Wednesday, August 1, 2018 — DT 28692

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28692
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28692]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By KiwiColin
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

The Briticisms in this puzzle certainly increase the difficulty level for solvers on this side of the pond. Although I was familiar with most of them, the term for betrayal at 13a was new to me. Fortunately, the solution is pretty obvious from the other half of the double definition alone.

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^*)

---

^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

---

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.

hide explanation

Across

1a   Unlucky // criminal searched around empty house (4,6)

Hard cheese^[5] is an informal British term used to express sympathy over a petty matter ⇒ jolly hard cheese, better luck next time!.

6a   Capital // equipment must need adjusting at the outset (4)

Riga^[5] is a port on the Baltic Sea, capital of Latvia.

9a   Cheeky one taken in by caller -- // a person who's not a real threat (5,5)

10a   Good deal, /but/ hard work if starting late (4)

Graft^[5] is an informal British term meaning:

• (noun) hard work ⇒ success came after years of hard graft
• (verb) work hard ⇒ I need people prepared to go out and graft

12a   Garment /worn by/ strong man regularly? (4)

As a link word, wear^[5] is used in the sense of to exhibit or present (a particular facial expression or appearance) ⇒ they wear a frozen smile on their faces.

13a   Divulging secrets, /and/ leaving (9)

Split^[5] is an informal British term meaning to betray the secrets of or inform on someone ⇒ I told him I wouldn't split on him.

15a   Best dress given to engineers /for/ industrial plant (8)

"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.

hide explanation

16a   Complete agreement /sees/ son in marriage (6)

18a   Statistician -- or a knowledgeable boxing // type who's socially inept (6)

In Britain, anorak^[5] is an informal, derogatory term for a studious or obsessive person with unfashionable and largely solitary interests ⇒ with his thick specs, shabby shoes, and grey suit, he looks a bit of an anorak. The term derives from the anoraks worn by trainspotters (see below), regarded as typifying this kind of person.

---

^* An anorak^[5] is a waterproof jacket, typically with a hood, of a kind originally used in polar regions.

Trainspotter^*[5] is a British term for a person who collects train or locomotive numbers as a hobby.

---

^* The name is also often used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who obsessively studies the minutiae of any minority interest or specialized hobby ⇒ the idea is to make the music really really collectable so the trainspotters will buy it in their pathetic thousands.

20a   Coaches wear them out! (8)

I believe the entire clue to be a cryptic definition of a type of footwear worn by coaches (in fact, worn to the extent of no longer being in good condition) in which a precise definition is embedded.

23a   Letters // left with house in Westminster (9)

Westminster[5] (full name City of Westminster) is an inner London borough which contains the Houses of Parliament and many government offices.

In the UK, the House of Lords^[5] (or, more informally, the Lords^[10]) is the higher chamber of Parliament, composed of peers and bishops.

---

Let^[5] is a British^* term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i) she let the flat [apartment] to a tenant; (ii) they’ve let out their house.

---

^* However, based on its appearance in US dictionaries, I seriously doubt that this word is quite as British as Oxford Dictionaries would have us believe.^[3,11]

A letter^[1] is a person who lets, especially on hire^*. [Among my stable of dictionaries, this definition is found only in The Chambers Dictionary.]

---

^* Hire^[5] is a British term meaning to obtain the temporary use of (something) for an agreed payment [in North American parlance, rent] ⇒ we flew to San Diego, hired a car, and headed for Las Vegas.

24a   Good copy, /but/ yawn! (4)

26a   Criminal has no right // to fiddle (4)

27a   Dish for passengers at sea? (4,6)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term for the open ocean.

28a   Only // the French like this to have precedence (4)

"the French" = LE (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le^[8].

hide explanation

So^[2] is an adverb denoting in that [or this] state or condition [i.e., ‛like that’ or ‛like this’]  (i) promised to be faithful, and has remained so; (ii) She told him ‛I am single, and I plan to remain so.’.

29a   Films by spies worried // prophets of doom (10)

Down

1d   Faith // invested in Telegraph operatives (4)

Operative^[3,4,5,11] is used in the sense of a worker, especially one with a special skill employed in a manufacturing industry^* ⇒ the operatives clean the machines at the end of every shift.^* }

---

^* Although this meaning of the word is new to me, it appears in American as well as British dictionaries. The meaning with which I am familiar, a secret agent or private detective, is apparently strictly a North American usage.

Scratching the Surface
The Daily Telegraph[7] is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper, founded in 1855 as The Daily Telegraph and Courier, which is published in London and distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally [... and is the newspaper in which this puzzle initially appeared].

2d   Censure // concerning degree of alcohol (7)

3d   Such theatrical demands // caught everyone in the end (7,5)

I'm afraid I failed to notice the presence of the wordplay here, instead interpreting the clue as simply a cryptic definition.

"caught" = C (show explanation )

In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out^[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.^[2,10] or c^[5] denotes caught (by).

hide explanation

Curtains^[5] is an informal expression denoting a disastrous outcome ⇒ it looked like curtains for me.

4d   Ambassador/'s/ neglect during bad year (8)

5d   Balloons // considerably on board ship (6)

"on board ship" = 'contained in SS' (show explanation )

In Crosswordland, you will find that a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[5]. Thus phrases such as "aboard ship" or "on board ship" (or sometimes merely "aboard" or "on board") are Crosswordland code for 'contained in SS'.

hide explanation

7d   Letters inclined to favour the right (7)

8d   Adversary /who's/ not against revolutionary (10)

11d   Temporary worker in stable /gets/ limited accommodation (8,4)

14d   Fear parts of canal system /may give/ such a shock (10)

17d   Newspapers should cover hospital department // awards (8)

"hospital department" = ENT (show explanation )

Should you not have noticed, the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[2]) department is the most visited section, by far, in the Crosswordland Hospital.

hide explanation

19d   Private log -- a terrible // mistake (3,4)

Own goal^[5] is an informal British expression^* denoting an act that unintentionally harms one's own interests ⇒ government scores own goal by assisting organized crime in London.

---

^* The expression is an allusion to soccer where an own goal^[5] is a goal scored when a player inadvertently strikes or deflects the ball into their own team's goal.

21d   Former lovers must accept rent that's rising // comes to an end (7)

22d   Scholar can expect to be keeping // secret (6)

25d   Kid won't finish // these drinks (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