Tuesday, February 12, 2019 — DT 28835

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28835
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28835]
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

This puzzle provided a gentle — but hugely enjoyable — mental workout. Now I must get ready to face the foot or so of snow we have been promised.

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   Knowing about old pages /becoming/ loose (6)

It is always a great feeling when the first clue just leaps off the page and practically writes itself in the grid. That is what happened today. I saw the solution immediately, SLY (knowing) containing (about) {O (old) + PP (pages)} giving SLOPPY (loose). What could be more obvious! ...

... except it was not correct and really played havoc with my efforts to solve 1d.

I see from the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog that I am far from the first to venture down this path.

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Fly^[5] is an informal British expression meaning knowing and clever ⇒ she’s fly enough not to get tricked out of it.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Mr K explains that we need two copies of an abbreviation for page (two copies because the wordplay uses the plural pages). It may be splitting a hair, but I would argue that Mr K's observation is not entirely accurate. Rather than two copies of an abbreviation for page (p[5] ⇒ see p 784), we need a single copy of the abbreviation for pages as pp[5] is a recognized abbreviation for pages (pp. 71—73).

4a   Part of speech given at one by male, // word for word (8)

10a   Bad pint outside free house // having a lot of problems (2,3,4)

11a   Frequently // fall in value after shares initially dropped (5)

Soften^[5] (with reference to a market, currency, or commodity) means to fall in value ⇒ (i) the share price has softened recently; (ii) rents have softened in out-of-town locations; (iii) sales could soften if the economy turns down.

12a   Sailing ship/'s/ gone out with maximum on board (7)

A galleon^[5] was a sailing ship in use (especially by Spain) from the 15th to the 18th centuries, originally as a warship, later for trade. Galleons were typically square-rigged and had three or more decks and masts ⇒ a Spanish treasure galleon wrecked off the Florida Keys.

13a   'Everlasting // Love' finally learnt with different arrangement (7)

Scratching the Surface

"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, originally a 1967 hit for Robert Knight and since recorded by numerous artists representing various musical genres. "Everlasting Love" is one of two songs to become a Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s (the other being "The Way You Do the Things You Do") and the only song to become a UK top 40 hit in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, always – with the exception of the 1980s – reaching the UK top 20.

14a   Prime Minister, extremely believable? // Perhaps (5)

Theresa May^[7] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party, having served as both since July 2016. She is the second female Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in the UK after Margaret Thatcher.

15a   Soft target // not hard to come across, so it's said (4,4)

Easy meat^[5] is a likely British^* expression denoting someone easily seduced or deceived.

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^* The expression appears in all my British dictionaries^[1,2,4,5,10] and in none of my American dictionaries.^[3,11,12]

18a   Rich // source of oil, also containing diamonds (4-2-2)

"diamonds" = D [card suit] (show explanation )

Diamonds^[2] (abbreviation D^[2]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

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20a   Keen on securing right // opening (5)

23a   Thrifty management /shown by/ small company spreading money about (7)

25a   Similar to barking // wildly (4,3)

Barking^[5] is an informal British term meaning completely mad or demented ⇒ (i) we are all a bit barking; (ii) has she gone completely barking mad?.

26a   Some Chablis, seventh // heaven (5)

Scratching the Surface
Chablis[5] is a dry white burgundy* wine from Chablis in eastern France. * Burgundy[5] (French name Bourgogne) is a region and former duchy of east central France, centred on Dijon. The region is noted for its wine. A burgundy[5] (a wine from Burgundy) is usually taken to be red unless otherwise specified.

27a   Gathered // adult son looked like failing to get on (9)

"adult" = A [film certificate] (show more )

The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate^[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]

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"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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28a   Ominous, // nun ringing home (8)

29a   Public brawl -- // see Father after a fine a year later (6)

"Father" = FR [priest's title] (show explanation )

Fr^[5] is the abbreviation for Father (as a courtesy title of priests) ⇒ Fr Buckley.

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"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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Down

1d   A legitimate target, // Aunt Sally for example (4,4)

The second definition is a literal interpretation of the solution.

