Tuesday, September 4, 2018 — DT 28718

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28717
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, April 20, 2018
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28718]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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

I certainly found the difficulty level of this puzzle to be a cut above the two stars that Deep Threat awarded it.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Click here for an explanation of conventions and symbols used in explaining the parsing of clues.

The purpose of this article is to explain the conventions and symbols that I use on this blog in explaining the parsing of clues.

Legend: The following symbols are used in reviews: "*" 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 programmes, 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 straight from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion) or it may be 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).

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 cryptic definitions 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 explanation

Across

1a   More than one girl gathered round old piano // dances (6)

"piano" = P (show explanation )

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 explanation

The galop^[5] is a lively ballroom dance in duple time, popular in the late 18th century.

What did she say?
At Comment #10 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Jen writes the two girls I thought of were Jo and Anna. Joanna[10] is Cockney rhyming slang for a piano.

4a   Passage // that accommodates retreating soldiers (6)

"soldiers" = OR (show explanation )

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks^[5] (abbreviation OR^[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

hide explanation

8a   Seafood // that could make you collapse (8)

Escallop^[10] is another word for scallop.

10a   Watery holiday area // planned round a particular idea (6)

The Med^[5] is an informal, British name for the Mediterranean Sea.

11a   Engineer /in/ factory wasting time (4)

12a   Was boss // having to shout? That fellow's manner! (3,3,4)

13a   Insignificance /of/ man with no picture being shot (12)

16a   You /must be/ Eve! (6,6)

In the Bible, Eve^[5,10] is the first woman [and second person], mother of the human race, fashioned by God from the rib of Adam, companion of Adam and mother of Cain and Abel^* [Genesis 2:18-25].

---

^* not to mention Seth and her other sons and daughters [Gen 5:4]

20a   Adult getting cross with member of family around? // Chilling out /needed/ (10)

Despite being positioned at the end of the clue, the word "needed" fulfills a role similar to that of a link word.

"adult" = A (show explanation )

The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate^[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate. [Despite its demise in the real world, it continues to find widespread use in Crosswordland.]

hide explanation

21a   Scarcely any can be heard -- // gosh! (4)

22a   Notes /in/ small-sized manuscript (6)

Minim^[5] is a British name for a half note, a note having the time value of two crotchets^* or half a semibreve^**, represented by a ring with a stem.

---

^* Crotchet^[5] is a British name for a quarter note.
^** Semibreve^[5] is a British name for a whole note.

23a   Fate /of/ revolutionary captured by the French intelligence service (8)

We need a British intelligence service rather than the American one I originally tried to use.

"revolutionary" = CHE (show explanation )

Che Guevara^[7] (1928–1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.

hide explanation

"the French" = LA (show explanation )

In French, the feminine singular form of the definite article is la^[8].

hide explanation

The Secret Intelligence Service^[7] (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the British intelligence agency which supplies the British Government with foreign intelligence. It operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) alongside the internal Security Service (MI5), the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and Defence Intelligence (DI).

---

In Greek mythology, Lachesis^[5] is one of the three Fates. The Fates (known as Moirai^[5] in Greek mythology) were three goddesses (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) who presided over the birth and life of humans.

24a   Silver // hair ultimately concealed by a chap (6)

Argent^[5] is silver as a heraldic tincture.

25a   Appearing in biography, a desperate // group of stars (6)

Hyades^[5] is an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus, appearing to surround the bright star Aldebaran.

Down

1d   Source of energy /is/ sun, acquired in short supply outside (8)

Sol^[10] is a poetic word for the sun.

---

Origin: Sol^[10] is the Roman god personifying the sun, a counterpart of the Greek god Helios.

---

From a British perspective, gasoline^[2] is a North American term for petrol.

2d   Find out about knight following king (5)

"knight" = N (show explanation )

A knight^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.

N^[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].

As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines: 

• K^[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight. 
• K^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king. 
• N^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.

The dictionary fails to specify how one differentiates an abbreviation from a symbol.

On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.^[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE^[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

hide explanation

Lear^[5], a legendary early king of Britain, is mentioned by the 12th century Welsh chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1139; first printed in 1508), an account of the kings of Britain.

King Lear^[7] is a tragedy by English playwright William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.

3d   Chum has hesitation, wanting little time /in/ Italian city (7)

"little time" = MO (show explanation )

Mo^[5,10] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal, British^[5] (or mainly British^[10]) term for a short period of time ⇒ hang on a mo!.

hide explanation

---

Palermo^[7] is the capital of the Italian island of Sicily, a port on the north coast.

