Tuesday, October 30, 2018 — DT 28760

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28760
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, June 8, 2018
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28760]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis 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

I found this puzzle quite challenging and completed most of it over several sessions, eking out the solutions to a few more clues at each sitting. Eventually it defeated me by running out the clock.

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   Dispute by river // somewhere in France (8)

The Cam^[10] is a river in eastern England, in Cambridgeshire, flowing through Cambridge to the Great Ouse^* (river). Length: about 64 km (40 miles).

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^* The Great Ouse^[5] (which flows through East Anglia) is not to be confused with the River Ouse^[5] in Yorkshire or the River Ouse^[5] in Sussex — and certainly not with the Little Ouse^[5], a river of East Anglia, which forms a tributary of the Great Ouse.

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The Camargue^[5] is a region of the Rhône delta in south-eastern France, characterized by numerous shallow salt lagoons. The region is known for its white horses and as a nature reserve.

9a   Excellent band // broadcasting (6)

"excellent" = AI (show explanation )

A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

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10a   Sort of test taken by that female // who has given birth? (6)

In the UK, MOT^[5] (also MOT test) refers a compulsory annual test for safety and exhaust emissions of motor vehicles of more than a specified age. It is an abbreviation of Ministry of Transport, which introduced the original test.

11a   A new job (not exciting one) daughter // secured (8)

12a   Tense? // Things will never get better! (7,7)

The second "definition" is a literal interpretation of the solution.

15a   A very old wife /making one/ swear (4)

17a   Just // fine (5)

Fine^[5] is used in the sense of good or satisfactory.

As the solution to the second definition, right^[5] denotes in a satisfactory, sound, or normal state or condition ⇒ God's in his Heaven/All's right with the world [Robert Browning] — oh, if it were only so!.

19a   Untruth provided by female // willingly (4)

Lief^[5] (used in the expression as lief) is an archaic term meaning happily or gladly ⇒ he would just as lief eat a pincushion.

20a   Lecturer as host, awfully // sweet (9,5)

Sweet^[5] is a British term for a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; in other words, a dessert.

Charlotte russe^[5] is a dessert consisting of custard enclosed in sponge cake or a casing of sponge fingers.

23a   I act with Tory somehow /to expose/ this cruelty (8)

25a   African country entertaining graduate /in/ Caribbean territory (6)

Togo^[5] (official name Togolese Republic) is a country in West Africa with a short coastline on the Gulf of Guinea.  (show more )

The region formerly known as Togoland lay between the military powers of Ashanti and Dahomey and became a centre of the slave trade. It was annexed by Germany in 1884 and divided between France and Britain after the First World War. The western, British section joined Ghana on the latter’s independence (1957). The remainder, administered by France under a UN mandate after the Second World War, became an independent republic with the name Togo in 1960.

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Tobago is one of two islands off the northeastern coast of Venezuela that together comprise the country of Trinidad and Tobago^[5] (show more ).

Much the larger of the two islands is Trinidad, with Tobago to the north-east. Trinidad, inhabited by Arawaks, was visited by Columbus in 1498 and settled by the Spanish; Tobago, occupied by Caribs, was colonized by the French and later the British in the 18th century. Trinidad became British during the Napoleonic Wars and was formally amalgamated with Tobago as a Crown Colony in 1888. Trinidad and Tobago became an independent member state of the Commonwealth in 1962 and finally a republic in 1976.

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27a   Part of the meal // lacking refinement reportedly (6)

28a   Tot restricted by grown-ups, little boy // exasperated (8)

Down

1d   PM gets round // part of Ireland (4)

Theresa May^[7] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party, having served as both since July 2016. She is the second female Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in the UK after Margaret Thatcher.

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Mayo^[5] is a county in the Republic of Ireland, in the north-west in the province of Connacht.

2d   House with crazy exterior /is/ let-down (6)

"house" = HO (show explanation )

Although not found in most of the dictionaries I consulted, ho.^[10] is the abbreviation for house.

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Bathos^[5] is (especially in a literary work) an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous ⇒ (i) his epic poem has passages of almost embarrassing bathos; (ii) a nice balance between the colloquial, which might have led to bathos, and an over-polished style.

3d   Woman // offering half-truth (4)

4d   Performer /in/ political party introduced by the German (6)

In Comment #32 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Whybird observes I think 4d doesn’t work. Introduced by is not the same as introduced to, which is what the answer seems to require.

