Saturday, June 29, 2019

Saturday, June 29, 2019 — Canada Day Potpourri

Introduction

I failed to notice any clear theme in today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon other than several specific Canadian references that may give our friends south of the border some difficulty — or a chance to learn more about Canada.

I posted a link to the puzzle on Saturday from my tent in a rustic off-grid campground. Of course, my software would pick that very inopportune time to act up making posting a bit of a challenge. Now that I am back at home, I've prettied things up a bit.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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
- yet to be solved

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 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.

hide

Across

1a   Family /of/ fifty in jail (4)

C(L)AN — L ([Roman numeral for] fifty) contained in (in) CAN (jail)

3a   One’s jail room, among many // odds and ends (10)

M(I|S|CELL)ANY — {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + S ('s) +CELL (jail room)} contained in (among) MANY ()

10a   Massage in a top-grade // Caribbean place (5)

A(RUB)A — RUB (massage) contained in (in) {A (†) + A (top-grade [on an academic assignment or test])}

11a   A pop swore, /and/ gently tapped (9)

PER|CUSSED — PER (a pop; each) + CUSSED (swore)

12a   Ornate // ring in archaic boat (7)

BAR(O)QUE — O ([letter that looks like a] ring) contained in (in) BARQUE (archaic boat)

13a   Rob // tossed old pies (7)

DESPOIL* — anagram of (tossed) OLD PIES

14a   Rogue /in/ church space overheard (5)

KNAVE~ — sounds like (overheard) NAVE (church space)

15a   Twilights // happening at mid-month (9)

EVENT|IDES — EVENT (happening; noun) + (at) IDES (mid-month)

18a   Sought // quote within firm (9)

SOLI(CITE)D — CITE (quote) contained in (within) SOLID (firm)

20a   Said, “I’ll // row” (5)

AISLE~ — sounds like (said) I'LL (†)

22a   Eccentric married // fan (7)

ADMIRER* — anagram of (eccentric) MARRIED

24a   Vermin eating Brie wrecked // cheesy dish (7)

RA(REBI*)T — RAT (vermin) containing (eating) anagram of (wrecked) BRIE

25a   Understanding /of/ popular college payment (9)

IN|TUITION — IN (popular) + TUITION (college payment)

26a   Leaders of Nootka and Ojibwe mistook Inuit // girl’s name (5)

N|A|O|M|I — initial letters of (leaders of) Nootka And Ojibwe Mistook Inuit

Scratching the Surface
The Nootka[5] are an indigenous people of Vancouver Island, Canada.

The Ojibwe[7], Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people of Canada and the United States. The Ojibwe are believed to have originated from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River on the Atlantic coast of what is now Quebec from where they migrated westward. They are now found on both sides of the US-Canada border from western Quebec to eastern British Columbia.


The Inuit[5] are an indigenous people of northern Canada and parts of Greenland and Alaska.

27a   Strangely drone tune’s // subtle notes (10)

UNDERTONES* — anagram of (strangely) DRONE TUNES

28a   Drink of orange, // brown, and green (4)

TANG — TAN (brown) + (and) G(reen)

Tang[7] is an artificially flavored drink mix that was first marketed by General Foods Corporation in 1957. The Tang brand is currently owned by Mondelēz International, a 2012 North American company split off of Kraft Foods Inc.

Down

1d   Patties filled with meat /for/ cookouts (9)

C(LAMB)AKES — CAKES (patties) containing (filled with) LAMB (meat)

2d   Fish tanks, // as in song (7)

A(QUA)RIA — QUA (as; in the capacity of) contained in (in) ARIA (song; operatic solo)

4d   Tool // some simple men tweaked (9)

IMPLEMENT* — hidden in (some) sIMPLE MEN Tweaked

5d   Made hollow // cable for listeners (5)

CORED~ — sounds like (for listeners) CORD (cable)

6d   Lunatic insults our late // 1950s P.M. (5,2,7)

LOUIS ST LAURENT — anagram of (lunatic) INSULTS OUR LATE

Louis St. Laurent[7] (Saint-Laurent or St-Laurent in French, baptized Louis-Étienne St-Laurent; 1882–1973) was the 12th prime minister of Canada, from November 1948 to June 1957.