5d   Technical problem maybe in // English town (7)

Hitchin^[7] is a market town in Hertfordshire, England.

6d   Turn too sharply, /it being/ tricky to reverse (9)

7d   Organised crime /of/ those people undermined by old boy (3,3)

"old boy" = OB (show explanation )

In Britain, an old boy^[5] (abbreviation OB^[2])  is:

• a former male student of a school or college ⇒an old boy of Banbury County School; or
• a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒ the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards.

It is also a chiefly British affectionate form of address to a boy or man ⇒ ‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.

hide explanation

9d   Showing remorse // in Lent, i.e. apt to reform (11)

14d   After muddle is getting on // sending texts? (9)

15d   Exclusive groups // that could be esoteric (8)

17d   Song /from/ a new boy joining church (7)

A chanson^[5] is a French song.

---

Origin: French, 'song'

18d   Frightened // old man cut off, beginning to yell (7)

Nick^[5] is an informal British term meaning to steal ⇒ she nicked fivers from the till.

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Deep Threat writes ‘cut off’ (more often seen in a slang term for ‘cut off from its rightful owner’). I am not entirely clear as to exactly what Deep Threat is trying to say here. He may possibly be implying that "cut off from its rightful owner" is a British expression meaning to steal. However, I have been unable to verify the existence of such an expression. On the other hand, he may merely be expecting us to replace the words "cut off" in the example that he gives with the word "nick" (‘nick from its rightful owner’).

19d   Big noise after this person comes to a // holy city (6)

"this person" = ME (show explanation )

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the or this) compiler, (the or this) setter, (the or this) speaker, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or ME) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

hide explanation

Medina^[5,10] is a city in western Saudi Arabia, around an oasis some 320 km (200 miles) north of Mecca. It is the second most holy city of Islam (after Mecca), being the site of the tomb of Mohammed.

21d   Quietly be out in front /making/ petition (5)

We finish as we started. The term Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]) is a musical direction to play a passage softly or quietly (see 1a).

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 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, September 3, 2018 — DT 28717 (Published Saturday, September 1, 2018)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28717
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, April 19, 2018
Setter proXimal (Steve Bartlett)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28717]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By pommers
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, September 1, 2018 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

I threw in the towel a bit early today but the pressure of a looming deadline denied me the luxury of sleeping on the puzzle. Obstinate solutions often appear magically after the subconscious mind has a chance to work on them overnight.

The puzzle is from a setter whom we have not seen before — or, at least, one who has not previously been unmasked.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Click here for an explanation of conventions and symbols used in explaining the parsing of clues.

The purpose of this article is to explain the conventions and symbols that I use on this blog in explaining the parsing of clues.

Legend: The following symbols are used in reviews: "*" 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 programmes, 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 straight from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion) or it may be 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).

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 cryptic definitions 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 explanation

Across

1a   China protects gold haul /for/ nation (8)

In Britain, china^[5] is an informal term for a friend (or, as the Brits would say, a mate^*). This meaning comes from cockney rhyming slang (show explanation ), where china is the shortened form of china plate which rhymes with 'mate'.

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^* In Britain, mate^[5] — in addition to being a person’s husband, wife, or other sexual partner — is an informal term for a friend or companion ⇒ my best mate Steve.

Rhyming slang^[5] is a type of slang that replaces words with rhyming words or phrases, typically with the rhyming element omitted. For example, butcher’s, short for butcher’s hook, means ‘look’ in cockney rhyming slang.

hide explanation

"gold" = OR (show explanation )

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture.

In heraldry, a tincture^[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

hide explanation

6a   End /of/ all but the last of medium-dry wine (6)

Demi-sec^[5] is an adjective (applied to wine) meaning medium dry.

---

Origin: French, literally ‘half-dry’

9a   Selection of odder maladies // relating to organ (6)

10a   Rioting is over -- caught in a new // hostility (8)

11a   Beset by trouble, airmen with ultimately duff // fuel (8)

"airmen" = RAF (show explanation )

The Royal Air Force^[5] (abbreviation RAF) is the British air force, formed in 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (founded 1912) and the Royal Naval Air Service (founded 1914).

hide explanation

Paraffin^[10] (also called paraffin oil) is the British name for kerosene.

