Tuesday, March 19, 2019 — DT 28860

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28860
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28860]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
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 is but a gentle workout to keep the brain cells in tune — possibly for sterner stuff to come.

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   Moral determinant /that's/ against genetics, say? (10)

6a   Simple // student taken in by criminal (4)

"student" = L [driver under instruction] (show explanation )

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

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10a   Leave // son needing stuff (5)

"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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11a   Scan Times in order /to find/ such study of language (9)

Scratching the Surface
The Times[7] is a British daily national newspaper based in London.

12a   Valedictory // international bill on English stage (7)

"international" = I (show explanation )

I.^[10] is the abbreviation for International.

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13a   What is to eat on the move? (7)

The entire clue provides the definition in which the wordplay is embedded.

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Toastie^[5] is an informal British term for a toasted sandwich or snack.

14a   People mature -- or it's a disastrous // sort of relationship (6,1,5)

18a   Fail // to arrive, having run into a policeman (4,1,7)

"run" = R [cricket term] (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

In cricket, a run^[5] is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other circumstances.

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Come a cropper^[5] is an informal British expression meaning to suffer a defeat or disaster ⇒ the club's challenge for the championship has come a cropper.

21a   Rule reportedly after artist reversed // charge (7)

"artist" = RA (show explanation )

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[10]) is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5] (also Royal Academy; abbreviation also RA^[10]), an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain. 

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23a   Courageous, crossing line /for/ sweetheart (7)

"line" = L [publishing term] (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for line [of written matter] is l.^[5] ⇒ l. 648.

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24a   Scathing words with name for Conservative // original (9)

"Conservative" = C [member of British political party] (show more )

The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.^[10] or Con.^[10].

The Conservative Party^[5] is a major right of centre British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownershipthat emerged from the old Tory Party^* under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.

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^* Historically, a Tory^[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

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25a   Polish rejected by mother // country (5)

Burma^[5] is the former name (prior to 1989) of the Union of Myanmar, a country in southeast Asia, on the Bay of Bengal.

26a   Agreeable gestures /from/ daughter hugged by lad on the way back (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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27a   Hamlet/'s/ resolution? (10)

Scratching the Surface
The surface reading is clearly intended to suggest Hamlet[7] (in full The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark), a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602.

Down

1d   Gets money in return for // cold remains (6)

2d   Hospital workers // harbour grudges, ultimately (6)

3d   European allowances underpinning trainee chef/'s/ sympathies (14)

A commis^[5] (also commis chef) is a junior chef.

4d   Simple cleaner welcomes one // place to sit (4,5)

Char^[5] is an informal British term for charwoman^[5] (or charlady^[5]), a dated British name for a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office.

What are they talking about?
In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis refer to the cleaner as a lady wot does. Do[5] is an informal British expression meaning to do the cleaning for a person or household ⇒ Florrie usually did for the Shermans in the mornings.

5d   Somewhat accurate mock-up reflecting // object in space (5)

7d   Flying // first-class, accommodating five people without leader (8)

"first-class" = 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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8d   Spread out // terribly impressed, having lost millions (8)

9d   Relent if banter upset, // embarrassing nonconformist (6,8)

An enfant terrible^[5] (French, literally 'terrible child') is a person who behaves in an unconventional or controversial way ⇒ the enfant terrible of contemporary art.

The Story Behind the Picture

The 2Kiwis illustrate their review with a picture of Dennis the Menace — however not the one with which the Brits would likely be most familiar. Dennis the Menace[7] is the name of separate US and UK comic strip characters that debuted on the same day in March 1951 in their respective readership areas, and are still published. The American Dennis the Menace[7] is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written, and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951, in 16 newspapers. Now written and drawn by Ketcham's former assistants, Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand, and son Scott Ketcham, it is distributed to at least 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and in 19 languages. Coincidentally, a UK comic strip of the same name debuted on the same day, though the issue in question bore the cover date of March 17. The two are not related and change their names subtly in each other's respective home bases to avoid confusion. The UK Dennis[7] is quite different in appearance and character from his American counterpart, characterized by his red-and-black striped jersey, his devilish grin, his scruffy, black (versus straw-coloured) hair, his dog Gnasher, and his gang of friends (known as "The Menaces" who carry on a running feud — that sometimes becomes violent — with a rival gang "The Bash Street Kids"). The British Dennis is an uncontrollable schoolboy who takes pride in causing chaos and mayhem to those around him due to his intolerance for rules and order. Dennis often proves himself to be quite selfish and greedy, often disregarding his friends in favour for treasures. Often equipped with an array of menacing weaponry (such as a catapult [slingshot]), Dennis is considered to be quite the loner, seeking no solace in anyone's company aside from his faithful pet dog Gnasher. The British Dennis would certainly seem to be far more of an enfant terrible than the American one!

15d   Practical // divorcee exercises with nuts originally in regimen (9)

"exercises" = PE [phys ed] (show explanation )

PE^[5] is an abbreviation^* for physical education.

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^* In my experience, phys ed^{[3,6,11,12,14]} is the more common shortened form in North America.

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16d   Grounds /for/ affair? (8)

17d   Film regularly shown // got better (8)

19d   Run through // newspaper article about resistance (6)

"resistance" = R [symbol from physics] (show explanation )

In physics, R^[5] is a symbol used to represent electrical resistance in mathematical formulae.

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20d   Shocked // husband in story turned up on time (6)

"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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22d   Green // water in France is on the up (5)

Évian (in full Évian-les-Bains^[10]) is a resort and spa town in eastern France, on Lake Geneva opposite Lausanne, that is noted for its bottled mineral waters.

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