Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28916 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, December 7, 2018 | |
Setter
Giovanni (Don Manley) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28916] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Deep Threat | |
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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Introduction
Although Deep Threat awards this puzzle only two stars for difficulty, I am in the same camp as many of those who commented on Big Dave's Crossword Blog who felt it deserved a higher difficulty rating.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 Vermouth knocked back, sensible // drink (6)
It[5] is a dated informal British term for Italian vermouth* ?
he poured a gin and it.
* Italian[10] is another name for Italian vermouth. It.[10] is an abbreviation for Italian [language].
A tisane[5,10] is an infusion of dried or fresh leaves or flowers, such as camomile — in other words, a herbal tea.
Who is he talking about?
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On Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat remarks that this drink isHercule Poirot[7] is a fictional Belgian detective, created by Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play (Black Coffee), and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975.an infusion of which Hercule Poirot was fond. The website Facts About Hercule Poirot states: Poirot is very particular about the beverages he drinks. His preferred hot beverage is cocoa, though he often takes herbal tisanes for health reasons. He does not care for many forms of alcohol, like beer and most hard liquors, but he does like good wines. His preferred aperitifs are non-alcoholic sirops, in flavours like blackcurrant and other fruits. |
| 4a | Relation, terribly hot inside, /gets/ to strip (8) |
| 9a | No longer left /with/ something to sell abroad (6) |
"left" = PORT [nautical term] (show more )
| 10a | An insect disturbed // people years ago (8) |
| 11a | Worry about a little // container for firework explosive (9) |
A cartouche[5] (or cartouch) is the paper case holding combustible materials in certain fireworks.
| 13a | Island // lady wants French article rather than English one (5) |
Lundy[5] is a granite island in the Bristol Channel, off the coast of north Devon.
| 14a | More than one female professional // wins me bonuses, working (13) |
| 17a | Rescues the art neglected /in/ a valuable box (8,5) |
The definition is a cryptic expression of "a box to hold valuables" — modelled on a "tool box" being a box to hold tools.
| 21a | What breakfast menu may have, /creating/ stir (3,2) |
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.
I was unable to find a source to show that the word "on" is used in the converse sense of being available on the menu. However, through cryptic inference (if nothing else) one could suppose it is.
In the second definition, egg (someone) on[5] means to encourage (someone) to do something foolish or risky ?
he liked to boast and she would egg him on shamelessly.
| 23a | Old college not genuine? // Conflicting noises perhaps here? (9) |
Poly[5] is a dated British term for a polytechnic*[5], an institution of higher education offering courses at degree level or below, especially in vocational subjects.
* In Britain the term polytechnic has largely dropped out of use. In 1989 British polytechnics gained autonomy from local education authorities and in 1992 were able to call themselves universities.
Polyphony[5] is:
- a style of music simultaneously combining a number of parts, each forming an individual melody and harmonizing with each other
- a composition written, played, or sung in polyphony
- the ability of an electronic keyboard or synthesizer to play a number of notes simultaneously
| 24a | This writer was first to admit depression /and/ softened (8) |
"this writer " = ME (show explanation )
It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
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It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.
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| 25a | Mo/'s/ support (6) |
Mo (abbreviation for moment) is an informal term* for a short period of time ?
hang on a mo!.
* Identified by several British dictionaries as being a British[5,14], chiefly British[2,4], or mainly British[10] term. However, one British and two US dictionaries do not specify it as being a British[1,11,12] term. This meaning of the word "mo" is not found in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language[3].
| 26a | Mad // chaps beginning to talk, interrupting performance (8) |
| 27a | Plants /with/ bosses laying off a thousand (6) |
Down
| 1d | Knight is buried in the church // for that reason (6) |
"knight" = N [chess notation] (show explanation )
A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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A knight[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.
N[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].
As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines:
- K[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight.
- K[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king.
- N[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.
On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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"church" = CE [Church of England] (show explanation )
The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
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The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.
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| 2d | Like sheep and goats /with/ destinies unalike ultimately (Bible story) (9) |
The phrase separate the sheep from the goats[5] means to divide people or things into superior and inferior groups.
A parable[5] is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.
