Wednesday, April 3, 2019 — DT 28871

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28871
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28871]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

I would say that we are presented with a not overly taxing exercise today.

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   Doctor behind // plan (5)

Aft^[5] is an originally nautical term denoting at, near, or towards the stern of a ship or tail of an aircraft ⇒ (i) Travis made his way aft; (ii) the aft cargo compartment.

4a   Arabs lost ground /in/ handicap (9)

As an anagram indicator, ground is used as the past tense or past participle of the verb grind^[5]. An anagram indicator is typically a word that denotes movement or transformation. Grind denotes transformation, for example, in the sense of grain being ground into flour.

Scratching the Surface
An Arab[5] is a horse of a breed originating in Arabia, with a distinctive high-set tail. A handicap[5] is a race or contest in which a disadvantage is imposed on a superior competitor in order to make the chances more equal.

9a   List includes a respiratory organ set back /in/ a reptile (9)

Rota^[5] is a British term for a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job ⇒ a cleaning rota.

A gill^[5] is the paired respiratory organ of fishes and some amphibians, by which oxygen is extracted from water flowing over surfaces within or attached to the walls of the pharynx.

10a   Stroll /or/ walk without leader (5)

11a   Won seat easily, /so/ don't concern yourself (2,5)

12a   Ride? // Finished circuit (7)

Ride^[5] is used in the sense of to project or overlap ⇒ when two lithospheric plates collide, one tends to ride over the other.

13a   Thinly scattered, // boxes by edge of Delamere (6)

Scratching the Surface
Delamere[7] is a village of about 1,000 residents in the county of Cheshire, England.

15a   Confused padre coming round with // forest creature (3,5)

The red panda^[5] (also called lesser panda) is a raccoon-like mammal with thick reddish-brown fur and a bushy tail, native to high bamboo forests from the Himalayas to southern China.

18a   Fresh buns -- adjust heat // to brown? (8)

20a   Silver // dollar ultimately pocketed by spy (6)

Argent^[5] is silver as a heraldic tincture.

23a   Doorman, // discontented bruiser, carrying little weight (7)

The setter uses "discontented" to indicate that the inner letters of "BruiseR" are to be removed. This cryptic device is based on the whimsical logic that if disembowel means to remove one's innards, then it only stands to reason that discontent must mean to remove one's contents.

24a   Source of illumination, // bad in the morning in work (3,4)

Ill^[5] could mean bad in any of several senses:

• poor in quality ⇒ ill judgment dogs the unsuccessful
• harmful ⇒ she had a cup of the same wine and suffered no ill effects
• hostile ⇒ it did give rise to a lot of ill feelings
• (especially of fortune) not favorable ⇒ no one less deserved such ill fortune than McStay

"work" = OP (show explanation )

In music, an opus^[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.

The abbreviation Op.^[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..

Opus^[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

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26a   Letter // from Rochdale physician (5)

Aleph^[5] is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Scratching the Surface
Rochdale[5] is a town of about 100,000 residents in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines on the River Roch, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Manchester.

27a   Untold // pounds collected by earl's wife (9)

"pounds" = L (show explanation )

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

The Chambers Dictionary defines the upper case L^[1] as the abbreviation for pound sterling (usually written £) and the lower case l^[1] as the abbreviation for pound weight (usually written lb) — both deriving from the Latin word libra^* .

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^* In ancient Rome, the libra^[5] was a unit of weight, equivalent to 12 ounces (0.34 kg). It was the forerunner of the pound.

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A countess^[5] is:

• the wife or widow of a count [a foreign — from a British perspective — nobleman] or earl [a British nobleman]
• a woman holding the rank of count or earl in her own right

28a   Small mischievous child gave away // mug (9)

"small" = S [clothing size] (show reference )

S^[5] is the abbreviation for small (as a clothing size).

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Mug^[5] is an informal British term for a stupid or gullible person ⇒ they were no mugs where finance was concerned.

29a   A pot I ordered /for/ courtyard (5)

A patio^[5] is a roofless inner courtyard in a Spanish or Spanish-American house.

Down

1d   Perhaps spiritual support needed over one's // doctor's opinion (9)

2d   Book // unfortunately includes typos at the start (5)

3d   Fierce creature // American soldier upset in lock (7)

"American soldier" = GI (show explanation )

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war.

