Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28924 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, December 17, 2018 | |
Setter
Campbell (Alan Scott)[likely, but unconfirmed] | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28924] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Miffypops | |
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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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 on Monday, there is no guarantee that my forecast will necessarily prove to be accurate.
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Introduction
This gentle puzzle should not take much of bite out of your day.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 | Wanting money /for/ a biscuit (10) |
Here and There
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| The British use the term biscuit[3,4,11] to refer to a range of foods that include those that would be called either cookies or crackers in North America. A North American biscuit[5] is similar to what is known in Britain as a scone. |
| 6a | Cutting remark /in/ pub -- banter, initially (4) |
| 9a | Runs in a boy /responsible for/ a major crime (5) |
"runs" = R [cricket notation] (show explanation )
| 10a | Fungal growth /in/ amphibians also by lake (9) |
| 12a | Filth /in/ quadrangle mostly occupied by lot wasting time (7) |
| 13a | Game // show (5) |
Chess[7] is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and lyrics by Tim Rice.
Delving Deeper
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| The play involves a politically
driven, Cold War-era chess tournament between two men—an American
grandmaster and a Soviet grandmaster—and their fight over a woman who
manages one and falls in love with the other. Like several other productions, namely Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, a highly successful concept album was released prior to the first theatrical production in order to raise money. In the case of Chess, the concept album was released in the fall of 1984 while the show opened in London's West End in 1986 where it played for three years. A much-altered U.S. version premiered on Broadway in 1988, but survived only for two months. The play is obviously far better known in the UK than in North America. Chess placed seventh in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the U.K.'s "Number One Essential Musicals". |
| 15a | Pilot // finding accommodation in Belgravia to rent (7) |
This is a lurker with a rather lengthy hidden word indicator, namely "finding accommodation in".
| 16a | Boss, // first of all, must fill feeding trough (7) |
This clue — quite seasonal when originally published in the UK — appeared in The Daily Telegraph one week before Christmas.
A manger[5] is a long trough from which horses or cattle feed.
| 18a | Do a number about family // going under (7) |
| 20a | Simple-minded soul // in front holding one end of tether (7) |
| 21a | Not living together /may be/ a factor (5) |
| 23a | Bring in // a pamphlet about temperature (7) |
| 25a | Soldier wearing suitable American // gear (9) |
Para[4,11] (short for paratrooper) is a soldier in an airborne unit.
| 26a | Mad discarding spades? // Senseless (5) |
"spades" = S [card suit] (show explanation )
| 27a | Reportedly shabby /in/ appearance (4) |
Mean[3] is used in the sense of common or poor in appearance; shabby ⇒
The rowhouses had been darkened by the rain and looked meaner and grimmer than ever. (Anne Tyler)
| 28a | Strangers surprisingly committing small // sin (10) |
"small" = S [clothing size] (show explanation )
Down
| 1d | Photograph // taken on the spur of the moment (4) |
| 2d | Fixed idea /of/ old boy prior to meeting (9) |
"old boy" = OB (show explanation )
In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2]) is:
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In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2]) is:
- a former male student of a school or college ⇒
an old boy of Banbury County School
- a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒
the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards
‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.
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| 3d | What's difficult to say // to winter guest that's shivering? (6-7) |
| 4d | Animal used to kill vermin catches large // snake (7) |
"large" = L [clothing size] (show explanation )
| 5d | What can make spotter protest? (7) |
| 7d | In agreement // immediately about leaving (2,3) |
The phrase at one[5] means in agreement or harmony ⇒
they were completely at one with their environment.
| 8d | Absurd tale involved // a feature of terrace, perhaps (10) |
A balustrade[5] is a railing supported by balusters [short decorative pillars], especially one forming an ornamental parapet to a balcony, bridge, or terrace.
| 11d | Support Berkshire university/'s/ presentation in parliament (6,7) |
The University of Reading[7] is a public university located in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 1926 by Royal Charter from King George V.
A second reading[7] is the stage of the legislative process where a draft of a bill is read a second time. In most Westminster systems [such as those of the UK and Canada], a vote is taken on the general outlines of the bill before being sent to committee.
| 14d | Fear a small resort /experienced:/ unfounded scare? (5,5) |
I can almost convince myself that "experienced" works as a link word.
As an anagram indicator, "resort" is a whimsical Crosswordland misspelling of re-sort[5] meaning to sort (something) again or differently ⇒
children find pleasure in sorting and re-sorting boxes of buttons.
| 17d | Dog // near gate, barking, circling daughter (5,4) |
As an anagram indicator, barking[5] is used in an informal British sense meaning completely mad or demented ⇒ (i)
we are all a bit barking; (ii) [as submodifier]
has she gone completely barking mad?.
"daughter" = D [genealogy] (show reference )
| 19d | Hard worker // working ultimately on beam (7) |
Thus, in Britain, a grafter[5] is — or can be* — someone who works hard.
* In Britain, the term grafter[5] can also denote (as it does in North America) someone who engages in bribery and other corrupt practices used to secure illicit advantages or gains in politics or business.
| 20d | Craftsperson, // creative type, chopped and chopped (7) |
| 22d | Porter possibly carrying very soft // fruit (5) |
Porter[5] is a dark brown bitter beer brewed from malt partly charred or browned by drying at a high temperature (originally made as a drink for porters).
| 24d | Not as much // on, having quit class (4) |
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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