Saturday, June 23, 2018 — Precious Stones

Introduction

According to the old adage, "all that glitters is not gold" and such is the case with 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^*)

---

^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

---

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   Appealing refusal, returned // gemstones (6)

{ON|YXES}< — reversal (returned) of {SEXY (appealing) + NO (refusal)}

4a   Oil giant doctored // gem with a design (8)

INTAGLIO* — anagram (doctored) of OIL GIANT

9a   A gem is changing // reflections (6)

IMAGES* — anagram (changing) of A GEM IS

10a   Amused // seeker of pearls with Mr. Rogers (8)

DIVER|TED — DIVER (seeker of pearls) + (with) TED (Mr. Rogers)

Edward S. "Ted" Rogers^[7] (1900–1939) was a Canadian pioneer in the radio industry and the founder of the Rogers Vacuum Tube Company and Toronto radio station CFRB. He is regarded as the founder of Rogers Communications, although it was established in 1967, almost three decades after his death.

Scratching the Surface

Fred Rogers[7] (1928–2003) was an American television personality known as the creator and host of the educational preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The series originated in 1963 as Misterogers, a 15-minute progam on CBC Television where it ran for about four years. In 1966, Rogers acquired the rights to his program from the CBC and moved the show to WQED in Pittsburgh, re-branding it Misterogers' Neighborhood and later Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Initially the show — now expanded to a half-hour format — comprised the Canadian-produced segments supplemented with additional material filmed in Pittsburgh. In 1968, the show went national in the US on National Educational Television (NET). It aired on NET and its successor, PBS, until 2001.

12a   Gem set alone // in that way sparked a rage (9)

SO|LIT|A|IRE — SO (in that way; unless completed just so, the form will be rejected) + LIT (sparked) + A (†) + IRE (rage)

13a   In audition, repairs // some shoes (5)

HEELS~ — sounds like (in audition) HEALS (repairs)

14a   Nothing in Kansas // squeals (5)

O|IN|KS — O (nothing; letter that looks like a zero) + IN (†) + KS (Kansas; postal service abbrev.)

16a   One in hurry after // lounge seat (6)

CHA(I)SE — I ([Roman numeral for] one) contained in (in) CHASE (hurry after)

20a   Evergreens behind small // mountain ridges (6)

S|PINES — PINES (evergreens) following (behind) S (small; abbrev.)

21a   Second youngster with a // breathing apparatus (5)

S|CUB|A — S (second; abbrev.) + CUB (youngster) + (with) A (†)

24a   Flower associated with hot // celebrants in March (5)

IRIS|H — IRIS (flower) + (associated with) H (hot; abbrev.)

25a   Article in Mad profiles // gemstones (4-5)

FIRE OP(A)LS — A ([indefinite] article) contained in (in) anagram (mad) of PROFILES

Scratching the Surface
Mad[7] is an American humor magazine founded in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the cultural landscape of the 20th century, reaching a readership of more than two million during its 1974 circulation peak.

27a   Comeback of “Finks” band // being featured (8)

STAR<|RING — reversal of (comeback of) RATS (finks) + RING (band)

28a   Some stones with designs // arrived with rings (6)

CAME|OS — CAME (arrived) + (with) OS (rings; plural of a letter that looks like a ring)

29a   Steadies troubled // part of Manhattan (4,4)

{EAST SIDE}* — anagram (troubled) of STEADIES

The East Side of Manhattan^[7] refers to the side of Manhattan Island which abuts the East River and faces Brooklyn and Queens.

30a   Information about first of eight // sides of a gem (6)

FAC(E)TS — FACTS (information) containing (about) E (first [initial letter] of Eight)

Down

1d   Love calling // oversight (8)

O|MISSION — O (love; nil tennis score) + MISSION (calling)

2d   Kid // recycled angry lie (8)

YEARLING* — anagram (recycled) of ANGRY LIE

3d   Excellent opening // occasion (5)

E|VENT — E (excellent; abbrev. used by a teacher to grade schoolwork) + VENT (opening)

5d   Innocent // I entering part of a cathedral (5)

NA(I)VE — I (†) contained in (entering) NAVE (part of a cathedral)

Scratching the Surface
Pope Innocent I[7] (d. 417) served as the Pope of the Catholic Church from 401 to his death in 417.

