ST 3168 (full review)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3168

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 10^th July 2022

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****

Greetings from Kolkata. Dada has given us a very gentle Sunday puzzle that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of the same for your kind perusal and important feedback.

I wanted to have more information on ‘tickling’, part of the wordplay to the clue of 13a and so I visited the net. Tickling results from a mild stimulation moving across the skin and is associated with behaviours such as smiling, laughter, twitching, withdrawal and goose bumps. In 1897, a ‘tickle’ was described as two different types of phenomena by psychologists G. Stanley Hall and Arthur Allin. One type of tickle, caused by very light movement across the skin, generally does not produce laughter and is sometimes accompanied by an itching sensation, is called a knismesis. It is also known as a ‘moving itch’ as it produces a mildly annoying sensation caused as from a crawling insect. The second type of tickle is gargalesis that produces a laughter-provoking feeling caused by a harsher, deeper pressure, stroked across the skin in various regions of the body. A German study indicates that the gargalesis type of tickle triggers a defence mechanism for humans in the hypothalamus conveying submissiveness or fleeing from danger.

Sole, as the answer to the clue of 28a, reminded of the footwear-manufacturing units that came up in our neighbourhood as also concurrently in other areas of the-then Calcutta in the early 1970s. Soon it became a grand, flourishing industry. A soleman and an aaparman are the two main categories of workers who are also better paid as they have work from morning till late night; the former being engaged in making sole or the bottom part of the footwear and the latter aapar or the upper of it. Though they speak in Bengali, Hindi or Urdu, they use, in their conversations, English words like ‘sole’ and ‘designer’. The ‘fitter’ is represented as a ‘fitting man’ and even the ‘aapar’ that they use can be taken as a variant of the English ‘upper’. Item, part of the wordplay to the clue of 28a, has its etymology in Latin item meaning ‘likewise’ or ‘in the same manner’. During the 15^th century, this word was used in formal writing to introduce each point in a list, comparable to the modern bullet point. The meaning of item has undergone a massive evolution to also refer to a romantically involved couple as early as in the early 1970s. While an item, in general, denotes an individual article or unit, especially one that is part of a list, collection or set, it points, in the clue, to a distinct lower part of the footwear that also has its upper which is bedecked with various designs. But the simplest of all footwears is perhaps the Indian khadau or paduka, each with a very small upper. These are wooden sandals or slippers which priests of many Hindu temples wear inside the temple while praying. The wooden soles are each fixed with a small vertical upper or a mushroom-shaped strap that remains pressed by the thumb and the index toes while walking or moving around. The often-heard prayer by a priest wearing a paduka is: “Forgive me Mother Earth the sin of injury, the violence I do, by placing my feet upon you this morning.”

Jaywalker, as part of the wordplay to the clue of 5d, is someone who walks across a street at a place without taking care to avoid the traffic or where it is not permitted to walk, but the net taught me more. I learnt that the word ‘jaywalk’ is not historically neutral. It is a compound word derived from the word ‘jay’, meaning an inexperienced person, and ‘walk’. The earliest references to ‘jay’ behaviour in the street were about horse-drawn carriages and automobiles in 1905 Kansas: ‘jay drivers’ who did not drive on the right side of the street. The term swiftly expanded to pedestrians and by 1909, ‘The Chanute Daily Tribune’ warned: “The jay walker needs attention as well as the jay driver, and is about as big a nuisance.”

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

8a    Mouth opening in Iraq, seeing desert (4)
GOBI: GOB (mouth) as an informal term for a person’s mouth followed by the opening or first letter (opening) in I[RAQ], leading to the definition of a desert plateau in eastern Asia, spanning the region of southeast Mongolia and northern China

9a    Dump
reward (3)
TIP: Double definition; the first being a verb meaning to cause the contents of a container to be emptied out by holding it at an angle and the second a noun referring to a sum of money given to someone as a reward for a service

10a    Somehow at home, and otherwise? (2,1,3)
IN A WAY: A charade of IN (at home) as present at one’s home and AWAY (otherwise) as elsewhere or not at home guides to the definition of an adverb meaning by some means or in some way

11a    Bother
nocturnal animal (6)
BADGER: Double definition; the first being a verb meaning to pester or repeatedly ask someone to do something and the second a noun referring to a heavily built omnivorous nocturnal mammal of the weasel family, typically having a grey and black coat

12a    Young swimmers adept, so swimming round lake (8)
TADPOLES: An anagram (swimming) of ADEPT SO is placed around (round) L (lake) as the geographical map abbreviation for Lake, taking to the definition of small creatures that live in water as larvae, have gills for breathing underwater, have tails but no legs and grow into amphibians like frogs or toads

13a    That tickling must stop — pah! (4,4,2,5)
DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH: The instant and obvious comment from my end when someone is tickling me by moving their fingers lightly over a sensitive part of my body that is further accompanied by a feeling of irritation (that tickling must stop) leads to the definition of an expression used to express disgust or irritation

15a    Tempestuous movement split a party (7)
TORNADO: TORN (split) as a verb in the past participle form meaning split by being pulled or pierced with a sharp instrument, A from the clue and DO (party) as an informal term for a party or other social event, arriving at the definition of a violent wind storm consisting of a tall column of air that spins around very fast and causes a lot of damage

17a    Rotten policy, unconnected (3-4)
OFF-LINE: A charade of OFF (rotten) as no longer fresh, particularly of food and LINE (policy) as an agreed approach or a policy takes to the definition of an adjective meaning not controlled by or directly connected to the internet or a central computer system

20a    Accept that’s what to do with beard-grooming product? (4,2,2,3,4)
TAKE IT ON THE CHIN: One might apply or take it on the chin et al that the beard covers (that’s what to do with beard-grooming product) cryptically guides to the definition of an informal idiom meaning to accept misfortune courageously or stoically

