Friday, April 12, 2019 — DT 28878

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28878
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28878]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Tilsit (subbing for the 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

Should you fail to carefully read the introduction to the review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, you might miss the information that Tilsit's emailed review took more than six and a half hours to be delivered prompting Big Dave to temporarily post his own review — which has now been replaced by Tilsit's review. However, most of the comments on Big Dave's site were posted before the substitution occurred.

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 program, 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 directly from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion similar to one that would be found in a dictionary
• 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 (for example, defining topiary as "clip art")
• a "whimsical definition": a definition "invented" by the setter often by extrapolating a non-existent meaning for a word from a similar word (for example, defining a bird as a "winger" [something possessing wings] or a river as a ''flower" [something that flows] or to extrapolate that, since disembowel means 'to remove the innards of ', that discontent must mean 'to remove the contents of')
• a "definition by example": the presence of one of these is often flagged with a question mark (for example, defining atoll as "coral?" where an atoll is but one form that coral may take).

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 other varieties of definition (such as cryptic definitions, whimsical definitions, definitions by example, etc.) 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   Seeming // attractive, having swapped sides (9)

While today the indicator "swapped sides" instructs us to exchange L(eft) for R(ight), in other cases it could mean the opposite.

6a   Confronted // church absorbed by short-lived fashion (5)

"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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9a   Slump /sees/ daughter, impecunious, coming back (5)

"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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10a   A person who doesn't know /may be/ stupidly smug on air (9)

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Tilsit comes up a bit short on the underlining.

11a   Lake in African republic only occupied by a tense // business group (12)

The Congo^[5] (also called the Republic of Congo or Congo-Brazzaville) is an equatorial country in Africa, with a short Atlantic coastline. (show more )

The region was colonized in the 19th century by France, and as Middle Congo formed part of the larger territory of French Congo (later, French Equatorial Africa). The country became independent in 1960.

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"tense" = T [grammatical term] (show explanation )

Grammatically speaking, t.^[10] is the abbreviation for tense.

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14a   A pirate/'s/ rude song to be broadcast (7)

Corsair^[5] is an archaic term for a pirate.

16a   Financial institution // popular, of course, with Republican (7)

"Republican" = R (show explanation )

A Republican^[5] (abbreviation R^[5] or Rep.^[5])  is a member or supporter of the Republican Party^[5], one of the two main US political parties^*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.

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^* the other being the Democratic Party

In the UK, republican^[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland but the abbreviation does not seem to apply to that usage.

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17a   Soldier's regular letters /in/ verse (3)

18a   Unwrapped smartest // things to wear? (7)

The setter has flagged the definition with a question mark so I have opted to mark it with a dotted underline. In such instances, the inclusion of a question mark usually indicates that the clue requires the solver to think a bit "outside the box". Perhaps it is meant to indicate that such articles would not be worn by everyone, just the very young — or the very old?

Tilsit tells us that this was his last one in. For me, it was not the very last one in but it was among the final two or three.

The indicator "unwrapped" informs us to remove the initial and final letters from (unwrap) a synonym for "smartest".

Nappy^[5] is the British name for a diaper^[5].

20a   Give back // vacant residence and shop (7)

The "residence" here is "vacant", having been stripped down to its outer walls (outer letters) by the removal of its contents (interior letters).

Here and There

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Tilsit describes a store as a type of shop, especially in the US. As demonstrated by this comment, the word "store" has a more restricted meaning in the UK than it does in North America. Brits would think of most stores as shops. From a British perspective, a store[5] is: In North America, a shop of any kind In Britain, either a large shop selling different types of goods ⇒ DIY [do-it-yourself] stores or a shop selling basic necessities ⇒ a well-stocked village store.

22a   Embarrassing // church about call in front of dignitary (12)

The church from 6a reprises its role.

Ring^[5] is an informal British term for:

• (noun) a telephone call ⇒ I'd better give her a ring tomorrow.
• (verb) to call by telephone ⇒ (i) I rang her this morning; (ii) Harriet rang Dorothy up next day; (iii) she rang to tell him the good news.

Worthy^[5] is an often humorous term for a person notable or important in a particular sphere ⇒ schools governed by local worthies.

