Saturday, March 23, 2019 — It's All A Myth

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon amounts to a survey course in Greek mythology.

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

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - yet to be solved

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

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

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

The review of a clue takes the following general structure:

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

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^* num = numeration

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

(Horizontal separator)

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

Explanatory Box

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Examples

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Across

1a   Brief visit is to // Greek nymph (8)

CALL|IS|TO — CALL (brief visit) + IS (†) + TO (†)

In Greek mythology, Callisto^[5] is a nymph who was turned into a bear and placed as a constellation^* in the heavens by Zeus.

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^* Ursa Major or the Great Bear, also known as the Big Dipper and in Britain as the Plough or Charles's Wain

Diana and Callisto, by Peter Paul Rubens (circa 1635)

5a   Titan // opposing us, maintaining resistance (6)

C(R)ON|US — {CON (opposing) + US (†) containing (maintaining) R(esistance) [physics symbol]

In Greek mythology, Cronus^[5] was the supreme god until dethroned by Zeus. The youngest son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth), Cronus overthrew and castrated his father and then married his sister Rhea. Because he was fated to be overcome by one of his male children, Cronus swallowed all of them as soon as they were born, but when Zeus was born Rhea deceived him and hid the baby away. His equivalent in Roman mythology is Saturn.

9a   Ithacan queen /and/ writer run off together (8)

PEN|ELOPE — PEN (writer; writing implement or author) + ELOPE (run off together)

In Greek mythology, Penelope^[5] was the wife of Odysseus [and thereby Queen of Ithaca], who was beset by suitors when her husband did not return after the fall of Troy. She put them off by saying that she would marry only when she had finished the piece of weaving on which she was engaged, and every night unravelled the work she had done during the day.

10a   A Mexican chicken // god (6)

A|POLLO — A (†) + POLLO (Mexican chicken; Spanish word for 'chicken')

Apollo Belvedere (circa AD 120-140)

copy of bronze original of circa 350-325 BC

In Greek mythology, Apollo^[5] is a god, son of Zeus and Leto and brother of Artemis. He is associated with music, poetic inspiration, archery, prophecy, medicine, pastoral life, and the sun.

12a   Great hunter // working around river in Spain (5)

O(RIO)N — ON (working) containing (around) RIO (river in Spain; Spanish word for 'river')

In Greek mythology, Orion^[5] is a giant and hunter who was changed into a constellation at his death.

13a   Personification of love // badly atrophied (9)

APHRODITE* — anagram of (badly) ATROPHIED

Aphrodite Pudica

(Roman copy of 2nd Century)

In Greek mythology, Aphrodite^[5] is the goddess of beauty, fertility, and sexual love. She is variously described as the daughter of Zeus and Dione, or as being born from the sea. Her equivalent in Roman mythology is Venus.

14a   Centaur // cloaked by darkness, usually (6)

_NESS|US_ — hidden in (cloaked by) darkNESS USually

In Greek mythology, Nessus^[5] is a centaur who was killed by Hercules with a poisoned arrow. Hercules eventually died when he was given a shirt smeared with the centaur's blood, which poisoned him.

16a   Span of time, to // one of the Muses (5)

ERA|TO — ERA (span of time) + TO (†)

In Greek and Roman mythology, Erato^[5] is the Muse^* of lyric poetry and hymns.

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^* The Muses^[5] are nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences.

19a   Norm is // a man from Troy (5)

PAR|IS — PAR (norm) + IS (†)

In Greek mythology, Paris^[5] is a Trojan prince, the son of Priam and Hecuba. Appointed by the gods to decide who among the three goddesses Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite should win a prize for beauty, he awarded it to Aphrodite, who promised him the most beautiful woman in the world—Helen, wife of Menelaus king of Sparta. He abducted Helen, bringing about the Trojan War, in which he killed Achilles but was later himself killed.

20a   Monstrous dame // terribly amused (6)

MEDUSA* — anagram of (terribly) AMUSED

In Greek mythology, Medusa^[5] is the only mortal gorgon^* whom Perseus killed by cutting off her head.

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^* The gorgons^[5] were three sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, with snakes for hair, who had the power to turn anyone who looked at them to stone.

Medusa, by Caravaggio (1595)

23a   Ethiopian princess // and Italian city father, briefly (9)

AND|ROME|DA — AND (†) + ROME (Italian city) + DA[D] (father) with the final letter removed (briefly)

Andromeda, by Gustave Doré (1869)

In Greek mythology, Andromeda^[5] is an Ethiopian princess whose mother Cassiopeia boasted that she herself (or, in some stories, her daughter) was more beautiful than the Nereids. In revenge Poseidon sent a sea monster to ravage the country; to placate him Andromeda was fastened to a rock and exposed to the monster, from which she was rescued by Perseus.

26a   Diana swimming around // water nymph (5)

NAIAD* — anagram of (swimming around) DIANA

In classical mythology, a naiad^[5] is a water nymph^* said to inhabit a river, spring, or waterfall.

