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^*)

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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.

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.

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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