Friday, May 25, 2018 — DT 28644

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28644
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28644]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
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

Another excellent offering from Jay.

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   Healthy dog/'s/ part in film? (10)

6a   Gets // a place to stay (4)

10a   Report of rifles // they produce airs (5)

11a   Power /of/ new infection caught by poorly niece (9)

Poorly^[5] is being used as an adjective in a British sense meaning unwell ⇒ (i) I didn't manage too many lengths today but I haven't been for 2 weeks since being poorly sick; (ii) Zoe Bird, 26, was forced to walk for an hour to reach her home with poorly toddler son Ryan after they were forced to leave the car; (iii) Jakey on the other hand is poorly due to having an injection; (iv) There was me dancing all the way down Main Street, despite my poorly leg; (v) On Saturday night, at work, a poorly woman in the audience chucked up.

12a   Giant // male insect seen around in the morning (7)

13a   Share proceeds /of/ divorce (5,2)

14a   Noisy disturbances on street after outside broadcast /means/ barriers (12)

A ruction^[3,4,11] is described variously as:

• an uproar
• a riotous, noisy or quarrelsome disturbance
• a noisy quarrel
• a row

Outside broadcast^[5] (abbreviation OB^[5]) is a British term for a radio or television programme that is recorded or broadcast live on location and not in a studio ⇒ outside broadcast units.

18a   Take care doing internet diary, misplacing line /that's/ amazing (4-8)

21a   Called back then left with journalist, // old and twisted (7)

23a   Low toll /for/ facility in harbour (7)

24a   Council plot  that may be productive (9)

Here we have a cryptic definition with an embedded precise definition.

Allotment^[5] is a British term for a plot of land rented by an individual for growing vegetables or flowers. This term is also used in Canada — at least in Ottawa — although one would be more apt to hear it referred to here by the full version of the name, allotment garden^[7].

25a   Shelled crab needs it with a // side order (5)

Raita^[5] is an Indian side dish of yogurt containing chopped cucumber or other vegetables, and spices. Raita^[7] is is often referred to as a condiment, but unlike traditional western condiments such as salt, pepper, mustard and horseradish that make dishes more spicy, raita has a cooling effect to contrast with spicy curries and kebabs that are the main fare of some Asian cuisines.

26a   Periodic rise and fall // of antidepressants? (4)

As a hidden word indicator, of^[1] is used in the sense of from; from among; out from; belonging to or among; proceeding or derived from.

27a   Glistening, // I smell after travel (10)

Down

1d   Only man to lose heart // sober (6)

2d   Irregular impetus with no second // period of operation (6)

3d   Rebuilding a bomb site could // be confusing (14)

4d   Loaded, full of energy on venison // diet in Germany once (9)

"energy" = E (show explanation )

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae.

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Diet^[2] is is the name of the legislative assembly of certain countries, e.g. Japan.

The Reichstag referred to by the clue is not the building in Berlin which currently houses Germany's parliament but rather the legislative assembly that originally met there. Reichstag^[5] is German for Diet of the Empire (Reichs 'of the empire' + Tag 'diet'). Reichstag^[7] was the name of the parliament of the German Empire (1871–1918), the parliament of the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and the pseudo-parliament of the Nazi Third Reich (1933–1945). Prior to the founding of Germany, the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire had been known as the Reichstag from about the 15th century until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.

The Reichstag building — which still exists — is not a diet. The legislative assembly known as the Reichstag — that "once" existed but is no more — was a diet.

5d   Strikes /as/ copper's restraining two females (5)

"copper" = CU (show explanation )

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

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7d   Sign it? I only will admit // firing (8)

8d   To soak is hard, /and/ a bit expensive (8)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

H^[2,5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

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For what it's worth, the adjective steepish is found in all of my British dictionaries but none of my American dictionaries.

9d   Notice places -- // slugs seen around at home lodge (8,6)

These slugs are made of lead and were commonly delivered by a six-shooter in the Old West.

15d   'Numerous' /as/ defined by United Nations (9)

16d   Grandma having been captured by the enemy uprising, // one leaves the country (8)

In cryptic crosswords, we often find that time is the enemy, expressed by Irish poet William Butler Yeats as "The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time" meaning that innocence and beauty are each subject to the ravages of time.

17d   Involved // only half of talent, and suffered (8)

19d   Show pleasure, coming across international // figure of speech (6)

"international" = I (show explanation )

I.^[10] is the abbreviation for International.

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20d   Horrified, /seeing/ a good hotel when budget's ending (6)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[a] for good comes from its use in education as a mark for scholastic assignments or tests.

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^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

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Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.

22d   Expensive to cross river -- /and/ gloomy (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