Tuesday, March 31, 2020 — DT 29153

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29153
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29153]
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 solutions to a couple of clues in this puzzle (18a, 16d) prompted considerable discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog.

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.

Symbols and Markup Conventions
"*" - anagram "~" - sounds like "<" - indicates the preceding letters are reversed "( )" - encloses contained letters "_" - replaces letters that have been deleted	"†" - indicates that the word is present in the clue "solid underline" - precise definition "dotted underline" - cryptic definition "dashed underline" - wordplay "double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of the symbols and markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a	Carry // drink left on board (7)

"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

hide explanation

5a	Group importing revolutionary rum // fold (7)

Rum^[5] is used in a dated informal British sense meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

9a	Language // rejected by cryptographer (5)

10a	International relations // destabilising Olympic day endlessly (9)

11a	Cycling Leeds roads will make you this! (6-4)

Leeds^[5] is an industrial city in West Yorkshire, northern England. It developed as a wool town in the Middle Ages, becoming a centre of the clothing trade in the Industrial Revolution.

A Note on Markup Notation

Today, I am introducing a small adjustment in markup notation. You will notice that a portion of the clue above has a double underline. This indicates that that portion of the clue plays two roles — in this case, serving as both the wordplay as well as being part of the definition. The clue is a semi-all-in-one clue in which the entire clue is the definition (which I have marked as a cryptic definition as it certainly does not seem to be a precise definition) in which we find embedded wordplay. The markup is intended to show that the dotted underline is considered to extend under the entire clue while the portion of the clue marked by the double underline also plays a second role, in this case as wordplay. Over the years, I have played around with different ways to mark such a clue. Most recently, I had come up with a way to explicitly place a dotted line under the entire clue and a separate dashed line under the portion of the clue providing the wordplay. However, this was not only very time-consuming to apply, but it did not necessarily display properly on all browsers and/or all devices. The new method — while perhaps not as intuitive as the old method — should address both of these issues. It is both easy to apply and relies on standard HTML markup functions. Click here for a fuller explanation of the symbols and markup conventions used on this blog. This article has recently been revised to incorporate the change described here.

12a	Run off // a quantity of cloth (4)

14a	Establishment // play for time beset by independent people (12)

"Independent" = I (show explanation )

I^[1] is the abbreviation for independent, in all likelihood in the sense of a politician with no party affiliation.

hide explanation

18a	Hears about policeman arresting Republican // tenant farmer (12)

"Republican" = R (show explanation )

A Republican^[5] (abbreviation R^[5] or Rep.^[5])  is a member or supporter of the Republican Party^[5], one of the two main US political parties^*, favouring a right-wing stance, limited central government, and tough, interventionist foreign policy. It was formed in 1854 in support of the anti-slavery movement preceding the Civil War.

---

^* the other being the Democratic Party

In the UK, republican^[5] can refer to an advocate of a united Ireland but the abbreviation does not seem to apply to that usage.

hide

Here and but not There
As can be seen from the comments on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, the North American term that is the solution to this clue was a mystery to a good number of Brits. Sharecropper[10] is a mainly US term for a farmer, especially a tenant farmer, who pays over a proportion of a crop or crops as rent.

21a	Go out /and/ send back couple carrying cross (4)

22a	Instigator /of/ heavy metal in bell (10)

25a	Working dog getting hold of bird // without delay (2,3,4)

On the nail^[10] [a British expression, it would seem, based on the dictionaries in which it is found]  means (with respect to payments) at once (especially in the phrase pay on the nail).

Delving Deeper

Four bronze tables — called nails[7] — are located outside The Exchange in Bristol, England. These were probably modelled after mobile tables which were taken to trade fairs and markets. The bronze nails, with their flat tops and raised edges which prevent coins from tumbling onto the pavement*, were made as convenient tables at which merchants could carry out their business. The oldest of the four is undated but believed to be from late Elizabethan times while the newest is dated 1631. Deals could be closed by payment on the nails—the popularly supposed origin of the saying "pay on the nail" or "cash on the nail". However, this origin of the term is disputed. * 'Pavement'[5] is the British term for sidewalk, a raised paved [covered with paving stones] or asphalted path for pedestrians at the side of a road. North American pedestrians visiting the UK may well be surprised to be admonished to "Keep to the pavement"!

