Monday, April 15, 2019 — DT 28879 (Published Saturday, April 13, 2019)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28879
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, October 25, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28879]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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

Despite not only having solved this puzzle before, but recognizing that I had solved it before, I still found it tricky the second time around. So much so that I managed to enter an incorrect solution at 5d which played havoc with the northeast quadrant until I twigged to the error.

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   Suitable jumper medium? Find out here (7-4)

The entire clue is a cryptic definition of a place where you would find out if an item of clothing in a medium size might fit you. The wordplay is embedded in the definition.

Here and There

While the word "jumper" denotes an item of clothing on both sides of the Atlantic, it is quite a different item of apparel across the pond where is a sweater rather than a dress. (show more ) In Britain, a jumper[5] is a knitted garment typically with long sleeves, worn over the upper body (in other words, a sweater). The dress that North Americans call a jumper[5] is known to the Brits as a pinafore[5] — defined as a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or jumper [sweater]. Thus, if a British lass were to wear a pinafore over her jumper and a North American gal were to wear a jumper over her sweater, they would be dressed identically. hide

7a   Follower /making/ arrangement to usurp monarch (7)

"monarch" = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth] (show more )

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

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8a   That woman returned ring /for/ varnish ... (7)

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.

10a   ... ring for Charlie in 'Hair /and/ Beauty' (5)

"ring" = O (show explanation )

A ring looks like the letter "O".

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Charlie^[5] is a code word representing the letter C, used in radio communication.

11a   Next to // assistant, hiding desires (9)

12a   European fuses /creating/ issues (7)

E^[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number^*).

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^* An E number^[1,4,10,14] (or E-number^[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by European Union law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.

14a   With interruption of power, rather // faulty speaker (7)

Post Mortem
Once I sorted out the error at 5d, the solution here became obvious.

The Rev. W. A. Spooner has bequeathed to us the name for a slip of the tongue that is oft-encountered in cryptic crosswords. (show more )

William Archibald Spooner^[7] (1844–1930) was a long-serving Oxford don, notable for absent-mindedness, and supposedly liable to transpose the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, with unintentionally comic effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures. Such phrases became known as spoonerisms^[5], and are often used humorously. Many spoonerisms have been invented by others and falsely attributed to Spooner.

Spooner held a Doctor of Divinity degree and thus was entitled to be called Dr. Spooner. Therefore, in crossword clues, you may often find him referred to as either "Rev. Spooner" or "Dr. Spooner".

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15a   Fuel company noticeably depleted // French region (7)

Gascony^[5] is a region and former province of south-western France, in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees. It was held by England between 1154 and 1453.

18a   Some loathe a treatment // room in hospital (7)

20a   Where racing drivers compete // enthusiastically? (2,1,3,3)

21a   Torrent // reduced surface by delta (5)

Delta^[5] is a code word representing the letter D, used in radio communication.

22a   Keeping close to bear, Pooh's friend // set off (7)

Winnie-the-Pooh^[5], also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne (1882–1956). Tigger^[7] is a fictional tiger character — and friend of Winnie-the-Pooh. (show more )

The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Milne also included a poem about the bear in the children's verse book When We Were Very Young (1924) and many more in Now We Are Six (1927).

Tigger^[7] was originally introduced in The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals. Nowadays he is also widely recognized as reinterpreted by the Disney studios, with distinctive orange and black stripes, large eyes, a long chin, a springy tail, and (the one detail originating from A. A. Milne) his love of bouncing. As he says himself, "Bouncing is what Tiggers do best."

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23a   Give learner tips from elder // animal trainer (7)

"learner" = L [driver under instruction] (show more )

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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24a   Daughter with hidden pressure before creative // social event (6,5)

"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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"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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Down

1d   Given up // working in smithy (7)

2d   Secure // half of trunks on ship (5)

"ship" = SS [steamship] (show explanation )

In Crosswordland, a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS^[5] ⇒ the SS Canberra.

