Monday, June 10, 2019 — DT 28922 (Published Saturday, June 8, 2019)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28922
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, December 14, 2018
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28922]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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
Notes
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, June 8, 2019 edition of the National Post. The National Post has skipped DT 28919 through DT 28921 which were published in The Daily Telegraph from Tuesday, December 11, 2018 to Thursday, December 13, 2018.

Introduction

Having not skipped a puzzle in ages, the National Post has suddenly decided to cast a few aside. And it could not have picked a more inopportune time to do so. I leave tomorrow on a trip and have prepared reviews for the puzzles that should have appeared during my absence. It now seems that a good deal of that effort will be for nought. I swear that the editors at the National Post somehow have inside information concerning my plans and purposefully wait for such occasions to spring their trap.

Thank you to Puzzler for alerting me to the fact that the review I originally posted did not match the puzzle that appeared in the paper.

Today's offering is a pleasant puzzle at the easier end of Giovanni's range.

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

8a	A lot of hands up, /in/ an attitude of feigned superiority (2,4,4,5)

A hand^[5] is a a unit of measurement of a horse’s height, equal to 4 inches (10.16 cm).

9a	A bit /of/ information shortly to be returned (3)

10a	My request to be remembered /for/ something in the flower garden (6-2-3)

Without the hyphens, the name of the flower satisfies the first part of the clue.

11a	In pair there's always // one who foots the bill (5)

The abbreviation for pair is pr^[5] ⇒ patterned gloves, £7.99/pr.

Aye^[5] is an archaic Scottish word meaning always or still ⇒ I’ve aye fancied seeing Edinburgh.

12a	Leaving before Christmas maybe, // when holidays are cheaper? (9)

Here and There

The British use the word holiday(s) where North Americans might say vacation[5]. (read more ) Holiday[5,10] (often holidays) is a chiefly British term for a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation ⇒ (i) I spent my summer holidays on a farm; (ii) Fred was on holiday in Spain. According to British dictionaries, the usual US and Canadian term for such a break is vacation. However, I am accustomed to hearing the two terms used almost interchangeably in this sense — in much the same manner that I would use fall and autumn interchangeably. This may not be the case in all parts of Canada, but I grew up in the Maritimes and have lived in Eastern Ontario for most of my life, both areas where British influence is particularly strong. In Britain, the word vacation[5] has a very specific meaning, a fixed holiday period between terms in universities and law courts ⇒ the Easter vacation. In North America, such a period might be called a break[7]. hide

15a	First course? Do // taste (7)

In a formal full course dinner^[7], the first course is either soup or salad — unless preceded by hors d'oeuvres.

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

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A soupçon^[5] is a very small quantity of something ⇒ a soupçon of mustard.

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Origin: Soupçon^[8] is a French word meaning 'suspicion' or 'small quantity'.

17a	Attractive girl // bored us unfortunately (7)

Rosebud^[5] is an archaic term for a pretty young woman.

Seen in another light
With this definition of rosebud in mind, the opening lines of Robert Herrick's 17th century poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time"[7] takes on new meaning — as possible advice to young men: Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today To-morrow will be dying.

19a	Publicity officer has to print // a template (9)

PRO^[5] is an abbreviation for public relations officer.

20a	Woman is falling over // something in the kitchen? (5)

Post Mortem
Once 14d succumbed, the solution to this clue became obvious.

21a	Islander // takes precaution moving across river (6,5)

Puerto Rico^[3] is a self-governing island commonwealth of the United States in the Caribbean Sea east of Hispaniola.

What is an "ARVE Error"?

Those who visit Big Dave's Crossword Blog will see an "ARVE Error" message in place of the video that Deep Threat presumably included in his review. ARVE (Advanced Responsive Video Embedder) is a plugin for the WordPress content management system — the platform on which Big Dave's Crossword Blog operates. I would guess that parameter values that were valid at the time that Deep Threat's review was written in December 2018 are no longer supported, thus causing this error message to be displayed.