26a	Area in shade /will be/ soil (5)

27a	Ridicules // date disheartened with fairground attractions (7)

28a	Full of regret about church // magic (7)

"church" = CE [Church of England] (show reference )

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

hide

Down

1d	Poles initially expecting /to be/ thin on the ground (6)

2d	Ornamental building /needing/ a party space set up (6)

"party" = DO (show more )

Do^[5,12] is an informal British^[5] or chiefly British^[12] term^* for a party or other social event ⇒ the soccer club Christmas do.

---

^* although Webster’s New World College Dictionary^[12] supports the contention by Oxford Dictionaries Online^[5] that this usage is British, two other US dictionaries do not characterize do^[3,11] used in this sense as a British term

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3d	Got the better of // untalked-of criminal (10)

4d	ID subsumed by rising group // trends (5)

5d	Article in office // journal cut (5,4)

6d	Decline // work under medical professional (4)

"work" = OP (show explanation )

In music, an opus^[5] (Latin 'work', plural opuses or opera) is a separate composition or set of compositions.

The abbreviation Op.^[5] (also op.), denoting opus, is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication. The plural form of Op. is Opp..

Opus^[5] can also be used in other contexts to denote an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

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7d	Speaker has one old // piece set to music (8)

8d	Islands with shade -- /that's/ the central point (8)

13d	A person who's followed /could be/ quiet and expert compiler of crosswords (10)

"quiet" = 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.

hide

15d	Ends // trials with men undergoing a change (9)

16d	Help around new store, // like a star (8)

This solution to this clue generated a bit of consternation on Big Dave's Crossword Blog,. However, as an adjective, asteroid^[10] means shaped like a star.

17d	Jesting about one's // 1 Across on flight (8)

The numeral and directional indicator "1 Across" is a cross reference indicator to clue 1a (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.

As is the case today, 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.

---

^* light-coloured cell in the grid

hide

19d	Recommendation /of/ a daughter on immorality? (6)

"daughter" = D [genealogy] (show reference )

In genealogies, d^[5] is the abbreviation for daughter ⇒ Henry m. Georgina 1957, 1s 2d^*.

---

^* Henry married Georgina in 1957. Their marriage produced 1 son and 2 daughters.

hide

20d	Rather // narrow-minded about head of religion (6)

23d	Talk about Liberal repeatedly // causes annoyance (5)

Gas^[3] is used in the informal sense of (noun) idle or boastful talk or (verb) to talk excessively.

"Liberal" = L (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.

show less

24d	Pay attention to // river rising below hospital (4)

The Dee^[5,7] could be any of several rivers in Scotland and England — not to mention Ireland and Australia — the most prominent being:

• a river in northeastern Scotland, which rises in the Grampian Mountains and flows eastwards past Balmoral Castle to the North Sea at Aberdeen
• a river that rises in North Wales and flows past Chester and on into the Irish Sea

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

Monday, March 30, 2020 — DT 29052 (Published Saturday, March 28, 2020)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 29152
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Setter Chris Lancaster (Telegraph Puzzles Editor)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 29152]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K
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
Notes
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, March 28, 2020 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

After an absence of several months, I have decided to return to weekday blogging duties today. I can't guarantee that I will be able to produce a blog every day — they may be somewhat hit and miss. However, we will see how things work out.

I spent much of the hiatus in hospital and the past several weeks convalescing at home (which will continue for some as yet undetermined period of time). As a result, life under the COVID-19 social isolation regime is little changed from what I was already experiencing.

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 symbols and markup conventions used in explaining the parsing of clues.

Across

1 Threaten // close friend hiding papers (10)

6a	Counterfoil // that’s difficult to remove? Not half (4)

9a	Rush to capture northern // pirate (5)

Captain Flint^[7] is a fictional 18th-century pirate captain created by the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). Flint first appears in the classic adventure yarn Treasure Island, which was first serialised in a children's magazine in 1881, and later published as a novel in 1883.

10a	Policeman circling about in court’s // grounds (9)

PC^[5] is a British designation for a police constable ⇒ PC Bartholomew made his report.

