Wednesday, September 26, 2018 — DT 28736

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28736
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, May 11, 2018
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28736]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Senf (subbing for Deep Threat)
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

Today's puzzle is reviewed on Big Dave's Crossword Blog by Senf, my fellow Canadian blogger who hails from Winnipeg. He usually provides hints for the puzzle which appears in The Sunday Telegraph. At the time this puzzle was published in the UK, we were only midway through the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Winnipeg Jets had just advanced to the Western Conference finals!

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   The French bishop, one with relations // who will behave badly? (8)

"the French" = LA (show explanation )

In French, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

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"bishop" = RR (show explanation )

Right Reverend^[5] (abbreviation RR^[2]) is a title given to a bishop, especially in the Anglican Church ⇒ the Right Reverend David Jenkins, Bishop of Durham.

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Larrikin^[5] is an Australian and New Zealand term for a boisterous, often badly behaved young man ⇒ James was something of a larrikin.

5a   Sporty type // who operates on the border? (6)

A double definition, both parts of which are on the cryptic side. The first refers to an athlete; the second to someone who might install barriers along a property line.

9a   Beg Irish somehow to accept British // nonsense (9)

11a   Army unit /and/ police crossing river (5)

12a   Carriage // light backed with gold (6)

Light refers to the action of butterflies, for instance, when taking a break from flying.

The symbol for the chemical element gold is Au^[5] (from Latin aurum).

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A landau^[5] is a horse-drawn four-wheeled enclosed carriage with a removable front cover and a back cover that can be raised and lowered.

13a   A Parisian gets married -- is husband trapped /and/ unwanted? (8)

"a Parisian" = UN (show explanation )

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

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The clue parses as {UN (a Parisian; masculine singular French definite article) + (gets) WED (married)} containing (trapped) {IS (†) + H (husband; abbrev.)}.

Think of clues such as this as a series of instructions:

• Step 1: start by executing "A Parisian gets married"
• Step 2: then execute "is husband trapped [in the result from Step 1]"

15a   Man troubled with nag, scolder, // gossip (13)

Just as a martini is gin mixed (stirred or shaken) with vermouth, the anagram here is MAN mixed with (troubled with) {NAG + SCOLDER}.

18a   Aristocrat // using gardener here and there (5,8)

A grand seigneur^[5] (French 'great lord') is a man whose rank or position allows him to command others.

22a   Artist with a thousand things to read // goes wild (8)

"artist" = RA (show explanation )

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA^[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain. 

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23a   Cathedral precinct dean initially // sealed off (6)

Close^[5] is a British term for the precinct surrounding a cathedral.

Scratching the Surface

A dean[7], in a religious context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion*, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Lutheran Church. * In the Church of England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the dean is the chief resident cleric of a cathedral or other collegiate church and the head of the chapter of canons. If the cathedral or collegiate church has its own parish, the dean is usually also rector of the parish.

26a   Against having to travel on // river (5)

Here we have a split charade indicator. The wordplay parses as CON (against) + (having ... on) GO (to travel).

The Congo^[5] (also called Zaire River) is a major river of central Africa, which rises as the River Lualaba to the south of Kisangani in northern Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) and flows 4,630 km (2,880 miles) in a great curve westwards, turning south-westwards to form the border with the Congo before emptying into the Atlantic.

27a   Thus a father joins English gunners /in/ series of programmes (4,5)

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery^[7] (abbreviation RA), is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it actually comprises a number of regiments.

The Story Behind the Video

EastEnders[7] is an award-winning British soap opera which has been broadcast on BBC One since 1985. Set in Albert Square in the East End of London in the fictional Borough of Walford, the programme follows the stories of local residents and their families as they go about their daily lives. Consistently among the top-rated TV programmes in Britain, it has tackled many dilemmas that are considered to be controversial and taboo issues in British culture and social life previously unseen on United Kingdom mainstream television.

28a   Scheme, // say, lacking a supportive section (6)

29a   Big cask // that may be on display in butcher's window? (8)

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Senf questions whether this might be a double definition. It can't be as the numeration for the latter part of the clue (3'1,4) does not match that given.

A hogshead^[10] is a large cask used for shipment of wines and spirits. The hogshead is also a unit of capacity, used especially for alcoholic beverages. It has several values, being 54 imperial gallons in the case of beer and 52.5 imperial gallons in the case of wine.

