Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28787 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, July 10, 2018 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28787] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Mr K | |
BD Rating
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| 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
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Introduction
Another gentle puzzle — the second in a row following the challenging test on Tuesday.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:
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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)
Explanatory Box
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| 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:
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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.
ExamplesI 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.
A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.
The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:
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).
- 4d Fellow left work // a failure (4)
The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:
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.
- 29a Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)
The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:
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/).
- 18d Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)
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)
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 Here's good advice /from/ roadshow, I tweet excitedly (1,4,2,3,4)
I would say that the definition is "Here's good advice" and not merely "good advice" as this this phrase and the solution could each be used to preface a piece of (often unsolicited) advice.
9a A nobleman catching cold /in/ story (7)
A count[5] is a foreign [from a British perspective] nobleman whose rank corresponds to that of a British earl.
10a Famous Oxford don // earlier than expected bringing page in (7)
"page" = P (show explanation )
A don[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.
William Archibald Spooner[7] (1844–1930) was a long-serving Oxford don, notable for absent-mindedness, and supposedly liable to mix up the syllables in a spoken phrase, with unintentionally comic effect (as in the sentence
you have hissed the mystery lectures). Such phrases became known as spoonerisms, and are often used humorously. Many spoonerisms have been invented and attributed to Spooner.
The "Tale" Behind the Picture
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mr K shares a
rare picture of the Oxford don's beloved Manx cat Toenail. Have you figured out why the picture is so rare? (If not, click here for an explanation ) I'm afraid this is a playful hoax perpetrated by Mr K. "Toenail" is a spoonerism for "no tail" (Manx cats have no tail). The cat in the picture is actually named "Silverwing".  hide |
11a Heading for Oberhausen with German // miss (4)
The German equivalent to the English preposition 'with' is mit[8].
Scratching the Surface
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| Oberhausen[5] is an industrial city in western Germany, in the Ruhr valley of North Rhine-Westphalia. |
12a Extra large meal /that's/ all over the place (10)
I must confess that the setter bowled this cricket reference past me without my even noticing.
I had parsed the wordplay as WIDE (extra large) + SPREAD (meal); it should be WIDE (extra) + SPREAD (large meal).
In cricket, an extra[5] is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited (in most cases) to the batting side rather than to a batsman. The types of extra[7] are no ball, wide, bye, leg-bye, and penalty runs.
In cricket, a wide[5] (also called wide ball) is a ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side.
14a Remain briefly with convict /in/ camp (6)
Lag[5] is an informal British term for a person who has been frequently convicted and sent to prison ⇒
both old lags were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.
A stalag[5] was a Second World War German prison camp, especially for non-commissioned officers and privates. The name comes from German, a contraction of Stammlager, from Stamm 'base, main stock' + Lager 'camp'.
15a Pot // Republican placed in new cubicle (8)
"Republican" = R (show explanation )
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
In the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland but the abbreviation does not seem to apply to that usage.
hide explanation
A Republican[5] (abbreviation R[5] or Rep.[5]) is a member or supporter of the Republican Party[5], one of the two main US political parties*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.
* the other being the Democratic Party
In the UK, republican[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland but the abbreviation does not seem to apply to that usage.
hide explanation
17a Traveller with tale about fashionable // shopkeeper (8)
Not unlike Merusa at Comment #16 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to justify "traveller" as the definition with GULLIVER as the solution.
"The Miller's Tale"[5] is the second of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1380s–1390s), told by the drunken miller Robin.
The Canterbury Tales[7] (Middle English: Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of over 20 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century, during the time of the Hundred Years' War. The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.
A milliner[5] is a person who makes or sells women's hats ⇒
Alison got a local milliner to make her a stunning hat.
18a Win // playing Ulster (6)
Although I initially questioned that the solution matches the definition, surprisingly it would seem that it can.
Result[5] is used in the sense of a favourable outcome of an undertaking or contest ⇒ (i)
determination and persistence guarantee results; (ii)
if we can get a result in that game we might qualify.
Nevertheless, I would never use the word in that sense but would always qualify it as a "positive result".
Scratching the Surface
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| Ulster[10] is a widely-used (albeit inaccurate*) informal name for Northern Ireland. * Properly Ulster is an area that was a province and former kingdom of northern Ireland which passed to the English Crown in 1461. Following centuries of conflict, Ulster was partitioned in 1921, with six counties [Antrim, Down, Armagh, Londonderry, Tyrone, and Fermanagh] forming Northern Ireland (a region within the United Kingdom) and three counties [Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan] joining the Republic of Ireland. |
21a Kill beautiful woman, reportedly // a ringer? (6,4)
22a Party /in/ power losing face (4)
The definition refers to a group such as a search party.
What did he say?
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In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mr K tells us the power is of a formJames Watt[5] (1736–1819) was a Scottish engineer. Among his many innovations he greatly improved the efficiency of the Newcomen steam engine, which was then adopted for a variety of purposes.developed by James Watt. |
24a Irish individual keeping gold, // metal extracted from this? (4,3)
"gold" = OR (show explanation )
Or[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.
In heraldry, a tincture[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.
hide explanation
Or[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.
