Saturday, May 5, 2018 — In For the Duration

Introduction

Not unlike MG's experience (reported below in the comments), I had little initial success with the across clues and was rescued by the down clues in today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon.

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^*)

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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   VIPs // to proceed around bedroom (3,5)

TO|P (BR)ASS — {TO (†) + PASS (proceed)} containing (around) BR (bedroom; abbrev.)

5a   Shutter /is/ not so far away (6)

CLOSER — double definition

9a   Bond/’s/ cup held by guy with beer (7)

MAN|A(C)LE — C (cup; abbrev. found in recipes) contained in (held by) {MAN (guy) + (with) ALE (beer)}

10a   Average, not quite beautiful woman /is/ nouveau riche (7)

PAR|VENU_ — PAR (average) + VENU[S] (beautiful woman) with the final letter removed (not quite)

Shall We Digress
Coincidentally (or not), both the definition and the solution are terms adopted from French. Although it likely has no bearing on the clue, I also note that the Venus de Milo[7] is "not quite" complete in that the statue is missing its arms.

11a   English entering Irish lake prepare to sail // “The Iron Horse” (3,6)

LOU G(E)H|RIG — E (English; abbrev.) contained in (entering) LOUGH (Irish lake) + RIG (prepare to sail)

Lough^[10] [pronounced identically to and having the same meaning as the Scottish word loch^[10]] is an Irish word meaning lake.

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Lou Gehrig^[6] (1903–1941) was a US baseball player who was known as the Iron Horse. He played a then-record 2,130 consecutive major league games for the New York Yankees from 1925 to 1939; his stamina earned him his nickname. He died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often called Lou Gehrig's disease. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

12a   Material/’s/ mass and height (5)

CLOT|H — CLOT (mass) + H (height; abbrev.)

13a   Moments before time, call // backups (6,6)

SECOND S|T|RING — SECONDS (moments) preceding (before) T (time; abbrev.) + RING (call [on the telephone])

18a   Secure prison with changes /in/ effect (12)

REPERCUSSION* — anagram (with changes) of SECURE PRISON

21a   Tanbark, e.g., // left in a lot (5)

MU(L)CH — L (left; abbrev.) contained in (in) MUCH (a lot)

Tanbark^[3,4,11] is:

• the bark of various trees, especially the the oak and hemlock, used as a source of tannin (a substance used in tanning hides)
• shredded bark from which the tannin has been extracted, used to cover circus arenas, racetracks, and other surfaces

23a   Copy // funny article about extended play (9)

{R(EP)LICATE}* — anagram (funny) of ARTICLE containing (about) EP (extended play; abbrev., a type of phonograph record that contains more cuts than a single but fewer than an LP or long-playing record)

25a   Bright star // is able to work (7)

CAN|OPUS — CAN (is able to) + OPUS ([musical] work)

Canopus^[5] is the second brightest star in the sky, and the brightest in the constellation Carina. It is a supergiant, visible only to observers in the southern hemisphere and the southern part of the northern hemisphere.

26a   Upon entering Kentucky, carried out // insect (7)

K(AT)Y|DID — AT (upon; ) contained in (entering) KY (Kentucky; abbrev.) + DID (carried out)

The katydid^[5] is a large, typically green, bush cricket that is native to North America. The male makes a characteristic sound which resembles the name.

27a   Gloomy /and/ ironic, holding attention (6)

DR(EAR)Y — DRY (ironic) containing (holding) EAR (attention; "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears"^[7])

28a   The guy would deviate around a // deterrent to progress (8)

HEADWIND — {HED ([pronominal contraction of] the guy would; he'd) + WIND (deviate; meander)} containing (around) A (†)

While I don't think of deviate^[a] as meaning wind or meander, some people obviously do.

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^[a] Collins English Thesaurus

Down

1d   Story about mom/’s/ Mexican dish (6)

TA(MA)LE — TALE (story) containing (about) MA (mom)

2d   Hand over // report outside of New York University (4,2)

PO(NY U)P — POP (report; sharp sound) containing (outside of) NYU (New York University)

Yes, there is a New York University^[7] (NYU).

Here and There
To a British solver, pony (something) up[5] would be an informal North American expression meaning to pay (a sum of money, especially as a contribution or unavoidable expense) ⇒ he ponied up $450 for the project.

