Saturday, November 2, 2019 — Characters With Name

Introduction

Certain names are in vogue because they are deemed to possess character. In today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, we have characters with name rather than names with character.

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^*)

---

^* num = numeration

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

(Horizontal separator)

---

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	Bunch of characters /from/ mountain laugh and gamble (8)

ALP|HA|BET — ALP (mountain) + HA (laugh) + (and) BET (gamble)

5a	Second, be // prejudiced in a way (6)

S|EXIST — S(econd) + EXIST (be)

9a	A region’s life // leads to boom in our tourist attractions (5)

BIOTA — initial letters of (leads to) Boom In Our Tourist Attractions

10a	Shifting token, hate // being bribed (2,3,4)

{ON THE TAKE}* — anagram of (shifting) TOKEN HATE

12a	Ring gym about new // rooftop structure (7)

CHIM(N)E|Y — {CHIME (ring) + Y (gym; YMCA/YWCA)} containing (about) N(ew)

13a	Em speaks, /and/ talks indistinctly (7)

M|UTTERS — M (em) + UTTERS (speaks)

14a	Donald’s heir disturbed // one U.S. state (5,6)

{RHODE ISLAND}* — anagram of (disturbed) DONALDS HEIR

19a	Family members // stress pet is wild (11)

STEPSISTERS* — anagram of (wild) STRESS PET IS

22a	Subtle // cue Ann arranged with Dee (7)

NUANCE*|D — anagram of (arranged) CUE ANN + (with) D (dee)

23a	Mutt going around talking tree with a // horseman? (7)

C(ENT)AUR — CUR (mutt) containing (going around) {ENT (talking tree [from British writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth]) + (with) A (†)}

The definition is whimsical.

25a	Sleep around // centre of airport, greeting someone just arriving (9)

P|HI|LANDER — P (centre [letter] of airPort) + HI (greeting) + LANDER (someone just arriving)

26a	Bee-related // article held by a tack (5)

A|PI(A)N — A ([indefinite] article) contained in (held by) { A (†) + PIN (tack)}

27a	Old Spanish coin // placed in small green sphere (6)

PE(SET)A — SET (placed) contained in (in) PEA (small green sphere)

28a	Man in Montreal absorbing as an example a // sports contest (4,4)

HOM(E G|A)ME — HOMME (man in Montreal; French word meaning 'man') containing (absorbing) {EG (as an example) + A (†)}

Down

1d	Tuna // company acquired by Albert exposed (8)

AL|BA(CO)RE — CO(mpany) contained in (acquired by) {AL ([diminutive of] Albert) + BARE (exposed)}

2d	Lives in Provo’s // conditions (8)

PROV(IS)OS — IS (lives) contained in (in) {PROVO (†) + S ('s)}

3d	A profit // for the second time (5)

A|GAIN — A (†) + GAIN (profit)

4d	Tree’s last thin // black wood (5)

E|BONY — E (treE's last [letter]) + BONY (thin)

6d	Twilight times // happening midmonth (9)

EVENT|IDES — EVENT (happening) + IDES (midmonth)

7d	One wizard’s // pictures (6)

I|MAGE|S — I ([Roman numeral for] one) + MAGE (wizard) + S ('s)

8d	Minute, // among thirteen synonyms (6)

_TEEN|SY_ — hidden in (among) thirTEEN SYnomyms

11d	Funny toast about emcee/’s/ felines (7)

{TO(MC)ATS}* — anagram of (funny) TOAST containing (about) MC (emcee)

15d	Eats tacos, wandering around // Atlantic seaboard (4,5)

{EAST COAST}* — anagram of (wandering around) EATS TACOS

16d	Designated driver in careening Edsel // took a ride downhill (7)

{SLE(DD)ED}* — DD (designated driver; abbrev.) contained in (in) anagram of (careening) EDSEL

17d	Cultivated a chia pet // wildflower (8)

HEPATICA* — anagram of (cultivated) A CHIA PET

18d	Alienate // sergeant, unfortunately (8)

ESTRANGE* — anagram of (unfortunately) SERGEANT

20d	Grab // forty winks, interrupting water sport activity (4,2)

S(NAP) UP — NAP (forty winks) contained in (interrupting) SUP (water sport activity)

Despite having the correct parsing, I failed to fully understand this clue but an appeal to readers turned up a plausible explanation.

I had presumed that SUP was being used in the sense of to drink in small quantities. I could only guess that "water sport" may be an allusion to some sort of drinking game but I could find no reference to support that supposition. I was only aware of "water sports"^[4] being slang for some kinky sexual practices.

However, readers have pointed out that SUP is the abbreviation for the water sport of Stand Up Paddleboarding^[7]. Thank you, Henry et al.

21d	Changes // victory sign (6)

V|ARIES — V(ictory) + ARIES ([astrological] sign)

23d	Load // part of a train, and leave (5)

CAR|GO — CAR (part of train) + (and) GO (leave)

24d	Pay homage at hearing /for/ tennis Hall-of-famer Fraser (5)

NEALE~ — sounds like (at hearing) KNEEL (pay homage)

Neale Fraser^[7] is a former number one amateur male tennis-player from Australia. Fraser is the last person to have won the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles in a calendar year at a Grand Slam tournament on two consecutive occasions (US National, now US Open). Since that time, nobody has equalled that feat in a single year, let alone successively.

Epilogue

The title of today's review is inspired by 1a together with several clues in which letters of the alphabet appear by name — em in 13a, dee in 22a, bee in 26a, as well as em and cee in 11d.

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