Friday, April 13, 2018 — DT 28614

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28614
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28614]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K (the blogger 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

Introduction

A fair number of unfamiliar British terms slowed my progress but did not prevent me from eventually finishing unaided.

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   Layer // pastry in turnover included in amount (7)

5a   A Slav describing British // trick cyclist? (7)

A Croat^[5] (another term for Croatian^[5]) is a native or inhabitant of Croatia^*, or a person of Croatian descent.

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^* Croatia is a country in south-eastern Europe, formerly a constituent republic of Yugoslavia.

The use of the word "describe(s)" (or "describing") as a containment indicator is a common cryptic crossword device which relies on describe^[1,2,12] being used in the sense of to trace the outline of or delineate ⇒ skaters describing circles on the ice.

Thus, in today's clue, we have CROAT (slav) containing (describing) B (British; abbrev.) with the rationale for the wordplay being that the container (CROAT) forms an outline around the contained entity (B).

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Trick cyclist^{[1,2,4,5,10,12]} is a British^* term that can mean either:

• an acrobat who performs stunts on a bicycle or monocycle, eg in a circus
• (colloquial, humorous) a psychiatrist

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^* several dictionaries explicitly indicate that the second sense is British; I infer that the first sense is likely also British due to its non-appearance in US dictionaries

Scratching the Surface

As Mr K points out in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, either sense of the term trick cyclist would fit the surface reading. By the way, the second sense of trick cyclist[a] is a deliberate malapropism of psychiatrist. [a] Wikitionary I wonder if this play on words might have started as a spoonerism with PSY-CHI-A-TRIST being transformed into TRY-PSY-A-KIST which then evolved into TRICK CYCLIST?

9a   Utterly // depressed? True (9)

10a   An effervescent beer // in village restaurant (5)

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.

11a   Satirical drawing /showing/ face of Onassis on board container (7)

Scratching the Surface
Aristotle Onassis[5] (1906–1975) was a Greek shipping magnate and international businessman. He owned a substantial shipping empire and founded the Greek national airline, Olympic Airways (1957). In 1968, he married Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of US president John F. Kennedy who had been assassinated in 1963.

12a   Join together // to thoroughly search home, last in terrace (7)

Scratching the Surface
Terrace[5] is a British term for: a row of houses built in one block in a uniform style ⇒ an attractive Regency terrace  an individual house in a terrace ⇒ modern furniture looks out of place in your Victorian terrace.

13a   Scoundrel // in favour of cutting repayment (9)

16a   Drank to excess back /in/ warehouse (5)

Tope^[5] is an archaic or literary term meaning to drink alcohol to excess, especially on a regular basis ⇒ he was toping the while from a flagon^* of sack^**.

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^* Flagon^[5], in this case, is likely used in the sense of a large bottle of wine, cider, etc. rather than its other meaning of a vessel having a handle, spout, and narrow neck.
^** Sack^[3,4] is an archaic term for any of various light, dry, strong wines from Spain and the Canary Islands, imported to England in the 1500s and 1600s.

17a   Operatic heroine, // not quite conventional (5)

Norma^[7] is an opera by Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835) first produced at La Scala in Milan in 1831.

18a   Place that may suit one in Mayfair? (6,3)

Mayfair^[5] is a fashionable and wealthy district in the West End of London, originally the site of a fair held annually in May in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Savile Row^[5,10] is a street in Mayfair, London, celebrated for tailoring establishments dealing in fashionable and expensive styles or items of clothing, especially men's suits.

21a   Trade unionist perhaps // runs into trouble (7)

"runs" = R (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

In cricket, a run^[5] is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other circumstances.

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A brother^[10] is a male person belonging to the same group, profession, nationality, trade union, etc, as another or others; in other words, a fellow member.

22a   Dodges /in/ game (7)

Rackets^[7] (UK, Ireland, and Canada) or racquets (US) is an indoor racket (or racquet) sport played in the United Kingdom as well as — sparingly^* it seems — in Ireland, United States, and Canada. The sport is infrequently called "hard rackets," possibly to distinguish it from the related sport of squash (formerly called "squash rackets").

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^* apart from those in the UK, courts number 1 in Ireland, 7 in the US, and 1 in Canada (in Montreal).

Delving Deeper

The first rackets court in Montreal was built in 1825. The Montreal Rackets Club (founded in 1889) is reportedly the oldest in existence. Rackets is not to be confused with the North American game of racquetball[7] or the British game of racketball (considered to be a variant of squash despite having been originally based on racquetball). In 2016, the World Squash Federation announced an international 're-branding' of racketball as Squash 57 (the 57 referring to the diameter of the ball) in order to emphasize both its membership in the 'squash rackets' family, and its distinctiveness from U.S. racquetball.

