Thursday, August 2, 2018 — DT 28693

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28693
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, March 22, 2018
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28693]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By pommers
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

It has been a while since we have seen a RayT puzzle. The last one appeared in the National Post on June 29. While the gap in the UK was only four weeks, it stretches to almost five weeks in Canada as the puzzles are published here at a rate of five per week versus six per week in the UK. The puzzle carried by the National Post on July 17 (in what should have been RayT's slot) bore some of the hallmarks of a RayT puzzle but clearly was not one of his. I wonder if that might have been a ploy by the puzzles editor to see if solvers would be taken in by an impersonator.

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   Content // doing porridge (6)

Porridge is an informal British expression^* for either:

• jail^[1]
• time spent in prison^[5] ⇒ I’m sweating it out doing porridge

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^* The expression apparently derives from porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons.

The Story Behind the Video

The video clip used by pommers to illustrate his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog comes from Porridge[7], a British situation comedy broadcast on the BBC from 1974 to 1977. Widely considered to be one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time, the show's protagonists are inmates at the fictional HMP [Her Majesty's Prison] Slade in Cumberland. The show spawned a 1979 feature film also titled Porridge (released under the title Doing Time in North America) and a 1978 television sequel, Going Straight.

4a   Liking // power and charm (8)

"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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9a   Fly /is/ twice tested, oddly (6)

The tsetse^[5] (also tsetse fly) is an African bloodsucking fly which bites humans and other mammals, transmitting sleeping sickness and nagana^*.

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^* Nagana^[5] is a disease of cattle, antelope, and other livestock in southern Africa, characterized by fever, lethargy, and oedema, and caused by trypanosome parasites transmitted by the tsetse fly.

10a   Handle // can start shaking (8)

12a   Leader of Conservatives stirring // wild party (8)

13a   Blokes practically great // in the head (6)

Bloke^[5] is an informal British^* term for a man ⇒ he’s a nice bloke.

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^* Very British, but certainly also very familiar to anyone on this side of the pond who has ever watched a British film or television programme

15a   Humiliation // as member rants insanely (13)

18a   Old chuntering about // lingerie (13)

Scratching the Surface
Chunter[5] is an informal British term meaning to talk or grumble monotonously ⇒ she chuntered on about her problems.

22a   Scattered // boxes primarily empty (6)

24a   By necessity // some wallpaper for ceiling (8)

26a   No one cheers over following rubbish // turn (8)

Cheers^[5] is an informal British expression of gratitude or acknowledgement for something ⇒ Billy tossed him the key. ‘Cheers, pal.’.

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

Rubbish^[3,4,11] is used in the sense of foolish words or speech; in other words, nonsense.^*

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^* 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 the word has long ago become naturalized in North America.

Rot^[3,4,11] is used in the sense of pointless talk or nonsense.

27a   Press // secretary with additional note about Queen (6)

PA^[5] is an abbreviation used in Britain^* for personal assistant.

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^* It is the use of the abbreviation that is British, not the term itself. Even in North America, I don't think the abbreviation is entirely unheard of.

"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.

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28a   Drink's knocked back, linger /for/ piece of cake (8)

"drink" = SUP (show explanation )

As a verb, sup^[5] is a dated or Northern English term meaning to take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls ⇒ (i) she supped up her soup delightedly; (ii) he was supping straight from the bottle.

As a noun, sup^[5] means

• a sip of liquid ⇒ he took another sup of wine
• (in Northern England or Ireland) an alcoholic drink ⇒ the latest sup from those blokes at the brewery

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29a   Reduce // sound of drill (6)

Down

1d   Sound // diplomacy after case of incarceration (6)

2d   He parades around // front line (9)

The spearhead^[10] is the leading force in a military attack.

3d   Trouble // from wind is turbulent (7)

5d   The woman's vulgarly mentioned // slips (4)

Here vulgar^[5] is used in the dated sense of characteristic of or belonging to ordinary people.

H-dropping^[7] or aitch-dropping is the deletion of the voiceless glottal fricative or "H sound". The phenomenon is common in many dialects of English, and is also found in certain other languages. Although common in most regions of England and in some other English-speaking countries, H-dropping is often stigmatized and perceived as a sign of careless or uneducated speech.

The reverse phenomenon, H-insertion or H-adding, is found in certain situations, sometimes as a hypercorrection by H-dropping speakers, and sometimes as a spelling pronunciation or out of perceived etymological correctness. A particular example of this is the spread of 'haitch' for 'aitch'.

This practice of dropping and inserting aitches reminds me of a story my mother delighted in recounting. An English couple had migrated to Canada and purchased a small dwelling. As their family grew, they added several additions to their home. As the Englishwoman explained to her neighbours, "With the birth of each child, we h'add a little h'ell to the 'ouse".

6d   Pines, say, losing one/'s/ presents (7)

7d   Change // a point to accommodate lawyer (5)

In the US, a district attorney^[5] (abbreviation DA) is a public official who acts as prosecutor for the state in a particular district.

8d   Shot by Italy changed // everything (8)

Tot^[5] is a chiefly British term for a small amount of a strong alcoholic drink such as whisky or brandy ⇒ a tot of brandy.

11d   Postman cycles losing heart /for/ rounds (7)

Postman Pat^[7] is a British stop-motion animated children's television series aimed at pre-school children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale.

14d   Directed by company, // switched men on board (7)

In chess, castle^[5] (verb) means to make a special move (no more than once in a game by each player) in which the king is transferred from its original square two squares along the back rank towards a rook on its corner square which is then transferred to the square passed over by the king.

16d   Agree new head /shows/ enthusiasm (9)

"head" = NESS (show explanation )

Ness^[5] (a term usually found in place names) means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

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17d   To purist rambling /is/ better (8)

19d   First of recipes: one's extravagant duck // dish (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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"duck" = O (show explanation )

In cricket, a duck^[5] (short for duck's egg) is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game.

In British puzzles, "duck" is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.

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20d   Pump up // popular apartment price finally (7)

In Britain, the term flat^[5] is generally used for what would be called an apartment^[5] in North America. The term apartment is used in Britain, but seemingly in a more restricted sense than in North America applying to either temporary or upscale accommodation.

As Oxford Dictionaries puts it, an apartment^[5] is:

• (British) a flat, typically one that is well appointed or used for holidays ⇒ self-catering holiday apartments
• (North American) any flat ⇒ the family lived in a rented apartment

21d   Ocean's relating to // salt? (6)

23d   They are against fiddling after losing a grand (5)

The use of the letter 'G' as an abbreviation for 'grand' is a North American usage that the Brits appear to have accepted (show more ).

While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.

Grand^[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒ he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G^[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒ I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.

G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:

• Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)^[5].
• Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars^[2].
• Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)^[4,10].

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This clue violates one of the fundamental conventions of cryptic crossword puzzles; namely, that a word cannot do "double duty" as the word "against" is doing in this clue (being part of the definition and part of the wordplay). This "indiscretion" by the setter generated a lot of discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

I did try to rationalize that perhaps the clue is a semi-all-in-one in which the entire clue serves as the definition and the wordplay is embedded within it. However, try as I might, I could not make a compelling case in support of that approach.

This situation could have been avoided had the clue been worded along the lines of:

• They protest // against fiddling after losing a grand (5)

25d   Etiquette /of/ fish knife's last (4)

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