Friday, January 25, 2019 — DT 28823

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28823
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28823]
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

As mentioned by others on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I discovered a few unfamiliar words in this puzzle but they were fairly easily worked out from the wordplay.

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   Grouches about popular // TV drama shown over a short period (10)

Misery^[5] is an informal British term for a person who is constantly miserable or discontented ⇒ have we really been such a bunch of miseries to work with?.

6a   Parrot /in/ part of London house (4)

"part of London" = EC (show explanation )

In the clue, the setter uses "part of London" to stand for for the EC postcode^* which serves the City of London. The EC (Eastern Central) postcode area^[7] (also known as the London EC postcode area) is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. It includes almost all of the City of London as well as parts of several other London boroughs.

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^* postcode being the British counterpart of the Canadian postal code or American zip code

The City of London^[7] (not to be confused with the city of London) is a city and ceremonial county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the conurbation has since grown far beyond the City's borders. The City of London is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. It is one of two districts of London to hold city status, the other being the adjacent City of Westminster.

The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City (often written as just "City" and differentiated from the phrase "the city of London" by capitalising "City") and is also colloquially known as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (2.90 km²), in area. Both of these terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. This is analogous to the use of the terms Wall Street and Bay Street to refer to the financial institutions located in New York and Toronto respectively.

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"house" = HO (show explanation )

Although not found in most of the dictionaries I consulted, ho.^[10] is the abbreviation for house.

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10a   Some inhabiting other // block (5)

11a   Theatrical term /defined by/ old coach, retired (5,4)

I remember this theatrical term as a catchphrase of Snagglepuss^[7] on The Yogi Bear Show.

12a   Celebrities greeting foremost of passengers /leaving/ flying machine (8)

As a link word, leave^[10] (in this case, appearing in the form of the present participle leaving) is used in the sense of to result in or cause ⇒ childhood problems often leave emotional scars.

13a   Fury involving new // cooking stove (5)

15a   Pope not travelling /in/ this type of vehicle? (4-3)

Although one could parse this clue as simple wordplay and definition (above), Mr K has reasonable cause to view the entire clue as a precise definition with embedded wordplay which I would mark as:

• Pope not travelling in this type of vehicle? (4-3)

The Popemobile^[5] is certainly not the type of vehicle described by the solution.

17a   Ruler // exercises right during more rioting (7)

"exercises" = PE (show explanation )

PE^[5] is an abbreviation^* for physical education.

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^* In my experience, phys ed^{[3,6,11,12,14]} is the more common shortened form in North America.

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18a   Everyone in theatrical performance /is/ superficial (7)

21a   Person used /in/ musical piece forgetting number's opening (4-3)

CATS^[7] is a musical by English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by American-born British writer T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) and produced by British theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh. It premiered in London in 1981 and on Broadway in 1982.

A piece^[5] is a figure or token used to make moves in a board game ⇒ a chess piece.

A pawn^[5] is a chess piece of the smallest size and value. (show more )

A pawn moves one square forwards along its file if unobstructed (or two on the first move), or one square diagonally forwards when making a capture. Each player begins with eight pawns on the second rank, and can promote a pawn to become any other piece (typically a queen) if it reaches the opponent's end of the board.

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A Piece or Not a Piece? That is the Question!
In a display of remarkable inconsistency, Oxford Dictionaries Online — having defined a pawn as a "piece" (see definition cited above) — defines a piece[5] as a king, queen, bishop, knight, or rook, as opposed to a pawn ⇒ indicate which piece or pawn is taken.

23a   Travel by car // from Palermo to Rome (5)

Scratching the Surface
Palermo[7] is the capital of the Italian island of Sicily, a port on the north coast.

24a   Photograph // game killed by a rifle, perhaps (8)

Snap^[5] is a British^* card game in which cards from two piles are turned over simultaneously and players call ‘snap’ as quickly as possible when two similar cards are exposed.

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^* I believe this game to be commonly played in Canada.

27a   Criminal hit back about it /being/ unfair (1,3,5)

A bit thick^[5] is an informal British term meaning unfair or unreasonable ⇒ I thought this was a bit thick and tried to defend myself.