12a	Cherish floating voter // that was collected by 9? (8-5)

Scratching the Surface
Floating voter[5] is a British term for a person who has not decided which way to vote in an election, or one who does not consistently vote for the same political party ⇒ the party leader stepped up his efforts to appeal to floating voters.

14a	Changes to plan // visibly embarrassed crowds (8)

15a	Rep condemned great // post-war building (6)

The earliest account of a prefab building^[7] (1160 to 1170) would appear to be a castle transported by Normans in 'kit' form and erected overnight (including digging a moat around it). In the United States, several companies including Sears Catalog Homes began offering mail-order kit homes between 1902 and 1910. This innovation in construction seems to have taken off in the UK after the Second World War, with more than 156,000 prefabricated homes being built between 1945 and 1948.

17a	No d-drink? // Drink! (6)

A noggin^[10] is a small quantity of spirits, usually 1 gill (one quarter of a pint).

19a	Happy // church always not quite crowded (8)

21a	Hurry /in/ rain, perhaps (13)

Precipitation^[5] is an archaic term denoting the fact or quality of acting suddenly and rashly ⇒ Cora was already regretting her precipitation.

24a	A boy harbours criminal since // uprising (9)

25a	Abuse when one pulls out /in/ traffic (5)

26a	Hiker tired somewhat over // long journey (4)

27a	Moving anecdotes about beginning to love // one’s young (10)

In the definition, the 's (which denotes possession in the surface reading) transforms into a contraction for the verb 'is'.

Down

1 Bar opponent reportedly /getting/ data (4)

2d	Contaminated // meat ain’t edible? Just slice away outside bits! (7)

3d	Ham can imitate cast /in/ summer (13)

As an anagram indicator, cast^[5] is used in the sense of to shape (metal or other material) by pouring it into a mould while molten ⇒ when hammered or cast, bronze could be made into tools.

---

A summer^[1] is someone or something that does sums^*, a sum^[5] being an arithmetical problem, especially at an elementary level ⇒ (i) we did sums at school, Mummy; (ii) You saw crates of certain sizes, and then you would do your sums and then do your deductions from that.

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^* I had supposed this sense of the word to be a whimsical invention of the setter, but it is found in The Chambers Dictionary as a noun corresponding to the verb sum.

4d	Journalist brought up advances /for/ banks (8)

5d	Thrive, strangely, having lost five // of them (5)

7d	Credit cancelled /for/ carpet (4,3)

Tick^[5] (used in the phrase on tick) is an informal British term meaning credit ⇒ the printer agreed to send the brochures out on tick.

---

Origin: The term apparently originates as a short form for ticket in the phrase on the ticket, referring to an IOU or promise to pay.

---

Carpet^[5] is British^* slang meaning to reprimand severely ⇒ the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses.

---

^* Although we do not use this expression in North America, we certainly use the possibly related expression to be called on the carpet^[5].

Here and There
Across the pond, the term "tick off" has quite a different meaning than it does in North America. Whereas, here, to tick someone off[5] means to make someone annoyed or angry ⇒ Jefferson was a little ticked off, but he’ll come around, in Britain it means to reprimand or rebuke someone ⇒ (i) he was ticked off by Angela; (ii) he got a ticking off from the magistrate.

8d	Relax, then film dance /and/ game (10)

"film = ET (show explanation )

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial^[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

hide

11d	Trainees timed changing // tyres (13)

Tyre^[5] is the British spelling of tire (in the sense of an automobile component).

 An intermediate^[1] is a racing-car tyre with a tread between that on a slick and that on a wet tyre.

13d	Change of heart? (10)

16d	Change // disrupted her plans (8)

Shrapnel^[1,5,10] is an informal British term for loose change or small change ⇒ little more than a few pounds [British currency] and a handful of shrapnel.

18d	Delight when officer enters // valley (7)

Unfortunately, the numeration would appear to be incorrect for the name of the valley. Glen Coe^[7] is a glen (valley) in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, while Glencoe^[7] is the main settlement in the glen. The glen is the site of the Massacre of Glencoe^[5], a massacre in 1692 of members of the Jacobite MacDonald clan by Campbell soldiers, which took place near Glencoe.

