Saturday, March 14, 2020 — Emerald Isle

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon turns out to be a bit of an Irish geography test.

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

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - yet to be solved

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

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

Legend: The following symbols are used in reviews: "*" anagram "~" sounds like "<" indicates that the preceding letters are reversed "( )" encloses contained letters "_" replaces letters that have been deleted "†" indicates that the word is present in the clue

The review of a clue takes the following general structure:

#a/d   Clue containing parsing markup (num^*)

---

^* num = numeration

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

(Horizontal separator)

---

Explanations pertaining to the definition (or second definition in a double definition) and solution.

Explanatory Box

An explanatory box provides additional information about the clue. In most cases this information will not necessarily help in solving the clue but provides information about the clue. In the case of the weekday syndicated Daily Telegraph puzzles, such information is often intended to help the North American solver appreciate how the clue may be perceived by a British solver. These boxes may also provide information on people, places, films, television program, works of art and literature, etc. mentioned in the clue. Although the titles of these boxes will usually be drawn from a standard list, I do occasionally throw in a title specifically suggested by the subject at hand. The standard titles include: Scratching the Surface - an explanation of the surface reading of the clue Delving Deeper - in-depth information pertaining to a subject mentioned in an explanation The Story Behind the Picture - for weekday puzzles, information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What did he/she/they say? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What are they talking about? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog One box that may provide information that could prove helpful in solving the clue is the following: Here and There - for weekday puzzles, discusses words whose British meaning differs from their North American meaning

Note that there are many types of cryptic crossword clue and it is not my intention to exhaustively go through all of them here. I will only deal with clue types to the extent necessary to explain the conventions and symbols used on the blog. Furthermore, be aware that, in the world of cryptic crosswords, there seems to be an exception to every rule.

With one exception that I can think of, cryptic crossword clues provide two routes to the solution. These are commonly referred to as the definition and wordplay. While these terms serve well for most clues, there are some cases where the more formal terms of primary indication and subsidiary indication may be more appropriate.

Most cryptic crossword clues consist of a definition (primary indication) and wordplay (subsidiary indication). The definition may be:

• a "precise definition": a definition that is either taken directly from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion similar to one that would be found in a dictionary
• a "cryptic definition": a definition misleadingly phrased so as to misdirect the solver either with respect to the meaning of the definition as a whole or to an incorrect sense of a word used in the definition (for example, defining topiary as "clip art")
• a "whimsical definition": a definition "invented" by the setter often by extrapolating a non-existent meaning for a word from a similar word (for example, defining a bird as a "winger" [something possessing wings] or a river as a ''flower" [something that flows] or to extrapolate that, since disembowel means 'to remove the innards of ', that discontent must mean 'to remove the contents of')
• a "definition by example": the presence of one of these is often flagged with a question mark (for example, defining atoll as "coral?" where an atoll is but one form that coral may take).

The only type of clue that I can think of where there are not two ways of finding the solution are those in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition.

I identify precise definitions by marking them with a solid underline in the clue and other varieties of definition (such as cryptic definitions, whimsical definitions, definitions by example, etc.) by marking them with a dotted underline.

In clues in which both definition and wordplay are present, the two parts of the clue combine to provide an overall meaningful statement (the surface reading) which usually bears no relationship to the underlying cryptic reading of the clue. In some cases, an extra word or phrase will be inserted into the clue to create a meaningful link between the definition and wordplay. I define clues which contain such a link word or link phrase as having an explicit link and clues which contain no link word or link phrase as having an implicit link.

I mark the existence of an explicit link by enclosing the link word or link phrase between forward slashes (/link/) and mark the existence of an implicit link with double forward slashes (//) positioned between the definition and wordplay.

Examples

A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.

The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:

• 4d   Fellow left work // a failure (4)

Here the definition is "a failure" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as F (fellow; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.) + OP (work; abbrev. used in music) which gives us the solution F|L|OP. The double forward slashes (//) between the definition and wordplay indicate the existence of an "implicit link" between the two parts of the clue (that is, no extra words are inserted into the clue to form the link).

