Saturday, September 14, 2019 — Canadian Icons

Introduction

I found today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon to be a bit on the more difficult side. However, that may be primarily due to getting a poor night's sleep and tackling the puzzle following a busy and tiring day.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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 █ - yet to be solved

Click here for an explanation of conventions and symbols used in explaining the parsing of clues.

The purpose of this article is to explain the conventions and symbols that I use on this blog in explaining the parsing of clues.

Legend: The following symbols are used in reviews: "*" anagram "~" sounds like "<" indicates that the preceding letters are reversed "( )" encloses contained letters "_" replaces letters that have been deleted "†" indicates that the word is present in the clue

The review of a clue takes the following general structure:

#a/d   Clue containing parsing markup (num^*)

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^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

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Explanations pertaining to the definition (or second definition in a double definition) and solution.

Explanatory Box

An explanatory box provides additional information about the clue. In most cases this information will not necessarily help in solving the clue but provides information about the clue. In the case of the weekday syndicated Daily Telegraph puzzles, such information is often intended to help the North American solver appreciate how the clue may be perceived by a British solver. These boxes may also provide information on people, places, films, television program, works of art and literature, etc. mentioned in the clue. Although the titles of these boxes will usually be drawn from a standard list, I do occasionally throw in a title specifically suggested by the subject at hand. The standard titles include: Scratching the Surface - an explanation of the surface reading of the clue Delving Deeper - in-depth information pertaining to a subject mentioned in an explanation The Story Behind the Picture - for weekday puzzles, information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What did he/she/they say? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What are they talking about? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog One box that may provide information that could prove helpful in solving the clue is the following: Here and There - for weekday puzzles, discusses words whose British meaning differs from their North American meaning

Note that there are many types of cryptic crossword clue and it is not my intention to exhaustively go through all of them here. I will only deal with clue types to the extent necessary to explain the conventions and symbols used on the blog. Furthermore, be aware that, in the world of cryptic crosswords, there seems to be an exception to every rule.

With one exception that I can think of, cryptic crossword clues provide two routes to the solution. These are commonly referred to as the definition and wordplay. While these terms serve well for most clues, there are some cases where the more formal terms of primary indication and subsidiary indication may be more appropriate.

Most cryptic crossword clues consist of a definition (primary indication) and wordplay (subsidiary indication). The definition may be:

• a "precise definition": a definition that is either taken directly from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion similar to one that would be found in a dictionary
• a "cryptic definition": a definition misleadingly phrased so as to misdirect the solver either with respect to the meaning of the definition as a whole or to an incorrect sense of a word used in the definition (for example, defining topiary as "clip art")
• a "whimsical definition": a definition "invented" by the setter often by extrapolating a non-existent meaning for a word from a similar word (for example, defining a bird as a "winger" [something possessing wings] or a river as a ''flower" [something that flows] or to extrapolate that, since disembowel means 'to remove the innards of ', that discontent must mean 'to remove the contents of')
• a "definition by example": the presence of one of these is often flagged with a question mark (for example, defining atoll as "coral?" where an atoll is but one form that coral may take).

The only type of clue that I can think of where there are not two ways of finding the solution are those in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition.

I identify precise definitions by marking them with a solid underline in the clue and other varieties of definition (such as cryptic definitions, whimsical definitions, definitions by example, etc.) by marking them with a dotted underline.

In clues in which both definition and wordplay are present, the two parts of the clue combine to provide an overall meaningful statement (the surface reading) which usually bears no relationship to the underlying cryptic reading of the clue. In some cases, an extra word or phrase will be inserted into the clue to create a meaningful link between the definition and wordplay. I define clues which contain such a link word or link phrase as having an explicit link and clues which contain no link word or link phrase as having an implicit link.

I mark the existence of an explicit link by enclosing the link word or link phrase between forward slashes (/link/) and mark the existence of an implicit link with double forward slashes (//) positioned between the definition and wordplay.

Examples

A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.

The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:

• 4d   Fellow left work // a failure (4)

Here the definition is "a failure" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as F (fellow; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.) + OP (work; abbrev. used in music) which gives us the solution F|L|OP. The double forward slashes (//) between the definition and wordplay indicate the existence of an "implicit link" between the two parts of the clue (that is, no extra words are inserted into the clue to form the link).

The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:

• 29a   Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)

Here the definition "female going to match" is cryptic (the setter is attempting to misdirect our thoughts to a sports event rather than a marriage ceremony) and thus is marked with a a dotted underline. The wordplay is {RIDES (travels) + (with) MA (mother)} contained in (in) BID (advance) giving us the solution B(RIDES|MA)ID. As in the first example, the double forward slashes indicate the presence of an implicit link.

