Monday, July 30, 2018 — DT 28690 (Published Saturday, July 28, 2018)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28690
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, March 19, 2018
Setter Mister Ron (Chris Lancaster)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28690]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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 28, 2018 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

This is one of those rare occasions when the planets align and the puzzles appear on the same day of the week that they did in the UK. Despite it only having been awarded two stars for difficulty on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I would say that this offering may be a bit more challenging than we are accustomed to seeing in a "Monday" puzzle.

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   Advocate // against foreign currency? (8)

From a British perspective, someone who is pro pound is against foreign currency — the euro, in particular!

6a   Stop // believer adopting son (6)

A deist^[2] is someone who believes in the existence of God without acceptance of any religion or message revealed by God to man.

Delving Deeper
A theist[2] is someone who believes in the existence of God or a god, especially one revealed supernaturally to humans. An atheist[2] is someone who believes that there is no god. An agnostic[2] is someone who believes that one can know only about material things and so believes that nothing can be known about the existence of God.

9a   One in search of a bite (6)

10a   Second bowler? // He's out of this world (8)

In cricket, a fast bowler is known as a paceman^[2].

11a   Move // Whistler's new painting over (8)

Scratching the Surface
James McNeill Whistler[5] (1834–1903) was an American painter and etcher. Notable works: Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist’s Mother (portrait, 1872) [popularly known as Whistler's Mother].

12a   Guess I'm leaving // what's left in will (6)

13a   Change thief /and/ miser (5-7)

Miffypops directs us to "Find the word for the smallest denomination of small change in your pocket". Unlike the Brits, Canadians probably have not had this bit of change in their pocket for the last five years. Although its official name was the "one-cent piece", most people preferred to call it a penny^[7].

16a   Do ask police about Eastern // toy (12)

19a   Eager // to call artist first (6)

"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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21a   One might tape // instruction for Christmas Day broadcast? (8)

The Queen's Christmas Message^[7] (also known as The King's Christmas Message in the reign of a male monarch, formally as Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech) is a broadcast made by the sovereign of the Commonwealth realms to the Commonwealth of Nations each Christmas. The tradition began in 1932 with a radio broadcast by King George V on the British Broadcasting Corporation's Empire Service. Since 1952, the message has been read by Elizabeth II; today, it is broadcast on television, radio, and the Internet via various providers.

As the message is taped some time prior to being broadcast, an instruction given to the production crew might be "Record ER", ER being Queen Elizabeth's regnal cipher (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.

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23a   Sue // settled on one way in (8)

24a   Where musician might be in form (2,4)

I initially considered marking this clue as a double definition but after some deliberation elected to classify it as a cryptic definition with an embedded precise definition.

On song^[5] is an informal British expression meaning performing well ⇒ will Swindon^* be on song for the new season?.

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^* Swindon Town Football Club^[7] is an English association football [soccer] club based in Swindon, Wiltshire. The club participates in League One, the third tier in the English football league system.

25a   Get rid of // elected criminal, not Conservative (6)

"Conservative" = C (show explanation )

The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.^[10] or Con.^[10].

The Conservative Party^[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party^* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.

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^* Historically, a Tory^[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

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26a   Somewhere comfortable drinking wine? /That's/ most unpleasant! (8)

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.

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Down

2d   Reach the end of // rehearsal having exchanged words? (3,3)

Your bank account would run dry when you reach the end of [the funds in] the account.

3d   Power only confused // Cable's support (5)

"power" = P (show explanation )

In physics, P^[10] is a symbol used to represent power [among other things] in mathematical formulae.

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A pylon^[5] is a tall tower-like structure used for carrying electricity cables high above the ground.

Scratching the Surface
The surface reading is clearly an allusion to British politician Sir Vince Cable[7], the Leader of the Liberal Democrats*. * The Liberal Democrats[7] (often referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal British political party, formed in 1988 as a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a splinter group from the Labour Party.

4d   Rude // about penalty taken by a French defender initially (9)

"a French" = UN (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un^[8].

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5d   Demolish // bottom of second storey for refurbishment (7)

6d   Cover // discussion between Germany and Spain (5)

Rap^[5] is an informal term^* for a lengthy or impromptu conversation ⇒ dropping in after work for a rap over a beer.

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^* According to Oxford Dictionaries Online^[5], this is a North American term. However, neither The Chambers Dictionary^[1], Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2], nor Collins English Dictionary^[10] identify it as such.

"Germany" = D (show explanation )

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) country code for Germany is D^[5] [from German Deutschland].

German Licence Plate Format

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"Spain" = E (show explanation ) 

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Spain is E^[5] [from Spanish España].

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7d   Show // muscle in ruined castle (9)

8d   Frightened // beginning, then went ahead (8)

13d   Drop // high price twice, with a rand off (9)

As an anagram indicator, high^[2] is used in the sense of under the influence of drugs or alcohol alluding to the fact that such a state is characterized by being confused and mixed-up.

The rand^[5] (abbreviation R^[10]) is the basic monetary unit of South Africa, equal to 100 cents.

14d   Honour /that could make/ press angry (4,5)

The Iron Cross^[5] is the highest German military decoration for bravery, instituted in 1813.

15d   Arsenal // play amazing final in Europe (8)

Scratching the Surface
Arsenal Football Club[7] is an English professional association football [soccer] club based in Islington, London that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

17d   Encourage to support small // operator? (7)

18d   Economist/'s/ way of describing major speeches without books (6)

In Crosswordland, the term "books" or phrases such as "collection of books" or "religious books" are commonly used to clue either the Old Testament (OT) or the New Testament (NT). Today, as is frequently the case, the clue provides no indication whether the reference is to the former or the latter.

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John Maynard Keynes^[5], 1st Baron Keynes (1883–1946) was an English economist. He laid the foundations of modern macroeconomics with The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936), in which he argued that full employment is determined by effective demand and requires government spending on public works to stimulate this.

20d   Jar/'s/ good value (5)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[a] for good comes from its use in education as a mark awarded on scholastic assignments or tests.

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^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

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Rate^[5,10] is an informal [almost certainly British^*] term meaning to have a high opinion of ⇒ (i) Mike certainly rated her, goodness knows why; (ii) the clients do not rate the new system.

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^* at least when used as in the cited examples

22d   Dish // some fruit sorbet up (5)

Rösti^[5] is a Swiss dish of grated potatoes formed into a small flat cake and fried ⇒ the Swiss rösti, which is close to being their national home dish, is made with cooked potatoes.

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