Friday, June 21, 2019 — DT 28931

This review was published on Monday, June 24, 2019 but backdated to maintain date sequence.

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28931
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28931]
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

It certainly helps when solving this puzzle to keep in mind at which time of year this puzzle was originally published in the UK.

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	Journey /that sees/ magi gripe, worried about length? (10)

Establishing the Theme

In Christianity, the Magi[2] (plural of magus) were the three wise men or astrologers who journeyed from the east (made a pilgrimage) to bring gifts to the infant Jesus, guided by a star. Also called the Three Kings and the Three Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12). * Matthew is the only one of the four canonical gospels to mention the Magi[7]. Matthew reports that they came "from the east" to worship the "king of the Jews". The gospel never mentions the number of Magi, but most western Christian denominations have traditionally assumed them to have been three in number, based on the statement that they brought three gifts. In Eastern Christianity, especially the Syriac churches, the Magi often number twelve.

6a	Trunk sent back with diamonds /and/ precious metal (4)

"diamonds" = D [card suit] (show explanation )

Diamonds^[2] (abbreviation D^[2]) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

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Sticking with the theme ...
Gold is the first-mentioned among the three gifts that the Magi bestowed on the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:11).

10a	Chap employed in oil, mostly -- /must be/ one from the Middle East (5)

"chap" = MAN (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].

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^[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'.

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An Omani^[5] is an inhabitant of Oman^[5,7], officially the Sultanate of Oman, an Arab country at the southeastern corner of the Arabian peninsula.

11a	Superficial application /made by/ players after water shortage discovered (9)

The setter uses "discovered" to indicate that the solver must strip away the outer letters of the word [D]ROUGH[T] (water shortage). This cryptic device is based on the whimsical logic that if disrobe means to remove one's robe (or other clothing), then it only stands to reason that discover must mean to remove one's cover.

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Roughcast^[12] is a coarse stucco for covering outside surfaces, such as walls.

12a	The night after 1/11? (7)

As the 2Kiwis point out in their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to properly understand this clue, one must interpret "1/11" as a fraction rather than a date. The clue thus reads:

• The night after eleventh? (7)

Trying to read "1/11" as a US-style date ("The night after one-eleven") left me more than a little perplexed (which, I expect, is exactly what the setter hoped to achieve).

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Expanding on the Theme

Twelfth Night[10] can refer to either: the evening of January 5, the eve of Twelfth Day*, formerly observed with various festal celebrations the evening of Twelfth Day* itself * Twelfth Day[10] is January 6, the twelfth day after Christmas and the feast of the Epiphany**, formerly observed as the final day of the Christmas celebrations ** The epiphany[5] (also Epiphany) is the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12) ⇒ (i) The story of Epiphany is related by the first three Evangelists: Matthew, Mark and Luke.; (ii) The account of the magi is celebrated as an epiphany of our Lord.

13a	Sort of window // the French put outside room (7)

"the French" = LA (show explanation )

In French, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

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A lattice^[2] (also lattice window) is a window with small diamond-shaped panels of glass held in place with strips of lead.

14a	Birthday gift /given with/ loud and offensive anger? (12)

"loud" = F [music notation] (show explanation )

Forte^[5] (abbreviation f^[5]) is a musical direction meaning (as an adjective) loud or (as an adverb) loudly.

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Continuing with the theme ...
Frankincense[5], an aromatic gum resin obtained from an African tree and burnt as incense, is the second-mentioned among the three gifts that the Magi bestowed on the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:11).

18a	Put on openers -- absurdly easy, pinching runs /for/ ages (7,5)

"runs" = R [cricket notation] (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards [not to mention baseball scoreboards], the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

In cricket, a run^[5] is a unit of scoring achieved by hitting the ball so that both batsmen are able to run between the wickets, or awarded in some other circumstances.

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Donkey's years^[5] is an informal British expression denoting a very long time ⇒ we’ve been close friends for donkey’s years.

21a	Current // offering (7)

Another Contribution to the Theme ...
The Magi bestowed three presents on the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:11).

23a	A sign /of/ excitement after 6? (7)

The numeral "6" is a cross reference indicator to clue 6a (show more ).

To complete the clue, a solver must replace the cross reference indicator with the solution to the clue starting in the light^* identified by the cross reference indicator.

The cross reference indicator may include a directional indicator but this is customarily done only in situations where there are both Across and Down clues originating in the light that is being referenced.

