Friday, November 16, 2018 — DT 28773

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28773
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, June 23, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28773 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28773 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (Review)
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
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, crypticsue tells us that she was a late substitute to write the review for this puzzle. Clearly, she was working under some pressure as there are an uncharacteristic number of minor errors in her explanations. I trust she will forgive me for pointing them out. I know from personal experience what it is like to work with the blogging deadline clock ticking and I certainly make my share of mistakes (which are often brought to light by my faithful "proof readers" on Saturdays).

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   Volumes of meaning /in/ speech before House (12)

In astrology, a house^[10] is any any of the 12 divisions of the zodiac.

In astrology, Aries^[10] (also called the Ram) is the first sign of the zodiac, symbol ♈, having a cardinal fire classification, ruled by the planet Mars. The sun is in this sign between about March 21 and April 19.

Scratching the Surface

In the surface reading, House[5] refers to a legislative or deliberative assembly; in the UK, the House of Commons or the House of Lords; in the US, the House of Representatives. In Canada, the House refers to the House of Commons (also known as the Lower House). While the Senate is referred to as the Upper House, I would understand the term "the House" when unqualified to refer only to the House of Commons.

8a   Liquid asset's acquired that is // least complicated (7)

Operating In Disguise
In the surface reading, the 's is a contraction for the auxiliary verb "is"; however, for cryptic purposes it changes roles and becomes a contraction for the auxiliary verb "has".

9a   Swapped // coins, getting old penny (7)

In the British currency system used prior to the introduction of the current decimal currency system in 1971, a penny^[5] (abbreviation d^[5] [for denarius]) was a coin or monetary unit equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound.

11a   More advanced // fiction -- first for radio, with listener as the lead (7)

12a   They may be taken for Dutch courage /and/ morale (7)

Dutch courage^[5] denotes strength or confidence gained from drinking alcohol ⇒ I'll have a couple of drinks to give me Dutch courage.

13a   Time after time, circling little // birds do it (5)

Wee^[5] is a Scottish adjective meaning little ⇒ (i) when I was just a wee bairn; (ii) the lyrics are a wee bit too sweet and sentimental.

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^* The word may be of Scottish origin but, like the Scots themselves, the word has migrated around the world.

14a   Seats available in // long-distance transport (9)

It seems there is more capacity available than crypticsue has accounted for in her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. Her explanation should have included another S:

• SPACESHIP – SPACES (seats available) HIP (in, fashionable)

16a   Delivers // tabloid newspapers (9)

The Daily Express^[7] is a daily national middle market tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom.

19a   Post Office provides wrapping for stolen // picture (5)

21a   Part /of/ text -- three-quarters of it runs before dramatist's chapter (7)

"run | runs" = R (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

In cricket, a run^[5] is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other circumstances.

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Personally, I would underline less of the clue than Big Dave and crypticsue have in their hints and review respectively.

I think the word "part" can mean extract and thus be the definition in its own right. I would include the word "text" in the wordplay which then parses as:

• EXT (text -- [the latter] three quarters of it) + R (runs) preceding (before) ACT (dramatist's chapter)

If (as Big Dave and crypticsue have done) one includes the word "text" in the definition, the pronoun "it" stands for (and must be replaced by) the word "text" when analyzing the wordplay:

• EXT ([the latter] three quarters of TEXT (it; TEXT being the grammatical antecedent of the pronoun "it') + R (runs) preceding (before) ACT (dramatist's chapter)

While I feel that I have seen clues in which the latter approach was necessary, I don't think it is in the present case.

23a   Sneer at being misdirected -- // this section of map is right (7)

What is she talking about?

On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, crypticsue refers to the satnav. Satnav[5] is navigation dependent on information received from satellites. In North America, we would refer to such a system as GPS. However, GPS is merely one of several global or regional satnav systems.[7] Currently, there are only two global systems operational — the US NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS. Two other systems — China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System(BDS) and the European Union's Galileo — are scheduled to be fully operational by 2020. Besides these global systems, a number of regional systems are being implemented. The British term is more generic than the North American term. GPS is like kleenex or xerox (or hoover in the UK) — a brand name that has become a generic term. The Brits no doubt would also avoid using the term GPS merely because of its US origins.

24a   Advanced // very quietly to enter bay, say (7)

"very soft | very quiet | very softly | very quietly" = PP (show explanation )

Pianissimo^[5,10] (abbreviation pp^[5,10]) is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very soft or very quiet or (as an adverb) very softly or very quietly.

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A bay^[10] is a horse of a reddish-brown colour, usually with black mane and tail.

