Saturday, March 7, 2020 — Go South, Young Actor

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon is populated by four Canadian actors and actresses who made it big 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	Actress // who can garden , after changing (3,4,5)

{RAE DAWN CHONG}* — anagram of  (after changing) WHO CAN GARDEN

Rae Dawn Chong^[7] is a Canadian-American actress best known for her roles in the films Quest for Fire (1981), Beat Street (1984), The Color Purple and Commando (both 1985), Boulevard (1994) and Time Runner (1993). She is the daughter of comedian and actor Tommy Chong.

9a	Carelessly draws // 500 lots (7)

D|OODLES — D ([Roman numeral for] 500) + OODLES (lots)

10a	Go away, carrying red, // shiny coat (7)

VA(R)NISH — VANISH (go away) containing (carrying) R(ed)

11a	Thor’s chief // love: thunderous noise (4)

O|DIN — O (love; letter that looks like a zero, love being a nil score in tennis) + DIN (thunderous noise)

In Scandinavian mythology, Thor^[5] is the god of thunder, the weather, agriculture, and the home, the son of Odin and Freya (Frigga). Thursday is named after him.

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In Scandinavian mythology, Odin^[5] is the supreme god and creator, god of victory and the dead. Wednesday is named after him.

12a	A passage about fat // actor (4,6)

A|LAN (THICK)E — A (†) + LANE (passage) containing (about) THICK (fat)

Alan Thicke^[7] (1947–2016), born Alan Willis Jeffrey, was a Canadian actor, songwriter, game and talk show host. He is the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains.

14a	Secretive /or/ ostentatious about ad (7)

SH(AD)OWY — SHOWY (ostentatious) containing (about) AD (†)

15a	Skunk // counter gets confused (7)

TROUNCE* — anagram of (gets confused) COUNTER

Skunk here being used in the sense of soundly defeat, as in the card game crib.

16a	Andiron // I forged cracked (7)

(FIRE DOG}* — anagram of (cracked) I FORGED

19a	Didactic, // be nosy about a pop (7)

PR(EACH)Y — PRY (be nosy) containing (about) {EACH (a pop)}

21a	Fat, short // comic (4,6)

RICH| LITTLE — RICH (fat) + LITTLE (short)

Rich Little^[7] is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor. He has been nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Voices".

22a	Egyptian deity // is duplicated (4)

IS|IS — {IS + IS} (IS duplicated)

25a	Lass holding stringed instrument, // regarding part of the rear (7)

G(LUTE)AL — GAL (lass) containing (holding) LUTE (stringed instrument)

26a	Bloke left with popular // star of silent films (7)

CHAP|L|IN — CHAP (bloke) + L(eft) + IN (popular)

Bloke and chap are both more or less informal British terms for a man.

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Charlie Chaplin^[7] (1889–1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, "The Tramp", and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy.

27a	Actress, // strangely dim, got darker (6,6)

{MARGOT KIDDER} — anagram of (strangely) DIM GOT DARKER

Margot Kidder^[7], the professional name of Margaret Ruth Kidder (1948–2018), was a Canadian-American actress, director, and activist whose career spanned over five decades. Though she appeared in an array of films and television, Kidder is most widely known for her performance as Lois Lane in the Superman film series, appearing in the first four films.

Down

1d	Went on mid-October // Hollywood drive (5)

RODE|O — RODE (went on) + O (mid-October; middle letter of 'OcrOber')

Rodeo Drive^[7] is a two-mile-long (3.2 km) street, primarily in Beverly Hills, California, with its southern segment in the City of Los Angeles. Its southern terminus is at Beverwil Drive, and its northern terminus is at its intersection with Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The name is most commonly used metonymically to refer to the three-block stretch of the street north of Wilshire Boulevard and south of Little Santa Monica Boulevard, which is known for its luxury goods stores.

2d	Hot stuff // adapted to a rice (7)

EROTICA* — anagram of (adapted) TO A RICE

3d	Bar // drink from a keg split by ten (4)

A(X)LE — ALE (drink from a keg) containing (split by) X ([Roman numeral for] ten)

4d	North American quip // in a country and western style? (7)

NA|SALLY — N(orth) + A(merican) + SALLY (quip)

Sally^[5] is used in the sense of a witty or lively remark, especially one made as an attack or as a diversion in an argument; a retort ⇒ (i) there was subdued laughter at this sally; (ii) his sally at Descartes.

5d	Safe refuge returned to // poor person (4-3)

HAVE-N|OT< — HAVEN (safe refuge) + reversal of (returned) TO

6d	Drifting on her ark to // land in Asia (5,5)

{NORTH KOREA}* — anagram of (drifting) ON HER ARK TO

7d	Front of that old Peruvian // container (3,3)

T|IN CAN — T (front [initial letter] of That) + INCAN (old Peruvian)

An Incan^[5] (or Inca) was a member of a South American people living in the central Andes before the Spanish conquest.^*

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^* The Incas arrived in the Cuzco valley in Peru c.AD 1200. When the Spanish invaded in the early 1530s, the Inca empire covered most of modern Ecuador and Peru, much of Bolivia, and parts of Argentina and Chile. Their descendants, speaking Quechua, still make up about half of Peru's population.

8d	One caught in the very // act of stealing (8)

TH(I)E|VERY — I ([Roman numeral for] one) contained in (caught in) THE (†) + VERY (†)

13d	Company beginning to rank herb by age // range (10)

CO|R|DILL|ERA — CO(mpany) + R (beginning to [initial letter of] Rank) + DILL (herb) + ERA (age)

A cordillera^[5] is a system or group of parallel mountain ranges together with the intervening plateaux and other features, especially in the Andes or the Rockies ⇒ The mighty Andes Mountains divide into three long ranges - called cordilleras - that run the length of the country.

14d	Pundit receiving silly ruff /for/ voting right (8)

S(UFFR*)AGE — SAGE (pundit) containing (receiving) anagram of (silly) RUFF

17d	Get back // up after core improved (6)

RECO*|UP — UP (†) following (after) anagram of (improved) CORE

18d	Sort of table // in “Omega telegram” (7)

_GA|TELEG_ — hidden in (in) OmeGA TELEGram

19d	Skunk // a cop let loose (7)

POLECAT* — anagram of (loose) A COP LET

20d	Chuck went first /and/ made a chess move (7)

CAST|LED — CAST (chuck; throw or toss) + LED (went first)

In chess, castle^[5] (verb) means to make a special move (no more than once in a game by each player) in which the king is transferred from its original square two squares along the back rank towards a rook on its corner square which is then transferred to the square passed over by the king.

23d	Way to find a sub /with/ some veggies on a roll (5)

_S|ON|A|R_ — hidden in (some) veggieS ON A Roll

24d	Spanish surrealist // one boy viewed in retrospect (4)

{DAL|I}< — reversal of (viewed in retrospect) {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + LAD (boy)}

Salvador Dali ^[7] (1904–89) was a Spanish painter. A surrealist, he portrayed dream images with almost photographic realism against backgrounds of arid Catalan landscapes. Notable works: The Persistence of Memory (1931).

Epilogue

American newspaper publisher Horace Greeley famously advised "Go west, young man". For Canadian actors and actresses the land of opportunity seems to lie to the south.

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