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3d   Raids // in Greek island reported (7)

Rhodes^[5] is a Greek island in the southeastern Aegean, off the Turkish coast, the largest of the Dodecanese and the most easterly island in the Aegean.

4d   Usage so versatile, // like some elements (7)

5d   Cook's covering // duck with very English honey? (4,5)

Post Mortem

Even though this was my second time solving the puzzle, I erroneously managed to concoct OVEN GLAZE based on O (duck) + V(ery) + EN(glish) + GLAZE (honey)* — the latter part of the charade being more than a little suspect. Despite misgivings about the solution, I find that, after going down the wrong path, it is usually very difficult to get back on the correct one. This faux pas also caused severe problems at 14a. * not unlike Hatties grandma at Comment #16 and Nana-Rosie at Comment #34 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog

"duck" = O [cricket term] (show explanation )

In cricket, a duck^[5] (short for duck's egg) is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game.

In British puzzles, "duck" is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.

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"very" = V (show explanation )

The abbreviation v (or v.)^[1,2,5,10] stands for very. Although this definition is found in most of my British dictionaries, it does not appear in any of my American dictionaries. Unfortunately no explanation is given as to the specific context in which one might encounter this usage. The only possibility that I can imagine is when combined with G as a grade of VG (very good) on school tests or assignments.

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Oven glove^[5] is the British name for an oven mitt.

6d   Note cat eating large // amount (7)

British dictionaries are split on the question of whether this musical note should be spelled mi or me. On the other hand, American dictionaries come down firmly on the side of mi. (show more )

In sol-fa notation, me^*[1,2,5,10] (or mi^{*[1,2,3,5,10,11]}) is the third note of a major scale.

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^* With respect to spelling, two British dictionaries show me^[2,5] as the principal spelling with mi as a variant^[2] or US^[5] spelling. However, two other British dictionaries take the contrary position, listing mi^[1,10] as the principal spelling with me as a variant^[10] or anglicized^[1] spelling. Two US dictionaries list only one spelling — mi^[3,11].

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"large" = L [clothing size] (show explanation )

L^[5] is the abbreviation for large (as a clothing size).

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7d   Harry Potter's agile seeing off a // supernatural being (11)

As an anagram indicator, harry^[2] is likely being used in the sense of to ravage or destroy (a town, etc), especially in war.

Scratching the Surface
Harry Potter[7] is the title character in a series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling.

9d   Supporter /of/ revolutionary device like Kindle bringing in fifty (11)

"revolutionary" = CHE (show explanation )

Che Guevara^[7] (1928–1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.

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The Kindle^[7] is a series of e-readers designed and marketed by American multinational technology company Amazon.com, Inc.

13d   Becoming more appealing to // go in pub after good argument (7,2)

"good" = G [academic result] (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[a] for good comes from its use in education as a mark awarded on scholastic assignments or tests.

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^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

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16d   Bread is prepared /for/ gannet, perhaps (7)

The gannet^[5] is a large seabird with mainly white plumage, which catches fish by plunging into the water.

17d   Plant /in/ yard he'd water here regularly (3,4)

Although the more common abbreviation is yd^{[1,2,4,5,10,12,14]} (or yd.^{[3,4,6,10,11,12]}), a few dictionaries also list y^[1,12] (or y.^[1,11]) as an abbreviation for yard.

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The yew^[5] (also yew tree) is a coniferous tree which has red berrylike fruits, and most parts of which are highly poisonous. Yews are linked with folklore and superstition and can live to a great age; the timber is used in cabinetmaking and (formerly) to make longbows.

18d   Blurry photos bearing unknown // retailer (7)

"unknown" = Y [algebraic notation] (show explanation )

In mathematics (algebra, in particular), an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are customarily represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

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19d   One taken up the aisle // raised cry, with nothing right (7)

Trolley^[5] (also shopping trolley^[5]) is the British name for a shopping cart^[5].

21d   Comparatively thin // piece of fish gutted earlier (5)

The indicator "gutted" instructs the solver to discard the interior letters of the fodder "E(arlie)R".

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