Introduce^[5] is used in the sense of insert or bring into something ⇒ a device which introduces chlorine into the pool automatically.

Although not explicitly stated, one must infer that the German article introduces the political party into itself (i.e., into the article).

The African National Congress^[5] (abbreviation ANC) is a South African political party and black nationalist organization. (show more )

Having been banned by the South African government 1960–90, the ANC was victorious in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 and its leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s President.

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"the German" = DER (show explanation )

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

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5d   Wild boar (honest!) // living among the trees (8)

"Honest" as in  not fake news, just the honest truth.

6d   Woman from the past /in/ an Anglican church leading to tension (10)

"church" = CE (show explanation )

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

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8d   Detective writer -- // one who knows about plots, it's said? (7)

Erle Stanley Gardner^[7] (1889–1970) was an American lawyer and author who is known for the Perry Mason series of detective stories.

13d   A victor, one involved /in/ act of annulment (10)

14d   Live in squalid conditions /as/ American soldier in hole (3,2)

"American soldier" = GI (show explanation )

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war.

Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

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Pig it^[5] is an informal expression meaning to crowd together with other people in disorderly or dirty conditions ⇒ he didn't approve of the proposal to pig it in the studio.

16d   Arms // tired, having carried piano on (8)

"piano" = P (show explanation )

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

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18d   Disquiet ultimately about a delinquent youth // given indulgence (7)

Ted^[2] is short for Teddy boy^[5], a slang term originally applied to a young man belonging to a subculture in 1950s Britain characterized by a style of dress based on Edwardian fashion (typically with drainpipe trousers, bootlace tie, and hair slicked up in a quiff^* and a liking for rock-and-roll music.The name comes from from Teddy, pet form of the given name Edward (with reference to Edward VII's reign). Judging by the entry in the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, it would appear that the term Teddy boy^[2] is now applied to any unruly or rowdy adolescent male.

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^* Quiff^[3,4] is a chiefly British term for a prominent tuft of hair, especially one brushed up above the forehead.

21d   Characters with questionable identity /in/ Dutch city (6)

Leiden^[5] (also Leyden) is a city in the west Netherlands, 15 km (9 miles) north-east of The Hague. It is the site of the country's oldest university, founded in 1575.

22d   Cheap meat for a 'hearty' meal? (6)

I see this clue as a cryptic definition having an embedded precise definition. The portion of the clue following the precise definition provides cryptic elaboration concerning the nature of the somewhat general "precise definition".

Umbles^[5] is a variant spelling of numbles^[5], an archaic term for the entrails of an animal, especially a deer, as used for food.

Eating 'umble pie

The listing for umbles[5] in Oxford Dictionaries Online refers one to the entry for eat humble pie[5]. In a comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza also alludes to a connection between the two, saying the phrase ‘to eat humble pie’ ... is a pun based on 22d. While the entry for "eat humble pie" in Oxford Dictionaries Online does not elaborate on the connection with umbles, I suspect that the association may relate to the phrase "eat humble pie" being pronounced in various parts of England as "eat 'umble pie".

24d   Vegetables /in/ start of summer month shooting up (4)

The Story Behind the Picture

If the photo used by the 2Kiwis to illustrate their review does not look familiar, it is because we have been instilled with the US vision of the yam. A yam[5] is the starchy tuber, eaten as a vegetable,  of of various twining plants of the genus Dioscorea, of tropical and subtropical regions. In the southern US, yam[5] is also a name used for certain large varieties of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas).

26d   Energetic person /in/ game, top lady (4)

Go is played on a grid of black lines

(usually 19×19). Game pieces, called stones,

are played on the lines' intersections.

Go^[7] is an abstract strategy board game for two players, in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent. The game was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day. From China the game spread, first to Korea and Japan, and eventually worldwide. Despite its relatively simple rules, Go is very complex. Compared to chess, Go has both a larger board with more scope for play and longer games, and, on average, many more alternatives to consider per move. In a simple and anecdotal way of explaining the rules of Go, a teacher simply says to a student "you may place your stone (playing piece) on any point on the board, but if I surround that stone, I may remove it." The name Go is derived from the Japanese name of the  game "igo".

"top lady" ⇒ "the Queen" = ER (show explanation )

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

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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