Monday, May 14, 2018 — DT 28635 (Published Saturday, May 12, 2018)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28635
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, January 13, 2018
Setter Unknown [In his review, gnomethang guesses the setter might be Cephas (Peter Chamberlain)]
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28635 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28635 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) gnomethang (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. This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, May 12, 2018 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

If I recall correctly, it took me a while to establish a foothold in this puzzle but once one had been found, the solve went relatively smoothly. A couple of new British terms held me up momentarily but I was able to decipher them correctly from the wordplay.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Error in Today's Puzzle

To ensure that Canadian solvers enjoy an experience identical to the Brits, the National Post has carefully reproduced the error in 4d that made its initial appearance in the printed edition of The Daily Telegraph in the UK.

The clue should read:

• 4d   Abdominal jewellery on view in acrobatics (8)

Error in Friday's Puzzle

In my review of the puzzle published on Friday, I neglected to point out the omission by the National Post of the ellipsis at the end of clue 17a (although I did make mention of the ellipsis in the review and included it in the clue shown in the review).

The clue should read:

• 17a   There's minimal effort to get this drink imbibed ... (3)

The National Post did include the corresponding ellipsis at the beginning of clue 19a.

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   I overacted terribly // with embellishments (10)

6a   Society // driver? (4)

9a   Green // rat? (5)

Should you not be satisfied with gnomethang's suggestion that "green" refers to a putting green, I offer as an alternative that a green^[10] is a small area of grassland, especially in the centre of a village.

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Grass^[5] is an informal British term meaning:

• (noun) a police informer; and
• (verb) to inform the police of someone’s criminal activities or plans ⇒ (i) someone had grassed on the thieves; (ii) she threatened to grass me up.

This expression may derive from rhyming slang (grasshopper being rhyming slang (show explanation ) for 'copper').

Rhyming slang^[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in Cockney rhyming slang.

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10a   A nice mild rum // having restorative effect (9)

As an anagram indicator, rum^[5] is used in a dated informal British sense meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

12a   New era at EU after number ring // honoured scientist? (5,8)

Bell^[5] is an informal British term meaning to telephone (someone) ⇒ no problem, I’ll bell her tomorrow.

14a   Charming // computer pioneer losing head after everything (8)

Alan Turing^[5] (1912–1954) was an English mathematician. He developed the concept of a theoretical computing machine, a key step in the development of the first computer, and carried out important code-breaking work in the Second World War. He also investigated artificial intelligence.

15a   Wimp keeping theologian /in/ union (6)

Weed^[5] is an informal British term for a contemptibly feeble person ⇒ he thought party games were for weeds and wets^*.

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^* Wet^[5] (noun)  is an informal British term for a person lacking forcefulness or strength of character ⇒ there are sorts who look like gangsters and sorts who look like wets.

"theologian" = DD (show explanation )

Doctor of Divinity^[7] (abbreviation D.D. or DD, Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity.

Historically, the degree of Doctor of Divinity identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects. In the United Kingdom, Doctor of Divinity has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction. In the United States, the Doctor of Divinity is usually awarded as an honorary degree.

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17a   Bets on first // races (6)

19a   Puddings /one gets/ anxious about (8)

Here and There

Whereas in North America, the term pudding[5] denotes specifically a dessert with a soft or creamy consistency, in Britain the term pudding refers to either: a cooked sweet dish served after the main course of a meal; or  the dessert course of a meal ⇒ what’s for pudding?.  The terms dessert and pudding are synonymous in Britain and the response to What’s for pudding? could well be Apple pie. Another British term for dessert — one that Big Dave uses in his hint — is sweet[5].

21a   Bland // heir to the throne's gripping performance -- monarch (13)

Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales^[5] is heir apparent to Elizabeth II.

"monarch" = ER (show explanation )

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

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24a   One's work is boring (9)

25a   Get smart // advertising demon (5)

26a   Bird no longer around // pair of gulls (4)

Gull^[5] (verb) is used in the sense of to fool or deceive (someone) ⇒ he had been gulled into believing that the documents were authentic.