7d   Terribly bad cons // escape and hide (7)

ABSCOND* — anagram of (terribly) BAD CONS

8d   Went ahead with Yiddish lament, returning // off-peak call? (5)

{YO|DEL}< — reversal of (returning) {LED (went ahead) + (with) OY (Yiddish lament)}

Yodel[10] denotes an effect produced in singing by an abrupt change of register from the chest voice to falsetto, especially in popular folk songs of the Swiss Alps.

9d   Alien acquires jet car /for/ explorer (7,7)

{JACQUES CARTIER}* — anagram of (alien) ACQUIRES JET CAR

Jacques Cartier[5] (1491–1557) was a French explorer. The first to establish France's claim to North America, he made three voyages to Canada between 1534 and 1541.

16d   Dee can run all over, /showing/ stamina (9)

ENDURANCE* — anagram of (all over) DEE CAN RUN

17d   Covering // old New York stadium object (9)

SHEA|THING — SHEA (old New York stadium; former home of the New York Mets) + THING (object)

19d   Box top keeps little bug // confined (7)

LI(MITE)D — LID (box top) containing (keeps) MITE (little bug)

21d   Brother in southern USA // secretly (3,4)

S|U(B RO)SA — BRO (brother) contained in (in) {S(outhern) + USA (†)}

22d   Stop wearing gold // so long (5)

A(DIE)U — DIE (stop) contained in (wearing) AU ([symbol for the chemical element] gold)

23d   Greek character carries in // African beast (5)

RH(IN)O — RHO (Greek character; seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet) containing (carries) IN (†)

Epilogue

The title of today's review is inspired by the solutions to 27a and 3a.
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

Friday, June 28, 2019

Friday, June 28, 2019 — DT 28936

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28936
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28936]
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

Happy New Year! A great puzzle to start the year! Oops! It's almost July! Reading the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog almost makes one feel like they are trapped in a time warp.

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 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.

hide

Across

1a   Large // bird once confused with seal (12)

9a   A river still // spectacular (9)

10a   Disease affecting dog hair // good in cat hair, perhaps (5)

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

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

[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

hide

The "cat hair" might be found on the neck of a large African cat.



Mange[5] is a skin disease of mammals caused by parasitic mites and occasionally communicable to humans. It is characterized by severe itching, hair loss, and the formation of scabs and lesions (i) foxes that get mange die in three or four months; (ii) my dog has the mange.

11a   Looking back, quote work /in/ verse (6)

"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.

hide

12a   Dark-haired // beast about to score (8)

13a   Painter -- // very important person inspires one (6)

A titan*[5] is a person or thing of very great strength, intellect, or importance ⇒ a titan of American industry.

* In Classical Greek mythology, the Titans and Titanesses[7] were members of the second order of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. (show more )

Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans most famously included the first twelve children of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Heaven). They were giant deities of incredible strength, who ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and also composed the first pantheon of Greek deities.

hide



Titian[5] (circa 1488–1576) was an Italian painter. The most important painter of the Venetian school, he experimented with vivid colours and often broke conventions of composition. He painted many sensual mythological works, including Bacchus and Ariadne (circa 1518–23).

15a   Red // first (8)

18a   Inspector // very sour for a change (8)

19a   Complex 'neath southern // capital city (6)

Athens[5] is the capital of Greece. (show more )

A flourishing city state of ancient Greece, Athens was an important cultural centre in the 5th century BC. It came under Roman rule in 146 BC and fell to the Goths in AD 267. After its capture by the Turks in 1456 Athens declined to the status of a village, until chosen as the capital of a newly independent Greece in 1834.

hide

21a   Last of sugar in a possible // sweet (8)

Scratching the Surface
Sweet[5] is a British term for:
  • a piece of candy[5] a bag of sweets
  • a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; in other words, a dessert

23a   Nick // parties, going regularly (6)

The nick[5] is an informal British term for prison ⇒ he’ll end up in the nick for the rest of his life.

