Thursday, February 28, 2019 — DT 28847

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28847
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28847]
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

Today's puzzle was not that difficult but I did get into a pickle at 17d by entering an incorrect solution that both matched the definition and fit the checking letters. But never fear, my trusty electronic assistants came through.

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   Improvises /as/ daughter inside bails out (2-4)

"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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4a   What's needed to log in // American before touring Vietnam? (8)

The use of the word "touring" as a containment indicator is predicated on it meaning  'going around' (i.e., travelling).

Nam^[5] (also 'Nam) is an informal name for Vietnam in the context of the Vietnam War.

10a   Pompous // crowing involving doctor in charge (9)

"doctor" = MB (show explanation )

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree. 

Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada. Throughout the 19th century, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine.

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"in charge" = IC (show explanation )

The abbreviation i/c^[2,5] can be short for either:

• (especially in military contexts) in charge (of) ⇒ the Quartermaster General is i/c rations
• in command (of) ⇒ 2 i/c = second in command.

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"Crowing" is a gerund and therefore functions as a noun. One might perhaps substitute it for the noun "boast" in the following sentence ⇒ his arrogant boast irked me no end.

11a   Player/'s/ agent ignoring fine (5)

"fine" = F [pencil lead] (show explanation )

F^[5] is an abbreviation for fine, as used in describing grades of pencil lead.

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Note: Surprisingly, Oxford Dictionaries Online characterizes this usage as British

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12a   Type of furry creature –- // work with very large number (7)

"work" = OP (show explanation )

In music, an opus^[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.

The abbreviation Op.^[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..

Opus^[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

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"very large" = OS [clothing size] (show explanation )

The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size^[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize (abbreviation OS^[5]) in Britain.

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Opossum^[5] is;

• (informally possum^[5]) the name of an American marsupial which has a naked prehensile tail and hind feet with an opposable thumb;
• another name for the possum^[5], a tree-dwelling Australasian marsupial that typically has a prehensile tail.

13a   Annual publication // bound by local man, a craftsman (7)

14a   Victor leaking wife/'s/ secret (5)

"wife" = W (show explanation )

The abbreviation for wife is w^[1,2,12] or w.^[3,4,10,11] [although no context is provided, it may come from the field of genealogy].

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15a   Former sweetheart, // model, dancing round apartment, briefly (3,5)

Flat^[5] is the British term for what would be called an apartment^[5] in North America. (show more )

The term apartment is used in Britain, but seemingly in a more restricted sense than in North America applying to either temporary or upscale accommodation.

As Oxford Dictionaries puts it, an apartment^[5] is:

• (British) a flat, typically one that is well appointed or used for holidays [vacations] ⇒ self-catering holiday apartments;
• (North American) any flat ⇒ the family lived in a rented apartment.

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18a   A theologian facing ruin, then Greek character backed // supplement (8)

"theologian" = DD (show explanation )

Doctor of Divinity^[7] (abbreviation D.D. or DD, Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity.

Historically, the degree of Doctor of Divinity identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects. In the United Kingdom, Doctor of Divinity has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction. In the United States, the Doctor of Divinity is usually awarded as an honorary degree.

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Mu^[5] is the twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet (Μ, μ).

20a   Husband sitting in pleasant // recess (5)

"husband" = H (show explanation )

The abbreviation for husband is h^[1,2] or h.^{[3,4,10,11,12]} or H^[12] or H.^[4,10,11,12]) [although no context is provided, it may come from the field of genealogy].

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23a   Western flea, // unusually large thing? (7)

25a   Conspirator died close to huge // waterfall (7)

Publius Servilius Casca Longus^[5], (84 BC – c. 42 BC), commonly known as Casca, was one of the assassins of Gaius Julius Caesar. He and several other senators conspired to kill him, a plan which they carried out on 15 March, 44 BC. Afterwards, Casca fought with the liberators during the Liberators' civil war. He is believed to have died by suicide after their defeat at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC.

"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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26a   Band /in/ bad taste originally, upon reflection (5)

27a   Simon, perhaps, /having/ tot with painter right away (9)

Tot^[5] is a chiefly British term for a small amount of a strong alcoholic drink such as whisky or brandy ⇒ a tot of brandy.

Dram^[5] is a Scottish term for a small drink of whiskey or other spirits ⇒ a wee dram to ward off the winter chill.

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Neil Simon^[5] (1927–2018) was an American dramatist. Most of his plays are wry comedies portraying aspects of middle-class life; they include Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965).

28a   Ritz, say, /providing/ more comfortable time for male (8)

Here and There

In Britain, homely[5] (referring to a place or surroundings) means simple but cosy and comfortable, as in one's own home ⇒ a modern hotel with a homely atmosphere. North Americans would say homey[5]. In Britain, homely[10] (referring to a person) means warm and domesticated in manner or appearance. If you describe a woman as homely[14], you mean that she has a warm, comforting manner and looks like someone who would enjoy being at home and having a family ⇒ Mrs Jones was a pleasant, homely person with a ready smile. In North America, homely[10] (referring to a person) means plain or ugly.

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César Ritz^[7] (1850–1918) was a Swiss hotelier and founder of several hotels, most famously the Hôtel Ritz, in Paris and The Ritz Hotel in London. His nickname was "king of hoteliers, and hotelier to kings," and it is from his name and that of his hotels that the term ritzy derives.