Scratching the Surface
Duff[5] is an informal British term meaning: of very poor quality ⇒ duff lyrics incorrect or false ⇒ she played a couple of duff notes

12a   Invertebrate pierced by daughter beginning to emit // gunk (6)

13a   Army officers ran // non-specialist shop (7,5)

16a   Landowners /in/ arrangement to sell lord hams (12)

Smallholder^[5] is a British term for a person who owns or manages an agricultural holding smaller than a farm ⇒ (i) urban sprawl threaten the fates of rural smallholders around the world; (ii) smallholder farmers use a wide range of agricultural tools for more efficient weeding.

19a   Reveal // Frenchman's one request after getting married (6)

"Frenchman's one" = UN (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un^[8].

hide explanation

21a   Possessing case? (8)

The genitive^[5] (or genitive case^[5]) is (in inflected languages^*) a case of nouns and pronouns, and of words in grammatical agreement with them, the typical function of which is to indicate that the person or thing denoted by the word is related to another as source, possessor, or the like; (also in uninflected languages) a word or word form having a similar possessive function.

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^* an inflected language is one in which the form of words change to express a particular grammatical function or attribute, typically tense, mood, person, number, and gender ⇒ Arabic verbs are inflected for person, number, and gender.

23a   Quietly remove // painting, perhaps (8)

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers muses Not sure what the word quietly brings to this clue. The answer is that it indicates abstract^[5] (verb) is being used euphemistically^* to denote that someone has stolen something ⇒ his pockets contained all he had been able to abstract from the flat.

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^* This usage is derived from abstract^[5] (usually abstract something from) in the sense of to extract or remove (something) ⇒ applications to abstract more water from streams.

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Abstract^[10] is an adjective denoting art characterized by geometric, formalized, or otherwise nonrepresentational qualities.

24a   Outsiders // in Sale are characters to be shifted (6)

Scratching the Surface
Sale[7] is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, on the south bank of the River Mersey, 5.2 miles (8.4 km) southwest of Manchester.

25a   Revolutionary astute about black // gemstones (6)

Beryl^[5] is a transparent pale green, blue, or yellow mineral consisting of a silicate of beryllium and aluminium, sometimes used as a gemstone.

26a   Given the OK, // I'd fire at criminal (8)

Down

2d   Working with upset celebrity, // not suitable for many (3-3)

3d   Father supporting crew without energy /to reach/ US city (5)

"energy" = E (show explanation )

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae.

hide explanation

4d   Bird // folding flailing wings in crash (9)

Solvers on both sides of the Atlantic will be familiar with birds of this name — although they will likely be different birds.

The goldfinch^[5] is a brightly coloured finch with yellow feathers in the plumage. There are four species of goldfinch, including the Eurasian goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) and the American goldfinch (Carduelis tristis).

5d   Left well-paying job /to become/ student (7)

Earner^[5] is an informal British and Australian term for an activity or thing that produces income, especially illicitly⇒ a nice little earner.

6d   Prepare // to put on clothing (5)

In the first definition, dress^[5] is used in the sense of to clean and prepare (food, especially poultry or shellfish) for cooking or eating ⇒ dress the crab and shell the prawns.

7d   Insects /from/ plant life covering South American capital (9)

Quito^[5] is the capital of Ecuador. It is situated in the Andes just south of the equator, at an altitude of 2,850 m (9,350 ft).

8d   Entertainer/'s/ to demonstrate climbing large apparatus (8)

13d   Good colleague accepts worker with right // spirit (9)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[a] for good comes from its use in education as a mark awarded on scholastic assignments or tests.

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^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

hide explanation

"worker" = ANT (show explanation )

The word "worker" and the phrase "social worker" are commonly used in cryptic crossword puzzles to clue ANT or BEE.

A worker^[5] is a neuter or undeveloped female bee, wasp, ant, or other social insect, large numbers of which do the basic work of the colony.

In crossword puzzles, "worker" will most frequently be used to clue ANT and occasionally BEE but I have yet to see it used to clue WASP. Of course, "worker" is sometimes also used to clue HAND or MAN.

hide explanation

14d   Delay surfacing -- overheard force // prepare an ambush (3,2,4)

Lie in^[5] is a British term meaning to remain in bed after the normal time for getting up ⇒ if I’m not due anywhere I’ll lie in until something kick-starts the day.