Scratching the Surface Explanation
As an anonymous contributor has commented "Nick" is simply a guy who likes to party!

I am at a bit of a loss to explain the use of "nick" in the surface reading. The only sense of the word that I can imagine might be intended is:
  • nick[1] (verb) to score, especially on a tally (a score or account, especially one kept by notches or marks)
So — as a wild guess — perhaps "nick parties" means to score invitations to parties. However, I can find no specific reference to such a usage in British English.

26a   Text without padding encapsulating insignificant // message (5)

"insignificant" = 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.

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

hide



A tweet[5] is a post made on the social media application Twitter he started posting tweets via his mobile phone to let his parents know he was safe.

27a   One of the first leaves // piglet ate, poisonous (5,4)

As Mr K points out in his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, poisonous[10] is used as an anagram indicator in the sense of corruptive.

28a   Flies // daring to tuck into cabbage and broccoli etc (12)

Bottle[5] is an informal British term denoting the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous ⇒ I lost my bottle completely and ran.

The greenbottle[5] is a metallic green fly which sometimes lays eggs in wounds on sheep or other animals.

Down

1d   Almost everything confiscated by officer, it /is/ mine (7)

2d   A little Latin, or second // language of old (5)

Norse[5] denotes the Norwegian language, especially in an ancient or medieval form, or the Scandinavian language group.

3d   Start // knotting giant ties (9)

4d   Utter // brilliance from Bolshoi Ballet, all concluding (4)

Scratching the Surface
The Bolshoi Ballet[5] is a Moscow ballet company. Since 1825 it has been based at the Bolshoi Theatre, where it staged the first production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (1877).

5d   Cook in a large // African (8)

Scratching the Surface
Brits have a proclivity to use modifiers in place of the nouns they qualify. Thus "African" is a shortened form of "African restaurant".

While this practice is not entirely foreign to Canada — in high school, we referred to "provincial examinations" as "provincials" — I have observed that it appears to be far more prevalent in the UK than in North America.

As an example, the British term for a 'station wagon' is 'estate car'. Whereas, North Americans shorten the name of this vehicle to 'wagon' (the noun), Brits shorten it to 'estate' (the modifier).

6d   Fruit // no crossword setter likes, initially sent over (5)

"crossword setter" = ME (show explanation )

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

hide

7d   Popular viewpoint, /for/ example (8)

8d   Breakfast // show broadcast? (6)

14d   Business done, // upset (8)

Turnover[5] is the amount of money taken by a business in a particular period a turnover approaching £4 million.

16d   Cleaning product // put off man (9)

17d   Game of chance // allowed to get in the way (8)

18d   Revealing // study, Tory gutted (6)

20d   Principally sensational, except when // dull (7)

22d   Discussed place in church /for/ convert (5)

24d   Sprinter's beginning to catch // dawdler (5)

25d   Attack // creatures of the night from below (4)
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

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Thursday, June 27, 2019 — DT 28935

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28935
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, December 31, 2018
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28935]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Miffypops
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

The Comments section on Big Dave's Crossword Blog today turns into what the Brits call an "agony column" — actually, a "reverse agony column". An agony column[5] is a column in a newspaper or magazine in which the columnist — known as an an agony aunt[5] or agony uncle[5] — offers advice on personal problems to readers who write in. Today, on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the situation is reversed as it is the readers who write in offering personal advice to Miffypops.

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 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.

hide

Across

1a   Playwright with words to say about singular // lack of courage (12)

Sir Noël Coward[5] (1899–1973) was an English dramatist, actor, and composer. He is remembered for witty, satirical plays, such as Hay Fever (1925) and Private Lives (1930), as well as revues and musicals featuring songs such as ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ (1932).