The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:

• 18d   Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)

Here the definition is "staggering" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as N ([chess symbol for] knight) contained in (caught in) an anagram (misplaced) of BIG BLOW producing the solution WOBBLI(N)G. Finally, forward slashes mark the link word (/is/).

I also use distinctive underlining to mark &lit.^[7] and semi-&lit. clues. Note that the reviewers on Big Dave's Crossword Blog generally prefer to refer to these clue types by the less pretentious names of all-in-one or semi-all-in-one clues respectively.

In an &lit. clue^[7] (or all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.

In future, I will mark such clues with a combined solid and dashed underline. Although this is a departure from past practice, it would seem to make more sense than using a dotted underline as I have in the past). Henceforth, the dotted underline will be reserved for cryptic definitions.

In a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue), either:

• the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay; or
• the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.

For these clues, I will mark the definition with a solid underline and the wordplay with a  dashed underline. This means that a portion of the clue may have a solid underline, a portion of the clue may have a dashed underline and a portion of the clue may have a combined solid and dashed underline.

One final clue type is what I characterize as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. For example, in DT 28560 (setter unknown) the following clue appears:

•  26d   Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)

As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The 'precise definition' is "heroic exploit" and is indicated by a solid underline.

Given the numeration, the precise definition could give rise to at least two solutions, DEED or FEAT. However, the 'cryptic elaboration' ("whichever way you look at it") indicates that the solution is a palindrome thereby immediately eliminating one of the two obvious choices.

Note that the part of the clue that I have called 'cryptic elaboration' does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as the wordplay would do in most other types of clue). Rather it merely provides a piece of additional information (elaboration) related to the 'precise definition'.

Again, this approach is a departure from past practice, but like the other changes mentioned previously is intended to remove inconsistencies in the way that I have been applying parsing markup to clues. The markup rules that I have been using until now evolved bit-by-bit over a long period of time resulting in some degree of internal inconsistency.

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Across

8a	Some kind of a nut, // Thai cop is running amok (9)

PISTACHIO* — anagram of (running amok) THAI COP IS

9a	Imagine // 500 sheets of paper in a group (5)

D|REAM — D ([Roman numeral for] 500) + REAM (sheets of paper in a group; i.e., a quantity of paper)

A ream^[5] is a quantity of 500 (formerly 480) sheets of paper.

Did you fall into the trap of supposing that the letters REAM are being clued by "500 sheets of paper"?

10a	Greeting in places /for/ some Muslims (7)

S(HI)ITES — HI (greeting) contained in (in) SITES (places)

A Shiite^[5] is an adherent of the Shia^* branch of Islam.

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^* Shia^[5] (also Shi'a or Shiah) is one of the two main branches of Islam, followed by about a tenth of Muslims, especially in Iran, that rejects the first three Sunni caliphs and regards Ali, the fourth caliph, as Muhammad’s first true successor.

11a	For the second time, saint /and/ con (7)

AGAIN|ST — AGAIN (for the second time) + ST (saint; abbrev.)

12a	Vote for // one revolution without end (3)

YEA_ — YEA[R] (one revolution [of the earth around the sun]) with the final letter removed (without end)

13a	Earl of Derby // rents a dolly when moving (4,7)

{LORD STANLEY}* — anagram of (when moving) RENTS A DOLLY

Earl of Derby^[7] is a title in the Peerage of England. Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby^[7], (1841–1908), styled as Hon. Frederick Stanley from 1844–86 and as Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886–93, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as Colonial Secretary from 1885 to 1886 and the sixth Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893. An avid sportsman, he is famous for presenting Canada with the Stanley Cup^*. Stanley was also one of the original inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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^* The Stanley Cup^[7] is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner.

15a	Ways // a Roman goddess admits error (7)

A|VENU(E)S — A (†) + {VENUS (Roman goddess) containing (admits) E (error; abbrev. used in baseball}

In Roman mythology, Venus^[5] is a goddess, worshipped as the goddess of love in classical Rome though apparently a spirit of kitchen gardens in earlier times. Her equivalent in Greek mythology is Aphrodite.

17a	Garden resident and insect // not backing off (7)

ADAM|ANT — ADAM (Garden resident) + (and) ANT (insect)

In the biblical and Koranic traditions, Adam^[5] is the name of the first man. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam was created by God as the progenitor of the human race and lived with Eve in the Garden of Eden.

19a	Ontario-born author // mad at Mayflower (6,5)

{FARLEY MOWAT}* — anagram of (mad) AT MAYFLOWER

Farley Mowat^[7] (1921–2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist, born in Belleville, Ontario. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Canadian north, such as People of the Deer (1952) and Never Cry Wolf (1963). The latter, an account of his experiences with wolves in the Arctic, was made into a film of the same name released in 1983.

Scratching the Surface
In all likelihood, the surface reading refers to the Mayflower[5], the ship in which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from England to America.