24a	Winter complaint /making one/ unhappy (3)

SAD^[5] is the abbreviation for seasonal affective disorder^[5], depression associated with late autumn and winter and thought to be caused by a lack of light.

25a	One is one (8,7)

Down

1d	Question asked of performer /in/ form of greeting? (3,2,3,2)

The first part of the clue suggests that the solution, interpreted literally, might be a question you would put to someone performing an activity.

2d	Drug in paper wrapping /in/ jacket (6)

Reefer^[10] is slang for a a hand-rolled cigarette, especially one containing cannabis. The name was applied to the cigarette because of its resemblance to the rolled reef^[10] of a sail (the part gathered in when sail area is reduced, as in a high wind).

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Reefer^[5] is short for reefer jacket^[5] (otherwise known as reefer coat^[5]), a thick close-fitting double-breasted jacket.

3d	Wine /from/ Somerset town available? No (10)

Chard^[7] is a town in the English county of Somerset near the border with Devon.

Off^[5] is an informal British term (used with respect to an item on a menu) meaning temporarily unavailable [for example, due to the supply having been exhausted] ⇒ strawberries are off.

Conversely, one could say that strawberries are on. From The Chambers Dictionary:

on adverb on the stage, the table, the fire, the programme, the menu. etc

Nay^[10] is an archaic or dialect (except in voting by voice) word for 'no'.

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Chardonnay^[5] is:

• a variety of white wine grape used for making champagne and other wines
• a wine made from the Chardonnay grape

4d	Look /of/ love and joy, no end (4)

"love" = O [tennis term] (show explanation )

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).

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5d	Slows down after cold // alcoholic drink (8)

Champers^[5] is an informal British term for champagne.

6d	What I did to flee // country (4)

7d	Church officer // to have a go at carrying cross (6)

A sexton^[5] is a person who looks after a church and churchyard, typically acting as bell-ringer and gravedigger.

8d	Work at end of month /for/ far-flung organisation (7)

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

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

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Octopus^[5] is used in the sense of a powerful influential organization with far-reaching effects, especially harmful ones.

Did you know?
The standard plural in English of octopus[5] is octopuses. However, the word octopus comes from Greek and the Greek plural form octopodes is still occasionally used. The plural form octopi, formed according to rules for some Latin plurals, is incorrect.

13d	Fierce apes on the rampage? /There's/ a way to avoid danger (4,6)

14d	Telling of story overseen by editor --/result is/ ruin (10)

Sub^[5] is a British term for a subeditor ⇒ the chief sub would be responsible for the look of the paper.

16d	Introduction of someone new /in/ shop, one into fashion (2-6)

Co-op Food^[7], previously trading as The Co-operative Food, is a brand devised for the food retail business of the consumer co-operative movement in the United Kingdom. The brand is used by over 15 different co-operative societies which operate over 4,000 shops, and does not represent one single food retail business.

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Co-option^[5] denotes appointment to membership of a committee or other body by invitation of the existing members.

18d	Doctor meeting various needs /in/ German city (7)

Dresden^[5] is a city in eastern Germany, the capital of Saxony, on the River Elbe. Famous for its baroque architecture, it was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945.

19d	Humourless little dogs -- // see them on computer screens (3-3)

From The Chambers Dictionary:

po² (informal) adjective a shortening of po-faced

po-faced (informal) adjective (also shortened to po) stupidly solemn and narrow-minded; stolid, humourless.

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Pop-up^[5] can denote either:

• a menu or other utility able to be superimposed on the screen being worked on and suppressed rapidly
• an unrequested browser window, especially one generated for the purpose of advertising

20d	Forward // boy with inner purpose (4,2)

22d	Not all learners /will show/ merit (4)

23d	Genuine // bit of Brazilian money (4)

The real^[5] has been the basic monetary unit of Brazil since 1994, equal to 100 centavos.

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