The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:

• 29a   Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)

Here the definition "female going to match" is cryptic (the setter is attempting to misdirect our thoughts to a sports event rather than a marriage ceremony) and thus is marked with a a dotted underline. The wordplay is {RIDES (travels) + (with) MA (mother)} contained in (in) BID (advance) giving us the solution B(RIDES|MA)ID. As in the first example, the double forward slashes indicate the presence of an implicit link.

The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:

• 18d   Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)

Here the definition is "staggering" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as N ([chess symbol for] knight) contained in (caught in) an anagram (misplaced) of BIG BLOW producing the solution WOBBLI(N)G. Finally, forward slashes mark the link word (/is/).

I also use distinctive underlining to mark &lit.^[7] and semi-&lit. clues. Note that the reviewers on Big Dave's Crossword Blog generally prefer to refer to these clue types by the less pretentious names of all-in-one or semi-all-in-one clues respectively.

In an &lit. clue^[7] (or all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.

In future, I will mark such clues with a combined solid and dashed underline. Although this is a departure from past practice, it would seem to make more sense than using a dotted underline as I have in the past). Henceforth, the dotted underline will be reserved for cryptic definitions.

In a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue), either:

• the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay; or
• the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.

For these clues, I will mark the definition with a solid underline and the wordplay with a  dashed underline. This means that a portion of the clue may have a solid underline, a portion of the clue may have a dashed underline and a portion of the clue may have a combined solid and dashed underline.

One final clue type is what I characterize as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. For example, in DT 28560 (setter unknown) the following clue appears:

•  26d   Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)

As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The 'precise definition' is "heroic exploit" and is indicated by a solid underline.

Given the numeration, the precise definition could give rise to at least two solutions, DEED or FEAT. However, the 'cryptic elaboration' ("whichever way you look at it") indicates that the solution is a palindrome thereby immediately eliminating one of the two obvious choices.

Note that the part of the clue that I have called 'cryptic elaboration' does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as the wordplay would do in most other types of clue). Rather it merely provides a piece of additional information (elaboration) related to the 'precise definition'.

Again, this approach is a departure from past practice, but like the other changes mentioned previously is intended to remove inconsistencies in the way that I have been applying parsing markup to clues. The markup rules that I have been using until now evolved bit-by-bit over a long period of time resulting in some degree of internal inconsistency.

hide

Across

1a	Left me and Rick outside one // town (8)

L(I)ME|RICK — {L(eft) + ME (†) + (and) RICK (†)} containing (outside) I ([Roman numberal for] one)

Limerick^[5] is a town on the River Shannon in the west of the Republic of Ireland.

5a	Saint gets old // presents (6)

ST|AGES — ST (saint; abbrev.) + AGES (gets old)

9a	Get out // small pack (5)

S|CRAM — S(mall) + CRAM (pack)

10a	Suggestion by Matthew in Friends about a // county (9)

TIP|PER(A)RY — TIP (suggestion) + (by) PERRY (Matthew in Friends) containing (about) A (†)

Ottawa-raised American-Canadian actor Matthew Perry^[7] played Chandler on the NBC television sitcom Friends (1994-2004).

12a	County // nearly put a stop to challenge (7)

KIL_|DARE — KIL[L] (put a stop to) with the final letter removed (nearly) + DARE (challenge)

Kildare^[5] is a county of the Republic of Ireland, in the east, in the province of Leinster.

13a	Town // lake is subject to combustion (7)

LISBURN — L(ake) + IS (†) + BURN (subject to combustion; the word 'subject' is a verb, to test fireprooof materials, subject them to combustion)

Lisburn^[5] is a city in Northern Ireland, to the south-west of Belfast, on the border between Antrim and Down.

14a	Call Liberal in // capital (6)

_DUB(L)IN — DUB (call) + L(iberal) + IN (†)

Dublin^[5], the capital city of the Republic of Ireland, is situated on the Irish Sea at the mouth of the River Liffey.

