Wednesday, October 3, 2018 — DT 28741

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28741
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, May 17, 2018
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28741]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By pommers
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

Like those who commented on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, you are likely to have one of two reactions to this puzzle — either elated (or, as the Brits would say, chuffed) to have finished a very difficult but enjoyable exercise or frustrated at coming up short. I solved the puzzle over several sessions, slowly but surely whittling down the number of unsolved clues to a handful that seemed totally intractable. Just as I was about to resort to electronic help, one final push succeeded in vanquishing the remaining holdouts.

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   Clash /in/ nightclub hop involving rockers' leader (11)

10a   Head of state's miserable // track record (5)

11a   Banker perhaps // more extravagant keeping home (9)

12a   Try to catch seafood with small // shell-shaped instruments (9)

Castanets^[5] are small concave^* pieces of wood, ivory, or plastic, joined in pairs by a cord and clicked together by the fingers as a rhythmic accompaniment to Spanish dancing.

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^* whether or not concave constitutes "shell-shaped" is very much dependent on what type of shell one happens to think of — a scallop shell would work; a conch shell, not so much

13a   Teeming // part of sea was hostile (5)

14a   Awards // zero marks? (6)

Oscar^[5] (trademark in the US) is the nickname for a gold statuette given as an award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, presented annually since 1928 for achievement in the film industry in various categories.

16a   Fancies // changes pocketing a grand (8)

The use of the letter 'G' as an abbreviation for 'grand' is a North American usage that the Brits appear to have accepted (show more ).

While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.

Grand^[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒ he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G^[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒ I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.

G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:

• Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)^[5].
• Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars^[2].
• Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)^[4,10].

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18a   Steer // vehicle over Interstate opening (8)

Interstate^[5] (abbreviation I^[12]) is a US term for a motorway^* running between states ⇒ a picnic area just off the interstate.

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^* controlled access divided highway

20a   Brilliant time with Queen/'s/ family (6)

"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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Brilliant at Another Level
The clue (and pommers' illustration on Big Dave's Crossword Blog) takes on even more significance when one considers that a queen[5] is an adult female cat that has not been spayed.

23a   Initially little animal resting, virtually adult (5)

This is intended to be an &lit. clue^[7] (or, if you prefer, an all-in-one clue) in which the entire clue serves as both definition and wordplay. Unfortunately, the definition seems to apply to a different stage in the metamorphosis of an insect.

A larva^[5] is the active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa, e.g. a caterpillar or grub.

A pupa^[5] (which RayT may have had in mind) is an insect in its inactive immature form between larva and adult, e.g. a chrysalis.

I thought I might find a comment to this effect on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, but there is none apart from pommers' observation that I’m not sure that this really works.

24a   Former cab company worker /getting/ rich (9)

Uber Technologies Inc.^[7] (doing business as Uber) is a peer-to-peer ridesharing, taxi cab, food delivery, bicycle-sharing, and transportation network company (TNC) headquartered in San Francisco, California, with operations in 785 metropolitan areas worldwide. Its platforms can be accessed via its websites and mobile apps. Uber has been prominent in the sharing economy, so much so that the changes in industries as a result of it have been referred to as Uberisation.

"worker" = ANT (show explanation )

The word "worker" and the phrase "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.

A worker^[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.

In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.

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Exuberant^[5] is a literary term denoting growing luxuriantly or profusely ⇒ exuberant foliage.

26a   Feeling // excited, blokes consumed by computing? (9)

"blokes" = MEN (show explanation )

Bloke^[5] is an informal British^* term for a man ⇒ he’s a nice bloke.

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^* Very British, but certainly also very familiar to anyone on this side of the pond who has ever watched a British film or television programme

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IT^[5] is the abbreviation for information technology.

Opportunity Missed
This clue could easily have read; Feeling excited, blokes consumed by sex? (9) which to my schoolboy mind would have been a far more compelling clue. However, RayT has passed up the opportunity, likely because he has already used "sex" to clue IT in 19d.

27a   Middle of state hit by old // battle (5)

The Alamo^[5] is a mission in San Antonio, Texas, site of a siege [the Battle of the Alamo] in 1836 by Mexican forces^*, in which all 180 defenders were killed.

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^* At the time, Texas was fighting to break away from Mexico, of which it then formed a part, in a conflict known as the Texas Revolution.

28a   Flooding a lot? These could be useful (11)

This is a semi-&lit. (semi-all-in-one) clue in which the entire clue provides the definition in which the wordplay is embedded.

Wellington^[5] (also wellington boot) is a British name for a knee-length waterproof rubber or plastic boot.

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Origin: named after Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and twice served as British prime minister (1828–30 and 1834)

Down

2d   Stars, // single, sold out (5)

3d   Pirate/'s/ reportedly bawdy song (7)

Corsair^[5] is an archaic term for a pirate.