Do^[5] is an informal British term meaning to swindle ⇒ a thousand pounds for one set of photos — Jacqui had been done.

27a   Go and allow to swallow new // sweet (10)

Sweet^[5] is a British term for a piece of candy^[5] ⇒ a bag of sweets.

Down

1d   Likes // lodgings (4)

2d   Luxury brand covering northern // TV station (7)

Coco Chanel^[5] (1883–1971) was a French couturière. Her simple but sophisticated garments were a radical departure from the stiff corseted styles of the day. She also diversified into perfumes, costume jewellery, and textiles.

3d   Fruit producer /gets/ show of disapproval - - switch (9,4)

4d   Abdominal jewellery /on view in/ acrobatics (8)

The last word of the clue was misprinted as "scrobatics" in the National Post (and The Daily Telegraph).

5d   Dave almost OK drunk -- with this? (5)

I'm designating the entire clue as a cryptic definition — one which has embedded wordplay.

In my opinion, the pronoun "this" cannot possibly be seen as a definition in its own right but only when taken in the context of the overall clue. Thus the entire clue must be the definition.

7d   Rope // some coated in grease (7)

A lanyard^[5] is a rope used to secure or raise and lower something such as the shrouds and sails of a sailing ship or a flag on a flagpole.

8d   Hurry to settle beneath less hairy // bunk (10)

11d   One complaining must accept maybe dog's little // cleaner (6-7)

13d   Created // debt Africa is suffering (10)

16d   Father eating bit of cereal with doctor - /that's/ sweet (4,4)

A pear drop^[5] is a small boiled sweet [candy] in the shape of a pear, with a pungently sweet flavour.

18d   Scholarly // study taken up following work of Shakespeare (7)

King Lear^[7] is a tragedy by English playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The title character descends into madness after disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.

20d   Composer of opera /in which/ French king admits terrible sins (7)

The French word for 'king' is roi^[8].

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Gioacchino Antonio Rossini^[5] (1792–1868) was an Italian composer, one of the creators of Italian bel canto. He wrote over thirty operas, including The Barber of Seville (1816) and William Tell (1829).

22d   Fine material /gives/ Jethro ecstasy (5)

Jethro Tull^[5] (1674–1741) was an English agriculturalist. In 1701 he invented the seed drill, a machine which could sow seeds in accurately spaced rows at a controlled rate, reducing the need for farm labourers.

I have not pointed to the eponymous British rock band as I don't believe one can use one part of a band's name to clue another part, e.g., I would not expect "Stones" to be use to clue "Rolling".

"Ecstasy" = E (show explanation )

E^[5] is an abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy^* or a tablet of Ecstasy ⇒ (i) people have died after taking E; (ii) being busted with three Es can lead to stiff penalties.

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^* Ecstasy^[5] is an illegal amphetamine-based synthetic drug with euphoric effects, originally produced as an appetite suppressant. Also called MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine).

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Tulle^[5] is a soft, fine silk, cotton, or nylon material like net, used for making veils and dresses.

What did he say?

In Comment #14 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, stanXYZ writes Fairly easy for a Prize puzzle – Jethro could have done it standing on one leg. Lead vocalist Ian Anderson[7] of the British rock band Jethro Tull was noted for playing the flute while standing on one leg. His tendency to stand on one leg while playing the flute came about by accident, as he had been inclined to stand on one leg while playing the harmonica, holding the microphone stand for balance. Anderson was known for his famous one-legged flute stance, and was once referred to as a "deranged flamingo". This stance is on many album covers of Jethro Tull. During a long stint at the Marquee Club in London, a journalist described him, wrongly, as standing on one leg to play the flute, when in fact he was originally playing the harmonica on one leg. He decided to live up to the reputation, albeit with some difficulty. His early attempts are visible in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1968) film appearance of Jethro Tull. This was referenced in the facetious liner notes for Thick as a Brick in a quote about "the one-legged pop flautist, Ian Anderson".

23d   Raise suggestions /for/ means to roast meat (4)

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