Wednesday, September 25, 2019 — DT 29009

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29009
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29009]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
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

Introduction

The consensus seems to be that Jay has adjusted the difficulty level down and the enjoyment level up with this offering.

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	Charles and his mother /must get/ drink after drink (6)

Charles, Prince of Wales^[5] is heir apparent to Elizabeth II. "His mother" is a reference to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and is being used to clue her regnal cipher "ER" (show explanation ).

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

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5a	The majority accepting bad liar /is/ a principled person (8)

9a	Breakfast /consisting of/ meaningless talk from Brussels? (7,6)

The second definition is a whimsical interpretation of the solution.

Here and There

The word waffle has a different meaning in the UK than it does in North America. To Brits, waffle[5] means: (verb) to speak or write at length in a vague or trivial manner ⇒ he waffled on about his problems (noun) lengthy but vague or trivial talk or writing ⇒ we've edited out some of the waffle To North Americans, waffle[5] means: (verb) to fail to make up one's mind ⇒ Joseph had been waffling over where to go (noun) a failure to make up one's mind ⇒ his waffle on abortion

10a	Sweet // remark about broken ties (8)

Here and There
Sweet[5] is a British term for a piece of candy*[5] ⇒ a bag of sweets. * In Britain, candy[5] means sugar crystallized by repeated boiling and slow evaporation ⇒ making candy at home is not difficult—the key is cooking the syrup to the right temperature.

A noisette^[5] is a chocolate made with hazelnuts.

11a	A little taken by case of hilarious // customs (6)

12a	Shylock, say, /is/ one who seizes power, but not quietly (6)

"quietly" = P [music notation] (show reference )

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

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Shylock^*[5] is an offensive term for a moneylender who charges extremely high rates of interest.

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^* The term derives from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, who lends money to Antonio but demands in return a pound of Antonio's own flesh should the debt not be repaid on time.

The Story Behind the Picture
The illustration used by the 2Kiwis in their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog shows Shylock with his scales (ready to collect his pound of flesh) from the trial scene in Shakespeare's Mechant of Venice. Although this image is in widespread use on the Internet, I was unable to identify the artist who produced it.

14a	Imagines // attitudes after drink (8)

"drink" = SUP (show explanation )

As a verb, sup^[5] is a dated or Northern English term meaning to take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls ⇒ (i) she supped up her soup delightedly; (ii) he was supping straight from the bottle.

As a noun, sup^[5] means

• a sip of liquid ⇒ he took another sup of wine
• (in Northern England or Ireland) an alcoholic drink ⇒ the latest sup from those blokes at the brewery

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16a	Uniformed groups /of/ newly-weds touring Georgia (8)

19a	Study on section of turf /that's/ heavy with moisture (6)

21a	Refuge /may be/ simple choice with no leaders (6)

23a	Overrun, /being/ sadly untrained, lacking resources initially (8)

25a	24 // put off people crossing motorway (13)

The numeral "24" is a cross reference indicator to clue 24d (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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The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway^* in England connecting London to Leeds.

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^* Motorway^[2,5] (abbreviation M^[5]) is a British, Australian, and New Zealand term for a dual-carriageway road [divided highway] designed for fast-moving traffic, especially one with three lanes per carriageway [direction of travel] and limited access and exit points [controlled access].

26a	Remains // American after Motor City loses source of oil (8)

Motor City^[5] is an informal US name for the city of Detroit, Michigan.

27a	Part of Oxford // to do better than grasping Cambridge, ultimately (6)

Scratching the Surface
Oxford University[5] is the oldest English university, comprising a federation of thirty-nine colleges, the first of which, University College, was formally founded in 1249. The university was established at Oxford soon after 1167. Cambridge University[5] is a university at Cambridge in England, founded in 1230. The university comprises a federation of thirty-one colleges.

Down

2d	Associates /of/ hard old boy suppressing toffs (7)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

H^[2,5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

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"old boy" = OB (show explanation )

In Britain, an old boy^[5] (abbreviation OB^[2])  is:

• a former male student of a school or college ⇒ an old boy of Banbury County School
• a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒ the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards

It is also a chiefly British affectionate form of address to a boy or man ⇒ ‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.

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Toff^[5] is a derogatory, informal British term for a rich or upper-class person.

Nob^[5] is an informal British term^* for a person of wealth or high social position ⇒ it was quite a do—all the nobs were there.

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^* Whereas toff is deemed to be a derogatory term, nob is apparently not considered to be so.

What did they say?
In their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the 2Kiwis describe the latter part of the solution as toffs or aristos. Aristo[2] is a colloquial, often derogatory, short form for aristocrat.

