Friday, November 2, 2018 — DT 28763

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28763
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28763]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K
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

In a rare show of near unanimity, this puzzle garnered almost — but not quite — universal acclaim on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

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   Out of keeping, // prom ripe for redevelopment (8)

Here and There

The surface reading would definitely not refer to a dance as prom[5] in this sense is a North American term for a ball or formal dance at a school or college, especially one held at the end of the academic year for students who are in their final year. Most likely, the clue uses prom[5] (short for promenade) in a British sense meaning a paved* public walk, typically one along the seafront at a resort. * in the UK, paved[5] denotes surfaced with paving stones or bricks — not asphalt as we would think of it in North America An alternative — but, in the context of the clue, less likely — meaning for prom[5] (again short for promenade) is a concert of classical music at which part of the audience stands, in particular one of a series of concerts (the Proms) performed annually at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

6a   Power feeding Tube centrally? The reverse /in/ New York system (6)

Excuse me, I meant to say ...
The phrase "the reverse" directs the solver to invert the logic of the preceding statement. Thus, rather than "Power feeding Tube centrally" one must invert the logic to obtain "Tube centrally feeding power".

The Tube^[5] is a British trademark for the underground railway system in London ⇒ a cross-London trek on the Tube. The term "the tube" can also refer to a train running on the Tube ⇒ I caught the tube home.

The definition in this clue does not stand completely on its own as one may glean a significant piece of information from the wordplay as to the nature of the system in question.

9a   Colour /of/ gold by Scottish brook (6)

"gold" = AU (show explanation )

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

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In Scottish and Northern English dialects, a burn^[5] is a small stream.

10a   A brandy /and/ soda knocked back after five, after short visit (8)

Calvados^[5] is an apple brandy, traditionally made in the Calvados region of Normandy.

11a   What one may be brought in a taverna // with fashionable new tiles (4,4)

Take care! The wordplay is not an anagram (fashionable) of NEW TILES (which gets you almost — but not quite — to your destination). Rather, it  is a charade of W (with; abbrev.) + IN (fashionable) + an anagram (new) of TILES.

A taverna^[2] is:

• (in Greece) a type of guesthouse with a bar, popular as holiday [vacation] accommodation
• a Greek restaurant

12a   Extremely small /and/ quiet nursing home (6)

13a   Those seeking a relationship /with/ belted earl, on the sly? (6,6)

I can only surmise that "belted" used as an anagram indicator denotes that the fodder has been beaten to the point of being no longer recognizable.

16a   Sweet // bishop, say, having whisky (12)

"bishop" = B (show explanation )

B^[5] is an abbreviation for bishop that is used in recording moves in chess.

A bishop^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a mitre, that can move any number of spaces in any direction along a diagonal on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two bishops, one moving on white squares and the other on black.

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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mr K emphasizes that the clue specifically refers to  "whisky"^[5] rather than whiskey (the latter being the US and Irish spelling).

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Sweet^[5] is used in a British sense meaning a small shaped piece of confectionery made with sugar ⇒ a bag of sweets. In North American parlance, sweets would be candy^[5] and a sweet would be a piece of candy^*.

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^* In Britain, candy^[5] means sugar crystallized by repeated boiling and slow evaporation ⇒ making candy at home is not difficult—the key is cooking the syrup to the right temperature.

Butterscotch^[5] is a brittle yellow-brown sweet [candy] made with butter and brown sugar or a sauce or syrup flavoured with butterscotch.

Sweet^[5] is also a British term for a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; in other words, a dessert — a dish which could as well be butterscotch-flavoured.

19a   Impressionable // one in factory (6)

21a   Demanding deep thought, // expert discovered (8)

23a   Perplex foremost of gardeners, appearing with passion // flower (8)

24a   Article, belt, I buckled, // nevertheless (6)

As an anagram indicator, "buckled" is used in the sense of bent out of shape.

25a   Member of the clergy // made a confession, to some extent (6)

In the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox Churches, a deacon^[5] is an ordained minister of an order ranking below that of priest while, in some Nonconformist Churches^*, a deacon is a lay officer appointed to assist a minister, especially in secular affairs.

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^* Nonconformist Churches are Protestant Churches which dissent from the established Church of England

26a   A position on the cricket field, // not long on (5,3)

In cricket, the on^[5] (also known as on side) is another name for the leg^[5] (also called leg side), the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman’s feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg.

The other half of the field is known as the off^[5] (also called off side).

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In cricket, short leg^[10] is the name of a fielding position on the leg side near the batsman's wicket or a fielder at this position.

Delving Deeper

In cricket, the adjective silly[5] in the name of a fielding position denotes that the position is very close to the batsman [so-called because of the perceived danger of playing in such a position]. The "silly" positions are silly point, silly mid off, and silly mid on. The illustration shows a short leg [a position that somehow has avoided being labelled "silly"] and a silly point (the player with the more erect stance on the far side of the pitch) standing close to the batsman on either side of the pitch. They are both wearing protective equipment (helmets and leg pads). The wicket keeper is 'standing up' to the stumps, and the square leg umpire is also visible in the foreground. The other two "silly" players (positioned out of the picture to the left) are seemingly a bit less silly. The silly mid off is positioned further away from the batsman on the same side of the pitch as the silly point while the silly mid on is positioned at a similar distance from the batsman on the same side of the pitch as the short leg.