4d   Angry about female /being/ sacked (6)

5d   CIA names suspect // one might forget (8)

The Central Intelligence Agency^[5] (abbreviation CIA) is a federal agency in the US responsible for coordinating government intelligence activities. Established in 1947 and originally intended to operate only overseas, it has since also operated in the US.

6d   Stop farewell // musical performance (7)

Ta-ta^[5] is an informal British way to say goodbye ⇒ well, I’ll say ta-ta, love.

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A cantata^[5] is a medium-length narrative piece of music for voices with instrumental accompaniment, typically with solos, chorus, and orchestra.

7d   Chap only stays bonkers /seeing/ shrink (13)

8d   Man with double trouble? (8)

I did manage to solve this clue without recognizing the Cockney rhyming slang. It was, however, one of the last clues to be solved and solving required nearly all the checking letters.

In Cockney rhyming slang (show explanation ), trouble — shortened from trouble and strife^[5] — is rhyming slang for wife.

A cockney^[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End^[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow^[7] church).

Cockney is also the name of the dialect or accent typical of cockneys, which is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang.

Rhyming slang^[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.

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9d   Arrangement /of/ gold part encircling box (13)

"gold" = OR (show explanation )

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

In heraldry, a tincture^[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

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15d   Chap with band // playing different version (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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Cove^[5] is a dated informal British term for a man ⇒ he is a perfectly amiable cove.

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Origin: Mid 16th century: perhaps from Romany kova ‘thing or person’.

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Cover^[5] is used in the sense of to record or perform a new version of (a song) originally performed by someone else ⇒ other artists who have covered the song include U2.

Who is he talking about?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers describes the initial part of the charade as a Bertie Woosterish word. Bertie Wooster[7] is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British author P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975). An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club, he appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of his friends from numerous awkward situations.

17d   Ballet here almost describes // 'heavenly' (8)

The use of the word "describe(s)" or "describing" as either a hidden word indicator or a containment indicator is a common cryptic crossword device which relies on describe^[1,2,12] being used in the sense of to trace the outline of or delineate ⇒ skaters describing circles on the ice.

19d   Rock // old lady over sex with sweetheart (7)

"sex" = IT (show explanation )

It^[2,5] (usually written in quotation marks, "it") is an informal term for sex appeal^* or sexual intercourse ⇒ (i) the only thing I knew nothing about was ‘it’; (ii) they were caught doing ‘it’ in the back seat of his car.

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^* Chambers 21st Century Dictionary considers this sense to be an "old use" (Chambers' terminology for archaic, obsolete or old-fashioned). "It"^[7] (written in quotation marks) is a term that has come to mean sex appeal — although, in its earliest manifestation, it seems that the term pertained more to personality than to glamorous looks. Despite having been used as early as 1904 by Rudyard Kipling, the term was popularized  in the 1927 film It starring Clara Bow (who became known as the "It Girl").

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"sweetheart" = E (show explanation )

A common cryptic crossword construct is to use the word "sweetheart" to clue the letter 'E', the middle letter (heart) of swEet.

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21d   One, after catching a cold, /is/ woolly (7)

22d   Switch // end, playing (6)

Here and There
I must confess that a cigarette butt was not what came to mind when solving this clue. However, it is understandable that the same thought did not occur to the Brits as, from their perspective, butt[5] is an informal North American term for a person's buttocks or anus ⇒ I was being paid to sit on my butt and watch television.

The Tale Behind the Picture

Jenson Button[7] is a British racing driver and former Formula One driver. He won the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, driving for Brawn GP. He currently competes in the Japanese Super GT Series, driving for Team Kunimitsu. Although the picture has little to do with the clue per se, the solution does give pommers, a racing enthusiast, the opportunity to work in a reference to one of his favourite interests.

25d   Cooking range popular // once more (5)

The AGA cooker^[7] (trademark) is a high-end gas stove popular in medium to large British country houses — not to mention British crosswords. As a heat storage stove, it works on the principle that a heavy frame made from cast iron components can absorb heat from a relatively low-intensity but continuously-burning source, and the accumulated heat can then be used when needed for cooking. Thus it is considered to be a gas burning range^* in Britain.

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^* Brits use the term cooker^[10] in the sense that North Americans use the word range, namely a stove used for cooking food. In Britain, the term range^[5] has a much more restricted meaning, being a large cooking stove with burners or hotplates and one or more ovens, all of which are kept continually hot. This latter characteristic ("kept continually hot") seems to be the determining factor in deciding whether or not an appliance is considered to be a range. Thus stoves heated by solid fuel (wood or coal) and oil would almost certainly be ranges while stoves heated by gas or electricity whose burners and ovens can be turned off when not in use would not be ranges. However, the Aga, with its continuously-burning gas flame, is considered to be a range.

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