Thursday, June 14, 2018 — DT 28658

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28658
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, February 9, 2018
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28658]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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

The consensus appears to be that this puzzle is a bit less difficult than those from earlier in the week. A couple of clues, 11a and 18d, generated considerable comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog regarding whether the solution and the definition are, in fact, matching parts of speech.

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^*)

---

^* 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   Civilised // European embracing modern form of technology (6)

In Crosswordland, I have observed that a European is almost invariably a Pole.

IT^[5] is the abbreviation for information technology.

4a   Critical point /when/ Catholic is bowled over by goddess (6)

In Egyptian mythology, Isis^[5] is a goddess of fertility, wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Her worship spread to western Asia, Greece, and Rome, where she was identified with various local goddesses.

8a   Something attractive has Heather // speaking slowly (8)

Ling^[5] is another name for the common heather^[5], a purple-flowered Eurasian heath that grows abundantly on moorland and heathland [especially in the UK].

10a   Viewer /sees/ lord outside gym (6)

A lord^[10] is a male member of the nobility, especially in Britain.

A peer^[5] is a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.

"gym [class]" = PE (show explanation )

PE^[5] is an abbreviation^* for physical education.

---

^* In my experience, phys ed^{[3,6,11,12,14]} is the more common shortened form in North America.

hide explanation

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat describes the container as a member of the House of Lords. In the UK, the House of Lords[5] (often referred to as the Lords) is the higher chamber of Parliament, composed of peers and bishops.

11a   See ship // dropping (4)

"see" = LO (show explanation )

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

hide explanation

"ship" = SS (show explanation )

In Crosswordland, a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[5] ⇒ the SS Canberra.

hide explanation

---

One context in which "dropping" might be used in this sense is ⇒ the magnificent display of autumn colours is soon followed by the dropping of leaves.

12a   Sailor outside port with fishing item /is/ entertaining little figure (10)

A mate^[3,4,11] (short for first mate^[3,4,11]) is an officer second in command to the captain of a merchant ship.

Rio de Janeiro^[5] (commonly known as Rio) is a city in eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast. The chief port of Brazil, it was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.

13a   Female dancer /gets/ word of understanding when awful snigger goes round (6,6)

In radio communication, roger^[5] is used to indicate (to the sender) that a message has been received ⇒ Roger; we’ll be with you in about ten minutes. More generally, it is used as an informal term to express assent or understanding ⇒ ‘Go light the stove.’ ‘Roger, Mister Bossman,’ Frank replied.

---

Ginger Rogers^[5] (1911–1995) was an American actress and dancer; born Virginia Katherine McMath. She is known for her dancing partnership with Fred Astaire, during which she appeared in musicals including Top Hat (1935). Her solo acting career included the film Kitty Foyle (1940), for which she won an Oscar.

16a   Party with any number under canvas /makes one/ unhappy (12)

In Britain, disco^[5] — in addition to being a style of music or dancing or a club at which such music is performed — can also refer to a party at which people dance to such music.

"any number" = N (show explanation )

The letter n^[10] is used (especially in mathematics) as a symbol to represent an indefinite number (of) ⇒ there are n objects in a box.

hide explanation

20a   Criticising // fizzy drink offered by the French doctor -- no good (10)

Asti^[7] (formerly known as Asti Spumante) is a sparkling white Italian wine (show more ).

Asti is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but production is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation.

show less

"the French" = LA (show explanation )

In French, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

hide explanation

"doctor" = MB (show explanation )

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree. 

hide explanation

While one could further decompose the wordplay into N (no) and G (good; for instance, a grade received on a school assignment or test), NG^[3,4,11] and/or its variants N.G., ng, and n.g. are listed in several dictionaries as abbreviations for no good.

21a   Club housing old // vessel (4)

22a   Tiny // piece of music with a final twist (6)

Minuet^[5] can denote:

• a slow, stately ballroom dance for two in triple time, popular especially in the 18th century
• a piece of music in triple time in the style of a minuet, typically as a movement in a suite, sonata, or symphony and frequently coupled with a trio

23a   Get a lute to play? /You need/ instruction (8)

24a   Types of exams /offering/ breaks around lunchtime? (6)

I have observed that the denizens of Crosswordland typically favour a late lunch.

---

Resit^[5] is a British^* term which means:

• (verb) to take (an examination) again after failing it  ⇒ she is resitting her maths GCSE [General Certificate of Secondary Education]
• (noun) an examination that is resat ⇒ the system allows the office to timetable all resits in a single block

---

^* Despite being characterized by Oxford Dictionaries as British, I must say that this term does not sound at all foreign to my ear.