"singular" = S [grammar term] (show explanation )

To a grammarian, s[5] is the abbreviation for singular.

hide explanation

9a   Impropriety /of/ popular Italian novelist breaking cylinder (9)

Umberto Eco[5] (1932–2016) was an Italian novelist and semiotician*. Notable works: The Name of the Rose (novel, 1981), Travels in Hyperreality (writings on semiotics, 1986), and Foucault's Pendulum (novel, 1989).

* Semiotics[5] is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

10a   Grown-up // daughter wearing gold locket that's empty (5)

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

In genealogies, d[5] is the abbreviation for daughter Henry m. Georgina 1957, 1s 2d*.

* Henry married Georgina in 1957. Their marriage produced 1 son and 2 daughters.

hide

"gold" = AU [chemistry symbol] (show explanation )

The symbol for the chemical element gold is Au[5] (from Latin aurum).

hide

11a   Call the French // pointer (6)

Call for[5] (usually with negative) denotes demand, need, or reason for ⇒ (i) there is little call for antique furniture; (ii) there's no call for secrecy anywhere in a free government.

"the French" = LE (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le[8].

hide

12a   Withdraw from // stage unhappy (4,4)

13a   One ascends /to find/ flowers (6)

15a   English writer married off, acquiring wife /in/ US state (8)

Walter de la Mare[5] (1873–1956) was an English poet, known particularly for his verse for children. Notable works: The Listeners (1912).

"married" = M [genealogy] (show explanation )

In genealogy, m[5] is an abbreviation standing for 'married' ⇒ m twice; two d*.

* married twice; two daughters

hide

"wife" = W [genealogy] (show explanation )

The abbreviation for 'wife' is w[1,2,12] or w.[3,4,10,11] [although no context is provided, it may come from the field of genealogy].

hide

18a   Stayed at home, mostly to feed boy/'s/ dog (8)

19a   I study head of image caught /that's/ like an emoji? (6)

"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.

hide

"caught" = C [cricket notation] (show explanation )

In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.[2,10] or c[5] denotes caught (by).

hide

21a   Girl catching it /causes/ extreme amusement (8)

23a   Uncouth person in conveyance lacking power: // Russian conveyance (6)

Oik[5] is an informal British term for an uncouth or obnoxious person.

A trap[5] is a light, two-wheeled carriage pulled by a horse or pony.

"power" = P [symbol used in physics] (show reference )

In physics, P[10] is a symbol used to represent power [among other things] in mathematical formulae.

hide



A troika[5] is a Russian vehicle pulled by a team of three horses abreast.

26a   Extremely savvy fellow backed // church council (5)

At Oxford and Cambridge universities, a fellow[10] is a member of the governing body of a college who is usually a member of the teaching staff.

A don[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.



A synod[10] is a local or special ecclesiastical council, especially of a diocese, formally convened to discuss ecclesiastical affairs.

27a   Picks up in the course of authentic // practice session (9)

28a   Continuing interest /in/ profitable business (5,7)

The expression going concern[5] denotes a business that is operating and making a profit ⇒ trying to sell the business as a going concern.

Down

1d   Note enclosing an invoice, primarily /for/ wine (7)

A chit[5] is a short official note, typically recording a sum owed ⇒ write out a chit for whatever you take from the drinks cupboard.



Chianti[5] is a dry red Italian wine produced in Tuscany named after the Chianti Mountains, Italy.

2d   Club // with advantage (5)

A wedge[5] is:
  • a golf club with a low, angled face for maximum loft
  • a shot made with a wedge ⇒ Davies hit a wedge to within a yard of the hole
3d   Call to mind // right English prayer (9)

In church use, collect[5] denotes a a short prayer, especially one assigned to a particular day or season.

