Monday, March 23, 2019 — DT 28864 (Published Saturday, March 25, 2019)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28864
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, October 8, 2018
Setter Dada (John Halpern)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28864]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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
Notes
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, March 23, 2019 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

I attribute my downfall today to my rather superficial knowledge of and lack of ability in things musical. I did get the correct solution to 12a; however, without properly understanding the wordplay.

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

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Click here for an explanation of conventions and symbols used in explaining the parsing of clues.

The purpose of this article is to explain the conventions and symbols that I use on this blog in explaining the parsing of clues.

Legend: The following symbols are used in reviews: "*" anagram "~" sounds like "<" indicates that the preceding letters are reversed "( )" encloses contained letters "_" replaces letters that have been deleted "†" indicates that the word is present in the clue

The review of a clue takes the following general structure:

#a/d   Clue containing parsing markup (num^*)

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^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

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Explanations pertaining to the definition (or second definition in a double definition) and solution.

Explanatory Box

An explanatory box provides additional information about the clue. In most cases this information will not necessarily help in solving the clue but provides information about the clue. In the case of the weekday syndicated Daily Telegraph puzzles, such information is often intended to help the North American solver appreciate how the clue may be perceived by a British solver. These boxes may also provide information on people, places, films, television programmes, works of art and literature, etc. mentioned in the clue. Although the titles of these boxes will usually be drawn from a standard list, I do occasionally throw in a title specifically suggested by the subject at hand. The standard titles include: Scratching the Surface - an explanation of the surface reading of the clue Delving Deeper - in-depth information pertaining to a subject mentioned in an explanation The Story Behind the Picture - for weekday puzzles, information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What did he/she/they say? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What are they talking about? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog One box that may provide information that could prove helpful in solving the clue is the following: Here and There - for weekday puzzles, discusses words whose British meaning differs from their North American meaning

Note that there are many types of cryptic crossword clue and it is not my intention to exhaustively go through all of them here. I will only deal with clue types to the extent necessary to explain the conventions and symbols used on the blog. Furthermore, be aware that, in the world of cryptic crosswords, there seems to be an exception to every rule.

With one exception that I can think of, cryptic crossword clues provide two routes to the solution. These are commonly referred to as the definition and wordplay. While these terms serve well for most clues, there are some cases where the more formal terms of primary indication and subsidiary indication may be more appropriate.

Most cryptic crossword clues consist of a definition (primary indication) and wordplay (subsidiary indication). The definition may be a "precise definition" (a definition that is either taken straight from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion) or it may be a "cryptic definition" (a definition misleadingly phrased so as to misdirect the solver either with respect to the meaning of the definition as a whole or to an incorrect sense of a word used in the definition).

The only type of clue that I can think of where there are not two ways of finding the solution are those in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition.

I identify precise definitions by marking them with a solid underline in the clue and cryptic definitions by marking them with a dotted underline.

In clues in which both definition and wordplay are present, the two parts of the clue combine to provide an overall meaningful statement (the surface reading) which usually bears no relationship to the underlying cryptic reading of the clue. In some cases, an extra word or phrase will be inserted into the clue to create a meaningful link between the definition and wordplay. I define clues which contain such a link word or link phrase as having an explicit link and clues which contain no link word or link phrase as having an implicit link.

I mark the existence of an explicit link by enclosing the link word or link phrase between forward slashes (/link/) and mark the existence of an implicit link with double forward slashes (//) positioned between the definition and wordplay.

Examples

A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.

The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:

• 4d   Fellow left work // a failure (4)

Here the definition is "a failure" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as F (fellow; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.) + OP (work; abbrev. used in music) which gives us the solution F|L|OP. The double forward slashes (//) between the definition and wordplay indicate the existence of an "implicit link" between the two parts of the clue (that is, no extra words are inserted into the clue to form the link).

The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:

• 29a   Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)

Here the definition "female going to match" is cryptic (the setter is attempting to misdirect our thoughts to a sports event rather than a marriage ceremony) and thus is marked with a a dotted underline. The wordplay is {RIDES (travels) + (with) MA (mother)} contained in (in) BID (advance) giving us the solution B(RIDES|MA)ID. As in the first example, the double forward slashes indicate the presence of an implicit link.

