Thursday, April 19, 2018 — DT 28618

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28618
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, December 23, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28618 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28618 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (Review)
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
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

This puzzle appeared in the UK on the eve of Christmas Eve (i.e., two days before Christmas) so it is not surprising to find several seasonal references contained within it.

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   Problem, queen possibly admits, /is/ gossip (4-4)

A queen^[5] is an adult female cat that has not been spayed.

5a   Artist designed // channel (6)

9a   Orange // tongue (8)

10a   Savage // beating rather ugly then, after lunch all kicking off (6)

12a   Tinseltown broadcaster with excellent backing /in/ country (6)

Surely, Hollywood is no more LA than Mayfair is London!

Hollywood^[7], (informally Tinseltown) is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood is notable for its place as the home of the U.S. film industry, including being the original location of several of its historic studios of which but one remains today (show more ). Its name has come to be a metonym for the motion picture industry of the United States.

Hollywood was a small community in 1870 and was incorporated as a municipality in 1903. It officially merged with the city of Los Angeles in 1910, and soon thereafter a prominent film industry began to emerge, eventually becoming the most recognizable film industry in the world.

Today, Disney is the only member of the Big Six film studios^[7] whose parent entity is still located near Los Angeles. The five others report to conglomerates respectively headquartered in New York City, Philadelphia, and Tokyo.

Of the Big Six, Paramount is the only studio still based in Hollywood proper; furthermore, Paramount and Fox are the only ones still located within the Los Angeles city limits, while Disney and Warner Bros. are located in Burbank, Columbia in Culver City, and Universal in the unincorporated area of Universal City.

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"excellent" = AI (show explanation )

A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

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Latvia^[5] is a country on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania.

13a   Very cold // energy to give away? (8)

15a   Go back over // caterer's cooking (7)

16a   Greek character // confined to maze, taurine (4)

Zeta^[5] is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ζ, ζ).

Scratching the Surface

Taurine[5] means of or like a bull ⇒ moustaches like taurine horns. In Greek mythology, the Minotaur[7] is a mythical creature portrayed in Classical times with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The Minotaur dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

20a   Worker // flush, perhaps? (4)

In the card games poker and brag^*, a flush^[5] is a hand of cards all of the same suit.

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^* Brag^[5] is a gambling card game which is a simplified form of poker.

21a   Given guidance, // American English grasped by the masses (7)

Scratching the Surface
American English may be 'grasped' by the British masses but it is certainly not 'embraced'!

25a   A hang-up at Christmas? (8)

26a   Musketeer almost takes me // in (2,4)

The Three Musketeers (French: Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a historical novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870).

Set in 1625–1628, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard. Although d'Artagnan is not able to join this elite corps immediately, he befriends the three most formidable musketeers of the age—Athos, Porthos and Aramis—and gets involved in affairs of the state and court.

28a   Number in round, unknown // figure (6)

I tried several approaches to parsing the wordplay but none of them worked. Eventually, I threw in the towel and looked at crypticsue's explanation. I believe a large part of my problem is that, in North America, we generally say 'around' rather than 'round' when referring to a reversal ⇒ Give Me Forty Acres (To Turn This Rig Around)^[7].

"unknown" = Y (show explanation )

In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are customarily represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

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29a   Scoundrel // heading for bar before match? (8)

Blighter^[5] is an informal British term for a person who is regarded with contempt, irritation, or pity ⇒ you little blighter!.

Scratching the Surface
Is this "scoundrel" a football fan or a bridegroom?

What did he say?
In his hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Big Dave describes a match as a vesta. Vesta[4,11] is a British term for a short friction match, usually of wood. Origin: Named after Vesta[4], the Roman goddess of the hearth and its fire. In her temple a perpetual flame was tended by the vestal virgins. Greek counterpart: Hestia.

30a   Attempt to impress that man with old // supposition (6)

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

31a   By the sound of it wet, beloved // animal (8)

The reindeer^[10] is a large deer, Rangifer tarandus, having large branched antlers in the male and female and inhabiting the arctic regions of Greenland, Europe, and Asia. It also occurs in North America, where it is known as a caribou. [I must say that it came as quite a surprise when I first discovered that reindeer and caribou were one and the same animal!]

Down

1d   Pretty // modest about me getting first in linguistics (6)

2d   Native // visited restaurant after pub (6)

3d   Wine bottles in -- // one's blown (8)

Claret^[5] is a red wine from Bordeaux, or wine of a similar character made elsewhere.

4d   Eager // opera singer on the rise (4)

6d   Country /that's/ a let-down? (6)

According to Oxford Dictionaries, turkey^[5] is an informal North American term for something that is extremely or completely unsuccessful, especially a play or film ⇒ the movie flopped—the second in a trio of turkeys.

Surprisingly, the use of this term did not evoke the wrath of our friends across the pond so the expression must have infiltrated the British consciousness to the point that they no longer recognize it as an Americanism.

7d   Got // date and ain't bothered! (8)

8d   Breaking metal chains say, right // message (8)

11d   Firework, // a beauty (7)

A cracker^[3,4,5,11] (short for firecracker)  is a firework that explodes with a sharp noise.

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Cracker^[5] is an informal British term for:

• a fine example of something ⇒ don't miss this cracker of a CD.
• an attractive person, especially a woman ⇒ you look a cracker.

14d   It's wrapped up // here (7)

17d   Horse, // old joke (8)

My sources aren't in complete agreement as to what colour a chestnut horse exhibits. Most dictionaries say that it is reddish-brown although a few extend the range to include (or even restrict it to) other shades such as brown, yellowish-brown or golden brown. A couple of dictionaries describe the mane and tail as being either brown or of the same or a lighter color than the body.  (view survey results )

• The Chambers Dictionary: chestnut (the colour is defined separately as reddish-brown)^[1]
• Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: reddish-brown^[2]
• Collins English Dictionary: yellow-brown or golden-brown (although the colour chestnut is defined as reddish-brown to brown)^[4,10]
• Oxford Dictionaries: reddish-brown or yellowish-brown with a brown mane and tail^[5,6]
• American Heritage Dictionary: reddish-brown^[3]
• Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary; reddish brown or brown body with mane and tail of the same or a lighter color^[11]
• Webster’s New World College Dictionary: reddish-brown^[12]
• Macmillan Dictionary: red brown^[13]

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Wikipedia says "Chestnut^[7] is a very common coat color but the wide range of shades can cause confusion. The lightest chestnuts may be mistaken for palominos, while the darkest shades can be so dark as to resemble a black coat. ... Typical chestnuts are some shade of red or reddish brown."

However, a red flag was raised when I read the following statements found in adjacent paragraphs in the Wikipedia article:

• Chestnuts have "... a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat."
• "The mane, tail, and legs may be lighter or darker than the body coat, but are never truly black."

18d   Oz girl leads // state (8)

19d   Figure // pathogen out (8)

22d   One slipping on ice // takes off, ending on floor (6)

23d   Type that is /for/ attack (6)

24d   Fear // slip after tottering initially (6)

27d   Fruit /that/ takes time, we hear? (4)

Sloe^[5] is:

• another name for the blackthorn^[5], a thorny Eurasian shrub (Prunus spinosa) which bears white flowers before the leaves appear
• the name of the small bluish-black fruit of this plant, with a sharp sour taste

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