Thursday, November 21, 2018 — DT 28777

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28777
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, June 28, 2018
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28777]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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

This was a nice bit of fun (both times around). I was well into the puzzle before realizing that I was seeing it for the second time.

Today, I focus on the use of the question mark in clues. There is an adage which tells the solver to ignore punctuation. Of course, there is also a corollary that adds "except when it should not be ignored". Setters often use a question mark to indicate a definition by example or to show that there is something a bit out of the ordinary about the clue (such as it being a cryptic definition).

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^*)

---

^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

---

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.

hide explanation

Across

1a   Cross // empty gallery to take seat (6)

4a   Perfect // female, wild (8)

9a   Lose track of // dispatch on motorway (6)

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway [controlled access, multi-lane divided highway] in England connecting London to Leeds.

10a   Salt rib concerned with // seasoning (8)

"salt" = TAR (show explanation )

Salt^[3] is an informal term for a sailor, especially when old or experienced.

Tar^[5] is an informal, dated nickname for a sailor. The term came into use in the mid 17th century and is perhaps an abbreviation of tarpaulin, also used as a nickname for a sailor at that time.

hide explanation

12a   Proust, it gets translated // better (8)

Scratching the Surface

Marcel Proust[5] (1871–1922) was a French novelist, essayist, and critic. (show more ) Proust devoted much of his life to writing his novel À la recherche du temps perdu (published in seven sections between 1913 and 1927). Its central theme is the recovery of the lost past and the releasing of its creative energies through the stimulation of unconscious memory [now, there's an ability that would certainly be a boon to cryptic crossword devotees]. hide explanation

13a   Bride bristled accepting // rubbish (6)

15a   Stolen cabinet is damaged, /for/ sure (13)

18a   Opinionated /and/ terribly vague trite man (13)

22a   Do translation // of French mock exam's opening (6)

"of French" = DE (show explanation )

In French, de^[8] is a preposition meaning 'of'' or 'from'.

hide explanation

Cod^[5] is an informal British term meaning:

• (adjective) not authentic or fake ⇒ a cod Mittel-European^* accent;
• (noun) a joke or hoax ⇒ I suppose it could all be a cod.

---

^* Mitteleuropa^[12] (also Mittel-europa or Mittel Europa) is Central Europe, especially with reference to its culture, style, or customs.

24a   Stand without warning shout /and/ put wood back? (8)

Fore^[5] is an exclamation called out as a warning to people in the path of a golf ball.

Scratching the Surface
In golf, a wood[2] is a club with a head traditionally made of wood, now usually of metal, used for driving the ball long distances.

The question mark flags the cryptic nature of the definition.

26a   Escort // man working to protect Queen (8)

"man" = CHAP (show explanation )

Chap^[3,4,11], an informal British^[5] or chiefly British^[3] term for a man or boy, is a shortened form of chapman^[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar^[a,b].

---

^[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler^[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be 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'.

hide explanation

"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.

hide explanation

27a   Rewarding, if tedious, to keep // skilful (6)

28a   /It's/ standard having a lot put on // tick? (8)

In golf, par^[5] (noun) is:

• the number of strokes a first-class player should normally require for a particular hole or course ⇒ (i) Woosnam had advanced from his overnight position of three under par; (ii) the sixteenth is a par five 
• a par score at a hole ⇒ a card that showed 16 pars, one eagle, and one birdie

Despite being positioned at the beginning of the clue, the word "it's" plays a role not unlike that of a link word by creating a meaningful surface reading across the wordplay and definition. From the perspective of cryptic analysis, it can be interpreted as telling the solver that "the solution to the clue is given by".

Scratching the Surface
Tick[5] (used in the phrase on tick) is an informal British term meaning credit ⇒ the printer agreed to send the brochures out on tick. Origin: The term apparently originates as a short form for ticket in the phrase on the ticket, referring to an IOU or promise to pay.

The question mark indicates a definition by example, a tick being merely one of many possible types of parasite.

29a   Catches vehicle finally, // the final vehicle? (6)

The question mark flags the cryptic nature of the definition.

