Wednesday, May 2, 2018 — DT 28627

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28627
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, January 4, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28627]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Kath
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

I almost finished this without calling in electronic support. I was expecting the TV series to be a British programme not a US program.

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   Propose measure after drink to reserve // glossy publication (6-5,4)

Here, There, and Elsewhere

In Britain, as in Canada, table[5] means to present formally for discussion or consideration at a meeting ⇒ more than 200 amendments to the bill have already been tabled. On the other hand, in the US, the term table[5] has essentially the opposite connotation, meaning to postpone consideration of ⇒ I'd like the issue to be tabled* for the next few months. * In Canada, we might say that the issue has been shelved or put on the back burner — albeit expressions that I expect may also be well-known in the US and the UK.

As you can see from Kath's review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog and the ensuing discussion in the thread arising from Comment #1 on that site, the enumeration for this clue went through a number of incarnations on the various electronic platforms on which the puzzle appears in the UK. However, as the enumeration was correct in the printed version of The Daily Telegraph, I was not surprised to find that it is also correct in today's National Post.

8a   A fighter with love /for/ friend abroad (5)

A MiG^[7] is a type of Russian jet fighter. The name comes from the initials of the two founders (Mikoyan and Gurevich) of the organization that designs the planes.

"love" = O (show explanation )

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).

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Amigo^[8] is the masculine form of the Spanish word meaning 'friend'. 

9a   Surprise about knight /in/ TV series (4,4)

This is not the usual symbol used in chess notation for a knight but perhaps the chess abbreviation for a knight listed by Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (show more ). Far more likely, it is — as Senf puts it in his response to Comment #23 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — a "knight of the realm".

A knight^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.

N^[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].

As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines: 

• K^[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight. 
• K^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king. 
• N^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.

The dictionary fails to specify how one differentiates an abbreviation from a symbol.

On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.^[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE^[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

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Star Trek^[7] is an American science fiction television series that originally aired from 1966 to 1969. It spawned five spin-off television series (plus an animated series), more than a dozen films and further adaptations in several media.

11a   Commercial enterprise // opening beside Yorkshire river (7)

The River Ure^[7] is a stream in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse.

12a   Determined /to come out of/ unproductive spell of tennis? (4,3)

For me, reading the solution and the wordplay as entire phrases seems to be more meaningful than breaking the wordplay down into a charade.

13a   End of shift in middle of day /is/ unacceptable (3,2)

15a   Resistance in Texas, say, by US soldier, cold /and/ calculated (9)

"resistance" = R (show explanation )

In physics, R^[5] is a symbol used to represent electrical resistance in mathematical formulae.

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"US soldier" = GI (show explanation )

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war.

Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

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17a   Hurry up, // this could bring gale! (5,1,3)

This is a reverse wordplay clue — specifically a reverse anagram. Contrary to the usual situation (in which the indicator and fodder are found in the clue and the result in the solution), here the indicator and fodder are found in the solution and the result is found in the clue.

The solution is SHAKE A LEG (hurry up) which — if interpreted as wordplay — would be an anagram (SHAKE) of A LEG producing the result (this could bring) GALE that is found in the clue itself.

20a   Shows impatience with current // African people (5)

"current" = I (show explanation )

In physics, I^[5] is a symbol used to represent electric current in mathematical formulae.

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The Tutsi^[5] are a people forming a minority of the population of Rwanda and Burundi but who formerly dominated the Hutu majority. Historical antagonism between the peoples led in 1994 to large-scale ethnic violence, especially in Rwanda.

21a   Second // favourite bit of data about November (7)

I presume in^[1] means favourite in the sense of being fashionable or much in use ⇒ (i) in-word; (ii) in-thing.

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

23a   Fruit /with/ a soft Italian cheese? No thanks (7)

"soft" = P (show explanation )

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

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Ricotta^[2] is a soft white unsalted Italian curd cheese made from sheep's or cow's milk and often used in sauces for ravioli, lasagne, etc.

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

25a   Fine looker in new make-up capturing hearts, // one idolised? (4,4)

"fine" = F (show explanation )

F^[5] is an abbreviation for fine, as used in describing grades of pencil lead [a usage that Oxford Dictionaries surprisingly characterizes as British].

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"hearts" = H (show explanation )

Hearts^[2] (abbreviation H^[1]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

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26a   Kitchen napkins mopping up // dye (5)

Henna^[5] is a reddish-brown dye made from the powdered leaves of a tropical shrub, used to colour the hair and decorate the body.

27a   Close circle poet cultivated /to get/ valuable object (10,5)

Collector's piece^* is another name for a collector's item^[5].

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^* The absence of this term from US dictionaries suggests that it may be a British term.

Down

1d   Convinced one's of superior kind, // vain with chic suit repaired (12)

2d   Fake // element in penknife ignored (5)

3d   Rhetoric /of/ old heartless queen in the Spanish church (9)

"the Spanish" = EL (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

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"church" = CE (show explanation )

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

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4d   Varied seats left /with/ small ornamental hangings (7)

5d   Limit outspoken // school pupil (7)

A boarder^[5] is a pupil who lives in school during term time.

6d   Section of text Rattigan /found to be/ superfluous (5)

Scratching the Surface
Sir Terence Rattigan[5] (1911–1977) was an English dramatist. Notable plays: The Winslow Boy (1946) and The Browning Version (1948).

7d   Mistake /in/ supervision (9)

10d   Female wear mostly rated poorly /as/ routine offering (5-2-5)

14d   Rotter's swag turned up? // It's poisonous to digest (9)

Rotter^[5] is a informal, dated, chiefly British term for a cruel, mean, or unkind person ⇒Rosemary had decided that all men were rotters.

Although the particulars vary from one dictionary to another, toad would seem to be a term of contempt on both sides of the pond:

• The Chambers Dictionary^[1]: a hateful or contemptible person or animal
• Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2]: an obnoxious or repellent person
• Collins English Dictionary^[4,10] : a loathsome person
• Oxford Dictionaries^[5]: a contemptible or detestable person (used as a general term of abuse) ⇒ you're an arrogant little toad
• American Heritage Dictionary^[3]: a person regarded as repulsive
• Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary^[11]: a disgusting person or thing
• Webster’s New World College Dictionary^[12]: a person regarded as loathsome, contemptible, etc.

16d   Stir up hot rages /in/ role in teaching (9)

18d   Most agile // male after time appearing in roll of names (7)

19d   Allure /in/ good Latin love affair (7)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[10] for good likely relates to its use in grading school assignments or tests.

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22d   Fester right awav /in/ joint (5)

24d   A number entering sides of Chinese // boat (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