Monday, July 23, 2018 — DT 28685 (Published Saturday, July 21, 2018)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28685
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28685]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K
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
Notes
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, July 21, 2018 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

Today is a rare day indeed — not because the puzzle is a pangram^* but because I recognized it as a pangram.

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^* a puzzle in which every letter of the alphabet appears at least once in the solutions to the clues

You may find Mr K's preamble on Big Dave's Crossword Blog especially interesting today. He includes information about a failed attempt some twenty years ago by The Daily Telegraph to have computers create cryptic crossword puzzles displacing human setters.

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

7a   Performing boy /creates/ strange events (6-2)

9a   Body part /of/ cat probed by a practitioner, ultimately (6)

10a   Fairy // queen admitted to malice (6)

"queen" = R (show explanation )

Queen may be abbreviated as Q, Qu. or R.

Q^[5] is an abbreviation for queen that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

Qu.^[2] is another common abbreviation for Queen.

In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms^*, Regina^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for queen] denotes the reigning queen, used following a name (e.g. Elizabetha Regina, Queen Elizabeth) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Regina v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

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^* A Commonwealth realm^[7] is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares the same person, currently Elizabeth II, as its head of state and reigning constitutional monarch, but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms. There are currently sixteen Commonwealth realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific island nations.

Thus Queen Elizabeth signs her name as 'Elizabeth R' as seen here on Canada's paint-stained constitution.

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A sprite^[5] is an elf or fairy.

11a   Boring // book about anger and self-control, primarily (8)

12a   He, for example, // in holy Mecca with limbs broken (8,6)

The symbol for the chemical element helium is He^[5].

Scratching the Surface
Mecca[5] is a city in western Saudi Arabia, an oasis town in the Red Sea region of Hejaz, east of Jiddah, considered by Muslims to be the holiest city of Islam.

15a   There may be talk after this // Fifties dance (4)

Jive talk^[10] is another name for jive^[10], a variety of American slang spoken chiefly by Black people, especially jazz musicians.

Jive talk^[10] (or jive^[10]) is also US slang for deliberately misleading or deceptive talk.

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Jive^[10] is a style of lively and jerky dance performed to jazz and, later, to rock and roll, popular especially in the 1940s and 1950s.

17a   Allowed out of bed? /That's/ a relief (3-2)

19a   Cover // Westlife's first hit (4)

Scratching the Surface

Westlife[7] were an Irish pop vocal group, formed in Dublin in 1998 and disbanded in 2012. The band was viewed with total of over a billion views in Youtube. They are Guinness Book of World Records holders for having its first seven consecutive number one singles, most public appearances in 36 hours by a pop group, most singles to debut at number one on the UK chart and top selling album group in the 21st century in the United Kingdom.

20a   Ordering again? Between the two of us, // I couldn't agree more (5,7,2)

23a   Porter, say, /in/ company with male model (8)

Cole Porter^[5] (1892–1964) was an American songwriter. He is known for songs such as ‘Let's Do It’, ‘Night and Day’, and ‘Begin the Beguine’ and the musicals Anything Goes (1934) and Kiss me, Kate (1948).

25a   Resolve /of/ detectives diving into river (6)

"detectives" = CID (show explanation )

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

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The Dee^[5,7] could refer to any of several rivers in Scotland, England, Ireland, and Australia among which the most prominent are:

• a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
• a river that rises in North Wales and flows past Chester and on into the Irish Sea

27a   Witness // a time trial (6)

Scratching the Surface
In various sports, a time trial[5] is a test of a competitor's individual speed over a set distance, especially a cycling race in which competitors are separately timed.

28a   Allow // penalty (8)

Sanction^[5] is an interesting word, effectively being almost its own antonym. It can mean either official permission or approval for an action or a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.

Down

1d   Very happy /to make/ broth (4)

2d   At home, stiff /and/ weak (6)

3d   Giving rise to defeat /in/ tie (4)

My first (incorrect) attempt was KNIT.

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Tonk^[5] is an informal (seemingly British^*) term denoting to hit hard or, by extension, to defeat heavily or trounce ⇒ Villa were tonked by local rivals Birmingham City.

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^* based on the absence of the word from American dictionaries

4d   Like a squirrel checking its tail /in/ light fall of snow? (6)

5d   Weapon /taken from/ section of ship under bridge (8)

6d   Animated movie // film a man shot about return of artist (6,4)

"artist" = RA (show explanation )

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA^[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain. 

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Animal Farm^[7] is an allegorical novella by George Orwell^*, first published in England in 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union.

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^* pen name of English novelist Eric Arthur Blair

Animal Farm has been adapted to film twice. Both differ from the novel and have been accused of taking significant liberties, including sanitising some aspects.

Animal Farm (1954) is an animated feature. In 1974, CIA operative E. Howard Hunt (one of the "plumbers" of Watergate infamy) revealed that he had been sent by the CIA's Psychological Warfare department to obtain the film rights from Orwell's widow, and the resulting 1954 animation was funded by the agency.

8d   Number in science lab initially /producing/ copy (7)

Sci.^[10] is the abbreviation for science or scientific.

Behind the Picture
Mr K illustrates his review with a picture of a piece of street art created by England-based street artist Banksy[7]. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique.

13d   Hit toy, toy I mistreated, /being/ snobbish (5-5)

14d   Large Italian male, // supple (5)

"Italian" = IT, in reference to either the language or the vermouth (show explanation )

This cluing might be explained in a couple of ways:

• It.^[10] is an abbreviation for Italy or Italian [language].


• Italian^[10] is another name for Italian vermouth. It^[5] is a dated informal British term for Italian vermouth ⇒ he poured a gin and it.

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16d   Supplied // key, then made a clever remark (8)

18d   Peer, /seeing/ a young man entering security number (7)

A peer^[10] is a member of a nobility; in other words, a nobleman — in this case, not British.

Historically, a paladin^[5] was any of the twelve peers of Charlemagne's court, of whom the Count Palatine was the chief.

21d   Made in imitation of // some items in jeweller's at Zermatt (6)

Scratching the Surface
Zermatt[5] is an Alpine ski resort and mountaineering centre near the Matterhorn, in southern Switzerland.

22d   Refinement /shown by/ French resort type? Not half! (6)

Nice^[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy.

24d   Flower // sprang up (4)

26d   Decline // work supporting doctor (4)

"work" = OP (show explanation )

In music, an opus^[5] (plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.

The abbreviation Op.^[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..

Opus^[5] can also be used in a more general sense to mean an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

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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