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Aunt Sally^[5,10] is a British term for a person or thing set up as an easy target for criticism ⇒ today's landowner is everyone's Aunt Sally.

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Aunt Sally^[5,10] denotes:

• a game played at fairgrounds and fêtes^* in some parts of Britain, in which players throw sticks or balls at a wooden dummy
• a figure of an old woman's head, typically with a clay pipe, used  as a target for balls or other objects in the game of Aunt Sally

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^* Fete^[5] (also fête) is a British term for a public function, typically held outdoors and organized to raise funds for a charity, including entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments ⇒ a church fete.

2d   Drama after away // defeat? (7)

Sometimes, a team may outplay its opponents and still not defeat them. But I guess that's why the setter has included the question mark.

3d   Part flour, // a little at a time (9)

5d   Poker-faced, /and/ lost for words? (14)

6d   Dealer, almost // penniless (5)

7d   Abridged film associated with a // fairy queen (7)

Titanic^[7] is a 1997 American epic romantic disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by Canadian filmmaker James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage.

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Titania^[7] is a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the play, she is the queen of the fairies (more ).

In traditional folklore, the fairy queen has no name. Shakespeare took the name "Titania" from Ovid's Metamorphoses, where it is an appellation given to the daughters of Titans. Due to Shakespeare's influence, later fiction has often used the name "Titania" for fairy queen characters.

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8d   Complaint /from/ team about leaders of Football League (3,3)

Manchester United Football Club^[7] (often referred to simply as United^* — and often as Man Utd or Man U) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

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^* Although, in Britain, the word United^[5] is commonly used in the names of soccer and other sports teams formed by amalgamation, it would seem that the word United in the absence of other context would customarily be assumed to be a reference to Manchester United.

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Man flu^[10] is an informal, derogatory term^* for a case of the common cold as suffered by a man, implying that he is exaggerating the debilitating effects of the illness.

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^* an ailment recorded in most of my British dictionaries but yet to make an appearance in any of my American dictionaries

Scratching the Surface

The English Football League[7] (EFL) is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in world football. It was the top-level football league in England from its foundation until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split away to form the Premier League. The three leagues below the Premier League are known as the Championship, League One and League Two, with 24 clubs in each division (72 in total). Promotion and relegation between these divisions is a central feature of the League and is further extended to allow the top Championship clubs to exchange places with the lowest-placed clubs in the Premier League, and the bottom clubs of League Two to switch with the top clubs of the National League, thus integrating the League into the English football league system.

9d   Depressed over note, and nearly drunk, take a trip here? (4,6,4)

I interpret the entire clue to be a cryptic definition with embedded wordplay.

16d   Book // me in King's Head with a member, female (4,5)

"member" = 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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Mein Kampf^[7] (My Struggle) is a 1925 autobiographical book by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany.

17d   Cunning about soldiers discharged // in a corrupt manner (8)

"soldiers" = OR (show explanation )

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks^[5] (abbreviation OR^[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

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19d   Feeling // movement after onset of earthquake (7)

21d   Acrobat // one used to drink with? (7)

A tumbler^[10] is a flat-bottomed drinking glass with no handle or stem.

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Origin: Originally, a tumbler had a round or pointed base and so could not stand upright.

22d   Jobless heading off, possibly /for/ a Greek island (6)

Lesbos^[5] is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean, off the coast of north-western Turkey; chief town, Mytilene. Its artistic golden age of the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC produced the poets Alcaeus and Sappho^*.

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^* Sappho^[5] (early 7th century BC [really, Oxford, you can't be serious!]) was a Greek lyric poet who lived on Lesbos. Many of her poems express affection and love for women, and have given rise to her association with female homosexuality. The island of Lesbos is also the origin of the term Lesbian. [Note that these two entries from Oxford Dictionaries Online place Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 BC) in different centuries. The correct entry is the one for Lesbos.]

24d   Love unaltered // watering hole (5)

"love" = O [tennis term] (show explanation )

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).

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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