28a   Wilhelm's OK after port // wine? (5)

Wilhelm^[7] is a German masculine given name, and the origin of the English name William. The feminine form is Wilhelmine.

In German, ja^[8] is an adverb meaning 'yes'.

Rio de Janeiro^[5] (commonly known as Rio) is a city in eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast. The chief port of Brazil, it was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.

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Rioja^[5] is a wine produced in La Rioja, Spain.

Scratching the Surface
Port[5] (also port wine) is a strong, sweet dark red (occasionally brown or white) fortified wine, originally from Portugal, typically drunk as a dessert wine. The name is a shortened form of Oporto, a major port from which the wine is shipped.

29a   Wife dropped from golf club // side (4)

A wedge^[5] is a golf club with a low, angled face for maximum loft or a shot made with a wedge ⇒ Davies hit a wedge to within a yard of the hole.

30a   Insufficient money /for/ a rich biscuit (10)

Here and There
The British use the term biscuit[3,4,11] to refer to a range of foods that include those that would be called either cookies or crackers in North America. A North American biscuit[5] is similar to what is known in Britain as a scone.

Down

1d   Servant, // male help (4)

2d   Lingerie item // near item worn under a collar (7)

Nigh^[5] is an archaic or literary term meaning near ⇒ (i) the end is nigh; (ii) a car weighing nigh on two tons.

3d   Instrument // cheers knight outside (5)

Cheers^[5] is an informal British expression of gratitude or acknowledgement for something ⇒ Billy tossed him the key. ‘Cheers, pal.’.

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

Sir^[5] is a title used before the forename of a knight or baronet.

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The sitar^[5] is a large, long-necked Indian lute with movable frets, played with a wire pick.

4d   Fruit // grew cool underneath (7)

A rosehip^[10] is the berry-like fruit of a rose plant.

5d   Former spouse, large in size, // a model (7)

7d   Daily, // not as smutty? (7)

Daily^[5] (noun) is a dated British term for a woman who is employed to clean someone else’s house each day.

8d   Stealthily moving around // her own plot, nervously (2,3,5)

9d   Elderly and infirm // agent wearing wrong ID, etc. (8)

14d   Study problem with partner, // supremely skilled (10)

"study"= CON (show explanation )

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing)  ⇒ the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

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A sum^[3,5,11] is an arithmetical problem^*, especially at an elementary level ⇒ (i) we did sums at school, Mummy; (ii) do your sums, then the shock will not be too great.^* }

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^* Thus — in addition to additions — sums also include subtractions, multiplications, and divisions.

In Britain, mate^[5] — in addition to being a person’s husband, wife, or other sexual partner — is an informal term for a friend or companion ⇒ my best mate Steve.

16d   Suffer, // strange to relate (8)

19d   A large object /in/ parliament (7)

"large" = L [clothing size] (show explanation )

L^[5] is the abbreviation for large (as a clothing size).

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The Althing^[5] is the bicameral legislative assembly of Iceland.

20d   Was Greek character's husband // spiteful? (7)

Pi^[5] is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet (Π, π).

"husband" = H [genealogy] (show explanation )

The abbreviation for husband is h.^[10,11,12] (or H.). This likely comes from the field of genealogy.

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Waspish^[1,3] is an adjective meaning indicative of irritation, annoyance, or spite^* ⇒ a waspish remark.

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^* Among the dictionaries that I consulted, The Chambers Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language were the only two to explicitly mention spiteful in the definition although the definitions in some others could reasonable be construed to encompass spiteful.

21d   Teatime treat // that's exceptionally fine (7)

The underlining employed by Mr K in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog would suggest that the second definition is an adjective. However, as that is not the case, we must include the word "that's" in the definition to make it a noun with the implied definition then being "[something] that's exceptionally fine".

Cracker^[5] is an informal British term for:

• a fine example of something ⇒ don't miss this cracker of a CD.
• an attractive person, especially a woman ⇒ you look a cracker.

22d   Anger /may be/ permissible in show (7)

25d   Drop // brush (5)

26d   Outlaw died /in/ gang (4)

"died" = D (show explanation )

The abbreviation for 'died' is d.^[5] (used to indicate a date of death) ⇒ Barents, Willem (d.1597).

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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