Wednesday, May 8, 2019 — DT 28896

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28896
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28896]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

While this is a fairly typical Jay puzzle, I did find a few words used in ways that were either unfamiliar to me or, at least, used in ways that did not come first to mind. When I have doubts about a relatively unusual meaning for a word, I find that a usage example usually helps me accept the meaning. Where I have investigated such cases, I will often include the results of my research in the review, in case others may be experiencing similar reservations about the meaning of the word. Of course, the meanings may be perfectly obvious to others and the difficulty may be an entirely a personal matter.

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   Quarrel coming after fine /for/ litter (6)

This was a tricky clue. I was certain that the word "quarrel" was cluing ROW. I eventually did remember that quarrel^[5] is a historical term for a short, heavy, square-headed arrow or bolt used in a crossbow or arbalest^*.

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^* Arbalest^[5] is a historical term for a crossbow with a special mechanism for drawing back and releasing the string.

"fine" = F [pencil lead] (show explanation )

F^[5] is an abbreviation for fine, as used in describing grades of pencil lead.

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Note: Surprisingly, Oxford Dictionaries Online characterizes this usage as British

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A farrow^[5] is a litter of pigs.

5a   Like a loo /can be/ extravagant! (6)

A double definition, the first whimsical.

Loo^[5] is an informal British term for a toilet.

Lav^[10] is an informal British short form for lavatory (which, in Britain, is a toilet).

Here and There

In Britain and North America, the term lavatory can refer either to a room or to a fixture or fixtures within that room — however, the fixture(s) in question may be understood differently in the UK than in North America. In Britain, lavatory[5] means: a flush toilet a room, building, or cubicle containing a toilet or toilets In North America, lavatory[3] can mean: a washbowl or basin, especially one permanently installed with running water a flush toilet a room equipped with washing and often toilet facilities  Thus, in the UK, the emphasis is on the lavatory as a place where one eliminates bodily wastes while in North America it is regarded primarily as a place where one washes the body.

10a   Condition /of/ king during takeover (5)

As is frequently the case in Crosswordland, the "condition" in question is medical in nature.

"king" = R [abbreviation for Rex] (show explanation )

In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms^*, Rex^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George — often shortened to GR) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

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^* A Commonwealth realm^[7] is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares the same person, currently Elizabeth II, as its head of state and reigning constitutional monarch, but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms. There are currently sixteen Commonwealth realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific island nations.

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11a   Soldiers with stress reported // ability to remember (9)

"soldiers" = RE [Royal Engineers] (show more )

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (abbreviation RE), and commonly known as the Sappers^[7], is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

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12a   Sadly drops out, forgetting daughter -- /and/ moves on? (7)

"daughter" = D [genealogy] (show reference )

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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13a   Fancied // hotel client in audition (7)

Fancy^[10] is used in the sense of to suppose or imagine ⇒ I fancy it will rain.

14a   The height /of/ joy, welcoming European victory? (9)

"European" = E (show explanation )

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 EU 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.

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V^[10] is the symbol for victory. The victory-freedom sign^[7] is famously associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II.

17a   Pads /from/ tyres that can't be used (5)

Pad^[5] is an informal term for a person's home ⇒ the police raided my pad.

Flat^[5] is the British term for what would be called an apartment^[5] in North America.

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Tyre^[5] is the British spelling of tire (in the sense of an automobile component).

18a   Itinerary // revealed in case of resistance (5)

19a   Away orbiting the globe, // able to take it all in (9)

21a   Salesman needs to return, stifling urge /for/ this open-top vessel (7)

23a   Satellite // tour regularly confronting snapper (7)

25a   Bilbo got a wrong // instruction for a musician (9)

In music, obbligato^[5] (US obligato) denotes an instrumental part, typically distinctive in effect, which is integral to a piece of music and should not be omitted in performance ⇒ (i) with piano obbligato; (ii) the obbligato part.

Scratching the Surface
Bilbo might possibly be a reference to Bilbo Baggins[7], the title character and protagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit, as well as a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings. Or, perhaps, the clue alludes to Bilbo[7], the first ever UK canine lifeguard.

26a   Crime /is/ a primarily rational issue (5)

Issue^[5] is a legal term denoting children of one's own ⇒ the earl died without male issue.

27a   Flyers // needing exercise and common sense (6)

"exercise" = PE [phys ed] (show explanation )

PE^[5] is an abbreviation^* for physical education.

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^* In my experience, phys ed^{[3,6,11,12,14]} is the more common shortened form in North America.

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Wit^[5] (also wits) can denote good sense ⇒ I had the wit to realize that the only way out was up.

What did they say?
In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis describe "wits" as common sense or nous. Nous[5] is an informal British term meaning common sense or practical intelligence ⇒ if he had any nous at all, he’d sell the film rights.

