Wednesday, June 19, 2019 — DT 28929

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28929
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, December 22, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 289xx – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 289xx – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (Review)
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
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.

Introduction

Despite it having been less than one week before Christmas when this puzzle appeared in the UK, I don't recall it containing any Christmas-themed clues although Big Dave does manage to work at least one Christmas reference into his hints. In Comment #7, Jane makes reference to fairy lights^[5] which is a British term for small coloured electric lights used for decoration, especially at festivals such as Christmas.

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	American chemical company taken in by staff // person on the fiddle perhaps (8)

In the wordplay, "staff" is used as a verb.

The Memory Lives On

It is interesting to note how conventions once established in Crosswordland live on long after their real-world counterparts cease to exist. For instance, setters continue to use the term "volunteers" to clue TA (see 7d) even though the Territorial Army was renamed the Army Reserve in 2013. In the present clue we have a company whose demise occurred even further in the past. Imperial Chemical Industries[7] (ICI) was a British chemical company, the subject of a takeover completed in 2008 by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British economy".

Scratching the Surface
The phrase on the fiddle[5] is an informal British expression meaning to be engaged in cheating or swindling. Fiddle[5] (noun) is an informal British term for an act of defrauding, cheating, or falsifying ⇒ a major mortgage fiddle. Fiddle[5] (verb) is an informal British term meaning to falsify (figures, data, or records), typically in order to gain money ⇒ everyone is fiddling their expenses.

5a	House's top // storey left out, contrarily (4)

As a reversal indicator, contrarily^[5] is used in the sense of in a manner that is opposite in nature, direction, or meaning.

9a	People farming small-scale // little vegetables and animals (8)

One might well infer that the adjective "little" is meant to apply to both nouns making the wordplay effectively "little vegetables and [little] animals".

10a	It's not very long /and/ very small (6)

11a	Grand bit of cricket attended by neither // head of state? (8)

The use of the letter 'G' as an abbreviation for 'grand' is one of the few North American usages that the Brits appear to have embraced (show more ).

While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by British dictionaries to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to Brits — undoubtedly from American gangster films. It is frequently seen in British crossword puzzles and never seems to garner the abuse that usually greets the appearance of American terms.

Grand^[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒ he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G^[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒ I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.

G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:

• Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)^[5].
• Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars^[2].
• Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)^[4,10].

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"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.

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The question mark signifies that the solution is an example of the definition.

12a	Fifty diets represented // on the menu? (6)

As an anagram indicator, the spelling "represent" is deceptively used in lieu of re-present^[5], meaning to present (something) again, especially for further consideration or in an altered form.

14a	Discovered one in a hundred /will offer/ charity, say (10)

Ton^[5] is an informal British term for a hundred, in particular a speed of 100 mph, a score of 100 or more, or a sum of £100 ⇒ he scored 102 not out^*, his third ton of the tour. (show explanation for this usage example )

Explanation: a cricket batsman had amassed 102 runs during his turn at batting when the innings ended (either as a result of his batting partner becoming the tenth player on his team to be dismissed or the innings having ended prematurely).

In the first instance, although he himself was not out, the team was out as he no longer had a batting partner. In cricket, batsmen always bat in pairs with one positioned at either end of the pitch. Unless terminated prematurely, the innings ends when ten of the eleven batsmen on the team have been dismissed and the remaining batsman is said to be 'not out'.

An innings may end early for a variety of reasons, as explained here^[7], in which case both members of the batting team who are on the field at the time are said to be 'not out'.

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18a	The nude ran, wobbling // below (10)

22a	Resoundingly // haughty king's dropped out, university's admitted (6)

"king" = R [abbreviation for Rex] (show explanation )

In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms^*, Rex^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George — often shortened to GR) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

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^* A Commonwealth realm^[7] is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares the same person, currently Elizabeth II, as its head of state and reigning constitutional monarch, but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms. There are currently sixteen Commonwealth realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific island nations.

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23a	Cabinet/'s/ award going to 'Shakespeare in Love'? On the contrary (8)

A cup^[5] is an ornamental trophy in the form of a cup, usually made of gold or silver and having a stem and two handles, awarded as a prize in a sports contest.

Contrary By Convention
The phrase "on the contrary" tells the solver to reverse the logic or meaning of the statement immediately preceding it. Doing so results in the wordplay being restated to read "love in Shakespeare".

"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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The Bard^*[10] is a common epithet of William Shakespeare.

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^* Bard^[10] is an archaic or literary term for any poet, especially one who writes lyric or heroic verse or is of national importance.

Scratching the Surface

Shakespeare in Love[7] is a 1998 American romantic period comedy-drama film that depicts an imaginary love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) while Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet. Several characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays. The film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Gwyneth Paltrow), Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench), and Best Original Screenplay.

24a	Trapped /in/ poverty, having to keep dry (6)

"dry" = TT (show explanation )

Teetotal^[5] (abbreviation TT^[5]) means choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol ⇒ a teetotal lifestyle.

A teetotaller^[5] (US teetotaler; abbreviation TT^[5]) is a person who never drinks alcohol.

The term teetotal is an emphatic extension of total, apparently first used by Richard Turner, a worker from Preston [England], in a speech (1833) urging total abstinence from all alcohol, rather than mere abstinence from spirits, as advocated by some early temperance reformers.