The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:

• 18d   Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)

Here the definition is "staggering" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as N ([chess symbol for] knight) contained in (caught in) an anagram (misplaced) of BIG BLOW producing the solution WOBBLI(N)G. Finally, forward slashes mark the link word (/is/).

I also use distinctive underlining to mark &lit.^[7] and semi-&lit. clues. Note that the reviewers on Big Dave's Crossword Blog generally prefer to refer to these clue types by the less pretentious names of all-in-one or semi-all-in-one clues respectively.

In an &lit. clue^[7] (or all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.

In future, I will mark such clues with a combined solid and dashed underline. Although this is a departure from past practice, it would seem to make more sense than using a dotted underline as I have in the past). Henceforth, the dotted underline will be reserved for cryptic definitions.

In a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue), either:

• the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay; or
• the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.

For these clues, I will mark the definition with a solid underline and the wordplay with a  dashed underline. This means that a portion of the clue may have a solid underline, a portion of the clue may have a dashed underline and a portion of the clue may have a combined solid and dashed underline.

One final clue type is what I characterize as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. For example, in DT 28560 (setter unknown) the following clue appears:

•  26d   Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)

As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The 'precise definition' is "heroic exploit" and is indicated by a solid underline.

Given the numeration, the precise definition could give rise to at least two solutions, DEED or FEAT. However, the 'cryptic elaboration' ("whichever way you look at it") indicates that the solution is a palindrome thereby immediately eliminating one of the two obvious choices.

Note that the part of the clue that I have called 'cryptic elaboration' does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as the wordplay would do in most other types of clue). Rather it merely provides a piece of additional information (elaboration) related to the 'precise definition'.

Again, this approach is a departure from past practice, but like the other changes mentioned previously is intended to remove inconsistencies in the way that I have been applying parsing markup to clues. The markup rules that I have been using until now evolved bit-by-bit over a long period of time resulting in some degree of internal inconsistency.

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Across

7a   Meat commercial with a // dance (7)

The lambada^[5] is a fast erotic Brazilian dance which couples perform in close physical contact.

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops refers to the commercial in question as an advert. Advert[5] is an informal British term for an advertisement. North Americans would shorten it even further to merely ad[5] — as the Brits also seem to do.

10a   Spinning device that's no different in reverse (7)

I consider this clue to be a cryptic definition with an embedded precise definition. The latter part of the clue, rather than being a second independent route to the solution, instead provides cryptic elaboration on the nature of the precise definition — namely, that it is a palindrome.

11a   Check // fool is kept in dock (7)

Nit^[5,10] (short for nitwit)  is an informal British term for a foolish person ⇒ you stupid nit!.

The Story Behind the Picture
A milk monitor[5] is a child responsible for distributing bottles of milk at school.

12a   Collapse // three notes (7)

Separating the Notes

As there are so many notes in the solution, which ones are relevant? As KFB and Kitty mention in comments in the thread arising from Comment #11 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, they saw five notes — D, E, F, LA, and TE. However, the three correct notes are D, E FLAT*, and E. * Said of musical sound, flat[5] denotes below true or normal pitch. I am afraid that after finding two musical notes (D and F), I went off score and found a LATE note — a note of explanation that a pupil might deliver to a teacher. Somehow I managed to overlook the fact that I had not accounted for the first E in the solution. Being musically challenged, I didn't even twig to the correct solution after reading Miffypops' explanation that the solution is the fourth and fifth of an octave separated by the black piano key between them. Of course, since E flat is also D sharp, his explanation just might have led me to DDSHARPE.

13a   Musical success // the egotist's priority? (6,3)

15a   Quick // writer (5)

Jonathan Swift^[5] (1667–1745) was an Irish satirist, poet, and Anglican cleric; known as Dean Swift. He is best known for Gulliver’s Travels (1726), a satire on human society in the form of a fantastic tale of travels in imaginary lands.

16a   Elated, // having reached the North Pole? (2,3,2,3,5)

The latter part of the clue is a cryptic definition in the form of a literal interpretation of the idiomatic expression that is the solution to the clue.

