Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28923 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, December 15, 2018 | |
Setter
Unknown | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28923 – Hints]Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28923 – Review] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Big Dave (Hints)gnomethang (Review) | |
BD Rating
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| 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
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Notes
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As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.
I am currently on vacation. Today's posting was prepared prior to my departure and reviews the puzzle that I expect to be published today. However, as the National Post unexpectedly skipped three puzzles yesterday, there is no guarantee that my forecast will necessarily prove to be accurate.
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Introduction
Well, the editors at the National Post managed to fake me out yesterday. Let's see how well my prognostication skills fare today.A nice crossword, I thought. There are enough "gimme's" to allow one to establish a few beachheads from which to launch attacks on the more testing clues.
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:
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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)
Explanatory Box
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| 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:
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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).
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.
ExamplesI 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.
A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.
The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:
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).
- 4d Fellow left work // a failure (4)
The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:
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.
- 29a Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)
The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:
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/).
- 18d Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)
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)
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 | Runs behind // simple boat (4) |
"runs" = R [cricket notation] (show explanation )
Aft[5] (originally a nautical term) denotes at, near, or towards the stern of a ship or tail of an aircraft ⇒ (i)
Travis made his way aft; (ii)
the aft cargo compartment.
| 3a | Second Greek character taken short just after // game (10) |
Gamma[5] is the third letter of the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ).
On[5] is used as a preposition denoting immediately after, at or before ⇒
He found the letter on his return.
| 8a | Time taken in appalling // retreats (8) |
| 9a | Simpleton // recalled party held by Musk (6) |
I see that gnomethang's explanation on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is "somewhat understated". The wordplay parses as a reversal of (recalled) {DO (party) contained in (held by) ELON ([billionaire technology entrepreneur Elon] Musk}.
Elon Musk[7] is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and engineer. He holds South African, Canadian, and U.S. citizenship and is the founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX; co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; co-founder and CEO of Neuralink; founder of The Boring Company; co-founder and co-chairman of OpenAI; and co-founder of PayPal. In December 2016, he was ranked 21st on the Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People. As of June 2019, he has a net worth of $18.2 billion and is listed by Forbes as the 58th-richest person in the world.
Noodle[5] is an informal term for a stupid or silly person.
| 10a | A quiet look by doctor /showing/ cool (6) |
"quiet" = P [music notation] (show explanation )
"look" = LO [archaic] (show explanation )
"doctor" = MB (show explanation )
In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.
Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada. Throughout the 19th century, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine.
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In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.
Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada. Throughout the 19th century, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine.
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| 11a | Cover to protect // a utensil for cooking (8) |
| 13a | Old actress Joan concealing expensive // weapons (8) |
Joan Sims[7] (1930–2001) was an English actress remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, having appeared in 24 of the 31 films in the series.
| 14a | Virgo perhaps needs a large // cue (6) |
In astrology, Virgo[10] (also called the Virgin) is the sixth sign of the zodiac, symbol ♍, having a mutable earth classification and ruled by the planet Mercury. The sun is in this sign between about Aug 23 and Sept 22.
"large" = L [clothing size] (show explanation )
Scratching the Surface
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| John Virgo[7] is an English former professional snooker player and more recently a snooker commentator and TV personality. |
| 16a | Svelte // supermodel turning past 51 (6) |
Kate Moss[7] is an English model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fashion icon status. She is known for her waifish figure, and role in size zero fashion (see box).
Ms Moss still has a few years to go to reach 51, having turned 45 on January 16, 2019.
Delving Deeper
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| Size zero[7] (or size 0) is a women's clothing size in the US catalog sizes system. Size 0 and 00 were invented due to the changing of clothing sizes over time (referred to as vanity sizing or size inflation), which has caused the adoption of lower numbers. For example, a 2011 size 0 is equivalent to a 2001 size 2, and is larger than a 1970 size 6 or 1958 size 8. Modern size 0 clothing, depending on brand and style, fits measurements of chest-stomach-hips from 30-22-32 inches (76-56-81 cm) to 33-25-35 inches (84-64-89 cm). Size 00 can be anywhere from 0.5 to 2 inches (1 to 5 cm) smaller than size 0. Size zero often refers to extremely thin individuals (especially women and adolescent girls), or trends associated with them. |
| 19a | Dumpier // illegal occupant (8) |
| 21a | A schemer designed // luxurious fabric (8) |
| 22a | Fiddle that is // common feature of websites (6) |
The fiddling and cooking are performed by a dishonest bookkeeper rather than in the orchestra pit or kitchen.
| 23a | Order // child to return tawdry articles (6) |
Tat[5] is an informal British term for tasteless or shoddy clothes, jewellery, or ornaments ⇒
the place was decorated with all manner of gaudy tat.