Post Mortem
Given that the theme of the puzzle was evident, I should have easily solved this clue. However, I wandered down the garden path searching for a six-letter word meaning 'call' composed of L(iberal) inside a five-letter capital city.

16a	Needlefish taking to // amphibious reptile (5)

GA(TO)R — GAR (needlefish) containing (taking) TO (†)

19a	A mostly emerald // suit (5)

A|GREE_ — A (†) + GREE[N] (emerald) with the final letter removed (mostly)

Suit^[3] is used as a verb in the sense of to be in accord; agree or match.

I am not entirely convinced of the equivalence of the words 'suit' and 'agree'. It seems to me that 'agree' would virtually always — if not, in fact, always — be followed by the word 'with'.

20a	Three in Italy holding beer /and/ port (6)

TR(ALE)E — TRE (three in Italy; Italian word meaning 'three') containing (holding) ALE (beer)

Tralee^[5], the county town of Kerry, is a port on the south-western coast of the Republic of Ireland.

23a	Assemble around northern // province (7)

MU(N)STER — MUSTER (assemble) containing (around) N(orthern)

Munster^[5] is a province of the Republic of Ireland, in the south-western part of the country.

25a	County // finished with lass (7)

DONE|GAL — DONE (finished) + (with) GAL (lass)

Donegal^[5] is a county in the extreme north-west of the Republic of Ireland, part of the old province of Ulster.

26a	Town/’s/ anthem composer embraced by skiing great (9)

KILL(ARNE)Y — ARNE (anthem composer) contained in (embraced by) KILLY (skiing great)

Thomas Arne^[5] (1710–1778) was an English composer noted for the British patriotic song ‘Rule, Britannia’ (whose words are attributed to James Thomson) and for his settings of Shakespearean songs.

Jean-Claude Killy^[6] is a French alpine skier. He won three gold medals at the 1968 Olympic games and was winner of the World Cup 1967, 1968.

---

Killarney^[5] is a town in the south-west of the Republic of Ireland, in County Kerry, famous for the beauty of the nearby lakes and mountains.

27a	Love role/’s/ 1960s style (2,3)

O|P ART — O (love; love being a nil score in tennis and the letter 'O' looking like the number '0') + PART (role)

Op art^[5] (a term coined by Time magazine in 1964^[7])  is a form of abstract art that gives the illusion of movement by the precise use of pattern and colour, or in which conflicting patterns emerge and overlap.

28a	Gnawing beast/’s/ lair surrounded by rubbish (6)

RO(DEN)T — DEN (lair) contained in (surrounded by) ROT (rubbish; nonesense)

29a	Pearson gaining in // province (8)

LE(IN)STER — LESTER (Pearson) containing (gaining) IN (†)

Lester Pearson^[5] (1897–1972) was a Canadian diplomat and Liberal statesman, prime minister of Canada 1963–8. As Secretary of State for External Affairs (1948–57) he acted as a mediator in the resolution of the Suez crisis (1956) for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (l957).

---

Leinster^[5] is a province of the Republic of Ireland, in the south-eastern part of the country.

Down

1d	Lesotho’s capital, by us also known as // Zambia’s capital (6)

L|US|AKA — L (Lesotho's capital [initial letter]) + (by) US (†)  + AKA (also known as; abbrev.)

Lusaka^[5] is the capital of Zambia.

2d	Spoken in half-mean // spirit (6)

M(ORAL)E_ — ORAL (spoken) contained in (in) ME[AN] (half-mean; half of the word 'MEAN', in this case, the initial half)

3d	Regarding me with a certain // gauge again (9)

RE|ME|A|SURE — RE (regarding) + ME (†) + (with) A (†) + SURE (certain)

4d	Song on an album that is // darling (5)

CUT|IE — CUT (song on an album) + IE (that is; abbrev. for 'id est')

6d	Extra force failing to open // lock (5)

_TRESS — [S]TRESS (extra force) with the initial letter removed (failing to open)

7d	Tip // Cobb after playing guitar (8)

GRATUI*|TY — TY (Cobb) following (after) anagram of (playing) GUITAR

Ty Cobb^[7] (1886–1961), nicknamed The Georgia Peach, was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1999, editors at the Sporting News ranked Ty Cobb third on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players".