Down

1d   Put within confines of the law, // girl is imprisoned in shelter (8)

2d   Beginning to relax, old boy at home /may be/ seen in the garden (5)

"old boy" = OB (show explanation )

In Britain, an old boy^[5] (abbreviation OB^[2])  is:

• a former male student of a school or college ⇒an old boy of Banbury County School; or
• a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒ the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards.

It is also a chiefly British affectionate form of address to a boy or man ⇒ ‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.

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Here, There and Downunder
A robin[5] is: European Robin a small Old World thrush related to the chats, typically having a brown back with red on the breast or other colourful markings, in particular the European robin or redbreast which has an orange-red face and breast American Robin a large New World thrush, in particular the American robin Australian robin a small Australasian songbird related to the flycatchers

3d   Country // responsible for taking control of wild animal (7)

"responsible for taking control of" = IC (show explanation )

The abbreviation i/c^[2,5] can be short for either:

• (especially in military contexts) in charge (of) ⇒ the Quartermaster General is i/c rations
• in command (of) ⇒ 2 i/c = second in command.

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The eland^[5] is a large spiral-horned African antelope which lives in open woodland and grassland.

4d   Goddess // is buried beneath island (4)

In Egyptian mythology, Isis^[5] is a goddess of fertility, wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Her worship spread to western Asia, Greece, and Rome, where she was identified with various local goddesses.

6d   Longing to be given a new start /to make/ an impression (7)

7d   Instance in which right thunderous god appears /as/ beast with pulling power (9)

In Norse mythology, Thor^[5,7], the son of Odin and Freya (Frigga), is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing and fertility. Thursday is named after him.

8d   Live /with/ uncontrollable desire (6)

10d   Transfer /from/ hospital somewhere in Hampshire (8)

Andover^[7] is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 25 miles (40 km) north of the city of Southampton.

14d   Contentment /of/ good boy brought before the head (8)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[a] for good comes from its use in education as a mark awarded on scholastic assignments or tests.

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^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

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"head | headland | cape" = NESS (show explanation )

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

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16d   Disputations /in/ AGM, unrest getting nasty (9)

Scratching the Surface
AGM[5,14] is a British* abbreviation for Annual General Meeting. * At first I was surprised to see this abbreviation (which is well-known to me) characterized as British but then discovered it is absent from my American dictionaries.

17d   Notice university with imposing exterior /for/ one at ceremony there? (8)

Graduand^[5] is a British term for a person who is about to receive an academic degree ⇒ the ceremony starts with the presentation of one or more honorary graduands.

19d   Sailor without companions /gets/ something to eat from the sea (7)

"sailor" = AB (show explanation )

In the Royal Navy, according to Oxford Dictionaries, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman^[10] (also called able-bodied seaman) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.

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An abalone^[5] is an edible mollusc of warm seas, with a shallow ear-shaped shell lined with mother-of-pearl and pierced with a line of respiratory holes.

20d   Stupid people // chat about ill-gotten gains (7)

Galoot^[5] is an informal Scottish and North American term for a clumsy or stupid person (often as a term of abuse).

21d   Vehicles // getting hit, beginning to end (6)

While lorry[5] is the common name in the UK for the vehicle known in North America as a truck[5], the word truck is also well known to the Brits. In fact, Oxford Dictionaries Online rather circularly defines a lorry[5] as being a truck and a truck[5] as being a lorry.

24d   Woman in garden is upset? /It's/ a riddle (5)

"woman in garden" = EVE (show explanation )

In the Bible, Eve^[5,10] is the first woman, mother of the human race, fashioned by God from the rib of Adam, companion of Adam and mother of Cain and Abel^* [Genesis 2:18-25].

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^* not to mention Seth and her other sons and daughters [Gen 5:4]

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A riddle^[5] is a large coarse sieve, especially one used for separating ashes from cinders or sand from gravel.

25d   Panel // disagreed finally, with fuss ensuing (4)

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Senf describes the latter part of the solution as being a two word synonymic phrase (1,2) of fuss. Notwithstanding Senf's statement, ado[5] is a single word — not two words.

A dado^[2] is the lower part of the wall of a room when decorated differently from the upper part, often consisting of panelling.

Here and There
In North America, dado[5] has an additional meaning, a groove cut in the face of a board, into which the edge of another board is fixed.

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