25a   Rule changed to accommodate married // primate (5)

A lemur^[5] is any of a number of species of arboreal primate with a pointed snout and typically a long tail, found only in Madagascar.

26a   Lively exchange of opinions /might make one/ angry before launch (9)

I have marked the definition as being cryptic in that it may be an understatement (a number of comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog certainly questioned the appropriateness of the definition).

Crossfire^[10] is defined by Chambers 21st Century Dictionary as a bitter or excited exchange of opinions, arguments, etc. However, to Collins English Dictionary, a crossfire^[10] is merely a a lively exchange of ideas, opinions, etc.

27a   Singular desire before appearing live /as/ one working in theatre (7)

"singular" = S (show explanation )

To a grammarian, s^[5] is the abbreviation for singular.

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28a   Attempt to deceive, // positioning moon round far side of Mercury (3,2,2)

Triton^[5] is the largest moon of Neptune.

Try it on^[5] is an informal British expression meaning:

• to attempt to deceive or seduce someone ⇒ he was trying it on with my wife 
• to deliberately test someone’s patience to see how much one can get away with

Down

1d   Cocktail, // as mixed with cider (7)

A sidecar^[5] is a cocktail of brandy and lemon juice with orange liqueur.

2d   Someone involved in boating // commotion on East River (5)

Scratching the Surface
The East River[7] is presumably the one in New York City. The waterway, which — despite its name — is actually a salt water tidal estuary rather than a river, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the boroughs of Manhattan (an island) and the Bronx (on the mainland) from the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn (both on Long Island).

3d   Trunk /and/ spreading roots (5)

4d   Male representative before a // battle (7)

The Battle of Magenta^[7] was fought on 4 June 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory against the Austrians. The fighting took place near the town of Magenta in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, which at the time was a crown land of the Austrian Empire.

The colour magenta^[5] was named after the town, the battle having been fought shortly before the red dye was discovered.

5d   Object /of/ performing recital (7)

6d   English method appearing in list /as/ a good example to follow (4,5)

7d   Thrilling ride, // first in Blackpool -- one going on gripped tightly (3,6)

As an anagram indicator, tight^[5] (or tightly)  is used in the informal sense of drunk ⇒ he got tight on brandy.

Big Dipper^[7] is a wooden roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, England. The ride was first built in 1923 and extended in 1936. The roller coaster is referenced in a song "Big Dipper" by the British rock band Jethro Tull (which originated in Blackpool), from their 1976 album Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!

8d   Anxiety /of/ soldiers caught in wrongful act (7)

"soldiers" = OR (show explanation )

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks^[5] (abbreviation OR^[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

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14d   Agent set up one-time // entertainer (9)

15d   Accused // over an assault (2,1,6)

Put (someone) on a charge (of something)^[5] is a a British term meaning to charge (someone) (with a specified offence) ⇒ he should be put on a charge of perjury.

17d   Bishop imprisoned by peers -- // dopes! (7)

"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.

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A peer^[5] is a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.

Nobble^[5] is an informal British term meaning to tamper with (a racehorse or greyhound) to prevent it from winning a race, especially by giving it a drug ⇒ a doping ring nobbled three of the trainer's horses in 1990.

18d   Medieval warrior /from/ small tribe featured in article (7)

The meaning of Saracen^[10] has evolved over the ages. At the time of the Roman Empire, it meant a member of one of the nomadic Arabic tribes, especially of the Syrian desert, that harassed the borders of the Roman Empire in that region. Later, at the time of the crusades, the name was used for a Muslim, especially one who opposed the crusades. Later yet again, the term came to mean any Arab.

19d   Cover Montana? Not all of that // state (7)

20d   We back // Lone Ranger film? (7)

As Mr K points out in his review, the question mark denotes that a "Lone Ranger film" is an example of this genre of motion picture.

The Lone Ranger^[7] is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger^* who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend, Tonto^*. He first appeared in 1933 in a radio show.  The radio series proved to be a hit and spawned a series of books, an equally popular television show that ran from 1949 to 1957, comic books, and several movies. 

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^* The character is believed to be inspired by Texas Ranger Captain John R. Hughes, to whom the book The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey was dedicated in 1915.
^** Tonto was played in the television series by Jay Silverheels (1912–1980), a Mohawk from the Six Nations Indian Reserve in Ontario.

23d   Copper with cast, // undemanding (5)

"copper" = CU (show explanation )

The symbol for the chemical element copper is Cu^[5] (from late Latin cuprum).

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Shy^[5] is a dated term meaning:

• (noun) an act of flinging or throwing something at a target
• (verb) to fling or throw (something) at a target ⇒ he tore the spectacles off and shied them at her

24d   Live // way out, across sierra (5)

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