Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 — DT 28875

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28875
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28875 – Hints]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28875 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Big Dave (Hints)
gnomethang (Review)
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
Notes
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

This puzzle may have garnered only a single star for difficulty from gnomethang but there are more than enough Briticisms in it to up the ante for those of us on this side of the pond.

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*)
* num = numeration

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

(Horizontal separator)

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   Dismiss concerto, say, // that sparkles all too briefly? (8)

5a   Plug /in/ items in the kitchen the wrong way round (4)

9a   Coming from a northern place, // Poles should embrace part of southern Europe (8)

Iberia[10] is another name — and, according to Oxford Dictionaries Online, the ancient name[5] — for the Iberian Peninsula, comprising the countries of Spain and Portugal.

10a   Auditor's guarantee // to the bank (6)

11a   Early Protestant // religious teaching given by prior (8)

In the UK, religious education[10] (abbreviation RE[5]) is a subject taught in schools which educates about the different religions of the world.


A Reformer[2] is one who took part in the Reformation* of the 16th century.
* The Reformation[2] was a great religious and political revolution that took place in Europe in the 16th century and resulted in the establishment of the Protestant Churches.

Scratching the Surface
A prior[5] is the male head of a house or group of houses of certain religious orders, in particular:
  • the man next in rank below an abbot
  • the head of a house of friars

12a   Division /used in/ school course (6)

I interpreted the clue somewhat differently than did gnomethang in his review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog. I thought the first definition was the reference to the "class selection ... in a school" with the second definition being a cryptic description of the habitat of some finned creatures.

Stream[5] is a British term for a group in which schoolchildren of the same age and ability are taught ⇒ children in the top streams.


In the cryptic definition, I see school[5] being used in the sense of a large group of fish or sea mammals and course[5] denoting the route or direction followed by a ship, aircraft, road, or river.

14a   Mistakenly books entry /with/ no means to pay (5-5)

Stony broke[5] is an informal British* expression meaning entirely without money ⇒ (i) all his friends were stony broke; (ii) friends of stony-broke Sir Charles Maugham are giving him bags of supermarket food.
* Equivalent North American expression: stone broke[5]

18a   Enterprise // scheme (10)

22a   Little building done after 1945? (6)

The word "little" does not necessarily denote that the building itself is small but rather that we need a shortened version of its name.

Prefab[5] is an informal term for a prefabricated building ⇒ [as modifier] a prefab hut.

23a   Pretensions intense when heading left in plane, // high-fliers' rate? (3,5)

In his hints, Big Dave marks the definition as "in plane, high-fliers’ rate" while gnomethang, in his review, shows it as "plane, high-fliers’ rate?". To me, either of these seems like an awkward definition. Could the definition have been intended to be merely the elegantly cryptic "high-fliers' rate?" with the words "in plane" being a (somewhat unnecessary) part of the reversal indicator included in an attempt to enhance the surface reading? Using this interpretation, the wordplay would be:
  • AIRS (pretensions) + reversal of (when heading left in [a horizontal] plane) DEEP (intense)
24a   Pretty // nieces short of energy, unusually cold (6)

"energy" = E [symbol used in physics] (show reference )

In physics, E[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae ⇒ E = mc2.

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25a   Using a fine-tooth comb // every sixty seconds? (8)

A double definition with the second being whimsical.

26a   Act of cheating // winger reported (4)

Winger is a whimsical cryptic crossword term for a bird (something that has wings).

27a   Action's modified to get to grips with golf? // One's sceptical (8)

Golf[5] is a code word representing the letter G, used in radio communication.

Down

2d   About to touch nude/'s/ cold shoulder (6)

3d   Something to scare people // with and carry, being insecure (3,3)

4d   American's property /is/ rank, covered by concrete (4,6)

Estate[5] is used in the sense of a class or order regarded as forming part of the body politic, in particular (in Britain), one of the three groups constituting Parliament, now the Lords spiritual (the heads of the Church), the Lords temporal (the peerage), and the Commons. They are also known as the three estates.

Delving Deeper
The press has long been referred to as the fourth estate[6]. Canadians will be familiar with the CBC newsmagazine television program The Fifth Estate[7] whose name was chosen to highlight the program's determination to go beyond everyday news into original journalism. However, the term Fifth Estate[7] actually predates the television program (which debuted in 1975). The term is a socio-cultural reference to groupings of outlier viewpoints in contemporary society, and is most associated with bloggers, journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and the social media or "social license". The "Fifth" Estate extends the sequence of the three classical Estates of the Realm and the preceding Fourth Estate, essentially the mainstream press. The use of "fifth estate" dates to the 1960s counterculture, and in particular the influential The Fifth Estate, an underground newspaper first published in Detroit in 1965.