Who is he talking about?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Tilsit informs us that the solution is also the surname of one of the Bash St Kids!. Cuthbert Cringeworthy[7] is a character from the British comic strip The Bash Street Kids[7].

26a   Genuine // article pinched by relative in charge (9)

"in charge" = IC (show explanation )

The abbreviation i/c^[2,5] can be short for either:

• (especially in military contexts) in charge (of) ⇒ the Quartermaster General is i/c rations
• in command (of) ⇒ 2 i/c = second in command.

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27a   Spike protecting new // weapon (5)

In this case, "spike" is a verb and has nothing to do with building materials.

28a   Conditions /for/ parts of school year (5)

29a   Vacant role for each politician /in/ theatre (9)

Another encore performance as the indicator "vacant" reprises its role.

"politician" = TORY

A Tory^[10] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain [or, for that matter, in Canada] (show more ).  As Tilsit alludes in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the Conservative Party is currently in power in the UK. 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.

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.

The Conservative Party^[5] is a a major British political party that 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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Repertory^[2] is a short form of repertory theatre.

The Story Behind the Picture
Tilsit illustrates his review with a picture of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre[7], commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, a theatre located on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England.

Down

1d   Stage performance // as if deaf intermittently (4)

Aida^[7] is an opera by Italian  composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) which was first performed in 1871. (show more )

As the opera opens, the Egyptians have captured and enslaved Aida, an Ethiopian princess. An Egyptian military commander, Radamès, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris is in love with Radamès, although he does not return her feelings.

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2d   Part of a garden // scheme (4)

3d   A jar // in the morning for broadcast beginning to appeal (7)

An amphora^[5] is a tall ancient Greek or Roman jar or jug with two handles and a narrow neck.

4d   Classic ingenuity, boxing // Victoria's decoration? (5)

Victoria sponge^[5] (also called Victoria sandwich) is a British name for a cake consisting of two layers of sponge [sponge cake] made with additional fat and filled with jam.

Again the setter has flagged the definition with a question mark so I have followed suit and marked it with a dotted underline. Maybe the question mark is indicating that the "decoration" is not as extensive as the clue might lead one to believe (per Tilsit's comment).

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Tilsit writes At the risk of being mauled by Mary Berry, Prue Leith or Paul Hollywood (or our very own Lemon Drizzle Queen), I thought proper Victoria sponges had a dusting of this type of sugar, rather than the covering implied by the answer. Mary Berry[7], Prue Leith[7] and Paul Hollywood[7] are British celebrity chefs. Those who follow the comments section on Big Dave's Crossword Blog will recognize that fellow blogger crypticsue is well-known for providing lemon drizzle cake to those metaphorically consigned to the naughty corner for contravening the blog's rules. Tilsit needn't have worried, his position is strongly supported by Bluebird at Comment #7 and BusyLizzie at Comment #22 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

5d   Punter // injured leg in door (9)

A punter^[5] is a person who propels or travels in a punt, a punt^[5] being a long, narrow flat-bottomed boat, square at both ends and propelled with a long pole, used on inland waters chiefly for recreation.

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, punter[5] might also be interpreted in various other ways: (British) a person who gambles, places a bet, or makes a risky investment (British) a customer or client, especially a member of an audience (British) a prostitute's client (Rugby or North American football) a player who punts (kicks the ball in a specified manner)

6d   Instrument /of/ pressure in armed services (7)

"pressure" = P [symbol used in physics] (show explanation )

In physics, p^[5] is a symbol used to represent pressure in mathematical formulae.

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A medical instrument, not a musical instrument.

7d   Fellow citizen // moving camp to civil disturbance (10)

Tilsit should have also capitalized the word "TO" in his review.

8d   Depress // detectives and try and catch up (10)

"detective" = DI [detective inspector] (show explanation )

A detective inspector (DI^[5]) is a senior police officer in the UK. Within the British police, inspector^[7] is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

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12d   Heretic // caught invading various locations (10)

"caught" = C [cricket notation] (show explanation )

In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out^[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.^[2,10] or c^[5] denotes caught (by).

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The term iconoclast^[5] has come to mean a person who attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or institutions. Apparently the term originally^* denoted a destroyer of images (icons) used in religious worship.