22a	Go overboard about depth, /being/ eccentric (3)

O(D)D — OD (go overboard; abbrev. for overdose) containing (about) D(epth)

24a	Devoured // last of sundae with crushed peanut (5,2)

E{ATEN UP}* — E (last [letter] of sundaE) + (with) anagram of (crushed) PEANUT

26a	Polish // woman returned call (7)

SHE|LLAC< — SHE (woman) + reversal of (returned) CALL

In its role of definition, "polish" is pronounced POL-ish rather than PO-lish as the surface reading would suggest.

27a	Noisily chew // hero (5)

CHAMP — double definition

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, hero[12], short for hero sandwich[10,12], is a US term for a submarine sandwich.

28a	Excessively burdened, // public dismissed (9)

OVERT|AXED — OVERT (public) + AXED (dismissed [from employment])

Down

1d	Guess // I’m housed in ritzy residence (8)

EST(IM)ATE — IM (I'm) contained in (housed in) ESTATE (ritzy residence)

2d	Tip: a magnifying lens /for/ fruit (10)

CANT|A|LOUPE — CANT (tip; list or lean) + A (†) + LOUPE (magnifying lens [used by jewellers and watchmakers])

3d	Each one outside has // “Star Trek” gun (6)

P(HAS)ER — PER (each one) containing (outside) HAS (†)

Phasers^[7] are common and versatile phased array pulsed energy projectile weapons, first seen in the original Star Trek television series and later seen or referenced in almost all subsequent films and television spin-offs. Phasers come in a wide range of sizes, ranging from small arms to starship-mounted weaponry.

4d	Coals are tossed /in/ body of water (5,3)

{CORAL SEA}* — anagram of (tossed) COALS ARE

The Coral Sea^[5] is a part of the western Pacific lying between Australia, New Guinea, and Vanuatu, the scene of a naval battle between US and Japanese carriers in 1942.

5d	Brainstorm // in Mideast (4)

_IDEA_ — hidden in (in) MIDEAst

6d	Listened to officer/’s/ ear piece? (6)

KERNEL~ — sounds like (listened to) COLONEL (officer)

A lovely whimsical definition here!

7d	Mast they reconstructed /in/ stone (8)

AMETHYST* — anagram of (reconstructed) MAST THEY

8d	Pale // beyond yellow (5)

PAST|Y — PAST (beyond) + Y(ellow)

Colours of the Rainbow

The abbreviation Y for yellow may come from this being one of the colours of the rainbow. Rainbow in Jasper National Park Rainbows[7] span a continuous spectrum of colours. Any distinct bands perceived are an artefact of human colour vision, and no banding of any type is seen in a black-and-white photo of a rainbow, only a smooth gradation of intensity to a maximum, then fading towards the other side. For colours seen by the human eye, the most commonly cited and remembered sequence is Sir Isaac Newton's sevenfold red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, remembered by the mnemonic, Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain (ROYGBIV).

14d	Transcendental meditation in a parent’s // lodgings (10)

A|PAR(TM)ENT|S — TM (transcendental meditation; abbrev.) contained in (in) {A (†) + PARENT + S ('s)}

15d	Outside /of/ sore calf massaged (8)

ALFRESCO* —anagram of (massaged) SORE CALF

16d	Somewhat rewarded athletes // breaking promises (8)

SEMIPROS* — anagram of (breaking) PROMISES

18d	Extreme anger /could make/ Expo play badly (8)

APOPLEXY* — anagram of (badly) EXPO PLAY

Scratching the Surface
The Montreal Expos[7] were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (NL) East Division from 1969 until 2004. Following the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals.

20d	Scoundrel with light brown // cane (6)

RAT|TAN — RAT (scoundrel) + (with) TAN (light brown)

21d	Was Theodore // beyond tipsy? (6)

WAS|TED — WAS (†) + TED ([diminutive for] Theodore)

23d	Chopped // down and chilled (5)

D|ICED — D (down; abbrev. found in crossword puzzles — in this very clue, for instance) + (and) ICED (chilled)

25d	From behind, reach across // piles (4)

NAPS< — reversal of (from behind) SPAN (reach across)

Pile^[5] is the soft projecting surface of a carpet or a fabric such as velvet or flannel, consisting of many small threads.

Nap^[5] is the raised hairs or threads on the surface of fabric or suede leather, in terms of the direction in which they naturally lie.

Epilogue

Today's puzzle features a couple of Canadian icons — each with its own bit of tarnish.

The Stanley Cup was originally donated as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club, but has now become the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner.^[7] Would Lord Stanley have approved?

Farley Mowat's advocacy for environmental causes earned him praise, but his admission, after some of his books' claims had been debunked, that he "never let the facts get in the way of the truth" earned harsh criticism. In the words of one literary authority, "few readers remain neutral".^[7]

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 Advanced 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