Thursday, September 20, 2018 — DT 28732

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28732
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, May 7, 2018
Setter Dada (John Halpern)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28732]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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
Notes
The National Post has skipped DT 28730 and DT 28731 which were published in The Daily Telegraph on Friday, May 4, 2018 and Saturday, May 5, 2018.

Introduction

Once again, a couple of puzzles have fallen on the cutting room floor as the National Post skips ahead to DT 28732.

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

7a   Man resting, // cleric (8)

Chap^[3,4,11] is an informal British^[5] or chiefly British^[3] term for a man or boy (show more ) — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada.

Chap^[3,4,11] 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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9a   Place for shopping // channel (6)

10a   Current business, // weak (6)

11a   Single // file, we abandoned ship (8)

As an anagram indicator, abandoned^[10] is used as an adjective meaning unrestrained or uninhibited ⇒ wild, abandoned dancing.

"ship" = SS (show explanation )

In Crosswordland, a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[5] ⇒ the SS Canberra.

hide explanation

12a   Fearing hell, art extraordinarily // exaggerated (6,4,4)

15a   Minor irritation -- // problem scratching head? (4)

17a   Found in bistro, a stupendous // cook (5)

19a   A, B, C or D, say -- /but/ ___? (4)

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops writes As the definition is already underlined I cannot underline the definition. The portion of the clue already underlined is the blank — which is not the definition! The definition is "A, B, C, or D, say". By the way, one must assume that the letters referred to in the surface reading are not musical notes since E is, in fact, a musical note.

20a   'Oath', for example -- is this? (4-6,4)

This is a semi-&lit. clue (or, if you prefer, a semi-all-in-one clue). The entire clue serves as wordplay (the word "oath" is literally a word composed of four letters) in which the definition is embedded (an oath is a four-letter word or curse word).

23a   Oddly, each still // more than delighted (8)

25a   Soft, // small and smelly (6)

Pong^[5] (adjective pongy^[5]) is an informal British term meaning:

• (noun) a strong, unpleasant smell ⇒ corked wine has a powerful pong 
• (verb) to smell strongly and unpleasantly ⇒ the place just pongs of dirty clothes

27a   Bread snack // is near bananas (6)

As an anagram indicator, bananas^[5] is used in the informal sense of:

• insane or extremely silly ⇒ I've spent two months in a studio—I must be bananas
• extremely angry or excited ⇒ she went bananas when I said I was going to leave the job

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Sarnie^[5] is an informal British term for a sandwich.

28a   Success with different tiles // where red or white chosen? (4,4)

Down

1d   Nation short of a // feature (4)

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops describes the solution to the clue as a facial feature reminiscent of the late great Jimmy Hill. Jimmy Hill[7] (1928–2015) was an English football [soccer] professional and personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director, chairman, television executive, presenter [radio or television host], analyst and assistant referee. Following his playing career, he became a television icon, instantly recognisable and often caricatured for his long chin and distinctive beard.

2d   Twig about new // time for rejuvenation (6)

3d   Something for winter // ending in Christmas present (4)

4d   Refuse collector going around on holiday /with/ genius (6)

Bin^[10,14] (also called dustbin or rubbish^* bin) is the British term for a garbage can or trash can.

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^* Rubbish^[10,14] is the British term for garbage or trash.

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Boffin^[5] is an informal British term denoting:

• a person engaged in scientific or technical research ⇒ the boffins at the Telecommunications Research Establishment
• a person with knowledge or a skill considered to be complex or arcane ⇒ a computer boffin

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops writes On is often used in Crosswordland to mean working. This is the opposite. I would think that Miffypops' intent here is to convey the idea that "on" is often used to denote equipment or systems working or functioning rather than in the sense of employees being present at work.

5d   Horse // stoppin' to eat oats, primarily (8)

6d   Communication // network's opening line adopted by confused tweeters (10)

"line" = L (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for line is l.^[5] ⇒ l. 648.

hide explanation

8d   Fan /has/ a damp area bandaged by doctor (7)

13d   Mock // trial, if CIA involved (10)

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops writes I once employed a chap who had a false leg and a real foot. Honestly. Really. It is a fact. He had a false leg and a real foot. And I bet that ... (show more ) ... the foot was on the other leg. hide

14d   Middle // card (5)

16d   Evocative, // searching around area (8)

18d   Ultimately abhorrent motive /for/ crime (7)

21d   Rubbish // brood (6)

As we saw at 4d, rubbish^[10,14] is the British term for garbage or trash.

22d   Totally // sacred, did you say? (6)

24d   Lower, large // hood (4)

Lower is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of an animal that lows (moos) — in other words, a bovine animal.

26d   Cut // oxygen, perhaps, then hydrogen (4)

The symbol for the chemical element hydrogen is H^[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