Saturday, January 12, 2019 — Around the Rinks

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, we continue the tour of NHL rinks that we started last week — with side trips to a basketball court and a football stadium.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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 █ - yet to be solved

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.

hide explanation

Across

1a   Rocky Balboa suffers // a bunch with skates and sticks (7,6)

{BUFFALO SABRES}* — anagram (rocky) of BALBOA SUFFERS

The Buffalo Sabres^[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Scratching the Surface
Robert "Rocky" Balboa[7] is the title character of the Rocky film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who also portrayed him in all eight Rocky films. He is depicted as an everyman who started out by going the distance and overcoming obstacles that had occurred in his life and career as a professional boxer.

9a   Trollop in court with the face of Emily // Brontë (9)

C(HARLOT)T|E — HARLOT (trollop) contained in (in) CT (court; abbrev. found on street signs) + (with) E (the face [initial letter] of Emily)

English novelist Charlotte Brontë^[5] (1816–1855) was the author of Jane Eyre (1847), Shirley (1849), and Villette (1853). Her works were published under the pseudonym of Currer Bell.

Scratching the Surface
English novelist and poet Emily Brontë (1818–1848), a sister of Charlotte, was the author of Wuthering Heights (1847). Her works were published under the pseudonym of Ellis Bell. A third sister and novelist, Anne Brontë[5] (1820–1849), was the author of Agnes Grey (1845) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1847). Her works were published under the pseudonym of Acton Bell.

10a   Farm animal/’s/ hole not finished (5)

BURRO_ — BURRO[W] (hole) with the final letter removed (not finished)

11a   Follow a trail // through outskirts (3)

_SKI_ — hidden in (through) outSKIrts

12a   Attack conclusion about loss, // defending job (11)

GO|A(L)T|ENDING — {GO AT (attack) + ENDING (conclusion)} containing (about) L (loss; abbrev. found in the sports pages)

13a   Cover // that ship with two articles (7)

SHE|A|THE — SHE (that ship; ships are traditionally given feminine names and referred to with feminine pronouns) + (with) A ([first of] two articles) + THE ([second of] two articles)

14a   Doctor a thug /and/ soldier (7)

DR|A|GOON — DR (doctor; abbrev.) + A (†) + GOON (thug)

16a   Ticked off // plus about Chicago star (7)

AN(GERE)D — AND (plus) containing (about) GERE (Chicago star)

A Chicago star ... but not a star of the Blackhawks — nor, for that matter, of the Bulls, Bears, Cubs or White Sox.

American actor Richard Gere^[7] starred with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger in Chicago^[7], a 2002 American musical comedy film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz Age Chicago.

19a   Pole on board holding sheep/’s/ life jacket (3,4)

MA(E WE)ST — MAST (pole on board [a sailing ship]) containing (holding) EWE ([female] sheep)

Mae West^[5] is a dated, informal name for an inflatable life jacket, originally as issued to RAF personnel during the Second World War.

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Origin: 1940s: from the name of American film actress Mae West, noted for her large bust.

21a   Playing the horn, Dad’s // missing a player (5-6)

{SHORT-HANDED}* — anagram (playing) THE HORN DADS

23a   Right—I understand // cheer (3)

R|AH — R (right; abbrev.) + AH (I understand)

25a   John, taking time, doubled // gambler’s game (5)

LO(TT)O — LOO (john) containing (taking) TT (time doubled; two instances of the abbreviation for 'time')

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

26a   He spoke about Inuit’s origin /and/ seemed uncertain (9)

HE|S(I)TATED — {HE (†) + STATED (spoke)} containing (about) I (Inuit's origin [initial letter])

27a   Flyers gala Cam arranged /for/ team in Canada (7,6)

{CALGARY FLAMES}* — anagram of (arranged) FLYERS GALA CAM

The Calgary Flames^[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Scratching the Surface

The Philadelphia Flyers[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is highly likely that the setters did not intend the name Cam to refer to any particular individual. However, there are a number of current and former NHL players by the name of Cam, the most prominent perhaps being Cam Neely[7] who played right wing for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins from 1983 to 1996. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005, he currently serves as the president of the Boston Bruins.

Down

1d   Bills // team in Milwaukee (5)

BUCKS — double definition; the first being slang for a US or Canadian dollar

The Milwaukee Bucks^[7] are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division.