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25a	Guided westwards, with sensitive // state of the east (8)

26a	Sky can be seen through this // bit of pottery? (4)

Sky plc^*[7] is a pan-European satellite broadcasting, on-demand internet streaming media, broadband and telephone services company with headquarters in London.

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^* the designation plc (standing for public limited company^[7]) is used in the UK, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. The term "public limited company" and the "PLC"/"plc" suffix were introduced in 1981; prior to this, all limited companies bore the suffix "Limited" ("Ltd."), which is still used by private limited companies.

27a	Crooning about tango /is/ creating irritation (8)

Tango^[5] is a code word representing the letter T, used in radio communication.

As the solution can be both verb and gerund (a verb form which functions as a noun), the clue could also be parsed as:

• Crooning about tango /is creating/ irritation (8)

Down

2d	Without wishing, fast // watch rudely gets stuck around five (6)

3d	Runs meeting // rockers? (6)

4d	Scientist whose research needs looking up (10)

6d	First /to get/ over splintered railing (8)

See 11a for an explanation of "over".

7d	UK ministry, talking shop with its counterparts, will meet volunteers in // spring (8)

Foreign Office^[5] (abbreviation FO^[5]) is short for Foreign and Commonwealth Office^[5], the British government department dealing with foreign affairs.

The shop^[5] is an informal term for the place where one works ⇒ she pointed to the classroom ceiling—‘I live here, over the shop’.

I see UN being clued by "talking shop with its counterparts", a cryptic definition of a workplace (shop) where diplomats from around the globe (the FO and its counterparts) get together to deliberate on (talk about) world affairs.

"volunteers" = TA [Territorial Army] (show explanation )

In the UK, Territorial Army^[5] (abbreviation TA^[5]) was, at one time, the name of a volunteer force founded in 1908 to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined military personnel for use in an emergency. Since 2013, this organization has been called the Army Reserve.

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The Story Behind the Picture
Big Dave illustrates his hint on Big Dave's Crossword Blog with a photo of one of the Rimsky ('Roman') fountains at Peterhof Palace[7] in St. Petersburg, Russia.

8d	Cultivating // grass in Crosby? (8)

Bing Crosby^[5] (1903–1977) was an American singer and actor; born Harry Lillis Crosby. His songs include ‘White Christmas’ (from the film Holiday Inn, 1942). He also starred in a series of films (1940–62) with Bob Hope (1903–2003) and Dorothy Lamour (1914–1996).

9d	Section of biography perhaps /shows/ anger when sacrificing rook for pawn (4)

R^[5] is an abbreviation for rook that is used in recording moves in chess. (show more )

A rook^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move (if not obstructed by another chess piece or pawn) any number of spaces in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two rooks at opposite ends of the first rank.

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"pawn" = P [chess piece] (show explanation )

In chess, P^[10] is the symbol for pawn.

A pawn^[5] is a chess piece of the smallest size and value, that moves one square forwards along its file if unobstructed (or two on the first move), or one square diagonally forwards when making a capture. Each player begins with eight pawns on the second rank, and can promote a pawn to become any other piece (typically a queen) if it reaches the opponent’s end of the board.

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13d	What's needed for 1 // part of refrain -- strum enthusiastically! (10)

The numeral "1" is a cross reference indicator to clue 1a (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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15d	Putting coat on, yearns /for/ old-fashioned measurements (8)

A furlong^[5] is an eighth of a mile or 220 yards.

16d	Dead drunk, imbibing barely // changed (8)

17d	Cyber bullies set about the old over // moving beds? (8)

A troll^[5] is a person who makes a deliberately offensive or provocative online post ⇒ one solution is to make a troll's postings invisible to the rest of community once they've been recognized.

Ye^[5] is a pseudo-archaic term for the ⇒ Ye Olde Cock Tavern. The character "y" in this word was originally not the letter "y" in the modern English alphabet but a variant representation of the Old English and Icelandic letter thorn (þ or Þ). (show more )

The word 'ye' in this sense was originally a graphic variant of 'the' rather than an alternative spelling.

Thorn^[5] is an Old English and Icelandic runic letter, þ or Þ, representing the dental fricatives /ð/ and /θ/. It was eventually superseded by the digraph th — and thus þe (the old spelling of 'the') became the modern spelling 'the'. 

In late Middle English þ (thorn) came to be written identically with y, so that þe (the) could be written ye. This spelling (usually ye^*) was kept as a convenient abbreviation in handwriting down to the 19th century, and in printers' types during the 15th and 16th centuries. It was never pronounced as ‘yee’ in the past, but this is the pronunciation used today.

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^* I interpret the phrase "usually ye" to mean that the word was customarily not capitalized because the character "y" is not being used to represent the letter "y" in the modern English alphabet but rather as a graphic variant of thorn. Thus, in bygone days, the name of the drinking establishment above would presumably have been written ye Olde Cock Tavern (and pronounced "the old cock tavern").

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Trolley^[5] is a British^* term for a hospital bed on wheels for transporting patients.

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^* In North America, known as a gurney^[14].

19d	Secure // in wrecked boat at first (6)

20d	Hip and excellent island // state (6)

Although hips and haws are both small fruits, I would think that considering them to be the same is like equating apples and pears:

• a haw^[5] is the red fruit of the hawthorn
• a hip^[5] is the fruit of a rose, especially a wild kind

"excellent" = AI (show explanation )

A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

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21d	Going up, for instance, from French // border (4)

"from French" = DE (show explanation )

In French, de^[8] is a preposition meaning 'of'' or 'from'.

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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