29a   Member of the clergy /in/ park by hill (6)

Here and There
Rec[5] is an informal British term for recreation ground whereas in North America it is a short form for the word recreation ⇒ the rec centre. Thus while Brits conduct their sporting activities at the rec, North Americans would pursue theirs at the rec centre.

"hill" = TOR (show explanation )

A tor^[7] is a large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.

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A rector^[5] is a member of the clergy, although the meaning of the term varies among religious denominations (show more ):

• in the the Church of England, an incumbent of a parish where all tithes formerly passed to the incumbent
• in other Anglican Churches, a member of the clergy who has charge of a parish
• in the Roman Catholic Church, a priest in charge of a church or of a religious institution
  

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Down

1d   Delicious food // in the morning? Bishop more cheerful, we hear (8)

"bishop" = B [chess notation] (show explanation )

B^[5] is an abbreviation for bishop that is used in recording moves in chess.

A bishop^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a mitre. Unless obstructed by another piece, a bishop can move any number of spaces in any direction along a diagonal on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two bishops, one moving on white squares and the other on black.

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The word "rosier", when pronounced in a non-rhotic (show explanation ) accent typical of dialects found in many parts of Britain (especially southeastern England), would sound like "rosia".

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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Ambrosia^[5] is something very pleasing to taste or smell ⇒ the tea was ambrosia after the slop I'd been suffering.

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Origin: In Greek and Roman mythology, ambrosia^[5] is the food of the gods.

2d   Satirise // a politician taken in by simple-minded person (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].

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3d   Head removed from fish covered in cheese /in/ restaurant (9)

The wrasse^[2,5] (plural wrasses or wrasse) is a bony marine fish with thick lips and strong teeth, typically brightly coloured with marked differences between the male and female.

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Origin: from a Cornish word meaning 'old woman'.

Brie^[5] is a kind of soft, mild, creamy cheese with a firm white skin.

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A brasserie^[11] is an unpretentious restaurant or tavern that serves drinks, especially beer, and simple food.

5d   Radical comes to fancy // party member (6,8)

The Social Democratic Party^[5] (SDP) is a UK political party with moderate socialist aims, founded in 1981 by a group of former Labour MPs. The party merged with the Liberal Party in 1988 to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now the Liberal Democrats, although a minority left to form a continuing SDP.^[7]

6d   Newly-created earl, leader of men /in/ field (5)

Realm^[5] is used in the sense of a field or domain of activity or interest ⇒ the realm of applied chemistry.

Scratching the Surface
An earl[5] is a British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquess [in other words, the third highest of the five ranks of British nobility — duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron].

7d   Word of opposite meaning -- // not many for changing (7)

8d   What could be nicer? Hotel // upgrade (6)

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

9d   Small cap designed to meet the needs of duke crossing // battle site (8,6)

"cap" = TAM (show explanation )

Tam^[5] is another name for tam-o'-shanter^[5], a round woollen or cloth cap of Scottish origin, with a bobble in the centre.

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Origin: named after the hero of Scottish poet Robert Burns's poem Tam o' Shanter (1790).

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"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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The Battle of Stamford Bridge^[7] took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada and the English king's brother Tostig Godwinson. After a bloody battle, both Hardrada and Tostig along with most of the Norwegians were killed. Although Harold Godwinson repelled the Norwegian invaders, his army was defeated by the Normans at Hastings less than three weeks later. The battle has traditionally been presented as symbolising the end of the Viking Age, although major Scandinavian campaigns in Britain and Ireland occurred in the following decades, such as those of King Sweyn Estrithson of Denmark in 1069–1070 and King Magnus Barefoot of Norway in 1098 and 1102–1103.

Stamford Bridge^[7] is a football [soccer] stadium in Fulham, adjacent to the borough of Chelsea in South West London, commonly referred to as The Bridge. It is the home of Chelsea Football Club, which competes in the Premier League [the top tier of the English football league system].

16d   Comes down on head /creating/ scene (9)

17d   Rat /in/ waste, rolling about (8)

Post Mortem

Like HoofItYouDonkey (Comment #4) and jean-luc cheval (Comment #31) on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I thought the "rat" might be a DEFECTOR — with TOR being clued by a reversal (rolling about) of ROT (waste). However, that left nothing to account for the remainder of solution. After prolonged fruitless efforts to parse the clue, I asked my electronic assistants for a second opinion and they suggested I try DESERTER instead.

19d   Fall away, /so/ give up (4,3)

21d   Talk about run out round island /in/ ceremonial carriage (7)

In cricket, run out^[7] (abbreviation ro^[2]) denotes the dismissal of a batsman by hitting a wicket with the ball while the batsman is out of his ground^* while running. Should this occur while the batsman is out of his ground for any reason other than running, the batsman would be said to have been stumped rather than run out.

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^* Ground^[10] denotes the area of the cricket pitch from the popping crease back past the stumps, in which a batsman may legally stand.

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The chariot^[5,10] in question is not the a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle used in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc, in war, races, and processions. Rather, it is a light four-wheeled horse-drawn ceremonial carriage with back seats and a coachman's seat. Chariot^[5] is also a literary term for a stately or triumphal carriage.

22d   Second look at // cloth sample (6)

To add a smidgen of precision to Mr K's explanation on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the wordplay parses as S(econd) + WATCH (look at).

24d   Schoolchild/'s/ young dog left lying under one (5)

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