

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

hide explanation

25d   Utter confusion /caused by/ a seaman once church is over (5)

Ordinary seaman^[5] (abbreviation OS^[5]) is the lowest rank of sailor in the Royal Navy, below able seaman.

Behind the Picture
The photo used by Mr K to illustrate his review of this clue can be found on numerous websites. What I suspect to be an Australian satirical website places the scene in Melbourne, Australia. However, the most credible source would seem to show that the photo was taken in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2015.

26d   Only // fair? (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

Saturday, April 28, 2018 — Singles Not Admitted

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon finds the setters in a playful but curt mood with several of the solutions being expressions verging on rudeness (chief among them 1a, 5d, and 14a). Our American setters also display their national colours (or, should I say colors) along with a few splashes of various shades of grey (or, should I say gray) — albeit well short of 50.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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 █ - yet to be solved

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^*)

---

^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

---

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.

hide explanation

Across

1a   Head wear for a pig? // Who cares? (2,4)

SO W|HAT — SOW (for a pig; noun used as a modifier) + HAT (head wear)

Split the solution (3,3) and read it as a phrase.

4a   Termination // pinned to straying (3,5)

{END POINT}* — anagram (straying) of PINNED TO

This literally was my end point, being my last one in.

9a   One indigo, red, blue, and silver // sack of a sort (3,3)

A|I|R| B|AG — A (one) + I (indigo) + R (red) + B (blue) + (and) AG ([symbol for the element] silver)

Diffraction Digression

The abbreviation I for indigo may come from this being one of the colours of the rainbow, along with red and blue. Rainbow in Jasper National Park Rainbows[7] span a continuous spectrum of colours. Any distinct bands perceived are an artefact of human colour vision, and no banding of any type is seen in a black-and-white photo of a rainbow, only a smooth gradation of intensity to a maximum, then fading towards the other side. For colours seen by the human eye, the most commonly cited and remembered sequence is Sir Isaac Newton's sevenfold red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, remembered by the mnemonic, Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain (ROYGBIV). The abbreviations for red and blue could also be accounted for by their appearance on video connectors (RGB for red, green, blue).

10a   Plant /for/ apartment Q's predecessor, you say? (5,3)

{SWEET PEA}~ — sounds like (you say) SUITE P {the one before (predecessor of) SUITE (apartment) Q}

12a   Pass smoky-flavoured tea /in/ shade (5,4)

P|EARL GREY — P (pass; abbrev. used in a pass/fail grading system) + EARL GREY (smoky-flavoured tea)

13a   Darkish blue, // in and of itself (3,2)

PER SE —unsplit the solution (5) to get a dark greyish-blue colour

14a   Unfortunately, I can't // shut up (3,2)

{CAN IT}* — anagram (unfortunately) of I CANT

16a   Operation a rogue set back // from the start (2,4)

DA CAPO — reversal (set back) of {OP (operation; abbrev.) + A (†) + CAD (rogue)}

Da Capo^[5] (Italian, literally 'from the head') is a musical direction denoting repeat from the beginning.

20a   Tips about motorist's first // race site in France (2,4)

LE (M)ANS — LEANS (tips) containing (about) M (Motorist's first [letter])

Le Mans^[5] is an industrial city in northwestern France; population 148,169 (2006). It is the site of a motor-racing circuit, on which a 24-hour endurance race (established in 1923) is held each summer.

21a   Operated before doctor/'s/ break from work (1,3,1)

R AN|D R — RAN (operated) preceding (before) DR (doctor; abbrev.)

R and R^[10,12,14] is a term which originated in the US military that can stand for rest and relaxation, rest and recreation, or (especially in a military context) rest and recuperation.

24a   Like a mechanical switch // in location of furnace (2-3)

ON-OFF — hidden in (in) locatiON OF Furnace

25a   Halfwit, e.g., waving // banner of surrender (5,4)

{WHITE FLAG}* — anagram (waving) of HALFWIT EG

27a   Cyberspace hangout // recycled macho rot (4,4)

{CHAT ROOM}* — anagram (recycled) of MACHO ROT

I am tempted to mark the entire clue as the definition ☺

28a   Outspoken dancer's dress // over the top (3-3)

TOO-TOO~ — sounds like (outspoken) TUTU (dancer's dress)

29a   Edward put in pinker // dogwood shrub (3,5)

R(ED) OSIER — ED ([diminutive for] Edward) contained in (put in) ROSIER (pinker)

Red osier^[5] (more fully red osier dogwood) is a North American term for a shrubby dogwood with dark red shoots, Cornus stolonifera.

30a   Dorothy's companion // some-what robust in manner (3,3)

TIN MAN — hidden in (some-what) robusT IN MANner

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz^[7] is an American children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow, originally published in 1900. It has since been reprinted on numerous occasions, most often under the title The Wizard of Oz, which is the title of the popular 1902 Broadway musical as well as the iconic 1939 musical film adaptation.

The story chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone^*. Shortly after arriving in Oz, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion who accompany her and Toto on their journey to the Emerald City to seek help from the Wizard in returning home to Kansas.