From a British perspective, real estate[5] is a North American* term for property consisting of land or buildings.
* Brits would appear not to have a term equivalent to "real estate" (other than "property"). While the British term for "real estate agent"[5] is "estate agent"[5] , they do not use the term "estate" on its own in the sense that we use the term "real estate".

6d   Examine public transport/'s/ appliance of science? (4,4)

The Tube[5] is a British trademark for the underground railway system in London ⇒ a cross-London trek on the Tube. The term "the tube" can also refer to a train running on the Tube ⇒ I caught the tube home.

7d   Kent's changing situation -- // 'smart' people no longer call here (5,3)

I would say this is a double cryptic definition.

In the Superman comic books, Clark Kent[7], a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper, is the civilian and secret identity of the superhero. When crises arise, Clark quickly changes into Superman, often ducking into a phone booth to do so — at least before the advent of modern open-kiosk pay phones.

Phone box[5] is a British* name for a phone booth[5].
* Brits seem to use the term "phone box" for pay phones located in the street and "phone booth" for those located inside a building. To North Americans, they are all "phone booths".

8d   Service bringing in tourists -- jam's expected sooner or later, depending on area (5,3)

A cream tea[7] (also known as a Devon cream tea, Devonshire tea, or Cornish cream tea) is a form of afternoon tea light meal, consisting of tea taken with a combination of scones, clotted cream (show more ), and jam. Traditionally a speciality of Devon and Cornwall, cream teas are offered for sale in tea rooms in those two counties, as well as in other parts of England, and elsewhere in the Commonwealth.

Clotted cream[5] is a chiefly British term for thick cream obtained by heating milk slowly and then allowing it to cool while the cream content rises to the top in coagulated lumps.

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There are regional variations as to how a cream tea should preferably be eaten.
  • The Devonian (or Devonshire) method is to split the scone in two, cover each half with clotted cream, and then add strawberry jam on top. The Devon method is also commonly used in neighbouring counties and other Commonwealth countries.
  • With the Cornish method, the warm 'bread split' or a 'scone' is first split in two, then spread with strawberry jam, and finally topped with a spoonful of clotted cream. This method is also commonly used elsewhere, notably in London.
9d   'Slave // Queen' depicted in science fiction (4)

"Queen" = ER [regnal cipher] (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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SF[3,4,5,11] is the abbreviation for science fiction.


In the feudal system, a serf[5] was an agricultural labourer who was bound to working on his lord's estate.

13d   Ineffective /but/ repaired via nail gun (10)

15d   Taken in by Jedi's pose, Darth /got/ shot (8)

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, gnomethang gets the explanation correct but underlines the wrong part of the clue.

Scratching the Surface
In the Star Wars films, a Jedi[5] (also Jedi knight) is a member of a mystical knightly order, trained to guard peace and justice in the Universe.

Darth Vader[7] is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise — a primary antagonist in the original trilogy, but, as Anakin Skywalker, the main protagonist of the prequel trilogy. Originally a Jedi, Anakin Skywalker is lured to the dark side of the Force. After fighting a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi in which he is dismembered, Vader is transformed into a cyborg.

16d   Minced veal, fine // Greek food (4-4)

A vine-leaf[1] (or vine leaf[10]) is a leaf of any vine, especially of a grapevine. Grape leaves[7] are used in the cuisines of a number of cultures — Greek being merely one of nearly two dozen listed in the Wikipedia article. They are most often picked fresh from the vine and stuffed with a mixture of rice, meat, and spices, and then cooked by boiling or steaming. Stuffed grape leaves can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish.

17d   Sweet that's Italian /or/ American -- I ruin it when served up (8)

Sweet[5] is a British term for a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; in other words, a dessert.

Tiramisu[5] is an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake soaked in coffee and brandy or liqueur with powdered chocolate and mascarpone cheese.

19d   Key duo forged /to get/ cash in Europe once (6)

The escudo[5], equal to 100 centavos, was was the basic monetary unit of Portugal prior to being replaced by the euro in 2002.

20d   Begrudge /being/ posted again (6)

Post[5] is a chiefly British* term for mail[5], either as a noun or a verb.
* In an ironic twist, the post in Britain is delivered by the Royal Mail while, in Canada, the mail is delivered by Canada Post.

21d   Tense, // like a fence in 'Atton Garden? (4)

An aitch dropped by the setter in the clue — in imitation of cockney speech mannerisms (show more ) — indicates that the solver must also drop one in the solution.

A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow[7] church).

The cockney[5] dialect is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang[5].

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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Hatton Garden[7] is a street and commercial area in the Holborn district of the London Borough of Camden, close to the boundary with the City of London.

While I think of hedges and fences as distinct entities — albeit having similar uses, a hedge is defined as a fence or boundary formed by closely growing bushes or shrubs.

Scratching the Surface
Hatton Garden is located in the West End of London — at the opposite end of the city from the Cockney district which is found in the East End.
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
at

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