Thursday, August 22, 2018 — DT 28710

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28710
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28710]
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

I did complete the grid without outside help but not without a few question marks requiring further research to understand the solutions to some of the clues.

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 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   Weigh up // defence's case and set free (10)

6a   Measure /that's/ too expensive to lose heart (4)

10a   Sight // victory as it evolves (5)

11a   Person doomed to carry fallen idol /is/ canal worker (9)

12a   Makes fun of // date disheartened with fairground attractions (7)

13a   Revolution by engineers // to be green (7)

"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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14a   Offence /of/ men renting if thrown out (12)

18a   Eastern firm employed by a French communist /is/ open to all (12)

"a French" = UN (show explanation )

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

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21a   Office of monarch ignoring government/'s/ fellow feeling (7)

G^[1] is the abbreviation for Government as in G-man^[1] (Government man), a US term for an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

23a   European articles will come after a second // apart (7)

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

In German, der^[8] is one of the several forms that the definite article may assume.

24a   The people'/s/ vote in Ohio worried head of industry (3,6)

Hoi polloi^[5] (usually the hoi polloi) is a derogatory term for the masses or the common people ⇒ avoid mixing with the hoi polloi.

25a   Something that blows over, /giving/ great enjoyment (5)

"over" = O (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation O^[5] denotes over(s), an over^[5] being a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

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26a   Separate // skill required after parking (4)

27a   Angry about rescheduled event /being/ confirmed (10)

Down

1d   Share // identification in club with a poor reputation (6)

2d   People who fail /in/ ambitious resolutions turning up (6)

3d   Getting on train /for/ Harrow, perhaps (8,6)

Harrow School^[5] (informally Harrow) is a boys' public school (see following box) in northwest London, founded under Queen Elizabeth I in 1571.

Here and There

What we in North America would call a public school[2], is known in the UK as a state school[5] or a maintained school[5]. In the UK, the term public school is used for a special class of independent school[10]. In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school[5] system. A private school[2,5] is a particular category of independent school, being a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees. A public school[2] is yet another category of independent school, a secondary school, especially a boarding school run independently of the state, financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees. State school[5] is a British term for a school that is funded and controlled by the state and for which no fees are charged. In England and Wales, a maintained school[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority.

4d   Doctor /from/ Bognor perhaps starts to treat rheum after rhinoplasty (9)

Bognor Regis^[7] is a seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England between Brighton and Portsmouth.

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In Britain and New Zealand, a registrar^[5,10] is a middle-ranking hospital doctor undergoing training as a specialist in either medicine (medical registrar) or surgery (surgical registrar). A registrar is senior to a houseman^[5] [hospital intern] but junior to a consultant^[5] [hospital doctor of senior rank within a specific field].

Really?
Is cluing REGIS by "Bognor perhaps" not equivalent to cluing NEW as "York perhaps"? Nevertheless, this construction raised nary a peep of protest on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

5d   Cosmetic // surgery to tensor with no end of problems (5)

7d   Shows nervousness /seeing/ the Yorkshire charmers (8)

In dialects spoken in Northern England (including Yorkshire), the word the is commonly shortened to t'. An old Yorkshire saying goes "The only good thing to come out of Lancashire is t’road back to Yorkshire"^*.

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^* Rivalry between these two northern counties dates back at least to the Wars of the Roses^[5], the 15th-century English civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster, represented by white and red roses respectively, during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III.

8d   Signs // left on board sent off (8)

9d   Big city/'s/ argument against Mediterranean island forest (8,6)

Crete^[5] is a Greek island in the eastern Mediterranean (show more ).

Crete is noted for the remains of the Minoan civilization which flourished there in the 2nd millennium BC. It fell to Rome in 67 BC and was subsequently ruled by Byzantines, Venetians, and Turks. Crete played an important role in the Greek struggle for independence from the Turks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming administratively part of an independent Greece in 1913.

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15d   Fruit /that may be/ source of honey in Spain (9)

"Spain" = E (show explanation ) 

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

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16d   Food outlet // folds before spring (4,4)

Tuck shop^[5] is an informal British term for a shop, typically one on school premises, that sells confectionery, snacks, and soft drinks^* ⇒ the tasty crisps [potato chips] have proved popular with school tuck shops.

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^* Tuck^[5] is a dated, informal British term for food eaten by children at school as a snack ⇒ (i) our parents provided us with a bit of money to buy tuck with; (ii) they send me a tuck box every month.

17d   Weather feature that is on river // edge (8)

19d   Poems on South American // port (6)

Although the 2Kiwis state that SA is "the abbreviation for South American", this abbreviation is not to be found in my edition of The Chambers Dictionary (the "Bible" for The Daily Telegraph crossword^*) although The Chambers Dictionary does list SA as the abbreviation for South America. To be absolutely precise — or, should you prefer, totally pedantic — one would have to say that we have S (the abbreviation for South) followed by A (the abbreviation for American).

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^* all definitions, abbreviations and spellings used in The Daily Telegraph puzzles are expected to be in accordance with those found in The Chambers Dictionary

20d   Furrow, /seeing/ circle in wood (6)

22d   Unhappy Londoner holding // post carrying power (5)

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