Diktat[5] denotes an order or decree imposed by someone in power without popular consent ⇒ (i)
a diktat from the Bundestag; (ii)
he can disband the legislature and rule by diktat.
Origin: 1930s: from German
| 24a | Friendly // question of identity for party leader (8) |
British politician Sir Vince Cable[7] is the Leader of the Liberal Democrats*.
* The Liberal Democrats[7] (often referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal British political party, formed in 1988 as a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a splinter group from the Labour Party.
| 25a | Art gallery // trade Monet works (4,6) |
Tate Modern[7] is a gallery for modern art located in London. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group (together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives and Tate Online).
The Tate Gallery[5] (commonly known simply as the Tate) is a national museum of art in London, England founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened. [I would surmise that by that time the original collection could no longer be considered "modern".]
| 26a | Gets rid of // important lines on graph (4) |
Down
| 1d | Tries to get involved in actual // practice (9) |
| 2d | Authorities // whose better path goes astray (3,6,4,2) |
| 3d | Wailer /// whaler seeks this (7) |
My initial attempt to explain this clue was extremely convoluted (and far from convincing) as I was not aware that blub is a colloquial term (short for blubber) meaning to weep or sob. It then follows that a blubber is someone who blubs.
My difficulty arose from trying to explain the clue based on 'blubber' being a verb with the corresponding noun being 'blubberer'.
| 4d | Cherubs with first bit of steak stuck in // teeth (7) |
Cuspid[5] is another name for a canine tooth, a tooth with a single cusp or point.inc
| 5d | Excited seeing son/'s/ rock band (7) |
Genesis[7] were an English rock band formed in 1967. The most commercially successful and longest-lasting line-up includes keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and drummer/singer Phil Collins. Other important members were the original lead singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett. The band underwent many changes in musical style over its career, from folk music to progressive rock in the 1970s, before moving towards pop at the end of the decade.
| 6d | Has second job on Air Transport Auxiliary /provided/ work for Joanna? (9,6) |
The Air Transport Auxiliary[5] (abbreviation ATA[5]) was an organization having charge of the transfer of aircraft between factories, airfields, maintenance depots, etc., for the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm* during the Second World War.
* The Fleet Air Arm[5] is the aviation service of the Royal Navy.
Joanna[10] is Cockney* rhyming slang** for a piano (which — as Big Dave points out — a Cockney would pronounce "pianna").
* A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]]. The cockney[5] dialect is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang**.
** Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor "Quasi una fantasia"[7], popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata, is a piano sonata by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
What is an "ARVE Error"?
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| Those who visit Big Dave's Crossword Blog will see an "ARVE Error" message in place of the video that Big Dave 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 Big Dave's hint was written in December 2018 are no longer supported, thus causing this error message to be displayed. |
| 7d | Relative, // European in Mediterranean resort (5) |
"European" = E (show explanation )
E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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E[1,2] is the abbreviation for European (as in E number*).
* An E number[1,4,10,14] (or E-number[2,5]) is any of various identification codes required by EU law, consisting of the letter E (for European) followed by a number, that are used to denote food additives such as colourings and preservatives (but excluding flavourings) that have been approved by the European Union.
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Nice[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy.
| 12d | Side cut short // refreshments (3) |
"side" = TEAM (show explanation )
Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
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Side[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒
there was a mixture of old and young players in* their side.
* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.
In North America, the term side[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i)
Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii)
They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.
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On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, an extra "A" would appear to have insinuated itself into gnomethang's parsing of the wordplay. However, I think it likely that the typo is actually a missing space.
| 15d | Great size /claimed by/ shifty sea-anglers when one's got away (9) |
| 17d | Saving scheme /to which/ kinsman regularly /contributes/ (3) |
Here we see a split link phrase "to which ... contributes" encapsulating the wordplay kinsman regularly.
In the UK, an ISA[5] (individual savings account) is a scheme* allowing individuals to hold cash, shares, and unit trusts free of tax on dividends, interest, and capital gains; in 1999 it replaced both personal equity plans (PEPs) and tax-exempt special savings accounts (TESSAs).
* Similar to a Canadian Tax-Free Savings Account[7] (TFSA)
| 18d | Old movie star we will leave having upset gold // expert (7) |
Mae West[5] (1892–1980) was an American actress and dramatist. She made her name on Broadway in her own comedies Sex (1926) and Diamond Lil (1928), memorable for their spirited approach to sexual matters, before embarking on her successful Hollywood career in the 1930s.
"gold" = OR [heraldic term] (show explanation )
| 19d | Leak // instruction in cross-reference? (7) |
| 20d | Anointing // ceremony failing to start (7) |
| 21d | Trainee // detective comes up without notice (5) |
Tec[5,10] (or 'tec) is a dated informal term for a detective. Given its absence from American dictionaries, it would appear to be a chiefly British term.
Key to Reference Sources:Signing off for today — Falcon
[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)
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