Thursday, January 17, 2019 — DT 28817

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28817
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28817]
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

The last few clues proved tricky for me — especially two or three in the northeast corner as well as 18a. The former eventually surrendered but I resorted to a bit of electronic help for the later.

There is a lengthy discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog concerning link words in clues. Link words (or, sometimes, link phrases) do as the name suggests and provide a link between the wordplay and the definition (or between two definitions in the case of a double definition). They provide a meaningful surface reading to the clue by serving as the glue that holds the two parts of a clue together.

Link words typically fall into one of three categories that may denote:

• equivalence — such as "is", "being", "equals", or "and" (indicating that the two parts of the clue both lead to the same solution);
• consequence — such as "in" (in the sense 'as a consequence of' ⇒ in crossing the street he was run over), "creates", "produces" or their inverses "is created by", "results from" or "is produced by";
• composition — such as "with" (in the sense 'possessing or having' ⇒ a man with honesty and integrity), "of" (indicating the material or substance constituting something ⇒ walls of stone); "from" (indicating the raw material out of which something is manufactured ⇒ a paint (made) from a natural resin)

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   In favour of action, daughter /is/ moving ahead (7)

"daughter" = D [genealogy] (show explanation )

In genealogies, d^[5] is the abbreviation for daughter ⇒ Henry m. Georgina 1957, 1s 2d^*.

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^* Henry married Georgina in 1957. Their marriage produced 1 son and 2 daughters.

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It took a good deal of research and contemplation to satisfy myself that "moving ahead" is a valid definition for FORWARD.

Forward^[5,10] (adjective) means directed or moving ahead ⇒ forward flight^*.

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^* One might well ask if there is any other kind of flight. Well, hummingbirds can fly backwards — as can helicopters.

5a   In block of flats, an actor returned /for/ a card game (7)

I am sure Mr K intended his hint on Big Dave's Crossword Blog to read "The card game is hidden in reverse (in block of … returned) in the letters between those two indicators".

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Canasta^[5] is a card game resembling rummy, using two packs. It is usually played by two pairs of partners, and the aim is to collect sets (or melds) of cards.

9a   Sit with a revolutionary // storyteller (5)

Aesop^[5,10] (?620–564 BC) was a Greek storyteller and author of fables in which animals are given human characters and used to satirize human failings. The moral animal fables associated with him were probably collected from many sources, and initially communicated orally. Aesop is said to have lived as a slave on the island of Samos.

10a   Sweet // fruit dip (5,4)

Sweet^[5] is a British term for a small shaped piece of confectionery made with sugar ⇒ a bag of sweets. In North American parlance, sweets would be candy^[5] and a sweet would be a piece of candy^*.

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^* In Britain, candy^[5] means sugar crystallized by repeated boiling and slow evaporation ⇒ making candy at home is not difficult—the key is cooking the syrup to the right temperature.

A lemon drop^[5] is a yellow, lemon-flavoured boiled sweet [North American: candy].

11a   Rags-to-riches story // recalled in novel (10)

Cinderella^[5] is a girl in various traditional European fairy tales. In the version by Charles Perrault she is exploited as a servant by her family but enabled by a fairy godmother to attend a royal ball. She meets and captivates Prince Charming but has to flee at midnight, accidentally leaving one of the glass slippers she is wearing behind. The prince sends servants all over the country to find the young woman whose foot fits the slipper: when Cinderella is finally found, she and Prince Charming marry.

Delving Deeper

"Cinderella" or The Little Glass Slipper[7], is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression and triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances, that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune. The story of Rhodopis, recounted by the Greek geographer Strabo around 7 BC, about a Greek slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, is usually considered to be the earliest known variant of the Cinderella story. The first literary European version of the story was published in Italy by Giambattista Basile in his Pentamerone in 1634; the version that is now most widely known in the English-speaking world was published in French by Charles Perrault in Histoires ou contes du temps passé in 1697. Another version was later published by the Brothers Grimm in their folk tale collection Grimms' Fairy Tales in 1812.

12a   Fell /in/ dock (4)

A fell^[5] is a hill or stretch of high moorland, especially in northern England.

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Moor^[5] is a chiefly British term for a tract of open uncultivated upland, typically covered with heather.

14a   Analytical essay –- // it is on squid, I suspect (12)

A disquisition^[5] is a long or elaborate essay or discussion on a particular subject ⇒ nothing can kill a radio show quicker than a disquisition on intertextual analysis.