Down

1d   Frolic /in/ punt, we hear (6)

Punt^{[2,3,4,5,10,11]} is a chiefly British term which means:

• (verb) to gamble or bet, especially against the bank (as in roulette and some card games such as faro) or on horses or other sporting events
• (noun) such a gamble or bet

2d   Alarming /seeing/ one in gents put out (9)

Scratching the Surface
The gents[5] is an informal British term for a men's public toilet.

3d   Unattractively artificial // snap capturing conclusion (7)

5d   Look, a new // mortgage? (4)

"look" = LO (show explanation )

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

hide explanation

The question mark indicates a definition by example, a mortgage being merely one of many possible types of loan.

6d   Closest // direction to circle inlet (7)

Warm, perhaps, as a hint provided to someone playing 'hide the thimble'^[7].

7d   Lug around say, turning // impatient (5)

Lug^[5] (usually lugs) in Scottish and Northern English dialects is an informal term for a person's ear ⇒ I couldn't hear what they were saying with that leather over my lugs.

---

Origin: Late 15th century (denoting the ear flap of a hat): probably of Scandinavian origin

Growing up in Nova Scotia, I recall the ear flap of a cap being referred to as an ear lug but I don't recall the term being applied to a person's ears.

8d   Wicked // lapse is end, almost (8)

11d   Appealing // with turn to bat (7)

In a rare departure from the norm, the Brits partake in a game of baseball in lieu of the customary cricket. As you can see from my review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I was caught asleep at the switch by the unexpected change.

The clue would seem to attempt to use baseball terminology in a cricket context. In cricket, innings can denote either a division of play or a turn to bat. However, in baseball, an inning is merely a division of play while a turn to bat is termed an "at bat" (it is possible for a baseball player to have more than one at bat in a single inning).

In cricket, innings^[5] (plural same or informally inningses) can denote any of:

• each of two or four divisions of a game during which one side has a turn at batting ⇒ the highlight of the Surrey innings
• a player’s turn at batting ⇒ he had played his greatest innings
• the score achieved during a player’s turn at batting ⇒ a solid innings of 78 by Marsh.

In the first sense, the term innings (spelled with an 's') would correspond somewhat to an inning (spelled without an 's') in baseball. One significant difference is that an innings in cricket denotes one team's turn at batting. Thus team A is batting in the first and third innings (referred to as team A's innings) and team B in the second and fourth innings (referred to as team B's innings). In baseball, the visiting team bats in the top of each inning and the home team in the bottom of each inning (these might be referred to as team A's half of the inning and team B's half of the inning respectively).

The second sense would be roughly equivalent to an at bat in baseball. One difference is that a cricket player can have only one innings (sense 2) per innings (sense 1) although a turn at batting can be quite lengthy (long enough for Marsh to score 78 runs in the usage example for sense 3). In baseball, it is possible for a player to have more than one at bat during a single inning (players continue to bat around the order until the fielding team achieves three outs and if the batting team has more than nine at bats during an inning, one or more players will have multiple at bats).

14d   Calm // about beginning to locate cut (7)

16d   Tower guard/'s/ exploit with sweetheart consumed by drink (9)

"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.

hide explanation

Beefeater^[5] is another name for either:

• Yeoman Warder^[5], a warder [British term for prison guard] at the Tower of London.
• Yeoman of the Guard^[5] , a member of the British sovereign’s bodyguard, first established by Henry VII, now having only ceremonial duties and wearing Tudor dress as uniform. The term is commonly used erroneously to refer to a Yeoman Warder.

---

Origin: The name was originally a derogatory term for a well-fed servant.

17d   Expert reportedly beat // golfer's measure of skill (8)

Cap^[3] is used in the sense of to follow with something better; in other words, to surpass or outdo ⇒ capped his last trick with a disappearing act that brought the audience to its feet.

19d   Insanity /of/ crowd welcoming danger, oddly (7)

20d   Playing oldies I // love (7)

21d   Strangely, dog in street ultimately ate // dull food (6)

Stodge^[5] is an informal British term for food that is heavy, filling, and high in carbohydrates ⇒ she ate her way through a plateful of stodge.

23d   Seat // could help an individual rest initially (5)

25d   Company's time /leads to/ charge (4)

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