Scratching the Surface
In cricket, long on[5] is the name of a fielding position far behind the bowler and towards the on side or a fielder at this position.

Down

2d & 3d   Boundless humour, one girl recollected, /in/ famous old nightspot (6)

As an anagram indicator, the setter uses "recollected" in the whimsical sense of collected again. Perhaps the letters have fallen on the ground and, when collected again, end up in a different order.

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The Moulin Rouge^[5] (French 'Red Mill') was a cabaret in Montmartre, Paris, a favourite resort of poets and artists around the end of the 19th century. French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec immortalized its dancers in his posters.

3d   See 2d (5)

4d   Nice boarding house, I hesitate to say, /for/ a senior citizen? (9)

Nice^[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy.

A pension^[5] is a small hotel or boarding house in France and other European countries.

5d   Quote shortened during actual // performance (7)

6d   Auction, first of many /in/ state capital (5)

Salem^[5] is the state capital of Oregon, situated on the Willamette River south-west of Portland.

7d   Exceptionally intelligent person was hard // to indoctrinate (9)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

H^[2,5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

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8d   A pale worried // deserter (8)

A pale^[5] is a wooden stake or post used with others to form a fence.

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An apostate^[5] is a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle ⇒ after fifty years as an apostate he returned to the faith.

13d   Sluggish? // It could be the garlic (9)

14d   Casserole at bistro, ultimately // a controversial issue (3,6)

Hotpot^[5] is a British term for a casserole of meat and vegetables, typically with a topping of sliced potato.

15d   Speak without restraint // appealing to have conveniences installed (3,5)

Convenience^[5] is a British — or, at least, chiefly British^[3] — term for a public toilet ⇒ the large council [municipal] car park next to the public conveniences.

Loo^[5] is an informal British term for a toilet.

17d   Constant battle over small // wood (7)

In mathematics, C^[5] (or c) is a symbol used to represent the third fixed constant to appear in an algebraic expression, or a known constant.

The Battle of Ypres^[7] was a series of engagements during the First World War, near the Belgian city of Ypres, between the German and the Allied armies (Belgian, French, British Expeditionary Force and Canadian Expeditionary Force).

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The cypress^[5] (also cypress tree) is any of many species of evergreen coniferous tree with small rounded woody cones and flattened shoots bearing small scale-like leaves. One species in particular, the Mediterranean cypress^[7], is known for its very durable, scented wood, used most famously for the doors of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

To what is he alluding?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mr K writes that the Battle of Ypres was Early evidence that Canadians 'won't be pushed around'. This puzzle appeared in The Daily Telegraph in June 2018, during a particularly low point in Canada-US relations[7] following remarks by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Canadians would not be "pushed around" by the Trump tariffs on Canada's aluminum and steel and US President Donald Trump responded by labelling Trudeau as "dishonest" and "meek", and accused Trudeau of making "false statements", although it is unclear which are the statements Trump was referring to. Trump's adviser on trade, Peter Navarro, said that there was a "special place in hell" for Trudeau as he employed "bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door ... that comes right from Air Force One." Days later, Trump said that Trudeau's comments are "going to cost a lot of money for the people of Canada".

18d   Popular team, // fundamentally (6)

Inside^[10] is used in the sense of by nature or fundamentally ⇒ inside, he's a good chap.

20d   Old character // beginning to tune musical instrument (5)

Thorn^[5] is an Old English and Icelandic runic letter, þ or Þ, representing the dental fricatives /ð/ and /θ/. It was eventually superseded by the digraph th.

Delving Deeper

I would think it likely that we most frequently encounter — albeit without generally realizing it — the remnants of the letter thorn in the word ye[5], a pseudo-archaic term for the ⇒ Ye Olde Cock Tavern. The character "y" in this word was originally not the letter "y" in the modern English alphabet but a variant representation of the letter thorn (þ or Þ). The word 'ye' in this sense was originally a graphic variant of 'the' rather than an alternative spelling. When the original representation of thorn (þ or Þ) was superseded by the digraph th, þe (the old spelling of 'the') became the modern spelling 'the'.  In late Middle English þ (thorn) came to be written identically with y, so that þe (the) could be written ye. This spelling (usually ye*) was kept as a convenient abbreviation in handwriting down to the 19th century, and in printers' types during the 15th and 16th centuries. It was never pronounced as ‘yee’ in the past, but this is the pronunciation used today. * I interpret the phrase "usually ye" to mean that the word was customarily not capitalized because the character "y" is not being used to represent the letter "y" in the modern English alphabet but rather as a graphic variant of thorn. Thus, in bygone days, the name of the drinking establishment above would presumably have been written ye Olde Cock Tavern (and pronounced "the old cock tavern").

22d   Complete circuit, // or segment? (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