Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 28997 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, March 13, 2019 | |
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28997] | |
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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Introduction
This puzzle is reviewed on Big Dave's Crossword Blog by Miffypops under the pseudonym Pinetree Meads. Sir Colin Meads[7] (1936–2017), nicknamed 'Pinetree' due to his towering stature, was a New Zealand rugby union player who played 55 test matches* (133 games) for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, from 1957 until 1971.* international competitions
Meads is widely considered one of the greatest rugby union players in history and was named the country's Player of the Century in 1999.
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 | Political enforcer understood // a means of making cuts (7) |
A whip[5] is an official of a political party appointed to maintain parliamentary discipline among its members, especially so as to ensure attendance and voting in debates.
| 5a | Limit spread of mice // in a particular area (7) |
| 9a | Rate adjusted to include ten // more (5) |
| 10a | Struggle with purpose /and/ perspective (9) |
| 11a | Bless // the Tories and European Commission value (10) |
"Tories" = CONS (show more )
A Tory[10] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain [or, for that matter, in Canada].
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
The Conservative Party[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.
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A Tory[10] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain [or, for that matter, in Canada].
The abbreviation for Conservative may be either C.[10] or Con.[10].
Historically, a Tory[10] was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.
The Conservative Party[5] is a a major British political party that emerged from the old Tory Party under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s. Since the Second World War, it has been in power 1951–64, 1970-74, and 1979–97. It governed in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 until the general election of May 2015, in which it was returned with a majority.
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The European Commission[5] (abbreviation EC[5]) is a group, appointed by agreement among the governments of the European Union, which initiates Union action and safeguards its treaties. It meets in Brussels.
| 12a | Desolate, having lost king // lead (4) |
| 14a | Company people must accept solid // proof (12) |
| 18a | Unable to speak, /being/ delayed by hospital department after train crashed (12) |
| 21a | Cut // speed (4) |
| 22a | Coward // fixing day-care cost without love (7-3) |
"love" = O [tennis term] (show explanation )
In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒
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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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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| 25a | Blighter runs in nude, strangely // exposed (9) |
Blighter[5] is an informal British term for a person who is regarded with contempt, irritation, or pity ⇒
you little blighter!
Cove[5] is a dated informal British term for a man ⇒
he is a perfectly amiable cove.
Origin: Mid 16th century: perhaps from Romany kova ‘thing or person’.
"runs" = R [cricket notation] (show explanation )
| 26a | Hate /seeing/ platform with no power (5) |
"power" = P [symbol used in physics] (show reference )
| 27a | Guarantees // end of strike with nurses working (7) |
| 28a | Spy, losing heart, blocks // procedures (7) |
Down
| 1d | Swine /that could make/ women be sick? (6) |
The Story Behind the Picture
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| The handsome bloke in the the photo illustrating this clue on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is none other than Miffypops himself. |
| 2d | Where a camper may be // determined (6) |
| 3d | Victims /of/ carbon copy attack kept on board ship (10) |
"on board ship" = 'contained in SS' (show explanation )
| 4d | Hesitate, /seeing/ surge on right (5) |
| 5d | Spoken in support of elite /made up/ of voters (9) |
Here, elect[5] is an adjective (however, one that is usually used as a plural noun) meaning (of a person) chosen or singled out ⇒
one of the century's elect.
| 6d | Puppet /of/ political party on right of course (4) |
The Democratic Unionist Party[7] (DUP) is the largest unionist political party in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and now led by Arlene Foster, it is the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fifth-largest party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Following the 2017 general election, the party has agreed to support a Conservative minority government on a case-by-case basis on matters of mutual concern.
| 7d | Profess // support (8) |
| 8d | Maybe Queen Anne's last call /for/ provision of food (8) |
A queen[5] is an adult female cat that has not been spayed.
| 13d | Meticulous // firm on identification and evidence of debts (10) |
| 15d | Kings, for example, // confront jokers (4,5) |
According to Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online), face card[5] is a chiefly North American name for what Brits call a court card[5] — however, judging by the absence of protest on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the term must have become reasonably well-established in the UK.
| 16d | Slight flavour /supplied by/ metal cruet set (8) |
| 17d | Brazilians /from/ area in Corsica possibly? (8) |
A Carioca[5] is a native of Rio de Janeiro.
| 19d | Writer'/s/ bed found in Home Counties (6) |
Yet another North American usage that raised no hackles on Big Dave's Crossword Blog. Crib[5] is the North American term for a small bed with high barred sides for a baby or very young child. In Britain, such a bed is known as a cot[5].
"Home Counties" = SE (show explanation )
The Home Counties[5] are the counties surrounding London in the south-east (SE) part of England, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire.
No exact definition of the term exists and the composition of the Home Counties remains a matter of debate. While Oxford Dictionaries restrictively lists them as being chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire, Wikipedia tells us that the Home Counties[7] are generally considered to include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex (although Sussex does not border London).
Other counties more distant from London, such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire are also sometimes included in the list due to their close proximity to the capital and their connection to the London regional economy.
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The Home Counties[5] are the counties surrounding London in the south-east (SE) part of England, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire.
No exact definition of the term exists and the composition of the Home Counties remains a matter of debate. While Oxford Dictionaries restrictively lists them as being chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire, Wikipedia tells us that the Home Counties[7] are generally considered to include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex (although Sussex does not border London).
Other counties more distant from London, such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire are also sometimes included in the list due to their close proximity to the capital and their connection to the London regional economy.
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| 20d | Puzzles of oil deposits found around centre of Tooting (6) |
Sump[5] is the British term for an oil pan[5], the base of an internal combustion engine, which serves as a reservoir of oil for the lubrication system.
Scratching the Surface
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| Tooting[7]
is a district of South London, forming part of the Wandsworth
borough. It is located 5 miles (8 kilometres) south south-west of Charing Cross*. * Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross[7] (a street junction in the City of Westminster) has generally been accepted as the notional "centre of London" and is the point from which distances from London are calculated. |
| 23d | Travels // free with ease, regularly going missing (5) |
| 24d | Measure of prevention on the rise // at any time (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 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)
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