3d	School tests must cover line /for/ sailors (5)

National Curriculum assessments^[7] are a series of educational assessments, colloquially known as Sats or SATs, used to assess the attainment of children attending maintained schools^* in England. They comprise a mixture of teacher-led and test-based assessment depending on the age of the pupils.

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^* In England and Wales, a maintained school^[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority. In North America, such a school would be called a public school. However, in the UK, the term public school is used for a special class of independent school. (more )

In Britain, an independent school^[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school^[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system.

A private school^[2,5] is a special case of independent school, being a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees.

A public school^[2] is yet another class of independent school, a secondary school, especially a boarding school run independently of the state, financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees.

What we in North America would call a public school^[2], is known in the UK as a state school^[5] or a maintained school^*.

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This test should not be confused with the SAT^[7] (Scholastic Aptitude Test or Scholastic Assessment Test), a Reasoning Test taken by high school students in the United States for admission into colleges.

"line" = L [publishing term] (show explanation )

In textual references, the abbreviation for line [of written matter] is l.^[5] ⇒ l. 648.

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4d	Tories battered communist /and/ celebrated (9)

5d	Pitmen across Germany /to become/ bodyguards (7)

"Germany" = D [IVR code] (show explanation )

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) country code for Germany is D^[5] (from German Deutschland).

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German Licence Plate Format
(The IVR code is on the left below the EU flag emblem)

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Minder^[5] is a British term meaning:

• a person whose job it is to look after someone or something ⇒ a baby-minder
• (informal) a bodyguard employed to protect a celebrity or criminal ⇒ he was accompanied by his personal minder

The Story Behind the Picture

The 2Kiwis illustrate their review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog with a photo of English actors George Cole and Dennis Waterman in a scene from Minder[7], a comedy-drama series about the London criminal underworld that ran on British television from 1979 to 1994. The show centred around Terry McCann (played by Dennis Waterman), an honest and likable bodyguard (minder in London slang) and Arthur Daley (played by George Cole), a socially ambitious, but highly unscrupulous importer-exporter, wholesaler, used-car salesman and purveyor of anything else from which there was money to be made, whether within the law or not. The series was largely responsible for putting the word minder, meaning personal bodyguard, into the UK popular lexicon.

6d	Admire a challenger showing // scope (5)

7d	Relations supporting sentence /is/ an essential factor (9)

8d	Power possessed by mysterious secret // ceremonial staff (7)

"power" = P [symbol used in physics] (show reference )

In physics, P^[10] is a symbol used to represent power [among other things] in mathematical formulae.

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13d	Ofsted perhaps /is/ normal, welcoming Tax Officer (9)

TO^[1] is the abbreviation for Tax Officer. Tax officers are civil servants, working for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who work out how much tax companies and individuals must pay on their income and profits. Some tax inspectors work in areas such as fraud or international taxation.

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Ofsted^[5] is the abbreviation for Office for Standards in Education, a UK organization monitoring standards in schools by regular inspections.

15d	Send poor aunt to accommodate Liberal // candidate (9)

"Liberal" = L | LIB (show more )

The Liberal Party^[5] (abbreviation Lib.^[5] or L^[2])^* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats.

However, a small Liberal Party still exists (founded in 1989 by members of the original Liberal Party opposed to its merger with the Social Democratic Party) although it has no representation in the UK Parliament, no Members of the European Parliament (MEP), no members of the Scottish Parliament, nor any members of the National Assembly for Wales. Today, the party holds only a handful of seats at the local government level.^[7]

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^* Although Lib.^[5] may be the more common abbreviation for the Liberal Party in Britain — likely to distinguish it from the the Labour Party^[5] (abbreviation Lab.^[5]) — Chambers 21st Century Dictionary indicates that L^[2] may also be used.

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A postulant^[5] is a candidate, especially one seeking admission into a religious order.

17d	Remains // on team hosting United (7)

"team" = SIDE (show explanation )

Side^[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒ there was a mixture of old and young players in^* their side.

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^* Note that, in Britain, a player is said to be "in a side" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage is also found in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.

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18d	Tears up with Italian son/'s/ shorts (7)

"Italian" = IT [in reference to either the language or the vermouth] (show explanation )

This cluing might be explained in a couple of ways:

• It.^[10] is an abbreviation for Italy or Italian [language].


• Italian^[10] is another name for Italian vermouth. It^[5] is a dated informal British term for Italian vermouth ⇒ he poured a gin and it.

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"son" = S [genealogy] (show reference )

In genealogies, s^[5] is the abbreviation for son(s) ⇒ m 1991; one s one d^*.

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^* married in 1991; one son and one daughter.

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20d	Country/'s/ notes about island area (7)

22d	Value // rejected in retirement? (5)

24d	Doctor -- I have // motivation (5)

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