Wednesday, August 22, 2018 — DT 28709

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28709
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28709]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K
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 got into a spot of trouble in the northwest corner of this puzzle. One wrong entry led to another and I was then at an impasse with the two intersecting incorrect entries blocking my efforts to sort out the mess.

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

5a   Pudding // choice no good (4-4)

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

• of very poor quality ⇒ duff lyrics
• incorrect or false ⇒ she played a couple of duff notes

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Plum duff^[10] (also spelled plum-duff^[1]) is another name for plum pudding^[10], a dark brown rich boiled or steamed pudding made with flour, suet, sugar, and dried fruit.

Post Mortem
I had incorrectly gone with PLUM-LOAF. Although I was at a loss to explain the wordplay, the incorrect solution I had entered at 2d prevented me from extricating myself from this misstep.

8a   Energetic type // having lots back in party (6)

10a   Hoodie, // a dull sort (6)

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

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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.

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

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^* 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.

But is either a "hoodie" ...
Although the words anorak and parka[7] are sometimes used interchangeably, they are actually quite different garments. Strictly speaking, an anorak is a waterproof, hooded, pull-over jacket without a front opening, and sometimes drawstrings at the waist and cuffs, and a parka is a hip-length cold-weather coat, typically stuffed with down or very warm synthetic fiber, and with a fur-lined hood.

Post Mortem
I was only able to solve this clue once I had sorted out the error in 2d.

11a   Material for panelling perhaps // revolted golf club (8)

In golf, a wood^[2] is a club with a head traditionally made of wood, now usually of metal, used for driving the ball long distances.

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Rosewood^[5] is close-grained tropical timber with a distinctive fragrance, used particularly for making furniture and musical instruments.

12a   Food and drink: see bubbly with food brought back in, // a fast food item (12)

Cheer^[5] is food and drink provided for a festive occasion ⇒ they had partaken heartily of the Christmas cheer.

15a   Modest about page /delivering/ something newsworthy (4)

"page" = P (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for page is p^[5] ⇒ see p 784.

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Copy^[5] is used in the sense of material for a newspaper or magazine article ⇒ it is an unfortunate truth of today's media that bad news makes good copy.

17a   Open // no more, last in street (5)

18a   Course // in horsemanship at Hickstead (4)

Scratching the Surface
The All England Jumping Course at Hickstead[7], known widely as Hickstead, is an equestrian sport centre in West Sussex, England, principally known for its showjumping activities, where it hosts two international level competitions, the British Jumping Derby and the Longines Royal International Horse Show.

19a   Caught on, passing // peer (12)

"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).

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22a   Former head admitting it /in/ survey (4,4)

Poll^[5] is a dialect word for a person's head.

24a   New set of books published, // yet to be removed? (3,3)

In Crosswordland, the term "books" or the phrases such as "collection of books",  "set 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.

In cricket, the term not out^[5] signifies (of a side or batsman) having begun an innings and not been dismissed ⇒ Hussain scored 89 not out as Essex won by three wickets.

Delving Deeper
In cricket, an innings normally ends when ten of the eleven players from the batting side have been dismissed. As players always bat in pairs, once ten players have been dismissed, there is no partner for the remaining player who is said to be "not out". There are also several circumstances under which an innings may end early[7] while there are still two not out batsmen:

25a   A wine /in/ college at Cambridge before beginning of term (6)

Clare College^[7] is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded in 1338 as Clare Hall by an endowment from Elizabeth de Clare.

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Claret^[5] is a red wine from Bordeaux, or wine of a similar character made elsewhere.

26a   Equipment: a large amount is needed by one /to make/ pasta (8)

Rigatoni^[5] is pasta in the form of short hollow fluted tubes.

Down

1d   Come into view /in/ middle of field on combine (6)

2d   Mostly bent over low, // start working seriously (6,4)

Post Mortem

Despite thinking of the correct solution here, the incorrect entry at 5a caused me to go with DOUBLE DOWN even though I had grave doubts about the definition. In spite of having reservations about the solutions here and at 5a, I failed to realize that they were intersecting clues and therefore both likely to be incorrect. Thus, just as the erroneous solution here prevented me from finding the correct solution to 5a, the faulty solution at 5a hampered me in solving this clue.

3d   What bookie offers // eccentric punters, finally (4)

Scratching the Surface
Punter[5] is an informal British term for a person who gambles, places a bet, or makes a risky investment.

4d   Flower, // small at this time, ahead of fall (8)

6d   Eat, though no starter included in held-up Christmas // meal (8)

Scratching the Surface
Starter[5] is another name* for an appetizer or the first course of a meal. * although British dictionaries consider this term to be British[5] or chiefly or mainly British[4,10,14], the word would seem to have become well established in North America[3,12]

7d   Palmist maybe /having/ mint meeting with cashier (7-6)

9d   Low, daughter/'s/ spirit (4)

13d   Energy /of/ outfit that's on with work (3-2-3-2)

14d   Introduce, on vessel, // a pre-eminent performer (4,4)

Turn^[5] can mean either:

• a short performance, especially one of a number given by different performers in succession ⇒ (i) Lewis gave her best ever comic turn; (ii) he was asked to do a turn at a children’s party 
• a performer giving a short performance ⇒ Malton’s comedy turn, Mark Poole, takes to the stage tonight in Cinderella

Star turn is a British term for the person or performance that is the most interesting or exciting^[10] or the person or act that gives the most heralded or impressive performance in a programme^[5] ⇒ (i) he was stopped by the arrival on stage of the star turn; (ii) she was the star turn of the night.

16d   Sailors? // Chay at sea, with rest floundering (8)

Scratching the Surface

Chay[7] is a masculine name. It is either a diminutive of Charles, ultimately derived from Germanic Karal, Karel, Karl, meaning “man”, or it may be Gaelic in origin, meaning “Fairy Tale”. This unusual name surfaced into the public in Britain in the mid-1970s, with the publicity for yachtsman Chay Blyth. It is generally pronounced Sh (as in Shane) ay (as in May), and sometimes pronounced Ch (as in Charles) ay (as in May). Sir Charles Blyth, known as Chay Blyth[7], is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail single-handed non-stop westwards around the world (1971), on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.

20d   Go round // old gallery after little resistance shown (6)

"gallery" = TATE (show explanation )

The Tate Gallery^[5] (commonly known simply as the Tate) is a national museum of art in London, England founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened. [I would surmise that by that time the original collection could no longer be considered "modern".]

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"little resistance" ⇒ "abbreviation for resistance" = R (show explanation )

In physics, R^[5] is a symbol used to represent electrical resistance in mathematical formulae.

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21d   Fell on top of large // jump (4)

An axel^[5] is a jump in skating from the forward outside edge of one skate to the backward outside edge of the other, with one (or more) and a half turns in the air.

23d   Swear-word // used in boathouse (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