The Bills team is based in Buffalo — not Milwaukee. However, it is not unknown for NFL teams to play their home games out of state. The Buffalo Bills[7] are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays their home games at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills are the only NFL team that plays its home games in the state of New York*. * Both the New York Giants and the New York Jets play their home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

2d   Delicate // old cloth put in box in an office (7)

F(RAG)ILE — RAG (old cloth) contained in (put in) FILE (box in office)

3d   Dangerous reptile // mad at gorilla (9)

ALLIGATOR* — anagram of (mad) AT GORILLA

4d   Scandalous event, // loss of power around the 6th of January (7)

OUT(R)AGE — OUTAGE (loss of power) containing (around) R (the sixth [letter] of JanuaRy)

5d   Gave a hand to // Ms. Midler in commercial (7)

A(BETTE)D — BETTE (Ms. Midler; American singer Bette Midler^[7]) contained in (in) AD (commercial)

6d   Mostly dressing // bird (5)

ROBIN_ — ROBIN[G] (dressing) with the final letter removed (mostly)

7d   Classic Pacino film // excited copiers (7)

SERPICO* — anagram of (excited) COPIERS

Serpico^[7], a 1973 American neo-noir biographical crime film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino, is a film adaptation of Peter Maas's biography of NYPD officer Frank Serpico, who went undercover to expose corruption in the police force.

8d   Bum hung out after opening of dessert // goody (8)

DOUGHNUT — anagram of (bum) HUNG OUT following (after) D (opening [letter] of Dessert)

13d   Fight with cunning, sustaining energy // in spots (8)

SPAR|S(E)LY — SPAR (fight) + (with) SLY (cunning) containing (sustaining) E (energy; abbrev. used by physicists)

15d   Loosely based // act on deal gone awry (9)

ANECDOTAL* — anagram of (gone awry) ACT ON DEAL

17d   Ancient Christian // song brought back by jerk (7)

GNOS<|TIC — reversal of (brought back) SONG (†) + (by) TIC (jerk; involuntary movement)

Gnosticism^[5] was a prominent heretical movement of the 2nd-century Christian Church, partly of pre-Christian origin. Gnostic doctrine taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity, the demiurge, and that Christ was an emissary of the remote supreme divine being, esoteric knowledge (gnosis) of whom enabled the redemption of the human spirit.

18d   Play about church // money spent in old Greece (7)

DRA(CH)MA — DRAMA (play) containing (about) CH (church; abbrev.)

The drachma^[5] was a a silver coin of ancient Greece. It is also the name of the former monetary unit of modern Greece, notionally equal to 100 lepta, replaced in 2002 by the euro.

19d   Admirable trait // poem captured by mentioning initially filthy place (7)

M(ODE)STY — ODE (poem) contained in (captured by) {M (mentioning initially; initial letter of Mentioning} + STY (filthy place)}

20d   Mistake // set back arrival in silent setting (7)

{E(RRA)TUM}< — reversal of (set back) {ARR (arrival; abbrev. found in transportation system schedules) contained in (in ... setting) MUTE (silent)}

The "in ... setting" cryptic device
The "in ... setting" device used here (or variants such as "in ... environment" or "in ... surroundings") are constructions you will encounter from time to time. They all indicate that the word represented by the ellipsis contains (surrounds) whatever precedes this phrase. Thus "arrival in silent setting" is used to clue "ARR contained in (set in) MUTE" .

Another Perspective

In a comment below, MG offers another interpretation of the clue. She suggests that MUTE could mean "silent setting" (a setting on your phone, for instance). Oxford Dictionaries Online defines mute[5] (noun) as a device on a television, telephone, or other appliance that temporarily turns off the sound. One could argue that the word "setting" would be as good as — if not better than — the word "device" in this definition. Applying this approach, the wordplay would be a reversal of (set back) {ARR (arrival; abbrev.) contained in (in) MUTE (silent setting)}. While MG's approach is certainly a plausible explanation, I do believe the setters likely intended to use the "in ... setting" cryptic device with MUTE being clued by "silent" as an adjective.

22d   Legendary giant // fish (5)

TROLL — double definition; the second being a verb

In Scandinavian folklore, a troll^[5] is one of a class of supernatural creatures that dwell in caves or mountains and are depicted either as dwarfs or as giants.

24d   Underworld // ghosts beheaded (5)

_HADES — [S]HADES (ghosts) with the initial letter removed (beheaded)

Shade^[5] is a literary term for a ghost ⇒ the ghost is the shade of Lucy Walters, first mistress of Charles II.

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In Greek mythology, Hades^[10] is the underworld abode of the souls of the dead.

Epilogue

Today, Cox and Rathvon take us from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York where we visit the Sabres to the ScotiaBank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta where we meet the Flames. While in Buffalo, we make a side trip to New Era Field for a look at the Bills. On the way to Calgary, we stop over at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee to catch the Bucks.

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