6d   A classic computer game’s about the misplaced // gemstones (9)

A|M(ETH*)YST|S — {A (†) + MYST (classic computer game) + S ('s)} containing (about) an anagram (misplaced) of THE

Myst^[7] is a graphic adventure puzzle video game initially released on the Macintosh platform in 1993. Versions were later released for other platforms.

7d   Subsequently taking hit /in/ state of agitation (6)

LAT(H)ER — LATER (subsequently) containing (taking) H (hit; abbrev. used in baseball stats)

8d   After commencement, most adventurous // senior (6)

_OLDEST — [B]OLDEST (most adventurous) with the initial letter deleted (after commencement)

11d   Last member of jazz club obtaining third-rate // gemstone (6)

Z|IR(C)ON — Z (last member [final letter] of jazZ) + IRON ([golf] club) containing (obtaining) C (third-rate)

15d   Gemstones /and/ a pair of pennies found in British counties (9)

S(A|PP)HIRES — {A (†) + PP (pair of pennies; p^[5] beng a British abbreviation for penny)} contained in (found in) SHIRES (British counties)

Shire^[5] is a British term for a county, especially in England.

17d   Maintain // a lock from the rear (6)

A|SSERT< — A (†) + reversal (from the rear) of TRESS (lock [of hair])

This would have been far more appropriate as an across clue.

18d   Petition involving northern Europeans /and/ North Africans (8)

SU(DANES)E — SUE (petition) containing (involving) DANES (northern Europeans)

19d   Good grade helps // members of the orchestra (8)

B|ASSISTS — B (good [academic] grade) + ASSISTS (helps)

22d   Initially take issue /with/ lightweight paper (6)

T|ISSUE — T (initially take; initial letter of Take) + (with) ISSUE (†)

I think one has no choice but to treat the word "with" as a link word — although I am not enamoured with this construction.

I have seen "with" used as a link word but in a clue construction in which it was preceded by the definition and followed by a charade (the inverse of the situation that we find in this clue).

In a review, I suggested that the previously encountered example could be explained in either of a couple of ways. First, with^[11] could be used in the sense of characterized by or having ⇒ a person with intelligence and initiative. That is, the solution is produced from the constituent elements of the charade.

An even better explanation might be that the word "with" is expressing causality between the definition and wordplay. The preposition with^[5] may be used to indicate the cause of a condition ⇒ he was trembling with fear. Used in this sense, the word "with" essentially means "resulting from".

Both of these explanations work when the definition precedes the link word but I don't think they work well when the definition follows the link word. Here, I believe we need a link word that connotes "results in" rather than "results from".

23d   Giants /and/ Browns interrupted by The Thing (6)

T(IT)ANS — TANS (browns) containing (interrupted by) IT (the thing)

Scratching the Surface

The New York Giants[7] are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Cleveland Browns[7] are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. One might imagine The Thing[7] to be a reference to the 1982 American science fiction horror film based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There? It tells the story of a group of American researchers in Antarctica who encounter the eponymous "Thing", a parasitic extraterrestrial life form that assimilates and then imitates other organisms. The group is overcome by paranoia and conflict as they learn that they can no longer trust each other and that any one of them can be the Thing.

25d   Penalized // discovery at hearing (5)

FINED~ — sounds like (at hearing) FIND (discovery)

26d   Nebraska town/’s/ mantra, I see (5)

OM|AHA — OM (mantra) + AHA (I see)

Om^[5] is a mystic syllable, considered the most sacred mantra in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. It appears at the beginning and end of most Sanskrit recitations, prayers, and texts.

Epilogue

Today's puzzle  is a veritable treasure trove of gemstones

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