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^* light-coloured cell in the grid

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

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

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Auspice^[5] is an archaic term for a divine or prophetic token ⇒ (i) Cultural genealogy, more so than ordinary genealogy, depends on a belief in the magical and usually divine auspices of lineage; (ii) The name sounds right for exchanging marriage vows and what better auspices could there be for starting a nuclear family?.

... and Yet Another
The star was a sign or auspice to the Magi (Matthew 2:2 and Matthew 2:9).

24a	Open one looking embarrassed /and/ needing sleep (9)

25a	Married prince returned without a // birthday gift (5)

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

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

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^* married twice; two daughters

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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex^[7] is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, and is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne.

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Completing the them
Myrrh[5], a fragrant gum resin obtained from certain trees and used, especially in the Near East, in perfumery, medicines, and incense, is the third-mentioned among the three gifts that the Magi bestowed on the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:11).

26a	Fill // in forms at elections (4)

27a	Money paid to people at bar /for/ drinks (10)

Refresher^[5] is a British term for an extra fee payable to counsel in a prolonged legal case ⇒ the enhanced refresher for the retrial.

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A refresher^[10] is something that refreshes, such as a cold drink.

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Post Mortem
I initially wrote in RETAINER only to discover that it failed to fill the available spaces. It was somewhat reassuring to see from the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog that even the Brits experienced difficulty with this Briticism.

Down

1d	Immediately // suspicious of supporting voting system (6)

Proportional representation^[5] (abbreviation PR) is an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them ⇒ PR has been a success in Germany.

2d	Heavy metal, Queen /and/ 'The Boss' (6)

"Queen" = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth] (show more )

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

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Scratching the Surface
Queen[5] is a British rock group that in its heyday featured camp vocalist Freddie Mercury (1946–1991). Queen are known for their extravagant, almost operatic brand of rock, as exemplified by the hugely successful ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (1975). Bruce Springsteen[7], also known as The Boss, is an American singer-songwriter and leader of the E Street Band.

3d	Backups /needing/ check because of seals (14)

4d	Traders /in/ French sea shanties (9)

The French word for 'sea' is mer^[8]. 

A shanty^[10] is a song originally sung by sailors, esp a rhythmic one forming an accompaniment to work.

Chant^[10] would seem to be used in the sense of a simple song or melody.

5d	Good rule to be broken /for/ porridge (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.

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^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

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The Story Behind the Picture

The photo illustrating the 2Kiwi's review shows English actor Mark Lester as Oliver Twist in a scene from the 1968 British musical drama film Oliver![7] The film is an adaptation of Oliver Twist[7], subtitled The Parish Boy's Progress, the second novel by English author Charles Dickens (1812–1870), published in 1838. The story is about an orphan, Oliver Twist, who is born into a life of poverty and misfortune in a workhouse. During the several years he spent at the workhouse, Oliver Twist[7] is brought up with little food and few comforts. One day, around the time of his ninth birthday, the desperately hungry boys decide to draw lots; the loser must ask for another portion of gruel. The task falls to Oliver, who at the next meal tremblingly comes forward, bowl in hand, and begs the overseer, Mr. Bumble, for gruel with his famous request: "Please, sir, I want some more".

7d	Addresses // allowances under head of organisation (8)

8d	Hesitated, // conned about time in this place (8)

Do^[5] is an informal British term meaning to swindle ⇒ a thousand pounds for one set of photos — Jacqui had been done.

9d	Song that's needed for 'The Snowman'? (5,9)

You can't build a snowman on a green Christmas!

"White Christmas"^[7] is a 1942 Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the world's best-selling single with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.

Scratching the Surface

The Snowman[7] is a wordless children's picture book by English author Raymond Briggs, first published in 1978. It was the runner-up for the Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British writer. The book was adapted into a half-hour animated television special in 1982, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. The animated special became prominent in British popular culture and its showings have since become an annual festive event.

15d	I reportedly cast aspersions on // European (9)

16d	Notice a sport played /with/ such plug-in devices (8)

17d	When Christmas arrives part of hospital /becomes/ unseemly (8)

"part of hospital" = ENT (show explanation )

Should you not have noticed, the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[2]) department is the most visited section, by far, in the Crosswordland Hospital.

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19d	Intense // fire spread over church (6)

"church" = CE [Church of England] (show explanation )

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

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20d	The man in confusion // gets engaged (6)

22d	Short /and/ stressed needing change of heart (5)

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