Saturday, November 9, 2019 — Mind Your P's and Q's

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, the setters would appear to be admonishing us to be on our best behaviour.

As it was for others, 6d is a new word for me and I needed a bit of electronic assistance to identify it. Those with a knowledge of French and Spanish will certainly enjoy a leg up — as will those south of the border.

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

1a	Place with a “Quebec” // sign (6)

PL|A|QUE — PL(ace) + (with) A (†) + QUE(bec)

4a	Pop a question, keeping // far from clear (6)

_OP|A|QUE_ — hidden in (keeping) pOP A QUEstion

10a	Suggestions about container for hot liquid // stew veggies (7)

T(URN)IPS — TIPS (suggestions) contained in (about) URN (container for hot liquid)

11a	Straightened out a pin // with no trouble at all? (7)

UTOPIAN* — anagram of (straightened) OUT A PIN

12a	At hearing, nature preserve help /is/ floored, in a way (9)

PARQUETED~ — sounds like (at hearing) {PARK (nature preserve) + AID (help)}

13a	Completely // purple bee (5)

PLUM|B — PLUM (purple) + B (bee)

14a	French region // hands over money (4)

PAYS — double definition; the first being a French word meaning 'country' or 'region'

15a	In Montreal, almost catching one cab, almost // like Don Quixote (10)

P(I|CA_)RESQUE — PRESQUE (in Montreal, almost; French word meaning 'almost') containing (catching) {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + CA (cab almost; CA[B] with the final letter removed)}

19a	Benefit // is found in each, to a great extent (10)

PER|QU(IS)ITE — IS (†) contained in (found in) {PER (each) + QUITE (to a great extent)}

20a	Look // equal (4)

PEER — double definition

23a	Treated topic // of vision (5)

OPTIC* — anagram of (treated) TOPIC

25a	Intelligence unit’s start in computer company’s // patchwork designs (9)

APPL(IQ|U)E|S — {IQ (intelligence) + U (Unit's start [initial letter])) contained in (in) {APPLE (computer company) + S ('s)}

27a	Sharp // in the capacity of splitting pub order (7)

PI(QUA)NT — QUA (in the capacity of) contained in (splitting) PINT (pub order)

28a	Slightly shakes // cases for bolts (7)

QUIVERS — double definition; a bolt is an arrow

29a	Intensify // fourth letter by writer (6)

DEE|PEN — DEE (fourth letter [of the alphabet]) + (by) PEN (writer)

30a	In videotape, quote // New England tribe member (6)

_PE|QUOT_ — hidden in (in) videotaPE QUOTe

The Pequot^[10] were a Native American people formerly living in southern New England.

Down

1d	One who describes // fish caught by hotel employee (9)

PORT(RAY)ER — RAY (fish) contained in (caught by) PORTER (hotel employee)

2d	Foremost of Americans depart with Yankee // farewells (6)

A|DIE|US — A (foremost [initial letter] of Americans) + DIE (depart) + (with) US (Yankee)

3d	Put out about southeast // disturbance (5)

{UP(SE)T}* — anagram of (out) PUT containing (about) SE (southeast)

5d	One who cues // legislator in new report (8)

PRO(MP)TER — MP (legislator) contained in (in) anagram of (new) REPORT

6d	Wisecrack on our essentially // knotty record (5)

QUIP|U — QUIP (wisecrack) + (on; in a down clue) U (OUR essentially; the essence or pith [interior] of the word '[O]U[R]')

A quipu^[7] is an ancient Inca device for recording information, consisting of variously coloured threads knotted in different ways.

7d	Dignify // characters returning in pastel bonnets (7)

{_ENNOB|LE_}< — reversed (returning) and hidden in (characters ... in) pastEL BONNEts

8d	Volunteer // set off with canine (4,2)

STE*|P UP —  anagram of (off) SET + (with) PUP (canine)

9d	Question data run after adjusting // navigator’s instrument (8)

Q|UADRANT* — Q(uestion) + anagram of (after adjusting) DATA RUN

16d	Popular street worker’s // moments (8)

IN|ST|ANT|S — IN (popular) + ST(reet) + ANT (worker [insect]) + S ('s)

17d	In Spain, what right you ultimately granted /is/ suspicious (9)

QUE|R|U|LENT — QUE (in Spain, what; Spanish word meaning 'what') + R(ight) + U (you ultimately; final letter of 'yoU') + LENT (granted; "she enthusiastically lent her support to the cause")

Querulent^[*] is an obscure word denoting habitually and abnormally suspicious.

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^* Luciferous Logolepsy

I found this word (which is absent from most dictionaries) on a website displaying the tagline "Dragging obscure words into the light of day".

18d	Charles invested in innocent // acquisition (8)

PUR(CHAS)E — CHAS ([diminutive of] Charles) contained in (invested in) PURE (innocent)

19d	Supported // professional actor Johnny in comeback (7)

PRO|PPED< — PRO(fessional) + reversal of (in comeback) DEPP (actor Johnny; American actor Johnny Depp^[7])

21d	Don’t give in to // twisted sister (6)

RESIST* — anagram of (twisted) SISTER

22d	One story going into Greek character/’s/ surroundings (6)

M(I|LIE)U — {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + LIE ([untrue] story)} contained in (going into) MU (Greek character; twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet)

24d	Audibly inhale // cap (5)

TOQUE~ — sounds like (audibly) [to an American] TOKE (inhale)

As the wannabe Canadian master on the Skip The Dishes commercial would say to his servant "Brandon, your American is showing!".

Americans apparently pronounce "toque" to rhyme with POKE () while Canadians pronounce it to rhyme with PUKE.

26d	Pronounced maximum // resentment (5)

PIQUE~ — sounds like (pronounced) PEAK (maximum)

Epilogue

In today's puzzle, all but five solutions contain at least one occurrence of the letter P or Q — if not both.

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