18a   Reportedly picked up crowd controller /for/ trial (5,7)

The word "COURT" , when pronounced in a non-rhotic (show explanation ) accent typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially southeastern England), sounds like the word "caught" (picked up; by the police, perhaps, or — as Mr K suggests — picked up by one's ear).

Non-rhotic accents omit the sound < r > in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce < r > in all contexts. Among the several dozen British English accents which exist, many are non-rhotic while American English (US and Canadian) is mainly rhotic. This is, however, a generalisation, as there are areas of Britain that are rhotic, and areas of America that are non-rhotic. For more information, see this guide to pronouncing < r > in British English.

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A marshal^[5] is an official responsible for supervising sports events, and for controlling crowds in other public events ⇒ ground marshals joined the referee and touch judges in trying to regain order.

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A court martial^[5] is a judicial court for trying members of the armed services accused of offences against military law.

Post Mortem
It was not the homophone that stumped me but the "crowd controller".

21a   Turn back on // monster (4)

In folklore, an ogre^[5] is a man-eating giant.

22a   Noble // actor is portrayed differently in painting (10)

25a   Bad thing, stick /in/ cabaret (9)

26a   Type of poplar tree /in/ a small enclosure (5)

The aspen^[5] is a poplar tree with small rounded long-stalked leaves that tremble in the breeze.

27a   Followers // reunite in resort (7)

As an anagram indicator, "resort" is a whimsical Crosswordland misspelling of re-sort^[5] meaning to sort (something) again or differently ⇒ children find pleasure in sorting and re-sorting boxes of buttons.

28a   Former partner, big enough /for/ a model (7)

Down

1d   Firm reduced by half since company/'s/ disaster (6)

2d   Feel bitter // now having lost opener (6)

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, opener[5] is used in the sense of the first in a series of events, games, or actions ⇒ Denver stuffed Buffalo 22–7 in the season opener.

3d   Go up /for/ prize (10)

4d   Research // done, primarily, on most of magical beings (5)

5d   Disease /in/ grouse (9)

6d   Socially unacceptable // foreign noun (3-1)

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners.

The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).

Conversely, non-U^[5] denotes not characteristic of the upper social classes or not socially acceptable to certain people ⇒ he’s always teasing her for her Cockney accent and her non-U turns of phrase.

7d   Scornful /of/ son having organised raid on clubs (8)

"son" = S [genealogy] (show explanation )

In genealogies, s^[5] is the abbreviation for son(s) ⇒ m 1991; one s one d^*.

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^* married in 1991; one son and one daughter.

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"clubs" = C [card suit] (show explanation )

Clubs^[2] (abbreviation C^[1]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

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8d   A page on pop, perhaps, /is/ easy to understand (8)

"page" = P [publishing] (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for page is p^[5] ⇒ see p 784.

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13d   Fix a drink entertaining a duke // -- cocktail /required/ (4,6)

This is an instance where — for the sake of a smooth surface reading — the setter structures the clue in such a manner as to displace the link word from its "normal" position at the centre of the clue. In this case, the link word moves to the end of the clue.

Were one to write the clue in a "standard" fashion, it would have a far less satisfying — or perhaps totally unsatisfactory — surface reading:

• Fix a drink entertaining a duke /required/ cocktail (4,6)

"duke" = D (show explanation )

A duke^[5] (abbreviation D.^[10]) is a male holding the highest hereditary title in the British and certain other peerages^*.

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^* The peerage^[5] is the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke or duchess, marquess or marchioness, earl or countess, viscount or viscountess, and baron or baroness.

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15d   Bad in first half of reel after square // dance (9)

A quadrille^[5] is a square dance performed typically by four couples and containing five figures, each of which is a complete dance in itself.

16d   Check on board earlier // vessel (8)

"check" = CH [chess] (show explanation )

In chess, ch.^[10] is the abbreviation for check^*.

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^* Check^[5] means to move a piece or pawn to a square where it attacks (the opposing king) ⇒ he moves his knight to check my king again.

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A schooner^[5] is a sailing ship with two or more masts, typically with the foremast smaller than the mainmast.

17d   Completely // unacceptable claim (8)

Outright^[5] can be either an adjective or an adverb; here it is the later meaning wholly and completely ⇒ logging has been banned outright.

19d   Surface // cut short ahead (4,2)

20d   Immediately // make amends round about (2,4)

23d   Fur, // first of bargains in market (5)

Sable^[10] is the highly valued dark brown^* luxuriant fur of a marten of northern Asian forests.

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^* Although, as a heraldic term, sable^[10] denotes black, the fur is brown.

24d   Heads turned /in/ shock (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