4d   Musical instrument // used in early recordings (4)

A lyre[5] is a stringed instrument like a small U-shaped harp with strings fixed to a crossbar, used especially in ancient Greece. Modern instruments of this type are found mainly in East Africa.

5d   Gossip about old medium? // It's not important (2,6)

"medium" = M [clothing size] (show explanation )

M[5] is the abbreviation for medium (as a clothing size).

hide



I dithered over whether to underline the word "it's" in the clue. Oxford Dictionaries Online settled the question:
  • the phrase no matter[5] means it is of no importance ⇒ no matter, I'll go myself.
6d   Onset of storm affected // little monkey (5)

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops writes Affected here refers to the manner of comedy actors such as Julian Clary or Graham Norton.
Julian Clary[7] is an English comedian, actor, presenter [radio or television host] and novelist. Openly gay, Clary began appearing on television in the mid-1980s and became known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style.

Graham William Walker (known professionally as Graham Norton[7]) is an Irish television and radio presenter [host], comedian, actor, author, and commentator based in the United Kingdom. Norton, who is openly gay, is known for his innuendo-laden dialogue and camp and flamboyant presentation style.

7d   Worried about husband blocking an // expressway (8)

"husband" = H [genealogy] (show reference )

The abbreviation for husband is h[1,2] or h.[3,4,10,11,12] or H[12] or H.[4,10,11,12]) [although no context is provided, it may well come from the field of genealogy].

hide



An autobahn[5] is a German, Austrian, or Swiss motorway*.

* Motorway[2,5] (abbreviation M[5]) is a British, Australian, and New Zealand term for a dual-carriageway road [divided highway] designed for fast-moving traffic, especially one with three lanes per carriageway [direction of travel] and limited access and exit points [controlled access].

Here and There
I was surprised to see the word "expressway" used in this clue. From a British perspective, expressway[5] is a North American term for an urban motorway.

I expected to see a comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog concerning this and Rabbit Dave did not disappoint (Comment #5).

8d   Particular case not in // position (6)

14d   Disrespectful, // having lost nine running (8)

As an anagram indicator, running[5] is likely used in the sense (of dye or colour) dissolving and spreading when the fabric or paper becomes wet ⇒ the red dye ran when the socks were washed.

16d   Get to know // while on express (9)

Express[2] (adjective) is used in the sense of particular or clear [in other words, leaving no doubt] ⇒ with the express purpose of insulting him.

17d   Very strong // players supported by press (4-4)

18d   Horrified // at hags dancing (6)

20d   Old comedy star, // man with short tie (7)

"man" = CHAP (show more )

Chap[3,4,11] is an informal British[5] or chiefly British[3] term for a man or boy — although a term that is certainly not uncommon in Canada. It is a shortened form of chapman[3,4,11], an archaic term for a trader, especially an itinerant pedlar[a,b].

[a] Pedlar is the modern British spelling of peddler[14] which, in most senses, is considered by the Brits to be a US or old-fashioned British spelling. The exception is in the sense of a dealer in illegal drugs which the Brits spell as drug peddler.
[b] The current meaning of chap[2] dates from the 18th century. In the 16th century, chap meant 'a customer'. The dictionaries do not explain how a shortened form of 'chapman' (pedlar) came to mean 'customer'.

hide



Charlie Chaplin[5] (1889–1977) was an English film actor and director. He directed and starred in many short silent comedies, mostly playing a bowler-hatted tramp, a character which was his trademark for more than twenty-five years. Notable films: The Kid (1921) and The Gold Rush (1925).

22d   Cycled over /for/ cowboy carnival (5)

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

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation O[5] denotes over(s), an over[5] being a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

hide

24d   Publish // result (5)

Issue (from)[5] means to result (from) or be derived (from) ⇒ the struggles of history issue from the divided heart of humanity.

25d   Stylish // young flier king ignored (4)

"king" = K (show explanation )

K[5] is an abbreviation for king that is used especially in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess.

hide
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