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^* Historically, an iconoclast^[5] was a supporter of the 8th- and 9th-century movement in the Byzantine Church which sought to abolish the veneration of icons and other religious images. The term was later applied to Puritans of the 16th or 17th century.

13d   Owner // favouring voting system that's to run (10)

Proportional representation^[5] (abbreviation PR) is an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them ⇒ PR has been a success in Germany.

"run" = R [cricket notation] (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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15d   Got up wet to get // perfume (9)

Rose water^[3,5,11,12] is scented water made with rose petals (distilled from roses or scented with oil of roses), used as a perfume and formerly for medicinal and culinary purposes.

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Alternative spelling: rosewater^[1,14] or rose-water^[2,4,10]

19d   Resigns in order /to make/ an entrance (7)

21d   Student // type of panel supplying energy welcomes central heating (7)

The abbreviation for central heating is c.h.^[1]. I wonder if this is perhaps a term that one might find in real estate ads in the UK where central heating is not as ubiquitous as it is here. In Canada, I think this feature would be considered to be a given.

23d   Right -- step up /and/ go through again (5)

24d   Very keen on // batting -- test opener originally! (4)

In cricket, a player who is batting is said to be in^[5]. Conversely, a player who is fielding is said to be out^[5]. If you have not seen it before, you may enjoy reading an explanation of cricket for a foreigner (which may well leave you unsure whether you are coming or going).

CRICKET: AS EXPLAINED TO A FOREIGNER...

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

Simple!

Now, should you have not quite followed that explanation, here is my attempt to clarify the "ins" and "outs" of cricket:

You have two sides [teams], one out in the field and one in [batting]. Each man that's in the side [in Britain, one says "in a side" rather than "on a team"] that's in [batting] goes out [I believe this means that he forgoes the cucumber sandwiches in the clubhouse in order to go out to the playing area to bat], and when he's out [dismissed] he comes in [returns to the clubhouse for more cucumber sandwiches] and the next man goes in [bats] until he's out [dismissed]. When they are all out [all players (but one) on the batting side are dismissed], the side that's out [fielding] comes in [bats] and the side that's been in [batting] goes out [fields] and tries to get those coming in [to bat], out [dismissed]. Sometimes you get men still in [batting] and not out [Since batsmen must always bat in pairs, the team is dismissed once ten of the eleven players have been dismissed, leaving no partner for the lone remaining player. Although the team is "out" (dismissed), the eleventh played is said to be "not out".].

When a man goes out [from the clubhouse to the playing area] to go in [bat], the men who are out [fielding] try to get him out [dismissed], and when he is out [dismissed] he goes in [returns to the clubhouse] and the next man in [scheduled to bat] goes out [from the clubhouse to the playing area] and goes in [bats]. There are two men called umpires who stay out [on the playing area] all the time [(they never get to eat cucumber sandwiches)] and they decide when the men who are in [batting] are out [dismissed]. When both sides have been in [batted] and all the men have been out [dismissed], and both sides have been out [dismissed] twice after all the men have been in [batted], including those who are not out [the eleventh player who has batted but not been dismissed], that is the end of the game.

Note: In cricket, the division of play is called an 'innings', rather than an 'inning' as in baseball. The word "innings' (like the words 'fish' or 'sheep') can be either singular or plural. A cricket match consists of four innings^* (or sometimes two innings) with ten "outs" (dismissals) per innings. In cricket, each team's at bat is called an innings whereas, in baseball, each team's at bat constitutes a half inning. Thus, in baseball, the visiting team bats in the top of each inning and the home team bats in the bottom of each inning. In cricket, one side bats in the first and third innings and the other team bats in the second and fourth innings.

Simple! (although the details concerning the cucumber sandwiches may not be entirely accurate)

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Scratching the Surface

In addition to the word "batting", other words in the clue could relate to cricket as well. Test[5] (short for Test match[5]) denotes an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒ the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies. An opener[5] is the first in a series of events, games, or actions ⇒ Denver stuffed Buffalo 22–7 in the season opener. Although I think it less likely, opener might also refer to a batsman. In cricket, an opener[2] is either of the two* batsmen who begin the batting for their team. * remember, in cricket, batsmen always bat in pairs

25d   Refuse to acknowledge // study on male chromosome (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