Its groundbreaking success and the success of the Broadway musical adapted from the novel led Baum to write thirteen additional Oz books that serve as official sequels to the first story.

---

^* Baum uses the word cyclone while describing a tornado.

Down

1d   Historically unpopular law /in/ southern Tampa court (5,3)

S|TAMP A|CT — S (southern; abbrev.) + TAMPA (†) + CT (court; abbrev. found on street signs, for instance)

The Stamp Act^[5] was an act of the British Parliament in 1765 that exacted revenue from the American colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. Colonial opposition led to the act's repeal in 1766 and helped encourage the revolutionary movement against the Crown.

2d   Distortion isn't commonly // work of a makeup artist (3,5)

WAR P|AINT — WARP (distortion) + AINT (isn't commonly)

War paint^[5,10,12,14] (or warpaint) is an informal term for elaborate or excessively applied make-up ⇒ (i) a drag queen in warpaint; (ii) her eyes were beautiful even through the warpaint.

3d   Article of great height // in any manner (2,3)

A|T ALL — A ([indefinite] article) + TALL (of great height)

5d   Present a fork? // Forget it! (2,3)

NO W|A|Y — how an emcee might introduce a fork-shaped letter to the audience

6d   Greek character and editor spot E.R. // exterminator (4,5)

PI|ED| PIP|ER — PI (Greek character; the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet)  + (and) ED (editor; abbrev.) + PIP (spot) + ER (E.R.; Emergency Room, the North American counterpart to the British A&E [Accident and Emergency] department in a hospital)

The Pied Piper^[5] is the hero of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, a poem by Robert Browning (1842), based on an old German legend. The piper, dressed in particoloured costume, rid the town of Hamelin (Hameln) in Brunswick of rats by enticing them away with his music, and when refused the promised payment he lured away the town's children in the same manner.

7d   Print a novel // to some extent (2,4)

{IN PART}* — anagram (novel) of PRINT A

8d   Harry Truman's inaugural // cups, saucers, etc. (3,3)

TEA SE|T — TEASE (harry) + T (Truman's inaugural [initial letter])

Scratching the Surface
Harry S. Truman[5] (1884–1972) was an American Democratic statesman, 33rd president of the US 1945–53. He authorized the use of the atom bomb against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, introduced the Marshall Plan of emergency aid in 1948 to war-shattered European countries, and involved the US in the Korean War.

11d   Cloudy occasion, we hear, /is/ top-notch (5,1)

{GRADE A}~ — sounds like (we hear) GREY DAY (cloudy occasion)

15d   Some marijuana among Tennessee's // green plants (4,5)

T(REE FER)N|S — REEFER (some marijuana) contained in (among) {TN (Tennessee; abbrev.) + S ('s)}

17d   Get money for // cold one before climb (4,2)

C|A|SH IN — {C (cold; abbrev.) + A (one)} preceding (before) SHIN (climb; ascend a rope, for example)

18d   Cabin dweller // cut lemon wrong (5,3)

{UNCLE TOM}* — anagram (wrong) of CUT LEMON

Uncle Tom^[5] is the name of the hero of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), an anti-slavery novel by American abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896). Today, in North America, the name is regarded as an offensive derogatory term for a black man considered to be excessively obedient or servile to whites.

Delving Deeper

Uncle Tom's Cabin[5] was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best-selling book of that century, following the Bible. It is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist cause in the 1850s. In the first year after it was published, 300,000 copies of the book were sold in the United States; one million copies in Great Britain. In 1855, three years after it was published, it was called "the most popular novel of our day." The impact attributed to the book is great, reinforced by a story that when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe at the start of the Civil War, Lincoln declared, "So this is the little lady who started this great war."

19d   Make blue // puff with duck feathers (4,4)

DRAG DOWN — DRAG (puff; on a cigarette) + (with) DOWN (duck feathers)

22d   Something stolen /or/ mislaid: a torch (3,3)

{HOT CAR}* — anagram (mislaid) of A TORCH

23d   Easily available, // had not changed (2,4)

{TO HAND}* — anagram (changed) of HAD NOT

25d   White House: // "Am I being accused?" (3,2)

W|HO ME — W (white; abbrev., used perhaps in photography, B&W for black and white) + HOME (house)

Scratching the Surface

26d   Bug // in the Coliseum (1,4)

_E COLI_ —  hidden in (in) theE COLIseum

Scratching the Surface
The Colosseum[7] or Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. The largest amphitheatre ever built, the Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum.

Epilogue

The early birds appear to have noticed that there are no single-word solutions in today's puzzle.

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

Friday, April 27, 2018 — DT 28624

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28624
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, January 1, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28624]
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

Happy New Year! A nice gentle start to the year. Oh, that's right. We celebrated several months ago.

Not only did this puzzle appear in the UK on New Year's Day but it is the first "Monday" puzzle since Rufus started his retirement.

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^*)

---

^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

---

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.

hide explanation

Across

1a   Learning about a hot // city in Pakistan (6)

Lahore^[5] is the capital of Punjab province and second-largest city of Pakistan, situated near the border with India.

