Puzzle at a Glance
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Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 29016 | |
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, April 4, 2019 | |
Setter
proXimal (Steve Bartlett) | |
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29016] | |
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Kath | |
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
At Comment #16 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza provides a quote from Chris Lancaster, the Puzzles Editor at The Daily Telegraph, which appeared in the paper's Puzzles Newsletter. He reveals that there is a total of "around 12 setters" whose work appears at varying frequencies, some weekly, some fortnightly, and others less often. He also confirms that the easiest puzzles appear on Monday, and that the puzzles become progressively more difficult, reaching a peak on Thursday, then drop in difficulty on Friday and and again on Saturday. I wonder, should I feel honoured to be reviewing Thursday puzzles?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 | Not finished /in/ race crossing lake (10) |
| 6a | Grew old // in captivity; about to be released (4) |
| 9a | Island /having/ one hundred and four bats (5) |
As an anagram indicator, bats[5] is used as an informal, dated term meaning mad (either [mentally] disturbed) or in a frenzied state).
Corfu[5] is a Greek island, one of the largest of the Ionian Islands, off the west coast of mainland Greece.
| 10a | Fellow learner and I enthralled by professor's// instruments (9) |
"learner | student" = L [driver under instruction] (show more )
The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
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The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.
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| Automobile displaying an L-plate |
A don[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.
| 12a | Misrepresented Edam: rare Dutch // cheese (6,7) |
Cheddar[5] is a kind of firm smooth yellow cheese, originally made in Cheddar in south-western England. In the UK, Cheddar is usually sold as mild, medium, mature, extra mature or vintage.[7]
Scratching the Surface
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| Edam[5] is a round Dutch cheese, typically pale yellow with a red wax coating. |
The Rise and Fall of Canadian Cheddar[7]
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| Following a wheat midge outbreak in Canada in the mid-19th century, farmers in Ontario began to convert to dairy farming in large numbers, and Cheddar cheese became their main exportable product, even being exported to England. By the turn of the 20th century, 1,242 Cheddar factories were in Ontario, and Cheddar had become Canada's second-largest export after timber. Cheddar exports totalled 234,000,000 lb (106,000,000 kg) in 1904, but by 2012, Canada was a net importer of cheese. James L. Kraft grew up on a dairy farm in Ontario, before moving to Chicago. According to the writer Sarah Champman, "Although we cannot wholly lay the decline of cheese craft in Canada at the feet of James Lewis Kraft, it did correspond with the rise of Kraft’s processed cheese empire." |
| 14a | Appropriate // measure (4-4) |
Here, appropriate[5] is used as a verb meaning to take (something) for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission ⇒
the accused had appropriated the property.
Half-inch[5,10] (verb) is an informal British term meaning to steal ⇒
she had her handbag half-inched.
Origin: rhyming slang for pinch (to steal)
In her hint on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath refers to "half-inch" as Cockney rhyming slang and, at Comment #4, Crisscross (who claims to be a Cockney) supports her. If so, this expression does not follow what I understand to be the typical pattern of Cockney rhyming slang where the slang term does not rhyme directly with the word being substituted (see 23d for an example).
| 15a | Cases containing king/'s/ underwear (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).
* 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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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).
* 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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| 17a | Artistic movement /from/ ballet's lead absorbed in music playing (6) |
Cubism[10] is a French school of painting, collage, relief, and sculpture initiated in 1907 by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, which amalgamated viewpoints of natural forms into a multifaceted surface of geometrical planes.
The Story Behind the Picture
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| The painting used by Kath to illustrate her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog is Viaduct at L'Estaque (1908) by French painter Georges Braque, one of the co-founders of Cubism. |
| 19a | Bet European // gondolier uses one (4-4) |
Punt[2,3,4,5,10,11] is a chiefly British term which means:
- (verb) to gamble or bet, especially against the bank (as in roulette and some card games such as faro) or on horses or other sporting events
- (noun) such a gamble or bet
A punt[5] is a long, narrow flat-bottomed boat, square at both ends and propelled with a long pole, used on inland waters chiefly for recreation.
A punt pole[5] (or punt-pole[1]) is the long pole used to propel a punt.
Really?
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| Check the thread arising from Comment #7 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog to see if the setter wins this bet. |
| 21a | Young // lad one treated with respect (13) |
| 24a | One by piano in Titanic /is/ unmoved (9) |
"piano" = P [music notation] (show reference )
| 25a | Enthusiasm /from/ old pub receiving award (5) |
Public house[5] (abbreviation PH[a]; used to identify location of pub on a map) is the formal (British) name for a pub.
[a] TheFreeDictionary.com
"award" = OM [Commonwealth honour] (show explanation )
The Order of Merit[7] (abbreviation OM[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).
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The Order of Merit[7] (abbreviation OM[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).