15d   Willing, // in the morning, to help (8)

17d   The girl taken another way /becomes/ less wearying (7)

18d   A meeting-place/'s/ means of access (6)

20d   Romantic // kiss on vacation includes bite (5)

The phrase "on vacation" is an indication to remove the contents (interior letters) from the word K(is)S. Vacation^[10] is likely used in the sense of the act of departing from or abandoning property, etc. Thus the setter would seem to be suggesting that the interior letters pack up and leave.

John Keats^[5] (1795–1821) was an English poet. A principal figure of the romantic movement, he wrote all of his most famous poems, including ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, and ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’, in 1818 (published in 1820).

22d   One in possession of article with force after them? (5)

In an &lit. clue^[7] (or, as some prefer to call it, all-in-one clue) such as this, the entire clue (when read one way) provides the definition — which, in this clue, happens to be a cryptic definition — and under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.

"force" = F (show explanation )

In physics, F^[5] is a symbol used to represent force in mathematical formulae.

hide explanation

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, pommers remarks Surely it should be force after HIM as the answer is singular. Despite pommers' misgivings, them[5] can be used as a singular pronoun referring to a person of unspecified sex ⇒ how well do you have to know someone before you call them a friend?. Collins English Dictionary has the following to say on the usage of they, them, and their as singular pronouns[10]. It was formerly considered correct to use a masculine pronoun such as he, him, or his to refer to people in general, as in everyone did his best, but it is now more common to use they, them, or their, and this use has become acceptable in all but the most formal contexts: everyone did their best. This use of they, them, and their to refer to people in general can even be found in some definitions in this dictionary when other gender-neutral wording would be excessively convoluted.

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 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, September 1, 2018 — Rollicking Revelry

Introduction

I trust you r-r-really r-r-relished today's puzzle from Cox & R-R-Rathvon.

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 programmes, 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 straight from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion) or it may be 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).

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 cryptic definitions 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 explanation

Across

1a   Rhode Island braggart’s claim about piece of raw // meat (3,5)

RI|B (R)OAST — RI (Rhode Island; abbrev.) + BOAST (braggart's claim) containing (about) R (piece [initial letter] of Raw)

5a   Everyone involved in wager // dancing in tights and tutus (6)

B(ALL)ET — ALL (everyone) contained in (involved in) BET (wager)

9a   Luggage carrier // OK for car if modified (4,4)

{ROOF RACK}* — anagram (if modified) of OK FOR CAR

10a   Be in love with Ronald, // king of fairyland (6)

O|BE|RON — BE (†) contained in (in) {O (love; nil score in tennis) + RON ([diminutive of] Ronald}

Oberon^[7] is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which he is Consort to Titania, Queen of the Fairies.

12a   Spinning Side B, // lingers (5)

BIDES* — anagram (spinning) of SIDE B

13a   Movie actress // playing Nurse Rose (4,5)

{RENE RUSSO}* — anagram (playing) of NURSE ROSE

Rene Russo^[7] is an American actress, producer, and former model.

Scratching the Surface
Nurse Rose[7] is a character (played by Lauren Stamile) who appeared in 12 episodes during seasons 4 and 5 of the television series Grey's Anatomy.

14a   Worthless // essay about burning debris (6)

TR(ASH)Y — TRY (essay) containing (about) ASH (burning debris)

16a   Game // concerning herder of livestock (3,5)

RE|D ROVER — RE (concerning) + DROVER (herder of livestock)

Red rover^[7] (also known as forcing the city gates and octopus tag) is a game played primarily by children on playgrounds. This 19th-century children's group game (requiring 10+ players) is thought to have originated in the United Kingdom and then spread to Australia, Canada, and the United States.

18a   To old Egyptians, the sun follows // daily struggles (3,5)

RA|T RACES — RA (to old Egyptians, the sun; Egyptian sun god) + TRACES (follows)

20a   Somewhat tipsy chemist/’s/ spirit (6)

_PSY|CHE_ — hidden in (somewhat) tiPSY CHEmist

23a   Book written by Updike/’s/ religious teacher before wrong turn (6,3)

RABBI(T RUN)* — RABBI (religious teacher) preceding (before) anagram (wrong) of TURN

Rabbit, Run^[7] is a 1960 novel by American writer John Updike (1932–2009). The novel depicts three months in the life of a 26-year-old former high school basketball player named Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom who is trapped in a loveless marriage and a boring sales job, and his attempts to escape the constraints of his life.