8d	A Saroyan novel/’s/ parting word (8)

SAYONARA* — anagram of (novel) A SAROYAN

Sayonara^[3,4,5] is a Japanese word expressing farewell that has entered US English.

Scratching the Surface
William Saroyan[7] (1908–1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film adaptation of his novel The Human Comedy.

11d	Dad, eating bagel, given // Italian dish (7)

P(O|LENT)A — PA (dad) containing (eating) {O ([letter that looks like a] bagel) + LENT (given)}

Polenta^[5] can mean either:

• maize [corn] flour as used in Italian cooking; cornmeal
• a paste or dough made from polenta, which is boiled and typically then fried or baked

15d	In the wee hours, managed // site in Rome (7)

LATE|RAN — LATE (in the wee hours) + RAN (managed)

Lateran^[5] is the site in Rome containing the cathedral church of Rome (a basilica dedicated to St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist) and the Lateran Palace, where the popes resided until the 14th century.

16d	Recast GH: one ER nurse /is/ newbie (9)

GREENHO*|RN — anagram of (recast) GH ONE ER + RN ([registered] nurse; abbrev.)

Scratching the Surface
General Hospital[7] (commonly abbreviated GH) is an American daytime television medical drama that premiered in 1963 and continues to this day. ER[7] is an American medical drama television series created by novelist and medical doctor Michael Crichton that aired from 1994 to 2009,

17d	Edited a rhyme about Alaska // punch (8)

{HAYM(AK)ER}* — anagram of (edited) A RHYME containing (about) AK (Alaska; postal abbrev.)

18d	Cold rain whirling // hard and fast (8)

IRONCLAD* — anagram of (whirling) COLD RAIN

21d	Element of gag has teacher // horrified (6)

_AG|HAS|T_ — hidden in (element of) gAG HAS Teacher

22d	Northern Ireland/’s/ mixed result (6)

ULSTER* — anagram of (mixed) RESULT

Ulster^[5] is a former province of Ireland (before the Partition of Ireland^[7] in 1921) in the north of the island. The nine counties of Ulster are now divided between Northern Ireland (Antrim, Down, Armagh, Londonderry, Tyrone, and Fermanagh) and the Republic of Ireland (Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan). However, in general use, the term is now used — improperly, in the eyes of many — to refer to Northern Ireland.

24d	Old airline accepted // Shania (5)

TWA|IN — TWA (old airline) + IN (accepted)

Trans World Airlines^[7] (TWA) was a major American airline that existed from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001.

---

Shania Twain^[7] (born Eileen Regina Edwards) is a Canadian singer/songwriter who holds the distinction of being the best-selling female artist in country music history.

25d	Scottish writer/’s/ ration including last bit of candy (5)

DO(Y)LE —DOLE (ration) containing (including) Y (last bit [letter] of candY)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was a Scottish novelist and short-story writer, chiefly remembered for his creation of the private detective Sherlock Holmes.

Epilogue

The puzzle put me in mind of this Johnny Cash tune.

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 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^*)

---

^* num = numeration

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

(Horizontal separator)

---

Explanations pertaining to the definition (or second definition in a double definition) and solution.

Explanatory Box

An explanatory box provides additional information about the clue. In most cases this information will not necessarily help in solving the clue but provides information about the clue. In the case of the weekday syndicated Daily Telegraph puzzles, such information is often intended to help the North American solver appreciate how the clue may be perceived by a British solver. These boxes may also provide information on people, places, films, television program, works of art and literature, etc. mentioned in the clue. Although the titles of these boxes will usually be drawn from a standard list, I do occasionally throw in a title specifically suggested by the subject at hand. The standard titles include: Scratching the Surface - an explanation of the surface reading of the clue Delving Deeper - in-depth information pertaining to a subject mentioned in an explanation The Story Behind the Picture - for weekday puzzles, information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What did he/she/they say? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What are they talking about? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog One box that may provide information that could prove helpful in solving the clue is the following: Here and There - for weekday puzzles, discusses words whose British meaning differs from their North American meaning

Note that there are many types of cryptic crossword clue and it is not my intention to exhaustively go through all of them here. I will only deal with clue types to the extent necessary to explain the conventions and symbols used on the blog. Furthermore, be aware that, in the world of cryptic crosswords, there seems to be an exception to every rule.

