Saturday, April 7, 2018 — What to Wear?

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon gives us the chance to play dress up — or, better yet, just wear nothing at all.

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   Name of a mobster // neckwear expert (8)

SCARF|ACE — SCARF (neckwear) + ACE (expert)

Al Capone^[5] (1899–1947), nicknamed  Scarface, was an American gangster of Italian descent. He dominated organized crime in Chicago in the 1920s and was indirectly responsible for many murders, including the St Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Capone^[7] was born in Brooklyn (New York) and began his life of crime in New York City before moving to Chicago. Capone inadvertently insulted a woman while working the door at a Brooklyn night club and was slashed by her brother Frank Gallucio. The wounds led to the nickname that Capone loathed: "Scarface". Capone's boss, racketeer Frankie Yale, insisted that Capone apologize to Gallucio, and later Capone hired him as a bodyguard. When photographed, Capone hid the scarred left side of his face, saying that the injuries were war wounds. Capone was called "Snorky", a term for a sharp dresser, by his closest friends.

5a   Withdrawn student's // muff (4-2)

{SLIP-UP}< — reversal (withdrawn) of PUPILS (student's)

9a   Young lady: she's carrying old // overshoes (8)

GAL|O|SHES — {GAL (young lady) + SHES (she's)} containing (carrying) O (old; abbrev.)

10a   Place for garments // near west end of town (6)

CLOSE|T — CLOSE (near) + T (west end [initial letter] of Town)

11a   Wear // essential to the rodeo (5)

_E|RODE_ — hidden in (essential to) thE RODEo

12a   Phony // rich type wrong about tail of tuxedo (9)

{HYP(O)CRITE}* — anagram (wrong) of RICH TYPE containing (about) O (tail [final letter] of tuxedO)

14a   Comic actor // tailored Roman T-shirt (6,5)

{MARTIN SHORT}* — anagram (tailored) of ROMAN TSHIRT

Martin Short^[7] is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live as well as numerous films. He also won a Tony Award for Leading Actor in a Musical for the 1999 Broadway revival of Little Me.

18a   Business VIPs // reordered trenchcoats (11)

TECHNOCRATS* — anagram (reordered) of TRENCHCOATS

21a   Error by Goddard /in/ uniform ornament (9)

E|PAULETTE — E (error; abbrev. found in a baseball box score) + PAULETTE (Goddard)

Once I had the initial letter (from 16d), the solution to this clue became obvious.

Paulette Goddard^[7] (born Marion Levy; 1910–1990) was an American actress, a child fashion model and a performer in several Broadway productions as a Ziegfeld Girl; she became a major star of Paramount Pictures in the 1940s. Her most notable films were her first major role, as Charlie Chaplin's leading lady in Modern Times, and Chaplin's subsequent film The Great Dictator. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in So Proudly We Hail! (1943).

23a   Get into // some garment erroneously (5)

_ENT|ER_ — hidden in (some) garmENT ERroneously

24a   Reveal // one muumuu's front split (6)

I|M|PART — I ([Roman numeral for] one) + M (Muumuu's front [initial letter]) + PART (split)

25a   A Democrat inside stopped // wearing a crown (8)

DI(A|DEM)ED — {A (†) + DEM (Democrat (abbrev.)} contained in (inside) DIED (stopped)

26a   Dressed /in/ tattered cloth, returned before bed (6)

GAR<|BED — reversal (returned) of RAG (tattered cloth) preceding (before) BED (†)

27a   Wide-eyed people surrounding Kay, // completely naked (8)

STAR(K)ERS — STARERS (wide-eyed people) containing (surrounding) K (kay)

Down

1d   Impression /of/ soldiers coming back with stocking fabric (6)

SIG<|NET —  reversal (coming back) of GIS ([US] soldiers) + (with) NET (stocking fabric)

2d   A British weaver // displaying full colours? (6)

A|B|LOOM — A (†) + B (British; abbrev.) + LOOM (weaver)

3d   Finer mesh redesigned /for/ anglers (9)

FISHERMEN* — anagram (redesigned) of FINER MESH

4d   One grinning // at chic sheer shifts (8.3)

{CHESHIRE CAT}* — anagram (shifts) of AT CHIC SHEER

The Cheshire cat^[5] is a cat depicted with a broad fixed grin, as popularized through English author Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865).

6d   Pale purple // ring keeping one coming back (5)

{L(I)LAC}< — reversal (coming back) of {CALL (ring) containing (keeping) I ([Roman numeral for] one)}

7d   Model and I get dressed in // Sea God (8)

POSE|I|DON — POSE (model) + I (†) + DON (get dressed in)

In Greek mythology, Poseidon^[5] is the god of the sea, water, earthquakes, and horses, son of Cronus and Rhea and brother of Zeus. He is often depicted with a trident in his hand. His equivalent in Roman mythology is Neptune.

8d   Hospital visitors/'/ neckwear tucked into trousers (8)

PA(TIE)NTS — TIE (neckwear) contained in (tucked into) PANTS (trousers)

13d   Little hasp I fixed /for/ a collector (11)

PHILATELIST* — anagram (fixed) of LITTLE HASP I

A philatelist^[2] is one who engages in the study and collecting of postage stamps.

15d   Badly need spurs /and/ supportive strap (9)

SUSPENDER* — anagram (badly) of NEED SPURS

16d   Peg wears arm support /for/ bracing (8)

S(TEE)LING — TEE (peg [used by a golfer]) containing (wears) SLING (arm support)

Despite having correctly identified the arm support and also having the initial letter of the peg, I could not figure out the remaining two letters without help from my electronic assistants.

17d   Shred of cloth for each // tenacious fighter (8)

SCRAP|PER — SCRAP (shred of cloth) + PER (for each)

19d   My ties, scattered all over // block (6)

STYMIE* — anagram (scattered all over) of MY TIES

20d   Bee harasses // wearers of gowns (6)

B|RIDES — B (bee) + RIDES (harasses)

22d   Size // used by regular gentlemen (5)

_LAR|GE_ — hidden in (used by) reguLAR GEntlemen

Epilogue

Perhaps today's puzzle is intended to encourage us to clean out our clothes closet.

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