25a   Fight // me and Spike in film (5)

ME|LEE — ME (†) + (and) LEE (Spike in film; American film director, producer, writer, and actor Spike Lee^[7])

26a   Loved // valuable rock included in tally (6)

AD(ORE)D — ORE (valuable rock) contained in (included in) ADD (tally; verb)

27a   Changing gear, a rod // driver’s ire (4,4)

{ROAD RAGE}* — anagram (changing) of GEAR A ROD

Scratching the Surface
In the surface reading, I presume "rod" is short for "hot rod".

28a   Live behind southern // bigot (6)

S|EXIST — EXIST (live) following (behind) S (southern; abbrev.)

29a   Tenant’s payment // torn more roughly (4,4)

{ROOM RENT}* — anagram (roughly) of TORN MORE

Down

1d   Abstract Brie art: // something cheesy (7)

RAREBIT* — anagram (abstract) of BRIE ART

Rarebit^[5] (also Welsh rarebit) is a dish of melted and seasoned cheese on toast, sometimes with other ingredients. The name is an alteration of Welsh rabbit^[5] (probably originally used humorously).

Scratching the Surface
Brie[5] is a kind of soft, mild, creamy cheese with a firm white skin.

2d   Second-rate group of actors taking in street // show (9)

B(ROAD)CAST — {B (second-rate) + CAST (group of actors)} containing (taking in) ROAD (street)

3d   Some horrible bosses // essential to progress (5)

_OGRES_ — hidden in (essential to) prOGRESs

4d   Tie up // mutt kept by spy (6)

SE(CUR)E — CUR (mutt) contained in (kept by) SEE (spy; verb)

6d   In the morning, floating ice is found around right // whale secretion (9)

AM|BERG(R)IS — AM (in the morning; ante meridiem) + {BERG (floating ice) + IS (†)} containing (around) R (right; abbrev.)

Ambergris^[5] is a wax-like substance that originates as a secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale, found floating in tropical seas and used in perfume manufacture.

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Origin: The word comes from Old French ambre gris 'grey amber', as distinct from amber jaune 'yellow amber' (the resin).

7d   Frolics /in/ large flat-bottomed boats (5)

L|ARKS — L (large; abbrev. found on clothing tags) + ARKS (flat-bottomed boats)

Ark^[12] is a US term for a large, flat-bottomed boat formerly used on rivers.

8d   Indian oven/’s/ sun-baked hatch (7)

TAN|DOOR —TAN (sun-baked; as the skin of a sunbather) + DOOR (hatch)

A tandoor^[5] is a clay oven of a type used originally in northern India and Pakistan.

11d   Formerly // on both sides of canoe (4)

ON|CE — ON (†) + {C + E} (both sides of [initial and final letters of] CanoE)

15d   He’s holding a climber’s // weight (9)

HE(A|VINE|S)S — HES (he's) containing (holding) { A (†) + VINE (climber) + S ('s)}

17d   Amid split, I’ll // waver with indecision (9)

VAC(ILL)ATE — ILL (I'll) contained in (amid) VACATE (split; take one's leave or depart)

18d   Again peruses // two notes and messages (7)

RE|RE|ADS — {RE + RE} (two [musical] notes) + (and) ADS ([commercial] messages)

19d   Pronounced vase/’s/ merit (4)

EARN~ — sounds like (pronounced) URN (vase)

21d   High point // always established (7)

EVER|EST — EVER (always) + EST (established; abbrev.)

Mount Everest^[5] is a mountain in the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Rising to 8,848 m (29,028 ft), it is the highest mountain in the world; it was first climbed in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

22d   Wholly // popular dog in a Baum story (2,4)

IN TOTO — IN (popular) + TOTO (dog in a Baum story)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz^[7] is an American children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow, originally published in 1900. It has since been reprinted on numerous occasions, most often under the title The Wizard of Oz, which is the title of the popular 1902 Broadway musical as well as the iconic 1939 musical film adaptation.

The story chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone^*.

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^* Baum uses the word cyclone while describing a tornado.

24d   Some of New York/’s/ wild horses heard (5)

BRONX~ — sounds like (heard) BRONCS (wild horses)

The Bronx^[5] is a  borough in north-eastern New York City..

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Origin: Named after Jonas Bronck, a Dutch settler who purchased land there in 1641.

25d   Words of praise in 2000 /for/ internet-connecting device (5)

M(ODE)M — ODE (words of praise) contained in (in) MM ([Roman numeral for] 2000)

Epilogue

A Scot could r-r-really get his tongue r-r-round this puzzle.

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 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