With one exception that I can think of, cryptic crossword clues provide two routes to the solution. These are commonly referred to as the definition and wordplay. While these terms serve well for most clues, there are some cases where the more formal terms of primary indication and subsidiary indication may be more appropriate.

Most cryptic crossword clues consist of a definition (primary indication) and wordplay (subsidiary indication). The definition may be:

• a "precise definition": a definition that is either taken directly from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion similar to one that would be found in a dictionary
• a "cryptic definition": a definition misleadingly phrased so as to misdirect the solver either with respect to the meaning of the definition as a whole or to an incorrect sense of a word used in the definition (for example, defining topiary as "clip art")
• a "whimsical definition": a definition "invented" by the setter often by extrapolating a non-existent meaning for a word from a similar word (for example, defining a bird as a "winger" [something possessing wings] or a river as a ''flower" [something that flows] or to extrapolate that, since disembowel means 'to remove the innards of ', that discontent must mean 'to remove the contents of')
• a "definition by example": the presence of one of these is often flagged with a question mark (for example, defining atoll as "coral?" where an atoll is but one form that coral may take).

The only type of clue that I can think of where there are not two ways of finding the solution are those in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition.

I identify precise definitions by marking them with a solid underline in the clue and other varieties of definition (such as cryptic definitions, whimsical definitions, definitions by example, etc.) by marking them with a dotted underline.

In clues in which both definition and wordplay are present, the two parts of the clue combine to provide an overall meaningful statement (the surface reading) which usually bears no relationship to the underlying cryptic reading of the clue. In some cases, an extra word or phrase will be inserted into the clue to create a meaningful link between the definition and wordplay. I define clues which contain such a link word or link phrase as having an explicit link and clues which contain no link word or link phrase as having an implicit link.

I mark the existence of an explicit link by enclosing the link word or link phrase between forward slashes (/link/) and mark the existence of an implicit link with double forward slashes (//) positioned between the definition and wordplay.

Examples

A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.

The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:

• 4d   Fellow left work // a failure (4)

Here the definition is "a failure" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as F (fellow; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.) + OP (work; abbrev. used in music) which gives us the solution F|L|OP. The double forward slashes (//) between the definition and wordplay indicate the existence of an "implicit link" between the two parts of the clue (that is, no extra words are inserted into the clue to form the link).

The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:

• 29a   Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)

Here the definition "female going to match" is cryptic (the setter is attempting to misdirect our thoughts to a sports event rather than a marriage ceremony) and thus is marked with a a dotted underline. The wordplay is {RIDES (travels) + (with) MA (mother)} contained in (in) BID (advance) giving us the solution B(RIDES|MA)ID. As in the first example, the double forward slashes indicate the presence of an implicit link.

The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:

• 18d   Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)

Here the definition is "staggering" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as N ([chess symbol for] knight) contained in (caught in) an anagram (misplaced) of BIG BLOW producing the solution WOBBLI(N)G. Finally, forward slashes mark the link word (/is/).

I also use distinctive underlining to mark &lit.^[7] and semi-&lit. clues. Note that the reviewers on Big Dave's Crossword Blog generally prefer to refer to these clue types by the less pretentious names of all-in-one or semi-all-in-one clues respectively.

In an &lit. clue^[7] (or all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.

In future, I will mark such clues with a combined solid and dashed underline. Although this is a departure from past practice, it would seem to make more sense than using a dotted underline as I have in the past). Henceforth, the dotted underline will be reserved for cryptic definitions.

In a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue), either:

• the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay; or
• the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.