In heraldry, a tincture[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.
hide explanation
25a Socialist recording /reveals/ time-consuming bureaucracy (3,4)
26a Comic mentioned bar ad /for/ fruit machine (3-5,6)
Fruit machine[5] is the British term for a slot machine[5], a coin-operated gaming machine that generates random combinations of symbols (typically representing fruit) on a dial, certain combinations winning varying amounts of money for the player.
As a British dictionary puts it, one-armed bandit[5] is an informal name for a fruit machine operated by pulling a long handle at the side.
Down
1d In deficit, // uncertain what to do (2,1,4)
2d I'm on oboe an uncle composed /for/ very rarely (4,2,1,4,4)
Once in a blue moon[5] is an informal phrase denoting very rarely ⇒
he comes round once in a blue moon.
Delving Deeper
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| A blue moon[7] is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: either [traditionally*] the third of four full moons in a season, or [now commonly but mistakenly*] a second full moon in a month of the common calendar. The phrase has nothing to do with the actual color of the moon, although a literal "blue moon" (the moon appearing with a tinge of blue) may occur in certain atmospheric conditions: e.g., if volcanic eruptions or fires leave particles in the atmosphere of just the right size to preferentially scatter red light. * The term has traditionally referred to an "extra" full moon, where a year which normally has 12 full moons has 13 instead. The "blue moon" reference is applied to the third full moon in a season with four full moons, thus correcting the timing of the last month of a season that would have otherwise been expected too early. This happens every two to three years (seven times in the Metonic cycle of 19 years). The March 1946 issue of Sky & Telescope misinterpreted the traditional definition, which led to the modern colloquial misunderstanding that a blue moon is a second full moon in a single solar calendar month with no seasonal link. |
3d Redecorate // at university after party (2,2)
In Britain, up[5] means at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge ⇒
they were up at Cambridge about the same time.
Do up[10] is an informal [possibly British*] expression meaning to renovate or redecorate.
* based on the absence of the term used in this sense from American dictionaries
4d Get // damaged boat home (6)
5d Great number right inside city // pub? (8)
Ely[5] (pronounced EE-lee) is a cathedral city in the fenland of Cambridgeshire, eastern England, on the River Ouse.
Hostelry[5] is an archaic or humorous term for an inn or pub.
6d Bird // wife precooked, for a change (10)
7d One way that may get you into Hollywood (6,9)
Sunset Boulevard[7] is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles County, California that stretches from Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean. From Downtown Los Angeles, the boulevard heads northwest, to Hollywood, through which it travels due west for several miles before it bends southwest towards the ocean.
8d Game // girl doesn't finish (6)
Who is he talking about?
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On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mr K hints that the girl in question might beBridget Jones[7] is a fictional character created by British writer Helen Fielding. Jones first appeared in Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary column in The Independent in 1995, which — crucially — did not carry any byline. Thus it seemed to be an actual personal diary chronicling the life of Jones as a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life and love with the help of a surrogate "urban family" of friends in the 1990s. The column in fact lampooned the obsession of women with women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan and wider social trends in Britain at the time. Fielding published the novelisation of the column in 1996, followed by a sequel in 1999 called Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.young Ms Jones, perhaps. The novels were adapted for the big screen in 2001 and 2004, starring Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, and Hugh Grant and Colin Firth as the men in her life: Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy, respectively. Fielding released a third novel in 2013, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, which is set 14 years after the events of the second novel. |
13d Person going round a London college with a // cleaning agent (6,4)
Bod[5] is an informal British term for a person ⇒
some clever bod wrote a song about them.
King's College London[7] (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, and a founding constituent college of the federal University of London. King's was established in 1829 by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington and received its royal charter in the same year. In 1836, King's became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London.
Baking soda[5] is another name for sodium bicarbonate used in cooking, for cleaning, or in toothpaste.
16d Join a bishop about to go inside /for/ fish (3,5)
One needs to read the wordplay as though it were a set of assembly instructions from Ikea with all numbering of the steps and punctuation removed.
Thus (with these missing elements reinserted), the wordplay would read "[Step 1] join; [Step 2] a bishop about to go inside [the result from Step 1]" which one would parse as {A (from the clue) + B (bishop) + RE (about)} contained in (to go inside) SEAM (join; as a noun).
The sea bream[5] is a deep-bodied marine fish that resembles the freshwater bream, in particular:
- several fish in the sea bream family, in particular the red sea bream (Pagellus bogaraveo), which is fished commercially, and the black sea bream (Spondyliosoma cantharus), a popular angling fish
- a fish (Seriolella brama) of Australasian coastal waters, with a purple back and silver underside that is also called warehou in New Zealand
17d Nonconformist // male is in good health (6)
19d Set of questions about English politician /causes/ violent disturbance (7)
"politician" = MP (show explanation )
In Britain (as in Canada), a politician elected to the House of Commons is known as a Member of Parliament[10] (abbreviation MP[5]) or, informally, as a member[5].
hide explanation
In Britain (as in Canada), a politician elected to the House of Commons is known as a Member of Parliament[10] (abbreviation MP[5]) or, informally, as a member[5].
hide explanation
20d Look initially within for papers, // bright in colour (6)
23d Plan // best left forgotten (4)
Key to Reference Sources:Signing off for today — Falcon
[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)
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