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Pewit^{[1,2,3,4,10,11,12]} (also peewit^{[1,2,3,4,5,10,11,12]}) is another name^* for the northern lapwing (which appears to be commonly referred to as simply the lapwing). The lapwing^[5] is any of several species of large plover, typically having a black-and-white head and underparts and a loud call, in particular the northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) of Eurasia (also called the green plover or peewit), which has a dark green back and a crest.

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^* Oxford Dictionaries Online specifies that the name is British. However, it is the only one of the several sources cited to do so.

28a   River in Leeds diverted /for/ senior citizens (6)

Scratching the Surface
Leeds[5] is an industrial city in West Yorkshire, northern England. It developed as a wool town in the Middle Ages, becoming a centre of the clothing trade in the Industrial Revolution.

Down

2d   Answer and almost lament // affair (5)

3d   Discount welcoming professional // person rejected by God (9)

Reprobate^[5] is an archaic term denoting (in Calvinism) a sinner who is not of the elect and is predestined to damnation.

4d   View a restaurant stocking // merchandise (5)

5d   Giant list developed /for/ people taking legal action (9)

6d   Chosen location // means dropping leader (5)

Avenue^[5] is used in the sense of a way of approaching a problem or making progress towards something ⇒ three possible avenues of research suggested themselves.

7d   Trim // mould around joints (9)

8d   Soak eating cold // northern dish (6)

In the dialect of Liverpool, England, scouse^[10] is a stew made from left-over meat.

Delving Deeper

Scouse[5,10] is an informal British term denoting: (noun) short for Scouser[5], a person from Liverpool (noun) the dialect or accent of people from Liverpool ⇒ the man turned on him in Scouse (adjective) relating to Liverpool; Liverpudlian ⇒ a Scouse accent The name of the dish is a shortered form of lobscouse[10], a sailor's stew of meat, vegetables, and hardtack. The application of the term to the denizens of Liverpool derives from the dish.

9d   Those taking charge /needing/ oxygen in mountains? (6)

The symbol for the chemical element oxygen is O^[5].

The Andes^[5] are a major mountain system running the length of the Pacific coast of South America. Its highest peak is Aconcagua, which rises to a height of 6,960 m (22,834 ft).

15d   Just // calm about it (9)

16d   Popular listeners after arrival /may be/ overdue (2,7)

"arrival" = ARR (show explanation )

With reference to the arrival time of a bus, train, or aircraft, the abbreviation arr^[2] (or arr.)^[5,10] denotes arrival or arrives — and presumably after the fact, arrived.

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17d   Troublemaker // shot eating breakfast cereal (9)

18d   Entranced with golden // eagle perhaps (6)

"golden" = OR (show explanation )

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

In heraldry, a tincture^[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

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20d   Sort of skimpy underwear about right /for/ a crowd (6)

22d   Redeveloped Thai island // republic (5)

Haiti^[5] (officially the Republic of Haiti^[7]) is a country in the Caribbean, occupying the western third of the island of Hispaniola. (show more )

The area was ceded to France by Spain in 1697, and many slaves were imported from West Africa to work on sugar plantations. In 1791 the slaves rose in rebellion under Toussaint L'Ouverture, and in 1804 the colony was proclaimed an independent state under the name of Haiti. It was administered by the US 1915–34 after a succession of corrupt dictatorships. From 1957 to 1986 the country was under the oppressive dictatorship of the Duvalier family. Haiti's first democratically chosen President was elected in 1990 but overthrown by the military the following year; democracy was restored by US and UN intervention in 1994. In 2010 the area around the capital was devastated by an earthquake.

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23d   Australia working with energy /and/ gas (5)

Oz^[5] is an informal Australian and New Zealand term for:

• (noun) Australia ⇒ he spent the last few years in Oz
• (noun) a person from Australia ⇒ it was enough to make a red-blooded Oz choke on his meat pie
• (adjective) Australian ⇒ Oz hospitality

"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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24d   Stunner /from/ Home Counties pinched by sailor (5)

"Home Counties" = SE  (show explanation )

The Home Counties^[5] are the counties surrounding London in the south-east (SE) part of England, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire.

No exact definition of the term exists and the composition of the Home Counties remains a matter of debate. While Oxford Dictionaries restrictively lists them as being chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire, Wikipedia tells us that the Home Counties^[7] are generally considered to include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex (although Sussex does not border London).

Other counties more distant from London, such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire are also sometimes included in the list due to their close proximity to the capital and their connection to the London regional economy.

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"sailor" = TAR (show explanation )

Tar^[5] is an informal, dated nickname for a sailor. The term came into use in the mid 17th century and is perhaps an abbreviation of tarpaulin, also used as a nickname for a sailor at that time.

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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