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^* A nymph^[5] is a mythological spirit of nature imagined as a beautiful maiden inhabiting rivers, woods, or other locations.

Hylas and the Nymphs, by John William Waterhouse (1896)

Scratching the Surface
In Roman mythology, Diana[5] is an early Italian goddess associated with hunting, virginity, and, in later literature, with the moon. Her equivalent in Greek mythology is Artemis.

27a   The guy trailed by Blanchett/’s/ hellish character (6)

HE|CATE — HE (the guy) followed by (trailed by) CATE (Blanchett; Australian actress Cate Blanchett)

In Greek mythology, Hecate^[12] is a goddess of the moon, earth, and underground realm of the dead, later regarded as the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft.

28a   War hero // feels pain around injury (8)

ACH(ILL)ES — ACHES (feels pain) containing (around) ILL (injury)

In Greek mythology, Achilles^[5] was a hero of the Trojan War, son of Peleus and Thetis. During his infancy his mother plunged him in the Styx, thus making his body invulnerable except for the heel by which she held him. During the Trojan War Achilles killed Hector but was later wounded in the heel by an arrow shot by Paris and died.

29a   Father’s embracing first of nine // enchanting women (6)

SIRE(N)S — {SIRE (father) + S ('s)} containing (embracing) N (first [initial letter] of Nine)

Odysseus And The Sirens, by Léon Belly (1867)

In Greek mythology, the Sirens^[7] were dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus was curious as to what the Sirens sang to him, and so, on the advice of Circe, he had all of his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He ordered his men to leave him tied tightly to the mast, no matter how much he would beg. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they bound him tighter.

Some post-Homeric authors state that the Sirens were fated to die if someone heard their singing and escaped them, and that after Odysseus passed by they therefore flung themselves into the water and perished.

30a   City of Georgia accepts a // female sprinter (8)

AT(A)LANTA — ATLANTA (city of Georgia) containing (accepts) A (†)

In Greek mythology, Atalanta^[5] is a huntress who would marry only someone who could beat her in a foot race. She was beaten when a suitor threw down three golden apples which she stopped to pick up.

Hippomenes and Atalanta, by Guido Reni (circa 1618-1619)

Down

1d   Jailer/’s/ hat, mostly torn (6)

CAP|TOR_ — CAP (hat) + TOR[N] (†) with the final letter removed (mostly)

2d   Period of fasting ending with one large // bean (6)

LENT|I|L — LENT (period of fasting) + I ([Roman numeral for] one) + L(arge)

3d   Hockey team // is split by malicious smear (9)

I(SLANDER)S — IS (†) containing (split by) SLANDER (malicious smear)

The New York Islanders^[7] are an American professional ice hockey team based in New York City that competes in the National Hockey League (NHL). They are a member of the league's Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference.

4d   Highly competitive // Asian capital, we hear (4,1)

{TYPE A}~ — sounds like (we hear) TAIPEI (Asian capital; the capital of Taiwan)

6d   Note for // office copy (5)

RE|PRO — RE ([musical] note) + PRO (for)

7d   Glen, in L.A., disturbed // Kate in Hollywood (8)

NELLIGAN* — anagram (disturbed) of GLEN IN LA

Kate Nelligan^[7] is the professional name of Canadian actress Patricia Colleen Nelligan.

8d   Holding executive power, check // cooking surface (8)

STO(VETO)P — STOP (check) containing (holding) VETO (executive power)

11d   Pursued // like Snow White, reportedly (6)

CHASED~ — sounds like (reportedly) CHASTE (like Snow White)

15d   Season // total finder (6)

SUMMER — double definition

16d   Silent sea changed // key (9)

ESSENTIAL* — anagram of (changed) SILENT SEA

17d   Taking power, greatly reduces // impactful events (8)

S(P)LASHES — SLASHES (greatly reduces) containing (taking) P(ower) [physics symbol]

18d   Movie mogul // breaking up record (8)

PRODUCER* — anagram of (breaking) UP RECORD

21d   Instrument // stirred oil into French wine (6)

V(IOL*)IN — anagram of (stirred) OIL contained in (into) VIN (French [word for] wine)

22d   Poem by twit from the east // Black Sea port (6)

ODE|SSA< — ODE (poem) + (by) reversal of (from the east) ASS (twit)

Odessa^[7] (or Odesa) is the third most populous city of Ukraine and a major tourism center, seaport and transportation hub located on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea.

Directionally Challenged?

Given that this is a down clue, I would expect to see — at least in a British puzzle — a reversal clued by "from the south" rather than "from the east" (the latter being reserved for use in an across clue). However, I don't believe that this is the first time that C&R have followed this practice which seems to be based on the directions one would encounter in the clue listings rather than in the grid.

24d   Frequently // decimal? (5)

OF|TEN — split the solution (2,3) and one gets an adjectival phrase denoting 'decimal'.

25d   Tie // a Highlander (5)

A|SCOT — A (†) + SCOT (Highlander)

Epilogue

A good grounding in the classics would certainly be an advantage today.

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