Friday, August 24, 2018 — DT 28712

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28711
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, April 12, 2018
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28711]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Kath
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

This puzzle was not overly difficult — especially given that it was crafted by RayT.

After reading the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I feared that the puzzle published in the National Post might be significantly different than the one from the Telegraph Puzzles website that I had solved.

Comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog indicate that as many as twelve clues may have differed among versions of the puzzle appearing in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph and various online platforms.

As Miffypops explains in a response to Comment #27 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, in addition to the print edition of The Daily Telegraph (the so-called "dead tree" version), the puzzle appears on several online platforms in the UK.

There is a Telegraph Puzzles site that is available on subscription which most of my fellow bloggers have. That publishes the puzzles including the Toughie online at midnight. Then there is a [online] subscription to the newspaper as a whole. This is published sometime in the early hours and does not include the Toughie which is annoying.

In addition to the online versions mentioned by Miffypops, the puzzle is also apparently available as both an iPad and Android app.

The syndicated version of the puzzle that appears in today's National Post is identical to the version on the Telegraph Puzzles website. The discrepancies mentioned in comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog must therefore either be errors in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph that were introduced during the production process (which likely would also have appeared in the online subscription version of the paper) or errors in the versions appearing on the iPad and/or Android app.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Error in Monday's Puzzle

Here is a head's up to hopefully save you some grief on the weekend.

Clue 20d in the puzzle to be published on the Monday Diversions page tomorrow by the National Post will likely read:

• 20d   Goddess beginning to cavort before American (6)

This clue was later corrected on the Telegraph Puzzles website to read:

• 20d   Cactus goddess planted outside university (6)

Note: Despite being published in Canada several months after appearing in the UK, the syndicated puzzle carried by the National Post is actually distributed prior to its publication in The Daily Telegraph. I do not recall ever having seen corrections made subsequent to publication in the UK, such as the above, being reflected in the puzzle appearing in The National Post.

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 The Story 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   Amateur // poet adopting unusual title (10)

Dante^[5] (1265–1321), full name Dante Alighieri, was an Italian poet. His reputation rests chiefly on The Divine Comedy (circa 1309–20), an epic poem describing his spiritual journey through Hell and Purgatory and finally to Paradise. His love for Beatrice Portinari is described in Vita nuova (circa 1290-4).

6a   Go // mad in retirement (4)

9a   Offering support for church? (5)

10a   /It's/ improper for merriment to grip // actor (9)

Despite being positioned at the beginning of the clue, the word "it's" plays a role very similar to that of a link word.

12a   Search // dodgy publication associated with last of sleaze (7)

Rum^[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

13a   Debate // one's petition (5)

15a   Runs down // motorway before signal changed (7)

Motorway^[2,5] (abbreviation M^[5]) is a British, Australian, and New Zealand term for a dual-carriageway road [divided highway] designed for fast-moving traffic, especially one with three lanes per carriageway [direction of travel] and limited access and exit points [controlled access].

17a   Extravagant chap secures love // seat (7)

"extravagant" = OTT (show explanation )

OTT^[5] (short for over the top) is an informal British expression denoting excessive or exaggerated ⇒ presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT.

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"chap" = MAN (show explanation )

Chap^[3,4,11], an informal British^[5] or chiefly British^[3] term for a man or boy, is a shortened form of chapman^[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar^[a,b].

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^[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler^[14] which, in most senses, is a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
^[b] The current meaning of chap^[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.

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"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).

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19a   Performance payment /for/ Queen? (7)

A double definition with the second being a definition by example (as denoted by the question mark). The first is the fee one must pay to a musician, for instance, for the right to perform their work.

21a   No stamp fixed? He won't deliver! (7)

The entire clue is a cryptic definition which has wordplay (an anagram) embedded within it.

22a   Symbol in Greek, merely alphabetical initially} (5)

This clue presents a construction that is virtually the opposite of the previous clue. The entire clue provides the wordplay in which one finds embedded a somewhat cryptic definition of a letter in the Greek alphabet.

24a   More dubious /having/ left stranger (7)

27a   This rogue turned out // honest (9)

28a   Stop // sweetheart embracing bachelor (5)

"bachelor" = B (show explanation )

The abbreviation for Bachelor is B^[2] [presumably in the context of academic degrees].

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29a   Seeds that could be sown in the wild? (4)

The expression sow one's wild oats^[5] means to engage in a period of wild or irresponsible behaviour while young, especially involving many casual sexual relationships ⇒ he sowed his wild oats before settling down.

30a   Buffoons broadcast about primarily motor // testing (10)

Down

1d   Boring // spot around river (4)

2d   Get better following diet // strictly (9)

3d   Hard liquor after time /creates/ dull whine (5)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

H^[2,5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

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4d   Shocks accepting sweetheart/'s/ approaches (7)

Approaches^[5] is used in the sense^* of behaviour intended to propose personal or sexual relations with someone ⇒ feminine resistance to his approaches.

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^*according to Oxford Dictionaries Online this is a dated usage

5d   Fuss about power in engineers/'/ missile (7)

In this "stacking Russian doll" clue we find "power" inside (in) "engineers" which itself is inside (about) "fuss".

"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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"engineers" = RE (show explanation )

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers^[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

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7d   Counts length of // draw involving minutes and seconds (5)

8d   Growing // container good to protect spur (10)

"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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What did she say?
In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath writes begin with a container, the kind you might put your rubbish in. Bin[10,14] (also called dustbin or rubbish* bin) is the British term for a garbage can or trash can. * Rubbish[10,14] is the British term for garbage or trash.

11d   Old heads taking current // drugs (7)

Pate^[5] is an archaic or humorous term for a person's head.

"current" = I (show explanation )

In physics, I^[5] is a symbol used to represent electric current in mathematical formulae.

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14d   Showman // is more rapid, endlessly shuffling (10)

16d   Brave // girl over large insect (7)

18d   Significant // this compiler's British in spirit (9)

"this compiler" = ME (show explanation )

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

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Note that although the 's in the surface reading is a contraction of the word "is", in the cryptic reading it becomes a contraction of the word "has" with the wordplay parsing as ME (this compiler) + ('s; contraction of has) {B (British; abbrev.) contained in (in) MORALE (spirit)}.

20d   Cries about nothing and wif // colours (7)

21d   Papers regularly give// gift (7)

Pressie (alternate spelling of prezzie^[5]) is an informal British term for a present ⇒ a birthday card and prezzie for Chris.

23d   American soldier purchased // leg of lamb (5)

"American soldier" = GI (show explanation )

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war.

Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

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A gigot^[5] is a leg of mutton or lamb.

25d   Banker/'s/ attempt to leave business (5)

Banker is a whimsical Crosswordland term for a river — something that has banks. After all, if a tanker is something that has tanks then does it not logically follow that a banker must be something that has banks.

The Indus^[5] is a river of southern Asia, about 2,900 km (1,800 miles) in length, flowing from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. Along its valley an early civilization flourished from circa 2600 to 1760 BC. The Indus^[7] is the longest river of Pakistan.

26d   Ultimately dead rodent /causing/ bother (4)

Bother^[5] is a British exclamation used to express mild irritation or impatience ⇒ ‘Bother!’ she muttered.

Drat^[5] (often drat someone/something) is a mild expression of annoyance or irritation ⇒ Oh, drat Feargal and his suspicions!.

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Origin: Early 19th century: shortening of od rat, euphemism for God rot

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