20d	Blast // food for supporters? (7)

A double definition with the second being whimsical.

22d	Long story /in/ Independent upset Irish parliament (5)

"Independent" = I (show explanation )

I^[1] is the abbreviation for independent, in all likelihood in the sense of a politician with no party affiliation.

hide explanation

The Dáil^[5] (in full Dáil Éireann) is the lower house of Parliament in the Republic of Ireland, composed of 166 members (called Teachtai Dála). It was first established in 1919, when Irish republicans proclaimed an Irish state.

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The Iliad^[5] is a Greek hexameter epic poem in twenty-four books, traditionally ascribed to Homer, telling how Achilles killed Hector at the climax of the Trojan War.

Scratching the Surface

The Independent [7] (nicknamed the Indy) is a British online newspaper. (show more ) Established in 1986 as an independent national morning newspaper published in London, it was sold to Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev in 2010. It began as a broadsheet, but changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition of The Independent was published in March 2016, leaving only its digital editions. hide

23d	Overcome // famous footballer (4)

George Best^[5] (1946–2005) was a Northern Irish footballer [soccer player]. A winger for Manchester United, he was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968.

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

Saturday, March 28 — Equine Celebration

Introduction

From today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, one may extract suggestions to slow down, disregard the weeping, and celebrate with some bubbly. Good advice in these times, perhaps.

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 symbols and markup conventions used in explaining the parsing of clues.

Across

1a	Dew on a VW mistaken /for/ hail (4,4)

{WAVE DOWN}* — anagram of (mistaken) DEW ON A VW

5a	A northern spruce /in/ Irish county (6)

A|N|TRIM — A (†) + N(orthern) + TRIM (spruce; neat and tidy)

Antrim^[5] is one of the Six Counties of Northern Ireland, since 1973 an administrative district; chief town, Antrim.

9a	Overheard noble in the centre of // monumental structure (7)

PYR~|AMID — sounds like (overheard) PEER (noble) + AMID (in the centre of)

10a	Dad and tennis great // confer (7)

PA|LAVER — PA (dad) + LAVER (tennis great [Rod Laver])

Rod Laver^[5] is an Australian former professional tennis player. In 1962 he became the second man (after Don Budge in 1938) to win the four major singles championships (British, American, French, and Australian) in one year; in 1969 he was the first to repeat this.

11a	Number-running // joint, in part (5)

TEN|ON — TEN (number) + ON (running; operating, in use)

A tenon^[5] is a projecting piece of wood made for insertion into a matching mortise in another piece of wood to form a joint.

12a	Shocked expression // completely capturing an error (4,5)

WHO(A N|E)LLY — wholly (completely) containing (capturing) {AN (†) + E (error; abbrev. used in baseball)}

Delving Deeper

According to the Farlex Dictionary of Idioms, the expression Whoa, Nelly! (or Whoa, Nellie!) is an exclamation of surprise or astonishment, especially when something is more intense than one expected. The phrase, generally thought to have originated as a command to slow down a horse (wherein "Nelly" is the horse's name), can also be used as an expression said to any person, thing, or animal (especially a horse) that one is trying to get under control or coax into slowing down.

13a	Skilled worker // trains a bum (7)

ARTISAN* — anagram of (bum) TRAINS A

15a	Be concerned about daughter/’s/ inner circle (5)

CA(D)RE — CARE (be concerned) containing (about) D(aughter)

17a	Starchy // outfit I had (5)

RIG|ID — RIG (outfit) + ID ([contraction of] I had; I'd)

19a	Twelve // swine going around ninety (7)

BO(XC)ARS — BOARS (swine) containing (going around) XC ([Roman numeral for] ninety)

Boxcars^[3] is a throw of two dice that turns up six spots on each.