21a   On the fat side? // Way off! (5)

23a   Fan/'s/ to drink dark bitter (9)

"drink" = SUP (show explanation )

As a verb, sup^[5] is a dated or Northern English term meaning to take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls ⇒ (i) she supped up her soup delightedly; (ii) he was supping straight from the bottle.

As a noun, sup^[5] means

• a sip of liquid ⇒ he took another sup of wine
• (in Northern England or Ireland) an alcoholic drink ⇒ the latest sup from those blokes at the brewery

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Bitter^[5] is a British name for beer that is strongly flavoured with hops and has a bitter taste ⇒ (i) a pint of bitter; (ii) the company brews a range of bitters.

Porter^[5] is a dark brown bitter beer brewed from malt partly charred or browned by drying at a high temperature (originally made as a drink for porters).

25a   Country show, say, US city rejected (7)

Algeria^[5] is a republic on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. (show more )

Algeria was colonized by France in the mid 19th century and was for a time closely integrated with metropolitan France, but following civil war in the 1950s the country achieved independence in 1962. A brief period of multiparty democracy was ended by a military takeover in 1992 after the fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front had won the first round of the national elections; violent civil strife ensued until 2000, when the armed segment of the Islamic Salvation Front was dissolved.

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26a   Little money /for/ the police? (7)

Copper is a British^[5] or chiefly British^[12] (or, perhaps, not so British^[3,11]) term for brown coins of low value made of copper or bronze.

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Copper is an informal British^[5] or chiefly British^[2] (or, perhaps, not so British^[3,11,12]) term for a police officer.

27a   Translation of dialect /in/ fortress (7)

28a   Explosive device // to drop, designed to catch fire ultimately (7)

Down

1d   On the fire, perhaps, old // flier (8)

2d   Blonde // nothing special (4)

3d   Cooler // day starts to disappear, gradually ending (6)

Whether the solution starts with the fifth day of the week as Miffypops states in his review depends on where one starts counting! Some might consider it to be the fifth day of the work week.

4d   County // supplies workers (6)

Staffs.^[5] is short for Staffordshire^[5], a county of central England.

5d   All over the place, Emirates /could be/ hotter (8)

Scratching the Surface

The United Arab Emirates[5] (also UAE), sometimes simply called the Emirates[7], is an independent state on the south coast of the Persian Gulf, west of the Gulf of Oman. (show more ) The United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971 by the federation of the independent sheikhdoms formerly called the Trucial States: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah (joined early 1972), Sharjah, and Umm al-Qaiwain. hide

6d   Cleric // is meddling with opening of text (6)

8d   Note // short dress on male (5)

 Minim^[5] is a British name for a half note, a note having the time value of two crotchets^* or half a semibreve^**, represented by a ring with a stem.

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^* Crotchet^[5] is a British name for a quarter note.
^** Semibreve^[5] is a British name for a whole note.

9d   Soldier almost cried about ending of war /in/ Belgian province (7)

"soldier" = ANT (show explanation )

A soldier^[5] is a wingless caste of ant or termite with a large specially modified head and jaws, involved chiefly in defence.

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Antwerp^[5] is a province of Belgium of which the port city of Antwerp is the capital.

14d   Idiot // of astonishing foolishness, primarily (3)

17d   Opinions // still extremely tedious (8)

18d   Trendy // joint (3)

19d   Giant // beginning to whimper over flea, perhaps? (7)

20d   Lack of respect, // inside or out (8)

21d   Rare // defect on church (6)

"church" = CE [Church of England] (show explanation )

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

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22d   Angry outburst -- // job to contain one (6)

Here "job" is used in the sense of the line of employment by which one earns a living.

23d   Regular // fix (6)

In Comment #3 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Jane refers to one of the synonyms in 23d casting a bit of doubt. In his review, Miffypops suggests that the second definition refers to something used to join papers together. A explanation that might ease Jane's misgivings would be a verb meaning to (af)fix a notice to a bulletin board.

24d   Time at this point /for/ a comforting word (5)

26d   Quote // attributed to Vespucci, tenuously (4)

Scratching the Surface
Amerigo Vespucci[5] (1451–1512) was an Italian merchant and explorer. He travelled to the New World, reaching the coast of Venezuela on his first voyage (1499–1500) and exploring the Brazilian coastline in 1501–2. The Latin form of his first name is believed to have given rise to the name of America.

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