Tuesday, November 13, 2018 — DT 28770

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28770
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28770]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

I would say that the wordplay in this puzzle is a little bit trickier than usual — which serves to give one a more vigorous mental workout.

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   Way to greet // fish worker on board ship (5,5)

The hake^[5] is a large-headed elongated fish with long jaws and strong teeth. It is a valuable commercial food fish.

"on board ship" = 'contained in SS' (show explanation )

In Crosswordland, you will find that a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[5]. Thus phrases such as "aboard ship" or "on board ship" (or sometimes merely "aboard" or "on board") are Crosswordland code for 'contained in SS'.

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6a   Person who won't talk // about escape in America (4)

The latter part of this charade generated a great deal of comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. I always have to smile when I see comments like that from WeekendWanda at Comment #7 [One] Cannot be expected to know such an obscure American word. I often have that feeling concerning Briticisms several times in a single puzzle but consider it to be part of the challenge.

Lam^[5] (in the phrase on the lam) is an informal North American term meaning in flight, especially from the police ⇒ he went on the lam and is living under a false name.

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Clam^[2] is a colloquial term for an uncommunicative person.

10a   Manages // expectations -- initially arrested by police (5)

11a   Looking at // call to include adjustment of grade (9)

12a   Nominate // European member worried by Germany (8)

"Germany" = D (show explanation )

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) country code for Germany is D^[5] [from German Deutschland].

German Licence Plate Format

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13a   Measures /of/ energy in sleep (5)

"energy" = E (show explanation )

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae.

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Doss^[5] is an informal British term meaning to sleep in rough accommodation or on an improvised bed  ⇒ he dossed down on a friend’s floor.

15a   Discontented organiser confronting a politician/'s/ skill at address (7)

The setter uses "discontented" to indicate that the inner letters of "OrganiseR" are to be removed. This cryptic device is based on the whimsical logic that if disembowel means to remove one's innards, then it only stands to reason that discontent must mean to remove one's contents.

"politician" = TORY (show more )

A Tory^[10] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain [or, for that matter, in Canada].

Historically, a Tory^[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

The Conservative Party^[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.

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17a   Small one may be eaten by senior // military type (7)

The solution was blatantly obvious but the parsing eluded me for a long time as I was desperately trying to use SR as the abbreviation for "senior".

19a   The start of this strange ritual /is/ nominal (7)

21a   Place behind loud American // person always worrying (7)

"loud" = F (show explanation )

Forte^[5] (abbreviation f^[5]) is a musical direction meaning (as an adjective) loud or (as an adverb) loudly.

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22a   Message // team regularly and suffer (5)

24a   Work // party (8)

27a   Unusually fine act of // warmth (9)

28a   Intimate // just has to ignore leader (5)

29a   Something to wear // in ski lifts, if going away (4)

30a   Where control will lie, in the main? (10)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term for the open ocean.

Down

1d   Hotel given exemption from surprise // strike (4)

Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.

2d   Sweet // skill must underpin simple computer program (5,4)

In the computing field, an applet^[5] is a very small application, especially a utility program performing one or a few simple functions ⇒ there's a useful control applet which can be used to centre the picture.

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

Tart or Pie?

Is the sweet dish illustrating the 2Kiwis hint a tart or a pie? I would say the latter as my concept of a tart has always been that of a very small pie. However, I discover that dictionaries focus — for the most part — on the crust rather than the size and in particular on the existence or non-existence of a top crust. Several dictionaries define a tart as a filled pastry shell either with no top crust[3,5,11] or often[4,10] or especially[2] with no top crust. Some dictionaries define a pie[4,10,11] as a filled pastry shell often with a top crust. However, other dictionaries allow a pie to have a bottom crust, a top crust, or both[2]; to typically have a top and bottom crust (seemingly allowing the possibility of neither)[5]; or to be baked over, under, or surrounded by a crust of pastry or other dough[3]. In only one dictionary was size a consideration. The Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary defines a tart[11] as a usually small, shallow pie, without a top crust, filled with fruit, custard, or the like. Finally, the American Heritage Dictionary gives one meaning of tart[3] as a chiefly British term for a pie.

What is he talking about?

At Comment #1 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, MalcolmR writes I was thinking that Tim Cook might be looking to his lawyers about 2d, until I saw the extra T. Tim Cook[7] is the Chief Executive Officer of American multinational technology company Apple Inc. Apparently MalcolmR had initially identified the first element of the charade as APPLE and considered it defamatory for Apple to be called a "simple computer program".

Here and There
The Brits use the spelling program[5] only in computing contexts. Otherwise they use the spelling programme[5] and consider program to be a US spelling.

3d   Make certain to reject right // result (5)

4d   Willing to support a student // so soon (7)

"student" = L (show explanation )

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

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5d   Weapons // that may be drawn when showing anger? (7)

The phrase be at daggers drawn^[5] is a British expression denoting (of two people) to be bitterly hostile towards each other ⇒ they have been at daggers drawn for weeks over tactics.

7d   Left affected behaviour /in/ places of refuge (5)

What did they say?
In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis describe "airs" as affected behaviour often coupled with graces. The phrase airs and graces[5] is a derogatory British expression denoting an affectation of superiority ⇒ young master Tristan, with his fancy education and his airs and graces.

8d   Judge // needing first with merit following regular issue? (10)

9d   Good puzzles /for/ cooks (8)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[a] for good comes from its use in education as a mark awarded on scholastic assignments or tests.

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^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

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Griddle^[5] (verb) means to cook on a griddle ⇒ the vegetables can be griddled the day before and kept covered in the fridge.

14d   Reserve of courage /wanted for/ recycling here (6,4)

A double definition with the first being whimsical. Since a "blood bank" is a reserve of blood, then it must necessarily follow that a bottle bank is a reserve of bottle^* [courage].

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^* Bottle^[5] is an informal British term denoting the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous ⇒ I lost my bottle completely and ran.

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Bottle bank^[5] is a British term for a place where used glass bottles may be deposited for recycling.

16d   Works topless to beat // pollution (3,5)

18d   I'm on time but unprotected /and/ with no preparation (9)

20d   Dashing /from/ school after service (7)

"service" = RAF (show explanation )

The Royal Air Force^[5] (abbreviation RAF) is the British air force, formed in 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (founded 1912) and the Royal Naval Air Service (founded 1914).

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21d   One promised to keep new // backing (7)

23d   Legally permissible to start late, /but/ offensive (5)

25d   Temperature raised /seeing/ a bit of leg? (5)

26d   Close to having evacuated remote // farm building (4)

Byre^[5] is a British name for a cowshed.

The deletion indicator "evacuated" is a direction to remove the interior letters of "RemoteE".

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