22a	Disregard // pests caught by Ned (5,4)

NE(VER MIN)D — VERMIN (pests) contained in (caught by) NED (†)

25a	Post office holding Fleming/’s/ set of keys? (5)

P(IAN)O — PO (Post Office; abbrev. used in mailing addresses) containing (holding) IAN (Fleming; English novelist Ian Fleming^[5] (1908–1964), known for his spy novels whose hero is the secret agent James Bond)

26a	Beans go bad /in/ food container (7)

{NOSEBAG}* — anagram of (bad) BEANS GO

27a	Having a closed mind, // I got in bed (7)

B(I|GOT)ED — {I (†) + GOT (†)} contained in (in) BED (†)

28a	Diarist taken in by humorist // in decline (6)

WA(NIN)G — NIN (diarist; American writer Anaïs Nin) contained in (taken in by) WAG (humorist)

Anaïs Nin^[5,7] (1903–1977) was a Cuban-American writer, born in France. She published her first novel House of Incest in 1936 and went on to produce collections of short stories, essays, diaries, and erotica. Her steamy personal diaries were published in multiple volumes and several editions — both before and after her death.

29a	Fine spa destroyed after 50 // years of existence (8)

L|IFESPAN* — anagram of (destroyed) FINE SPA following (after) L ([Roman numeral for] 50)

Down

1d	A stone from a fruit eaten by Wisconsin // deer (6)

W(A|PIT)I — {A (†) + PIT (stone from a fruit) } contained in (eaten by) WI ([postal abbrev. for] Wisconsin)

Wapiti^[3,4,10] is another name for elk (Cervus canadensis), a large North American deer.

2d	Covered porch // disguised a red van (7)

VERANDA* — anagram of (disguised) A RED VAN

3d	Granted, around the first of May, I // was in the driver’s seat (9)

DO(M|I)NATED — DONATED (granted) containing (around) {M (the first [letter] of May) + I (†)}

4d	Wife exchanged vow with // sports fanatic’s wife? (5)

W(I|DO)W — W(ife) + {I DO} (exchanged vow) + W(ith)

6d	Fabric // only reordered by name (5)

NYLO*|N — anagram of (reordered) ONLY + (by) N(ame)

7d	Blasted // present returned (7)

REVILED< — reversal of (returned) DELIVER (present [a speech, perhaps])

8d	Pretentious in “Mister Ed,” /and/ made to suffer (8)

M(ARTY)R|ED — ARTY (pretentious) contained in (in) {MR (Mister; abbrev.) + ED (†)}

Scratching the Surface
Mister Ed[7] is an American television situation comedy that aired from 1961 to 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which originally appeared in short stories by American writer Walter R. Brooks (1886–1958).

10d	Charge Knicks for the audience // where the Suns play (7)

{PHOE|NIX}~ — sounds like (for the audience) {FEE (charge) + Knicks (†)}

14d	Wild gibbons // crying (7)

SOBBING* — anagram of (wild) GIBBONS

15d	Bubbly // winner a long time gaining first in Nationals (9)

CHAMP|AG(N)E —CHAMP (winner) + AGE (a long time) containing (gaining) N (first [letter] in Nationals)

16d	Mint // and a bit of nutmeg in beer (5,3)

BR(AND| N)EW — {AND (†) + N (a bit [initial letter] of Nutmeg) contained in (in) BREW (beer)

In my opinion, the clue would have been more appropriately worded as:

• Mint /and/ bit of nutmeg in beer (5,3)

 The wording provided in the clue seems to call for the insertion of a superfluous 'A' in the solution.

18d	Composer, surrounded by booze, // yields (5,2)

G(IVES) IN — IVES (composer) contained in (surrounded by) GIN (booze)

Charles Ives^[5] (1874–1954) was an American composer, noted for his use of polyrhythms, polytonality, quarter-tones, and aleatoric techniques. Notable works: The Unanswered Question (chamber work, 1906) and Three Places in New England (for orchestra, 1903–14).

20d	Turn on // what’s happening, eating pastry (5,2)

S(TART) UP — SUP ([contraction of] what's happening; 'sup) containing (eating) TART (pastry)

Sup^[5] (also 'sup) is an informal US expression, a contraction of what's up, used as a friendly greeting ⇒ sup, guys.