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Origin: Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

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4d   Shrewd // like Egyptian king, last in line (6)

Tutankhamen^[5] (also Tutankhamun) (died c.1352 BC) [familiarly known as King Tut] was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, reigned c.1361–c.1352 BC. His tomb, containing a wealth of rich and varied contents, was discovered virtually intact by the English archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

5d   Men had an argument after book // taken from library? (8)

"men" = OR (show explanation )

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks^[5] (abbreviation OR^[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

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"book" = B [publishing term] (show reference )

The abbreviation for book is b^[1,12] (or b.).^*

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^* Although neither of the two dictionaries in which a listing for this abbreviation is found provide information on the context in which it is used, I would guess that it might be in publishing, in particular in bibliographies or footnotes and endnotes in academic works when referencing one or more books in a series of books ⇒ see b. 3, p. 233.

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6d   Part-exchange // due to be arranged in region to the north? (5,2)

Part-exchange^[1,5] (verb) is a British term denoting (for a buyer) to give or (for a seller) take an article that the seller owns as part of the payment for another, more expensive, article ⇒ the caravans [travel trailers] had been part-exchanged in favour of better-equipped vans.

Trade up^[5] means to sell a small or relatively inexpensive house, car, etc, and replace it with a larger or more expensive one.

7d   Taking everything into consideration, // loan can be arranged (2,7)

8d   Lottery // odds? Very small, essentially (5)

SP^[5] is the abbreviation for starting price^[7], the odds prevailing on a particular horse in the on-course fixed-odds^* betting market at the time a race begins.

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^* To the best of my limited knowledge in this field, this term would not be encountered in North America as betting on horse racing here is based on parimutuel betting rather than fixed-odds betting.

"very small" = WEE [Scottish] (show explanation )

Wee^[5] is a Scottish adjective meaning little ⇒ (i) when I was just a wee bairn; (ii) the lyrics are a wee bit too sweet and sentimental.

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^* The word may be of Scottish origin but, like the Scots themselves, the word has migrated around the world.

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As a containment indicator, essentially means 'constituting the essence or core of'.

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Sweep^[5] is an informal shortened form for sweepstake^[5] (also sweepstakes [the more common spelling in North America, I would say]), a race or gambling game in which the winnings comprise all the money that has been staked.

14d   Made sauna uncomfortable, // to a sickening degree (2,7)

16d   A new suggestion regarding // course of finger food? (9)

In Italian cookery, an antipasto^{[2,3,4,5,10,11]} is an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre.

17d   Wanting to ignore // quicker way (5,3)

Cut^[3] means to refuse to speak to or recognize (someone); in other words, to snub ⇒ cut me dead at the party.

19d   Capone, unruffled swallowing hot // drink (7)

Al Capone^[5] (1899–1947), nicknamed  Scarface (show more ), was an American gangster of Italian descent. He dominated organized crime in Chicago in the 1920s and was indirectly responsible for many murders, including the St Valentine’s Day Massacre^* .

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^* The St Valentine's Day Massacre^[5] was the shooting on 14th February 1929 of seven members of the rival ‘Bugsy’ Moran's gang by some of Al Capone's men disguised as policemen.

Capone^[7] was born in Brooklyn (New York) and began his life of crime in New York City before moving to Chicago. Capone inadvertently insulted a woman while working the door at a Brooklyn night club and was slashed by her brother Frank Gallucio. The wounds led to the nickname that Capone loathed: "Scarface". Capone's boss, racketeer Frankie Yale, insisted that Capone apologize to Gallucio, and later Capone hired him as a bodyguard. When photographed, Capone hid the scarred left side of his face, saying that the injuries were war wounds. Capone was called "Snorky", a term for a sharp dresser, by his closest friends.

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21d   Swell, best // kind of desk (4-3)

A swell^[5] is a slow, regular movement of the sea in rolling waves that do not break ⇒ there was a heavy swell.

A roll^[10] is a swell, ripple, or undulation on a surface ⇒ the roll of the hills.

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A roll-top desk^[5] is a writing desk with a flexible cover sliding in curved grooves.

22d   Post // file (6)

File^[5] is used in the sense of a line of people or things one behind another ⇒ files of tourists stream up the narrow lanes of Mont St Michel.

23d   Fish bringing in right // money (5)

Brass^[5] is an informal British term for money ⇒ they wanted to spend their newly acquired brass.

25d   Notice record time // accomplished (5)

"record" = EP (show explanation )

EP^[10] (abbreviation for extended-play) is one of the formats in which music is sold, usually comprising four or five tracks.

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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