25a   Ape, // male, displayed in side gallery (7)

Side^[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒ there was a mixture of old and young players in^* their side (show more ).

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.

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Eleven^[5] is the number of players in^* a cricket^[7] side [team] or an Association football^[7] [soccer] team — and is frequently used as a metonym for such a team ⇒ at cricket I played in the first eleven.

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^* Note that in Britain a player is "in a side" or "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.

"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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26a   What's lacking in an idiot /or/ dope (12)

Down

1d   Justify // present being given after poor grades? (7)

2d   Boots maybe /with/ fringe seen in clubs first (7)

"clubs" = C (show explanation )

Clubs^[2] (abbreviation C^[1]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

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Boots^[7] is a British pharmacy chain.

Boots expanded into Canada by purchasing the Tamblyn Drugs chain circa 1978. Most Canadian Boots stores were converted to Pharma Plus in 1989, although a handful of locations remained as late as 1993, if not later. In 1997, Pharma Plus was purchased by the Edmonton-based Katz Group (owners of the Edmonton Oilers NHL franchise) and merged into its Rexall pharmacy chain and, over time, stores were gradually rebranded to the Rexall name. In 2016, Rexall was acquired by San Francisco-based McKesson Corporation.

Here and There
In Britain, the term chemist[5] can mean a shop where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold, and in which toiletries and other medical goods can be purchased ⇒ antihistamine tablets are freely available in chemists; or a person authorized to dispense medicinal drugs. In North America, the former would be known as a pharmacy or drug store and the latter as a pharmacist or druggist.

What did he say?

In his hints on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Big Dave refers to Boots as a chain of shops found on most of our high streets. In the UK, high street[5] is the term used for the main street of a town, especially as the traditional site for most shops, banks, and other businesses ⇒ the approaching festive season boosted the high street. In the same way that many North American towns have a Main Street, many British towns will have a High Street.

3d   Concerns // about interrupting during exams (9)

4d   Canoodles /and/ kisses with knight rather than page (5)

"knight" = N (show explanation )

A knight^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.

N^[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].

As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines: 

• K^[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight. 
• K^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king. 
• N^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.

The dictionary fails to specify how one differentiates an abbreviation from a symbol.

On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.^[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE^[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

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"page" = P (show explanation )

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

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Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, page[5] is used in a historical sense denoting a boy in training for knighthood, ranking next below a squire in the personal service of a knight.

5d   Discover // club in Madrid -- one's to be over 23 (7)

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol^[7] (Royal Madrid Football Club), commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real, is a professional football [soccer] club based in Madrid, Spain.

The numeral "23" is a cross reference indicator (show more ).

To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light^* identified by the cross reference indicator.

The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.

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^* light-coloured cell in the grid

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6d   Relaid line to carry grand pipe down // from Yorkshire perhaps (7)

The use of the letter 'G' as an abbreviation for 'grand' is one 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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Yorkshire^[5] is a county of northern England.

7d   Her event unravelled, attracting fewer // still (12)

In her review, crypticsue has included a bit too much in the wordplay. Her explanation should read:

• NEVERTHELESS – An anagram (unravelled) of HER EVENT followed by ‘attracting’ LESS (fewer)

The word "still" is the definition and should not be included in the wordplay.

10d   Not pleased, /finding/ sharp bit in pie Dad's cooked (12)

15d   Replying to // article on cursing, getting another article rejected (9)

17d   What sales rep delivers new // design? (7)

18d   Enough to support former partner, /for/ instance (7)

'Diverging from what crypticsue has shown in her review, I would say that the word "say" is a link word. An example is an instance; 'for example' denotes 'for instance.

19d   Minimum goal of student, yours truly, on // fire (7)

20d   Note that's played at end of musical show /or/ function (7)

"note" = TI (show more ).

A perusal of entries in American and British dictionaries produces the following results.

The only recognized spelling in the US would seem to be ti^[3,11] while British dictionaries are split into two camps. On one side, Chambers 21st Century Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary give the principal spelling as te^[2,4,10] with ti^[2,4,10] being an alternative spelling. On the other side, The Chambers Dictionary and Oxford Dictionaries take the contrary position, giving the spelling as ti^[1,5] with te^[1,5] shown as an alternative spelling.

Note that the sister publications, The Chambers Dictionary and Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, are diametrically opposed on the issue and Oxford Dictionaries has done a complete about face as I have notes in my files from a previous review showing that "Oxford Dictionaries decrees that te is the British spelling with ti being the North American spelling.".

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22d   Like a place where the drink goes down twice a day (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