21d	Unemotional // court TV room (6)

WOO|DEN — WOO (court) + DEN (TV room)

23d	Mostly dressing // bird (5)

ROBIN_ — ROBIN[G] (dressing) with its final letter removed (mostly)

24d	Name one independent // Arab emirate (5)

DUB|A|I — DUB (name) + A (one) + I(ndendent; a politican not a member of an officially recognized party)

Epilogue

I detected the hint of a horsey theme in today's puzzle with 8a (Mister Ed), 12a (WHOA NELLY), 26a NOSEBAG), and (admittedly with a fairly substantial stretch) 24d (Arab). To toast our equine friends, we have the choice of either CHAMPAGNE (15d), beer (16d), or gin (18d).

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

Saturday, March 21, 2020 — Game on Ice

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon introduces us to some of the greatest names in hockey from the latter half of the twentieth century.

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.

hide

Across

1a	Star // skater is knocked for a loop (8)

ASTERISK* — anagram of (knocked for a loop) SKATER IS

5a	A power unit with zip returned // home to the Senators (6)

{O|TTAW|A}< — reversal of (returned) A (†) + WATT (power unit) + O (zip; zero, nada [the letter 'O' looks like the figure representing zero])

9a	Shucks, /it’s/ Bobby and Brett (5)

HULLS — double definition

Bobby Hull^[7], nicknamed "The Golden Jet", is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. In his 23 years (1957-1980) in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA), Hull played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Winnipeg Jets, and Hartford Whalers.

Brett Hull^[7], son of Bobby Hull and nicknamed "The Golden Brett", is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes between 1986 and 2005.

10a	Crafty players // mad at Orr & Espo (9)

OPERATORS* — anagram of (mad) AT ORR + (&) ESPO

Scratching the Surface

Bobby Orr[7] is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 12 seasons (1966-1978), the initial 10 with the Boston Bruins followed by two with the Chicago Black Hawks. Phil Esposito[7], familiarly known as Espo, is a Canadian broadcaster, and former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive. He played 18 seasons (1963-1981) in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

12a	Plan // a Ranger tweaked (7)

ARRANGE* — anagram of (tweaked) A RANGER

The New York Rangers^[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference.

13a	Hockey great Bryan loses one // horse at the races (7)

TROTT_ER — TROTT[I]ER (hockey great Bryan) with the letter 'I' removed (missing [the Roman numeral for] one)

Bryan Trottier^[7] is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons (1975-1994) in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.

14a	“Spotting” /is/ not a hockey penalty (8)

NOT|ICING — NOT (†) + ICING (a hockey penalty)

In ice hockey, icing^[12] is an infraction in which a player in their team's defensive half of the rink hits the puck past the opponent's goal line but not into the net.

A Bit of Nitpicking
To be precise, I would say that icing is an infraction but not a penalty. Icing the puck results in a face-off in the defensive zone of the team committing the infraction -- not a stint in the penalty box for the player committing the infraction.

16a	Pronounced Gretzky/’s/ decline (4)

WANE~ — sounds like (pronounced) WAYNE (Gretzky)

Wayne Gretzky^[7], known as "The Great One" and regarded by many as "the greatest hockey player ever",  is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and head coach. He played 20 seasons (1979-1999)* in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

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^* For the 1978-79 hockey season, Gretzky played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Indianapolis Racers and Edmonton Oilers. The WHA collapsed following that season and the Oilers joined the NHL.

20a	Imitate Lemieux’s last /and/ highest point (4)

APE|X — APE (imitate) + X (LemieuX's last [final letter])

Mario Lemieux^[7], nicknamed "The Magnificent One" or Le Magnifique (as well as "Super Mario"), is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1984 to 2006, assuming ownership of the club in 1999.

21a	Famous team in game somewhat // heated (8)

_S|TEAM|IN|G_ — hidden in (somewhat) famouS TEAM IN Game

24a	Mark in the Hall of Fame /is/ not so neat (7)

MESSIER — double definition

Mark Messier^[7] is a Canadian former professional ice hockey center of the National Hockey League and former special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers. He played a quarter of a century in the NHL (1979–2004) with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks.

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^* During the 1978-79 hockey season, Messier played professionally with the World Hockey Association (WHA)'s Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers.