3d   Peg sits in chair /for/ astronaut (9)

ROCKE(TEE)R — TEE (peg [used by a golfer]) contained in (sits in) ROCKER (chair)

4d   Very precipitous // cut announced (5)

SHEER~ — sounds like (announced) SHEAR (cut)

6d   Cyril reworked // verse (5)

LYRIC* — anagram (reworked) of CYRIL

7d   Lost set point /in/ hurry (4,2,2)

{STEP ON IT}* — anagram (lost) of SET POINT

As an anagram indicator, lost^[5] is being used in the sense of confused, bewildered, or mixed up.

Scratching the Surface
In tennis and other sports, set point[5] is a point which if won by one of the players or sides will also win them a set* ⇒ his brilliant ace denied Sampras the set point. * In tennis, darts, and other games, a set[5] is a group of games counting as a unit towards a match ⇒ he took the first set 6-3.

8d   Coarse stuff /in/ makeup worn by witch (8)

ROUG(HAG)E — ROUGE (makeup) containing (worn by) HAG (witch)

10d   A deity occupying father’s // temples (7)

P(A|GOD)A|S — {A (†) + GOD (deity)} contained in (occupying) {PA (father) + S ('s)}

14d   Overuse adapted // works (7)

OEUVRES* — anagram (adapted) of OVERUSE

15d   Aggressive // outfielder housed in complex (3-6)

TW(O-F)ISTED — OF (outfielder; abbrev., a player at a position in the outfield in baseball) contained in (housed in) TWISTED (complex)

I suppose that twisted must mean complex in the sense of not straightforward or difficult to follow, such as a story with a lot of plot twists.

16d   Stern got a good score, /and/ looked pained (8)

GRIM|ACED — GRIM (stern) + ACED (got a good score; in any of various senses)

In tennis and similar games, ace^[5] means:

• (noun) a service that an opponent is unable to return and thus wins a point
• (verb) to serve an ace against (an opponent)

In golf, ace^[5] means:

• (noun) a hole in one
• (verb) to score an ace on (a hole) or with (a shot)

In general, ace^[5] is a North American expression meaning to achieve high marks in (a test or exam) ⇒ I aced my grammar test.

17d   Cry like a baby, splitting formerly // great wealth (8)

O(PULE)NCE — PULE (cry like a baby) contained in (splitting) ONCE (formerly)

19d   General also greeting // leader in passive resistance (6)

G|AND|HI — G (general; film classification) + AND (also) + HI (greeting)

Mahatma Gandhi^[5] (1869–1948) was an Indian nationalist and spiritual leader. He became prominent in the opposition to British rule in India, pursuing a policy of non-violent civil disobedience. He never held government office, but was regarded as the country's supreme political and spiritual leader; he was assassinated by a Hindu following his agreement to the creation of the state of Pakistan.

20d   Last inside, we had // meandered (6)

W(END)ED — END (last) contained in (inside) WED ([contraction for] we had; we'd)

22d   High-strung, // somewhat touchy personality (5)

_HY|PER_ — hidden in (somewhat) toucHY PERsonality

24d   Lapdog eating doughnut /for/ tea (5)

PEK(O)E — PEKE (lapdog) containing (eating) O ([letter that looks like a] doughnut)

Despite having drunk this tea most of my life, I had no idea what the name really denoted.

Pekoe^[5] is a high-quality black tea made from young leaves.

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Origin: from Chinese dialect pekho, from pek ‘white’ + ho ‘down’ (the leaves being picked young when covered with down)

Epilogue

I did not notice much of a theme in today's puzzle. There is one obvious baseball-related clue (11a) and a couple that could have baseball connotations (5a and 13a) although the setters do not avail themselves of the opportunity to place them in a baseball context.

Lou Gehrig^[7] not only set a record for most consecutive games played (2,130) that stood for 56 years but he played his entire career for the New York Yankees. Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended on May 2, 1939, when he voluntarily took himself out of the lineup to stunned players and fans after his performance on the field was hampered by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neuromuscular illness now commonly referred to in North America as "Lou Gehrig's disease". The disease forced him to retire at age 36, and was the cause of his death two years later.

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