25a   Having not looked at words, // not prepared, falling short (6)

Unread^[5] is an archaic term denoting (of a person) not well read.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat hints that we need a word meaning ‘not prepared’ (like King Ethelred?). Ethelred II[5] (c.969–1016), king of England 978–1016, was known as Ethelred the Unready. Ethelred's inability to confront the Danes after he succeeded his murdered half-brother St Edward the Martyr led to his payment of tribute to prevent their attacks. In 1013 he briefly lost his throne to the Danish king Sweyn I.

Down

1d   Like a table needed by chemist -- I will contribute to it (8)

The entire clue is a cryptic definition which has a precise definition embedded within it.

The periodic table^[5] is a table of the chemical elements arranged in order of atomic number, usually in rows, so that elements with similar atomic structure (and hence similar chemical properties) appear in vertical columns. 

Thus the solution is PERIODIC, the adjective that describes the table used by the chemist.

The symbol for the chemical element iodine is I^[5].

Not only does iodine contribute to the periodic table (i.e., is one of the elements in table) but the letter "I" contributes to (is one of the letters forming) the word PERIODIC (in fact it makes a two-fold contribution).

2d   Scottish location // has women wearing garlands (5)

W^[2] is the abbreviation for women or women's (the latter denoting a clothing size).

A lei^[5] is a Polynesian garland of flowers.

Lewis^[5] is the northern part of the island of Lewis and Harris^* in the Outer Hebrides.

---

^* Lewis and Harris^[5] (also Lewis with Harris) is the largest and northernmost island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland; chief town, Stornoway. The island, which is separated from the mainland by the Minch, consists of a northern part, Lewis, and a smaller and more mountainous southern part, Harris.

3d   One attempting to keep two maidens // more tidy (7)

"maiden"  = M (show explanation )

In cricket, a maiden^[5], also known as a maiden over and denoted on cricket scorecards by the abbreviation m.^[10], is an over^* in which no runs are scored.

---

^* An over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

hide explanation

5d   Show convincing evidence once more /for/ rebuke (7)

6d   Scottish storyteller /in/ street service finishing prematurely (9)

In the Christian Church, evensong^[5] is a service of evening prayers, psalms, and canticles, conducted according to a set form, especially that of the Anglican Church ⇒ choral evensong.

---

Robert Louis Stevenson^[5] (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer. Stevenson made his name with the adventure story Treasure Island (1883). Other notable works: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Kidnapped (both 1886).

7d   Shelter in piggery -- /is/ weather like this outside? (6)

9d   Various Tobago girls -- // one 'talks rubbish' (11)

Oxford Dictionaries considers the word rubbish^[5] (in all senses) to be British — despite it not being characterized as such by American dictionaries. I think, like starlings, the word has long ago become naturalized in North America.

---

A garbologist^[5] is someone who studies a society's waste materials in order to comment on its people's lifestyle, etc.

14d   Restless types // chat about expert not in favour (9)

15d   Crazy // act -- one's called to interrupt it (8)

The wordplay parses as DEED (act) containing (one has ... to interrupt it) RANG (called).

Note that, in the surface reading, the 's could be a contraction for either is or has. However, in the cryptic reading, it can only be a contraction for has.

17d   South American favourite about to be nabbed /as/ one sought by police (7)

I interpreted the wordplay differently from Deep Threat. I actually did consider his explanation but rejected it. I parsed the clue as S (south; abbrev.) + US (American) + PET (favourite) containing (to be nabbed) C (about; circa, abbrev.). This employs the "recipe" construction where the clue is interpreted as "South American favourite; about to be nabbed".

The issue that I have with Deep Threat's parsing is that "caught" is a synonym of "nabbed" rather than "to be nabbed".

18d   Sound of giant // to be more constrained (7)

In modern usage, a titan is figuratively a giant — a titan^{* [5]} being  a person or thing of very great strength, intellect, or importance ⇒ a titan of American industry.

---

^* In Classical Greek mythology, the Titans and Titanesses^[7] were members of the second order of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans most famously included the first twelve children of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Heaven). They were giant deities of incredible strength, who ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and also composed the first pantheon of Greek deities.

There is a discussion in the thread arising from Comment #2 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog concerning the equivalency of TIGHTEN and "to be more constrained".

19d   Sword // Rear Admiral placed on support (6)

RA^[10] is the abbreviation for rear admiral.

21d   Lines penned by queen maybe, // a beautiful person (5)

"line" = L (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for line is l.^[5] ⇒ l. 648.

hide explanation

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