4a   OK to enter figure, // seeing ability (8)

9a   With respect to problem marriage, finally // continue (6)

10a   Primate /takes/ bite into fruit (5,3)

Great ape^[5] denotes a large ape ape of a family closely related to humans, including the gorilla, orangutan, and chimpanzees, but excluding the gibbons.

12a   So in sci-fi film, boy /is/ mysterious (8)

"alien | Spielberg film" = ET (show explanation )

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial^[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

hide explanation

13a   Believe // short quote about communist (6)

15a   Immediate // sensation, aunt dancing (13)

18a   Around church, scattered epistles in a // papal place of worship (7,6)

The Sistine Chapel^[5] is a chapel in the Vatican, built in the late 15th century by Pope Sixtus IV, containing a painted ceiling and fresco of the Last Judgement by Michelangelo and also frescoes by Botticelli.

20a   Find // old moggy in middle of glen (6)

Moggy is an alternative spelling of moggie^[5], an informal British term for a cat, typically one that does not have a pedigree or is otherwise unremarkable ⇒ I have three other cats (two moggies and one Bengal/Tonkinese cross).

Scratching the Surface
A glen[5] is a narrow valley, especially in Scotland or Ireland.

22a   Develop // popular line (8)

Crease can mean line in several senses:

• a crease^[5] is line or ridge produced on paper or cloth by folding, pressing, or crushing ⇒ khaki trousers with knife-edge creases
• a crease^[5] is a wrinkle or furrow [aka line] in the skin, especially of the face, caused by age or a particular facial expression ⇒ stubble lines the creases of his face
• in cricket, a crease^[10] is any of three lines (bowling crease, popping crease, or return crease) near each wicket marking positions for the bowler or batsman

Note that, in cricket, a crease is a line — not an area as it is in (ice) hockey and lacrosse. Thus, in cricket, a batsman is said to be "at the crease" — unlike hockey or lacrosse, where a player is said to be "in the crease".

24a   Not thick, monarch // using his brain? (8)

25a   Reptiles /cominq from/ opposite directions — fishes losing head (6)

The hake^[5] is any of several species of large-headed elongated fish with long jaws and strong teeth. It is a valuable commercial food fish.

What did she say?

In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath writes Not quite sure about the plural of fish?. My understanding is that when more than one species of fish is involved (and the fact that there is more than one species is relevant) one would use the plural form 'fishes'. On the other hand, if there is only a single species of fish involved (or the fact that there is more than one species is not material) one would use the plural form 'fish'. In this clue, as there is only one species of fish present, I would agree with Kath that the plural is questionable.

26a   Approach // organ that's been sketched? (4,4)

27a   Boring drivel // a problem in the house? (3,3)

Dry rot^[5] is fungal timber decay (or the fungus that causes it) occurring in poorly ventilated conditions in buildings, resulting in cracking and powdering of the wood.

What did she say?

In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath drivel as a load of tosh. Tosh is an informal British term meaningrubbish or nonsense ⇒ it's sentimental tosh. Rubbish[3,4,11] is used in the sense of foolish words or speech; in other words, nonsense.* * Oxford Dictionaries considers the word rubbish[5] (in all senses) to be British — despite it not being characterized as such by American dictionaries. I think, like starlings, the word has long ago become naturalized in North America. hide explanation

Down

1d   Bigger // drink about right (6)

Lager^[3,10] is a light-bodied effervescent beer of German origin, fermented for a relatively long time at a low temperature in a closed vessel using yeasts that sink to the bottom of the brew.

2d   Welcome novels, // books about the past (9)

3d   Fairy tale // spirit spins little shreds, impressing king (15)

As a containment indicator, impressing^[5] is used in the sense of forcing (someone) to serve in an army or navy ⇒ a number of Poles, impressed into the German army.

"king" = K (show explanation )

K^[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

hide explanation

Rumpelstiltskin^[7] is a fairytale popularly associated with Germany (where he is known as Rumpelstilzchen). The tale was one collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales. According to researchers, the story originated around 4,000 years ago.

5d   Narrative // that may be woven? (4)

6d   Rapper's ranting upset gangster ultimately, // fellow combatant (8,7)

7d   £1,000 // — magnificent! (5)

8d   Source of pleasure is English // essay (8)

11d   Buccaneers // traipse all over the place (7)

14d   Initially lost, beautiful // work of art (7)

16d   Ship/'s/ lieutenant and equipment thrown overboard, we hear, after ten uprising (3.6)

17d   Complicated detail, so // withdrawn (8)

19d   Accommodation to rent — // county has it (6)

Beds.^[5] (or Beds^[10]) is the abbreviation for Bedfordshire^[5], a county of south central England.

---

Bedsit^[5] (also bedsitter or bed-sitting room) is a British term for a one-roomed unit of accommodation typically consisting of combined bedroom and sitting room with cooking facilities.

21d   Tea to keep in // teacups etc? (5)

Cha (also chai) is an alternative spelling of char^[5], an informal British name for tea [as a drink].

23d   Old South American // appears during curtain call (4)

An Inca^[5] is a member of a South American Indian people who were living in the central Andes before the Spanish conquest.

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