Tuesday, May 7, 2019 — DT 28895

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28895
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Setter X-Type
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28895]
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

This puzzle generated quite a stir on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — with several comments denouncing it as overly simple while many others felt it hit the mark.

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   Unfortunately curtail rap at beginning of single: /here's/ the details (11)

9a   See // a blemish (4)

10a   Study team: give opinion on performance /and be/ helpful (11)

"study"= CON (show explanation )

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing)  ⇒ the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

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"team" = SIDE (show explanation )

Side^[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒ there was a mixture of old and young players in^* their side.

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^* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.

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11a   Brave warrior: // he takes half of Italian city (4)

14a   In secrecy, cleverly // use again (7)

16a   Surveys returned about calcium /in/ seafood (7)

Ca^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element calcium.

17a   She's a band named after her, maybe backed by a chap named Cooper? (5)

An Alice band^[5] is a flexible band worn by women and girls to hold back the hair.

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Origin: Alice, from the name of the heroine of two books by Lewis Carroll.

Alice Cooper^[7] (born Vincent Damon Furnier) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spans over fifty years. (show more )

With his distinctive raspy voice and a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, deadly snakes, baby dolls, and dueling swords, Cooper is considered by music journalists and peers alike to be "The Godfather of Shock Rock". He has drawn equally from horror films, vaudeville, and garage rock to pioneer a macabre and theatrical brand of rock designed to shock people.

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18a   Boast // about argument (4)

19a   Pigpen, we hear, /is/ an eyesore? (4)

20a   Indian perhaps /in/ old vessel crossing Spain (5)

"Spain" = E [IVR code] (show explanation ) 

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Spain is E^*[5] (in the photo, seen on the left hand side of the licence plate below the European Union symbol).

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^* from Spanish España

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22a   One's honest // about celebrity (7)

Think of celebrity as a noun used as a modifier.

The A-list^[5]  denotes a real or imaginary list of the most celebrated or sought-after individuals, especially in show business ⇒ [as modifier] an A-list charity golf tournament.

23a   Spoil study by independent // old electrical engineer (7)

The archaic "study" from 10a makes another appearance.

"independent" = I [politician] (show explanation )

I^[1] is the abbreviation for independent, in all likelihood in the context of a politician with no party affiliation.

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Guglielmo Marconi^[5] (1874–1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, the founder of radio. In 1912 Marconi produced a continuously oscillating wave, essential for the transmission of sound. He went on to develop short-wave transmission over long distances. Nobel Prize for Physics (1909).

24a   Try // a game of cricket (4)

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.

28a   Device for telling pub-goers to drink up: in the past, or the future? (4,7)

The two aspects of this clue are so entangled that it is difficult to separate them, although Mr K has done an admirable job in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

Time^[5] is a British expression denoting the moment at which the opening hours of a pub end ⇒ the landlord called time.

29a   French bread /causing/ tummy ache? (4)

The French word for bread is pain^[8].

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The question mark indicates a definition by example.

30a   Servant // combining charm with bed? I am! (11)

Down

2d   River /in which/ star is reflected (4)

In astronomy, a nova^[5] is a star showing a sudden large increase in brightness and then slowly returning to its original state over a few months.

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Avon^[5] is the name of two rivers in England — both tributaries of the River Severn. The better known is a river of central England which rises near the Leicestershire–Northamptonshire border and flows 154 km (96 miles) south-west through Stratford to the River Severn. The other is a river of south-western England which rises near the Gloucestershire–Wiltshire border and flows 121 km (75 miles) through Bath and Bristol also to the River Severn.

3d   Throw // at ship (4)

"ship" = SS (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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4d   Black maybe worn by Edward /and/ Mark (7)

Cilla Black^[7] (1943–2015), born Priscilla Maria Veronica White, was an English singer, television presenter [host], actress, and author. Her version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (1964) was the UK's biggest-selling single by a female artist in the 1960s.

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A cedilla^[5] is a mark (¸) written under the letter c, especially in French, to show that it is pronounced like an s rather than a k (e.g. façade).

5d   Attract // student runner from Yorkshire (4)

"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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The setter uses the word "runner" in the whimsical sense of something that runs or flows — in other words, a river.

The River Ure^[7] is a stream in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse.

6d   Inform on people /in/ modern society (3,4)

7d   A very quiet woman morphed into // just 'a name' (11)

"very quiet" = PP [music notation] (show explanation )

Pianissimo^[5,10] (abbreviation pp^[5,10]) is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very soft or very quiet or (as an adverb) very softly or very quietly.

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8d   Type of pressure we're all under (11)

A different type of pressure than that of 6d.

12d   Old dinosaur with three dangerous points to face? (11)

Triceratops^[5] was a large quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur living at the end of the Cretaceous period, having a massive head with two large horns, a smaller horn on the beaked snout, and a bony frill above the neck.

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Origin: Modern Latin, from Greek trikeratos ‘three-horned’ + ōps ‘face’.

13d   Rich, posh lass almost organised // educational grant (11)

15d   Vote into office /and/ pick leader off (5)

16d   Leave // first of sheep and cows with male animal (5)

20d   East German supported by well-off // person scared to face reality (7)

The German word for 'east' is Ost^[8].

De'myth'ifying

From Animal Myths Busted on the National Geographic Kids website: MYTH: Ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they're scared or threatened. HOW IT STARTED: It's an optical illusion! Ostriches are the largest living birds, but their heads are pretty small. "If you see them picking at the ground from a distance, it may look like their heads are buried in the ground," says Glinda Cunningham of the American Ostrich Association. WHY IT'S NOT TRUE: Ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand—they wouldn't be able to breathe! But they do dig holes in the dirt to use as nests for their eggs. Several times a day, a bird puts her head in the hole and turns the eggs. So it really does look like the birds are burying their heads in the sand!

21d   Set forth, /and/ rushed back with speed (7)

25d   Danger: medication masks // bug (4)

26d   It's a pretence // when embarrassment's not complete (4)

27d   Against // a new note? (4)

"note" = TI (show more ).

From a perusal of entries in American and British dictionaries, I gather that the only recognized spelling in the US would seem to be ti^[3,11] while British dictionaries are split into two camps. On one side, Chambers 21st Century Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary give the principal spelling as te^[2,4,10] with ti^[2,4,10] being an alternative spelling. The Chambers Dictionary and Oxford Dictionaries take the contrary position, giving the spelling as ti^[1,5] with te^[1,5] shown as an alternative spelling.

Note that the sister publications, The Chambers Dictionary and Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, are diametrically opposed on the issue and Oxford Dictionaries has done a complete about face as I have notes in my files from a previous review showing that "Oxford Dictionaries decrees that te is the British spelling with ti being the North American spelling".

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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