Thursday, March 21, 2019 — DT 28862

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28862
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, October 5, 2018
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28862]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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

I found the puzzle to be on the easier end of the Giovanni spectrum but, nevertheless, a very enjoyable solve.

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   I'd panic with our garb astray -- could it be in here? (6,8)

The entire clue constitutes a cryptic definition in which the  wordplay is embedded.

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat shows the definition as merely the word "here" which I consider to be totally inadequate. At a minimum, the definition must be "could it [our garb] be in here?" which one would interpret as "a place where garb might be found". However, the first part of the clue adds further cryptic elaboration by suggesting that one would find garb in this place only in special circumstances.

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Airing cupboard^[5] is a British term for a cupboard for airing linen and clothing.

9a   Successful book // rep doing more business than the rest? (10)

11a   Undertaking //demand after short time (4)

12a   Sheep -- // not so many in the middle (3)

13a   They may hiss, exerting pressure (5,5)

16a   Class // enthralled by tutors or teachers (4)

17a   Stories /offering/ discord reader finally abandoned (7)

18a   Any number taken on board by one engaged /in/ money matters (7)

"any number" = N (show explanation )

The letter n^[10] is used (especially in mathematics) as a symbol to represent an indefinite number (of) ⇒ there are n objects in a box.

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20a   Start to select apparatus /for/ dramatic performance (4)

21a   Earnest prayers /from/ competitors filled with worry (10)

23a   Building // secured, sealed off at the front (3)

I think the wordplay is intended to parse as [S]hut (secured) with S [initial letter (at the front) of Sealed] removed (off). The parsing seems counterintuitive to me as the indicators are not in what I would consider to be a "natural order". However, they are ordered in this fashion to serve the surface reading.

24a   Island // in risky enterprise (4)

Skye^[5] is a mountainous island of the Inner Hebrides, now linked to the west coast of Scotland by a bridge; chief town, Portree. It is the largest and most northerly island of the group.

25a   Athlete comes to Scottish peak, having eaten a // bit of food (6,4)

Ben^[5] (used especially in place names) is Scottish for a high mountain or mountain peak ⇒ Ben Nevis^*.

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^* Ben Nevis^[5] is a mountain in western Scotland. Rising to 1,343 m (4,406 ft), it is the highest mountain in the British Isles.

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Runner bean^[5] is a British name for the plant also called scarlet runner (the name by which we know it in North America).

According to Wikipedia, "In the UK, the flowers [of the scarlet runner^[7]] are often ignored, or treated as an attractive bonus to cultivating the plant for the beans, whereas in the US the scarlet runner is widely grown for its attractive flowers by people who would never think of eating it." In my experience, Canucks are closer to the Yanks than the Brits in their use of this plant.

28a   Daughter is in grass /on/ blanket (14)

"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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Grass^[5] is an informal British term meaning:

• (noun) a police informer
• (verb, often grass on or grass up) to inform the police of someone’s criminal activities or plans ⇒ (i) someone had grassed on the thieves; (ii) she threatened to grass me up.

This expression may derive from rhyming slang (grasshopper being rhyming slang (show explanation ) for 'copper').

Rhyming slang^[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in Cockney rhyming slang.

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What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat writes that the container in the wordplay is what a ‘grass’ does when he shops someone to the police. Here, Deep Threat uses the word "grass" as a noun rather than a verb (as it is used in the clue itself). Shop[5] is an informal British term meaning to inform on (someone) ⇒ she shopped her husband to bosses for taking tools home.

Down

1d   Be like a pachyderm /and/ don't get upset easily (4,1,5,4)

A double definition in which the first is a literal interpretation of the idiom that constitutes the second.

2d   Very dry // except when river floods in (4)

Brut^[5] (an adjective used to describe sparkling wine) means unsweetened or, in other words, very dry^*.

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^* Dry^[5] (said of an alcoholic drink) means not sweet ⇒ a dry, medium-bodied red wine.

3d   Quartet participating in concerts // no longer (4)

4d   See battle trophy being put outside, // a sort of shell (7)

"see" = LO [archaic] (show explanation )

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

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Delving Deeper

I must say that I cringed a bit when the wordplay here became clear. In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat refers to a scalp as the sort of battle trophy that Native Americans were reputed to take from their enemies. Well, scalping[7] was not a practice confined to Native Americans. In England in 1036, Earl Godwin, father of Harold Godwinson, was reportedly responsible for scalping his enemies. According to the ancient Abingdon manuscript, 'some of them were blinded, some maimed, some scalped. No more horrible deed was done in this country since the Danes came and made peace here'. In North America, the European colonial powers encouraged the practice by offering bounties on scalps. Thus many — if not the vast majority — of the scalps were taken not so much as "trophies of war" but to collect these bounties. The government sanctioned practice of paying bounties for scalps continued in the United States well into the latter part of the 19th century. An 1867 New York Times article reported that "settlers in a small town in Colorado Territory had recently subscribed $5,000 to a fund ‘for the purpose of buying Indian scalps (with $25 each to be paid for scalps with the ears on)’ and that the market for Indian scalps ‘is not affected by age or sex’." The article noted this behavior was "sanctioned" by the U.S. federal government, and was modeled on patterns the U.S. had begun a century earlier in the "American East". From one writer's point of view, it was a "uniquely American" innovation that the use of scalp bounties in the wars against indigenous societies "became an indiscriminate killing process that deliberately targeted Indian non-combatants (including women, children, and infants), as well as warriors."

5d   Little old peers and VIPs, terribly // dictatorial (10)

6d   Happy to embrace good person, a // competitor (10)

"good person" = ST [abbreviation for saint] (show explanation )

Aside from its religious sense, saint^[5] is an informal term for a very virtuous, kind, or patient person ⇒ she's a saint to go on living with that man.

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8d   Artist careered off course /in/ a zone few get to? (10,4)

10d   Mum's upset // the little boy (3)

14d   The saint wicked? Is // the opposite (10)

15d   Erotic miss involved /in/ muscle-building exercises (10)

19d   Lieutenant // to suffer at home (5-2)

22d   Breeze /is/ fine, clearing the head (3)

26d   Essayist /producing/ excellent article in French, revolutionary (4)

"excellent" = AI (show explanation )

A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

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"article in French" = LE (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le^[8].

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Elia^[5] is the pseudonym adopted by English essayist and critic Charles Lamb^[5] (1775–1834) in his Essays of Elia (1823) and Last Essays of Elia (1833).

27d   Attend // bash (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