23a    Old coin, item out of reach? (8)
FARTHING: THING (item) as an inanimate object distinguished from a living being that is FAR (out of reach) as situated at a great distance in space or time or a FAR THING, leading to the definition of a former monetary unit and coin of the UK, withdrawn in 1961, equal to a quarter of an old penny

25a    Wild horse carrying leader on desert island (6)
RHODES: An anagram (wild) of HORSE having inside (carrying) the first or leading letter (leader) on D[ESERT] take to the definition of the largest of Greece’s Dodecanese islands, known for its beach resorts, ancient ruins and remnants of its occupation by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades

26a    Huge building, residence capturing heart of monarch (6)
PALACE: PLACE (residence) as an informal term for a person’s home taking in (capturing) the heart or the innermost letter of [MON]A[RCH], guiding to the definition of a large and impressive building forming the official residence of a ruler, pope, archbishop etc

27a    Military commander addressing General Assembly, first of all (3)
AGA: A[DDRESSING] G[ENERAL] A[SSEMBLY] having their beginning or first letters (first of all) lead to the definition of a military commander or official, in Muslim countries, especially under the Ottoman Empire

28a    Unique
item of footwear (4)
SOLE: Double definition; the second being a noun referring to a distinct part forming the underside of a piece of footwear that is considered separately from the whole of it that leads to the first an adjective meaning one and only or belonging or restricted to one person or group of people

Down

1d    One touring a cold country (6)
MONACO: MONO (one) as one, only or single used as a prefix going round (touring) a combo of A from the clue and C (cold) as the abbreviation for cold, arriving at the definition of the most densely populated country in the world that is located in Western Europe located along the French Riviera between the Mediterranean Sea and France

2d    Men not raised in island capital (8)
KINGSTON: KINGS (men) as the two most important men or pieces in chess, of which each of the two players has one, which the opponent has to checkmate in order to win followed by NOT from the clue taken upwards (raised) as a reversal in the down clue, arriving at the definition of the capital of Norfolk Island, in the South Pacific Ocean

3d    American flier looks to cover beaches on holiday (5,3,7)
STARS AND STRIPES: STARES (looks) as looks fixedly or vacantly at someone or something with one’s eyes wide open to shelter or have inside (cover) SANDS (beaches) as the regions of sand, typically along the shore of a sea or ocean placed upon (on) TRIP (holiday) as a journey or excursion, especially for pleasure in the down clue, taking to the definition of the national flag of the United States

4d    Observed, as is leopard, say (7)
SPOTTED: Double definition; the second being an adjective referring to the unique characteristics of the coat of an animal like leopard, for example, that is covered in distinctive dark, irregular spots called rosettes that leads to the first a verb meaning seen, noticed or recognised someone or something that is difficult to detect or that one is searching for

5d    Ordinary
location of jaywalker? (6-2-3-4)
MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD: Double definition; the second being the sure location of a pedestrian at one point of time while crossing a roadway starting at a place other than a suitable crossing point in disregard of traffic rules, putting themselves and others at risk that leads to the first an adjective meaning moderate or average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree

6d    Father and Holy Father atop a temple (6)
PAGODA: PA (father) as a childish or familiar word for father with (and) GOD (Holy Father) as the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority placed on the top (atop) of A from the clue, arriving at the definition of a Hindu or Buddhist sacred building or a temple, typically in the form of a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to countries in east, south and southeast Asia

7d    Second time for wise guy (4)
SAGE: A charade of the symbol S (second) as the basic unit of time and AGE (time) as the time of life reached or of being old guides to the definition of a profoundly wise man, as especially in ancient history or legend

14d    Spirit drunk by tottering inebriate (3)
GIN: Part of or hidden inside (drunk by) totterinG INebriate guides to the definition of a clear alcoholic spirit distilled from grain or malt and flavoured with juniper berries or anise and caraway seeds

16d    Eggs finished, did you say? (3)
OVA: OVER (finished) as an adverb meaning concluded or finished treated as a homonym heard by the audience (did you say?) guides to the definition of the eggs or the gametes produced by the female, the singular of which is ovum

18d    Outsiders in league have penned type of clue for sport (8)
LACROSSE: The outermost letters (outsiders) in L[EAGU]E have shut in (penned) ACROSS (type of clue) as referring to a crossword clue, the answer of which is read horizontally from left to right, arriving at the definition of a team sport in which players carry a ball in the net of a long-handled racket, throw it to each other and try to score points by getting the ball into a goal

19d    A horse and sheep in cryptic rearrangement? (7)
ANAGRAM: A from the clue, NAG (horse) as a horse, especially one that is old or in poor health and RAM (sheep) as an uncastrated male sheep take to the definition of a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once

21d    Net mate almost hauled up (6)
ENTRAP: Most of the letters (almost) of PARTNE[R] (mate) as either of a pair of people engaged together in the same activity taken upwards or lifted (hauled up) as a reversal in the down clue, arriving at the definition of a verb meaning to ensnare or net or catch as in a trap

22d    Dizzy ladies, models (6)
IDEALS: An anagram (dizzy) of LADIES guides to the definition of a noun meaning standards or principles to be aimed

24d    Sadly in arrears, a labourer’s given up (4)
ALAS: Part of or hidden inside (in) arrearS A LAbourer’s going in an upward direction (given up) as a reversal in the down clue takes to the definition of an adverb meaning by bad luck or used as another way to emphatically mean unfortunately or sadly

There were several clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 10a, 13a, 15a, 23a, 25a, 3d, 5d, 18d, 19d and 21d; the best of the lot being 23a. Thanks once again to Dada for the entertainment, to BD for the encouragement and to Gazza for the assistance. Looking forward to being here again. Have a pleasant day.