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| 26a | Ran // to lesson in school (4) |
In the UK, religious education[10] (abbreviation RE[5]) is a subject taught in schools which educates about the different religions of the world.
| 27a | Poison // boy consumed in Lebanon, sadly (10) |
Belladonna[5] denotes either:
- another name for deadly nightshade[5], a poisonous bushy Eurasian plant with drooping purple flowers and glossy black berries
- a drug prepared from the leaves and root of deadly nightshade, containing atropine[5] (a poisonous compound used in medicine as a muscle relaxant, e.g. in dilating the pupil of the eye)
Down
| 1d | Primarily Andean civilisation new imperialists overturned (4) |
In this &lit.[7] or all-in-one clue, the entire clue serves as both wordplay and definition.
The Incas[5] (or Inca[2]) were a South American Indian people living in the central Andes before the Spanish conquest.
While the Inca Empire[7] was primarily situated in the Andean highlands, it did extend to coastal areas along the Pacific Ocean. In particular, Kuntisuyu, one of the four suyu (provinces) comprising the empire, was located along the southern coast of modern Peru, extending into the highlands towards Cusco.
In the 16th century, the Spanish conquered the Inca with the last stronghold of the Incan empire falling in 1572.
| 2d | Brown // vehicle male wrecked (7) |
| 3d | Horse entrails around area // which skiers might descend (13) |
| 4d | Slimy material -- maybe, Astley/'s/ verse (8) |
Lime[1,2] is a [British] dialect term for any slimy or gluey substance.
Delving Deeper
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| Until I discovered the British dialect meaning above, I was at a loss to explain why lime might be considered to be slimy. The term lime[2] can loosely refer to either quicklime (calcium oxide), slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), limestone, or bird-lime. Of these, only the latter could even remotely be considered to be slimy, the others being solids. Birdlime[10] (or bird-lime[2]) is a sticky substance, prepared from holly, mistletoe, or other plants, smeared on twigs to catch small birds. |
Rick Astley[7] is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality. His 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up" was a number 1 hit single in 25 countries and won the 1988 Brit Award for Best British Single. By the time of his retirement in 1993, Astley had sold approximately 40 million records worldwide.
| 5d | Mounted clip gripping fashionable // garment (5) |
| 7d | Cook/'s/ good sieve (7) |
"good" = G [academic result] (show reference )
Here, cook is a verb but riddle[5] could be either a noun or a verb meaning:
- (noun) a large coarse sieve, especially one used for separating ashes from cinders or sand from gravel
- (verb) to pass (a substance) through a large coarse sieve ⇒
for final potting, the soil mixture is not riddled
| 8d | Upset /from/ upside-down puddings I had (10) |
What did she say?
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In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath describes desserts asPudding[5] and sweet[5] are British terms for dessert in the sense of a dish served as a dessert.A posh word for puddings, sweets or afters. Pudding[5] and afters[5] are British terms for dessert in the sense of the dessert course of a meal. The terms dessert, pudding and afters are synonymous in Britain and the response to What’s for pudding?could well be Apple pie. As Kath indicates, dessert is considered by the Brits to be a posh or upper-class term. |
| 11d | Drink before leaving // stone fort hero adventurer sampled (3,3,3,4) |
| 13d | Control station /and/ inspect part of railway (10) |
Point[5] (usually points) is a British term for a junction of two railway lines, with a pair of linked tapering rails that can be moved laterally to allow a train to pass from one line to the other ⇒
the train gave a lurch as it passed over the points.
| 16d | Nest made untidy with hull, // covering for seed (8) |
| 18d | British PM once coming up on Queen/'s/ comms device (7) |
Sir Robert Peel[5] (1788–1850) was a British Conservative statesman, Prime Minister 1834-5 and 1841-6. As Home Secretary (1828–30) he established the Metropolitan Police (hence the nicknames bobby and peeler for British police officers). His repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 split the Conservatives and forced his resignation.
"Queen" = ER [regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth] (show more )
Comms[5,10] (usually as a modifier) is an informal [likely British] abbreviation for communications ⇒
comms software.
In Britain, a bleeper is not — as I had guessed — a device to bleep out obscenities on radio and television broadcasts. Rather, bleeper[5] is another term for pager.
| 20d | Start to leave seat, an // item of furniture (7) |
| 22d | Look over island on // river (5) |
"look" = LO [archaic] (show explanation )
The Loire[5] is a river of west central France. France’s longest river, it rises in the Massif Central and flows 1,015 km (630 miles) north and west to the Atlantic at St-Nazaire.
| 23d | Bird // close to leftover cut loaf (4) |
Loaf[10] is Cockney* rhyming slang** for head or, consequently, sense (from loaf of bread). It is found, for instance, in the informal British expression use one's loaf[5] meaning to use one's common sense.
* A cockney[5,10] is a native of East London [specifically that part of East London known as the East End[5]]. The cockney[5] dialect is characterized by dropping the aitch (H) from the beginning of words as well as the use of rhyming slang**.
** Rhyming slang[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.
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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