Thursday, June 28, 2018

Thursday, June 28, 2018 — DT 28668

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28668
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28668]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
2Kiwis
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

Not only is 22d a magnificent clue, it very nearly defeated me. As I sat down to write the review, this clue remained unsolved despite having revisited the puzzle several times. When I eventually reached the clue, I took one last look before resorting to checking the 2Kiwis' review — and the penny dropped with a resounding thud!

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   Guidelines /may see/ dreadful deeds executed? (10)

In Crosswordland, you will find that the preferred method of execution is beheading.

6a   Horse covering miles /in/ search (4)

A cob[5] is a powerfully built, short-legged horse ⇒ he’s got a nice young bay cob if you want to hack*.
* hack[10] is a British term meaning to ride (a horse) cross-country for pleasure

9a   Goes behind on // yields (7)

10a   Express disapproval of // traditional history written by deputy (7)

12a   Amazed /to see/ second lorry after crash (13)

Lorry[5] is the common name in the UK for the vehicle known in North America as a truck[5] — although the word truck would also seem to be well known to the Brits. In fact, Oxford Dictionaries rather circularly defines a lorry as being a truck and a truck as being a lorry.

14a   Consumers /will see/ ruses deployed on purpose (3-5)

15a   Resent the Queen/'s/ bodyguard (6)

"the Queen" = 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.

hide explanation


Minder[5] is a British term meaning:
  • a person whose job it is to look after someone or something ⇒ a baby-minder
  • (informal) a bodyguard employed to protect a celebrity or criminal ⇒ he was accompanied by his personal minder
Behind the Picture
The 2Kiwis illustrate their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog with a shot of the lead characters from the TV series Minder[7], a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. The original show ran from 1979 to 1994.

The show centred around Terry McCann, an honest and likable bodyguard (minder in London slang) and Arthur Daley, a socially ambitious, but highly unscrupulous importer-exporter, wholesaler, used-car salesman and purveyor of anything else from which there was money to be made, whether within the law or not.

The series was largely responsible for putting the word minder, meaning personal bodyguard, into the UK popular lexicon.

17a   Contemporary // fashion and the navy (6)

"the navy" = RN (show explanation )

The Royal Navy[5] (abbreviation RN) is the British navy. It was the most powerful navy in the world from the 17th century until the Second World War.

hide explanation

19a   Prospect /of/ gold in part of Latin America (8)

"gold" = OR (show explanation )

Or[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

In heraldry, a tincture[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

hide explanation

21a   12 // flatbed barges on the move (13)

The numeral "12" is a cross reference indicator ... (show more )

To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light* identified by the cross reference indicator.

The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.
* light-coloured cell in the grid

hide explanation

24a   Love to finish in profit /for/ school event (4,3)

"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).

hide explanation

Here and There
Open day[5] is a British term for a day when members of the public may visit a place or institution to which they do not usually have access.

The equivalent North American term is open house.

25a   V /gives/ victory, in a way (7)

Scratching the Surface
In addition to being the abbreviation for versus, V[10] is the symbol for victory. The victory-freedom sign[7] is famously associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II.

26a   Large // spruce (4)

27a   Small community/'s/ agreed resolution (10)

Down

1d   Bolt/'s/ key skill (4)

Scratching the Surface
One can suppose that the surface reading is an allusion to Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt[5].

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing he won gold medals in the 100 metre and 200 metre races, setting a new world record time for each. He defended his Olympic titles in 2012 and 2016, winning gold in the 100 metre and 200 metre races both years, and becoming the first athlete to win gold in the 100 metre and 200 metre races three times.

2d   Staff outside gallery // took turns (7)

"gallery" = TATE (show explanation )

3d   Restricted, // CID curbs crime in a riot (13)

Scratching the Surface
The Criminal Investigation Department (seemingly better known by its abbreviation CID[2]) is the detective branch of a British police force.

4d   Clubbable types // jailed, with ringleaders on the outside (8)

Clubbable[5] (adjective) denotes suitable for membership of a club because of one's sociability or popularity ⇒ his social world was inhabited exclusively by clubbable men.

5d   The lowest point // in a directive revealed? (5)

7d   Ring round /being/ pompous (7)

Orotund[5] (an adjective used to describe writing, style, or expression) means pompous or pretentious.

8d   Money comes after opportunity // to eat (5,5)

11d   Market set up weekly /in/ slip road (9,4)

Petticoat Lane[5] — almost certainly a British term — denotes a street market resembling that held in Petticoat Lane. The term alludes to Petticoat Lane, the former name of a street in the City of London.

Here and There
Comparing definitions for petticoat in American and British dictionaries, one would have to conclude that an American petticoat is somewhat more elaborate than its British counterpart.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines petticoat[3] as a girl's or woman's undergarment, worn under a dress or skirt, that is often full and trimmed with ruffles or lace.

This would appear to be a fancier garment than that described by the British dictionaries. Typical is Oxford Dictionaries which defines petticoat[5] as a woman’s light, loose undergarment hanging from the shoulders or the waist, worn under a skirt or dress — essentially just another name for a slip[5].

Scratching the Surface
Slip road[5] is a British term for a road entering or leaving a motorway* or dual carriageway*.
* Carriageway[2,5] is a British term for the part of a road used by vehicles rather than pedestrians, or a part used by vehicles travelling in one particular direction. In the UK, a divided highway is known as a dual carriageway[5] and a controlled access divided highway is called a motorway[5].

13d   Sort of ground // farmers opt to change (10)

16d   Falls /could show/ eyesight problem (8)

18d   /Seeing/ late goal, // one's going nowhere (4,3)

Stepping to the front ...
Due to the use of a syntax known as "fronting" in this clue, the link word "seeing" is positioned at the beginning of the clue rather than in the middle of the clue where it would be found had the setter used a normal declarative syntax:
  • One's going nowhere seeing /seeing/ late goal (4,3)
Fronting — moving part of a sentence from its normal position to the beginning of the sentence — is a syntax typically used for emphasis and dramatic effect. In cryptic crosswords, it is usually employed to enhance the surface reading of the clue.

20d   Way of cooking /using/ beer to bind dip (2,5)

Al dente[5] denotes (of food, typically pasta) cooked so as to be still firm when bitten.

22d   Rough stuff, for instance -- // word that finds partner in crime? (5)

Rather than being "an all in one clue" (as the 2Kiwis describe it in their review), I see this as a double definition in which the second definition is cryptic.

The first part of the clue is an example (for instance) of a rhyme[5], a short — in this case, very short — poem in which the sound of the word or syllable at the end of each line corresponds with that at the end of another.

The second part of the clue is a cryptic allusion to the fact that the word "rhyme" does rhyme with the word "crime".

23d   Group holding start of this // instruction to printer (4)

Stet[5] (Latin, 'let it stand') is an instruction on a printed proof to indicate that a marked alteration should be ignored.
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
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