26a	More playful hockey: ultimately, // shooting at a target (7)

ARCHER|Y — ARCHER (more playful) + Y (hockey ultimately; final letter of hockeY)

Arch^[5] (adj.) is used in the sense of deliberately or affectedly playful and teasing.

27a	Hockey squad // is absorbing bad word of mouth? (9)

I(SLANDER)S —IS (†) containing (absorbing) SLANDER (bad word of mouth)

The New York Islanders^[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. The team splits its home games between Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, and Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

28a	Rattle // Hasek terribly (5)

SHAKE* — anagram of (terribly) HASEK

Scratching the Surface

Dominik Hašek[7], nicknamed "The Dominator", is a Czech former professional ice hockey goaltender. In his 16-season (1990-2008)* National Hockey League (NHL) career, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators. * Hašek retired for the 2002-03 season, coming out of retirement the following year. The NHL Lockout in 2004-05 resulted in the cancellation of that season. Hašek also played 10 seasons of professional hockey in Europe before joining the NHL and two more seasons after leaving.

29a	Quiet hockey arena/’s/ contract (6)

SH|RINK — SH ([admonition to be] quiet) + rink (hockey arena)

30a	After start of play, Orr & Espo transformed // role in The Tempest (8)

P|ROSPERO* — anagram of (transformed) {ORR + (&) ESPO} following (after) P (start [initial letter] of Play)

Prospero^[7] is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

Scratching the Surface
See 10a for an explanation of "Orr & Espo".

Down

1d	Volcanic fallout hit // religious retreat (6)

ASH|RAM — ASH (volcanic fallout) + RAM (hit)

An ashram^[5] (especially in South Asia) is a hermitage, monastic community, or other place of religious retreat.

2d	Standing, // cheer in mesmerized state (9)

T(OLE)RANCE — OLE ([Spanish] cheer) contained in (in) TRANCE (mesmerized state)

Although it sounds exceedingly awkward to my ear, I suppose that one could employ the gerund 'standing' in place of the noun 'tolerance' ⇒ I warn you, do not take my standing of your insolence for granted.

3d	Judge keeps returning nose // ring (8)

R(ESON<)ATE — RATE (judge) containing (keeps) reversal of (returning) NOSE (†)

4d	Get one goal, /or/ twenty (5)

SCORE — double definition

6d	Part of a service // to tape anew (6)

TEAPOT* — anagram of (anew) TO TAPE

7d	Concerning // a clash of opponents (5)

A|BOUT — A (†) + BOUT (clash of opponents)

8d	Miscellaneous // dope, or Danson (8)

ASS|OR|TED — ASS (dope) + OR (†) + TED (Danson)

Ted Danson^[7] is an American actor who is likely best known for playing the role of Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom Cheers.

11d	Upset at noise, // land (7)

ESTONIA* — anagram of (upset) AT NOISE

15d	Circle // bunk next to large lake (7)

COT|ERIE — COT (bunk) + (next to) ERIE (large lake)

17d	Collect // silver Gregory put away (9)

AG|GREG|ATE — AG ([symbol for the chemical element] silver) + GREG(ory) + ATE (put away)

18d	Second-rate gun accessories // serving women (8)

B|ARM|AIDS — B (second-rate) + ARM (gun) + AIDS (accessories)

19d	Gives the wrong role to // young lady having fling (8)

MIS(CAST)S — MISS (young lady) containing (having) CAST (fling)

22d	Enlist // non-U.S. soldiers going back to front (4,2)

{SIG|N ON}< — reversal of (going back to front) {NON (†) + GIS (US soldiers)}

23d	Louisiana style // in crazy decor (6)

_ZY|DECO_ — hidden in (in) craZY DECOr

Zydeco^[5] is a kind of black American dance music originally from southern Louisiana, typically featuring accordion and guitar.

25d	Fly around left // of the sun (5)

SO(L)AR — SOAR (fly) containing (around) L(eft)

26d	Norse gods // arise cryptically (5)

AESIR* — anagram of (cryptically) ARISE

In Norse mythology, Æsir^[5] denotes the Norse gods and goddesses collectively, including Odin, Thor, and Balder.

Epilogue

With virtually all major sports shut down around the world due to COVID-19, the NHL is far from the only organization whose games are "on ice".

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