For these clues, I will mark the definition with a solid underline and the wordplay with a  dashed underline. This means that a portion of the clue may have a solid underline, a portion of the clue may have a dashed underline and a portion of the clue may have a combined solid and dashed underline.

One final clue type is what I characterize as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. For example, in DT 28560 (setter unknown) the following clue appears:

•  26d   Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)

As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The 'precise definition' is "heroic exploit" and is indicated by a solid underline.

Given the numeration, the precise definition could give rise to at least two solutions, DEED or FEAT. However, the 'cryptic elaboration' ("whichever way you look at it") indicates that the solution is a palindrome thereby immediately eliminating one of the two obvious choices.

Note that the part of the clue that I have called 'cryptic elaboration' does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as the wordplay would do in most other types of clue). Rather it merely provides a piece of additional information (elaboration) related to the 'precise definition'.

Again, this approach is a departure from past practice, but like the other changes mentioned previously is intended to remove inconsistencies in the way that I have been applying parsing markup to clues. The markup rules that I have been using until now evolved bit-by-bit over a long period of time resulting in some degree of internal inconsistency.

hide

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.

---

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.

---

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.^*

---

^* 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

Saturday, February 29, 2020 — You Can Say That Again!

Introduction

Much of what we discover in today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon bears repeating.

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	Small vehicle // parked by tee hit with a golf club (4-4)

PUT|T|-PUTT — PUT (parked) + T (tee) + PUTT (hit with a golf club)

A putt-putt^[3] (also put-put) is a vehicle, such as a boat, that is operated by a small gasoline engine.

---

Origin: Imitative of a running engine.

5a	Reproach // tenor wearing ballet outfit at opening of “Tosca” (3-3)

TU(T)-TU|T — T(enor) contained in (wearing) TUTU (ballet outfit) + T (opening [initial letter] of "Tosca")

Tosca^[7] is an opera, first performed in 1900, by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

9a	Card // performed, including some radio broadcasting (7)

DI(AM|ON)D — DID (performed) containing (including) {AM (some radio) + ON (broadcasting)}

10a	Witty about a // knife (7)

CLE(A)VER — CLEVER (witty) containing (about) A (†)

11a	Cashier knows how to // dance (6)

CAN-CAN — CAN (cashier; dismiss from employment) + CAN (knows how to)

12a	Fashioned of fur, our // costume ornamentation (4-4)

FROU-FROU — anagram of (fashioned) OF FUR FOR

Frou-frou^[5] denotes frills or other ornamentation, particularly of women's clothes.

14a	A place of vice and evil in Kingsley/’s/ German spa (5-5)

B(A|DEN|-BAD)EN — {A (†) + DEN (place of vice) + (and) BAD (evil)} contained in (in) BEN (Kingsley)

Sir Ben Kingsley^[7] (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji) is an English actor with a career spanning over 50 years. He is best known for his starring role as anti-colonial Indian nationalist Mohandas Gandhi in the 1982 film Gandhi, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

---

Baden-Baden^[5] is a spa town in the Black Forest of Germany that was a fashionable resort in the 19th century.

15a	Silence a // cuckoo (4)

GAG|A — GAG (silence) + A (†)

17a	Father // returned a baby’s food (4)

{PAP|A}< — reversal of (returned) {A (†) + PAP (baby's food)}

19a	Australian outback // featured in scene Verne versified (5-5)

_NE|VER-NE|VER_ — hidden in (featured in) sceNE VERNE VERsified

Never-Never^[5] is an Australian term for the unpopulated desert country of the interior of Australia; the remote outback.

23a	Murmur, having liquor aboard // locomotive (4-4)

C(HOO-CH)OO — COO (murmur) containing (having ... on board) HOOCH (liquor)

24a	Repeatedly jeer at // mistake (6)

BOO-BOO — two instances of (repeatedly) BOO (jeer at)

26a	Talk offhand /and/ quickly (7)

RAP|IDLY — RAP (talk) + IDLY (offhand)

27a	Artist // posed among group of actors (7)

CAS(SAT)T — SAT (posed) contained in (among) CAST (group of actors)

Mary Cassatt^[5] (1844–1926) was an American painter, who worked mostly in Paris. Her paintings display a close interest in everyday subject matter.