Finding a Deeper Meaning
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While I parsed this as a simple clue with definition and wordplay, Deep Threat (with his obvious superior knowledge of the scriptures) has parsed it as a semi-all-in-one clue:
The expression "to separate the sheep from the goats" comes from the prophecy of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25:31-46: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, ... he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world ...’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels ...’ |
| 3d | In agitated state // over silly group of students outside (7) |
The National Union of Students[7] (NUS) is a confederation of students’ unions in the United Kingdom.
| 5d | Like some silly poetry -- // no lines scan, unfortunately (11) |
| 6d | Six feet under -- /or/ heading that way? (4,3) |
I interpret this as a double cryptic definition.
The phrase six feet under[5] is an informal term for dead and buried — or, cryptically LAID LOW.
The phrase lay (someone) low[5] (said of an illness) means to reduce someone to inactivity ?
he was laid low by a stomach bug. In the case of an extreme illness, the patient might (as indicated by the question mark) be headed for the grave.
| 7d | Number performing -- // such may be in the groove (5) |
A tenon[5] is a projecting piece of wood made for insertion into a mortise* in another piece (so as to join or lock the pieces together) ?
a mortise and tenon joint.
* A mortise[5] (also mortice) is a hole or recess cut into a part which is designed to receive a corresponding projection (a tenon) on another part.
| 8d | Trying /to convey/ excited 'yes' with a sign (8) |
| 12d | Hippie cells will have this // important feature (11) |
Diverging slightly from Deep Threat's explanation on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I put the word "this" as part of the wordplay rather than as part of the definition. That is, I see the wordplay as a statement that "[the phrase] hipPIE CElls with have this". What this phrase will have is the "CENTRE PIECE" — a terse expression of "the CENTRE of the phrase will be the word 'PIECE'".
Delving Deeper
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| Deep Threat refers to the structure of this clue as "a variant of a
'hidden in the clue' construction". I think of it more as a variant of a
"sweetheart" construction. When the setter uses "sweetheart" to clue
the letter E, the indicator is "heart", the fodder is "sweet" and the
result is the letter E (the heart of the word "swEet"). In the present
clue, one might consider the word "CENTRE" to be the counterpart of the
word "heart" (with the difference that it is found in the solution rather than in the
clue), the word "PIECE" to be the counterpart of the letter E, and the
phrase "hippie cells" to be the counterpart of the word "sweet". Whereas, the standard "sweetheart" construction directs us to find the "heart" of the word "sweet", this variant construction, if it were to be applied* to the word "sweet", would direct us to identify a characteristic of the word "sweet" ("sweet will have this") — namely, that its HEART is the letter E. * Of course, this application is an academic exercise merely to illustrate the principle as we would almost certainly never see it in practice. |
| 15d | Came across city, keeping on, /as/ one having regular beat (9) |
| 16d | Played with IT, // like groups at schools? (8) |
IT[5] is the abbreviation for information technology.
Stream[5] means to transmit or receive (data, especially video and audio material) over the Internet as a steady, continuous flow.
Stream[5] is a British* term meaning to put (schoolchildren) in groups of the same age and ability to be taught together ?
streaming within comprehensive schools is common practice.
* I think this term may also be used in Canada
| 18d | Shivery nudes beginning to edge away -- now possibly?! (7) |
This is a true &lit. or all-in-one clue in which the entire clue is both wordplay and definition.
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat has — perhaps intentionally — not explicitly included part of the wordplay. The expanded explanation would read "an anagram (shivery) of NUD(e)S with the initial letter (beginning) of Edge removed (away) followed by an anagram (possibly) of NOW".
| 19d | Top lady -- /see/ me turn up with crowd following (7) |
| 20d | Group of stars /with/ yen to hide in the underworld (6) |
"yen" = Y [Japanese monetary unit] (show explanation )
In Greek mythology, Hades[10] is the underworld abode of the souls of the dead.
Hyades[5] is an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus, appearing to surround the bright star Aldebaran.
| 22d | Grand Old Man embracing the Parisian // dolt (5) |
GOM[1,5] (abbreviation for Grand Old Man) is a term used in Britain for an elderly and venerated person, especially in a particular field of endeavour. The term was first used in relation to British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898).
"the Parisian" = LE (show explanation )
From The Chambers Dictionary:
golem noun in Jewish folklore, a human image brought to life; a robot; a dolt
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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