28a	Nomadic invader/’s/ dental problem (6)

TARTAR — double definition

A Tartar^[5] was a member of the combined forces of central Asian peoples, including Mongols and Turks, who under the leadership of Genghis Khan conquered much of Asia and eastern Europe in the early 13th century, and under Tamerlane (14th century) established an empire with its capital at Samarkand.

29a	That’s right, // the woman’s keeping a big bird (4,4)

HE(A|R-HEA)R — HER (the woman's) containing (keeping) {A (†) + RHEA (big bird)}

Down

1d	Wildly epic bad // ride powered by foot (7)

PEDICAB* — anagram of (wildly) EPIC BAD

2d	Prepared for a race, // time came down (7)

T|RAINED — T(ime) + RAINED (came down)

3d	Poison // penman’s first letter to New England state (8)

P|TO|MAINE —  P (Penman's first letter) + TO (†) + MAINE (New England state)

4d	Rise and fall, // even when audited (4)

TIDE~ — sounds like (when audited) TIED (even)

Tide^[5] is used figuratively in the sense of a powerful surge of feeling or trend of events ⇒ (i) he drifted into sleep on a tide of euphoria; (ii) he could not control the growing tide of violence.

6d	Uranium fuel’s questionably // of value (6)

U|SEFUL* — U ([chemical symbol for the element] unranium) + anagram of (questionably) FUELS

7d	Busted TV near a // Greek restaurant (7)

TAVERNA — anagram of (busted) TV NEAR A

8d	Rotgut ruined a // pirates’ haven (7)

TORTUG*|A — anagram of (ruined) ROTGUT +A (†)

Tortuga^[7] is a Caribbean island that forms part of Haiti, off the northwest coast of Hispaniola, that was a pirate stronghold in the 17th-century.

10d	Was concerned about darling /being/ rugged? (8)

CAR(PET)ED — CARED (was concerned) containing (about) PET (darling)

Setters often use a question mark to signal that there is something out the ordinary about the clue. Here, it tells us that rugged is used whimsically as an adjective in the sense of covered with a rug.

13d	Blanchett: characteristic of a horror-film // type (8)

CATE|GORY — CATE (Blanchett) + GORY (characteristic of a horror film)

Cate Blanchett^[7] is an award-winning Australian actress and theatre director. Her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in the biopic The Aviator (2004), earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing a neurotic former socialite in the drama Blue Jasmine (2013).

16d	Arrest figure skating champion/’s/ supporter (8)

END|ORSER — END (arrest) + ORSER (figure skating champion)

Brian Orser^[7] is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) Canadian national champion.

17d	One who compulsively saves // agreement taking boat back (4,3)

PAC(KRA<)T — PACT (agreement) containing (taking) a reversal of (back) ARK (boat)

18d	Genteel about small // flourish (7)

PRO(S)PER — PROPER (genteel) containing (about) S(mall)

20d	Shake // ill-behaved child in struggle (7)

VI(BRAT)E — BRAT (ill-behaved child) contained in (in) VIE (struggle)

21d	List including bagel and chicken (7)

R(O)OSTER or RO(O)STER — ROSTER (list) containing (including) O ([letter that looks like a] bagel)

22d	Spot in a spy agency/’s/ French-speaking section? (6)

A|C(AD)IA — A + AD (spot; commercial message) contained in (in) CIA ([US] spy agency)

Acadia^[3] was a region and former French colony of eastern Canada, chiefly in Nova Scotia but also including Prince Edward Island and the coastal area from the St. Lawrence River south into Maine. During the French and Indian War (1754-1763) many Acadians migrated or were deported by the British to southern territories, including Louisiana, where their descendants came to be known as Cajuns.

25d	Came prepared /for/ summit (4)

ACME* — anagram of (prepared) CAME

Epilogue

Today's theme is readily seen. Today's theme is readily seen.

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