Monday, December 16, 2013 — DT 27271

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27271
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, August 31, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27271 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27271 - Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (Hints) crypticsue (Review)
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

This puzzle proved to be more difficult to review than it was to solve. I got bogged down trying to sort out the wordplay in 1a and ended up spending nearly as much time dealing with it as I did on the remainder of the puzzle combined.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Get bogged down after loot taken by half of German general staff? (7,5)

I am afraid that I am unable to follow the parsing of the wordplay given by crypticsue in her review of the puzzle. To my mind, the wordplay would appear to parse as STICK (get bogged down) following (after) {SWAG (loot) + (taken by) GER (half of GERman)}.

I must say that I am hard pressed to justify "taken by" being a charade indicator in the manner that it seems to be used in this clue. "Taken by", in any of several senses including "captured by" (a fortress taken by an army) or "consumed by" (a pill taken by a patient), is commonly found being used as a containment indicator. In the sense of to be led or conducted (the children were taken by their grandparents to the zoo), it is also a valid charade indicator. However, if that is the sense in which it is intended, I would say that the charade is the wrong way round as SWAG leads GER in the solution, rather than SWAG is led by GER.

I did consider the possibility that the charade indicator might be merely "by", with SWAG being clued by "loot taken". However, I really cannot build a bulletproof case for this theory. Oxford Dictionaries Online defines loot^[5] as stolen [i.e., taken] money or valuables and swag^[5] as money or goods taken by a thief or burglar. Nevertheless, despite loot and swag being direct synonyms, we cannot necessarily rule out the possibility that the setter intended swag to mean "loot taken".

A swagger stick^[5] is a short cane carried by a military officer.

9a   Canine hero runs in adventure cartoon (3,3,3)

Rin Tin Tin^[7] (1918–1932) was a male German Shepherd dog rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, Lee Duncan. Duncan trained Rin Tin Tin and obtained silent film work for the dog. Rin Tin Tin was an immediate box office success and went on to appear in 27 Hollywood films, gaining worldwide fame. Along with the earlier canine film star Strongheart, Rin Tin Tin was responsible for greatly increasing the popularity of German Shepherds as family pets. The immense profitability of his films made Warner Bros. studios a success and helped advance the career of Darryl F. Zanuck. In 1929, Rin Tin Tin may have received the most votes for the first Academy Award for Best Actor, but the Academy determined that a human should win.

After Rin Tin Tin died in 1932, the name was given to several related German Shepherds featured in fictional stories on film, radio, and television. However, none of them possessed the talent nor enjoyed the success of the original Rin Tin Tin. Duncan groomed Rin Tin Tin IV for the 1950s television series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, but the dog performed poorly in a screen test and was replaced in the TV show by other dogs, with the public led to believe otherwise. Instead of shooting episodes, Rin Tin Tin IV stayed at home, while substitutes performed the role.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

The Adventures of Tintin^[7] is a series of comic albums created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi (1907–1983), who wrote under the pen name of Hergé. The Adventures of Tintin have been adapted for radio, television, theatre, and film.

10a   Sea-dog died dissolute (5)

Sir Francis Drake^[5] (circa 1540–96) was an English sailor and explorer. He was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe (1577–80), in his ship the Golden Hind. He played an important part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

11a   Brownies team tucking into food (6)

Eleven^[5] is the number of players on a cricket^[7] side or an Association football^[7] [soccer] team — and is often used as a metonym for such a team ⇒ at cricket I played in the first eleven.

A brownie^[5] is a benevolent elf that supposedly haunts houses and does housework secretly. The name, a diminutive of brown [the colour], denotes a ‘wee brown man’ who often appears in Scottish ballads and fairy tales.

A pixie^[5] (also pixy) is a supernatural being in folklore and children’s stories, typically portrayed as small and human-like in form, with pointed ears and a pointed hat.

In her review, crypticsue interprets the clue to be a reference to the Guide movement.

A Brownie^[5] (also known as a Brownie Guide in Britain) is a member of the Brownies^[5], the junior branch of the Guide Association, for girls aged between about 7 and 10, wearing a brown uniform.  In the UK, the Guide Association^[5] is an organization for girls which (until 1992) was called the Girl Guides Association. It is a counterpart to the Scout Association^[5], a worldwide youth organization, originally for boys, but which has admitted girls as members since 1990.

In the Guide or Scout movements, a six^[5] is a group of six Brownies or Cubs respectively.

The website of  the Guide Association displays emblems for fifteen different sixes, one of which is the Pixies.

12a   Neckwear used by top gangster (8)

Scarface is the nickname for American gangster Al Capone^[7] (1899–1947) who led a a Prohibition-era crime syndicate.

After he inadvertently insulted a woman while working the door at a Brooklyn night club, Capone was attacked by her brother and his face was slashed three times on the left side. These scars gave him the nickname "Scarface", a nickname he despised. When photographed, Capone hid the scarred left side of his face saying the injuries were war wounds.

13a   Old tennis champ in posh car taking less care (6)

Arthur Ashe^[5] (1943–1993) was an American tennis player. He won the US Open singles championship in 1968 and Wimbledon in 1975, and was the first black male player to achieve world rankings.

The monogram RR appears on the grill of a Rolls Royce automobile.

15a   Porter carrying paintings set off (5,3)

Porter^[5] is a dark brown bitter beer brewed from malt partly charred or browned by drying at a high temperature [originally made as a drink for porters].

Stout^[5] is a kind of strong, dark beer brewed with roasted malt or barley.

18a   Naval vessel and similar things returned carrying soldiers (old one) (8)

A corvette^[5] is a small warship designed for convoy escort duty or, historically, a type of sailing warship with one tier of guns.

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

 In the UK, a veteran^[5] is a soldier who has seen considerable active service rather than, as in North America, a former member of the armed forces. According to several British dictionaries, employing vet^[5] as a short form for veteran is a North American usage.

19a   It's just too much being held by agent with acne (6)

OTT^[5] is British slang for over the top ⇒ presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT.

21a   People add up in the head (8)

23a   Empty bar on vessel needed drinks supplier (6)

26a   Prepare  costume (5)

27a   Clip about Asian island's primitive behaviour (9)

Bali^[5] is a mountainous island of Indonesia, to the east of Java; chief city, Denpasar; population 3,470,700 (est. 2009).

28a   You support a child (6,6)

Down

1d   Tool for republicans' objective! (7)

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

2d   Take possession of girl with kiss (5)

3d   Legendary queen always visiting African country briefly (9)

Guinea^[5] is a country on the west coast of Africa; population 10,058,000 (est. 2009); languages, French (official), Fulani, Susu, Malinke, and others; capital, Conakry. Part of a feudal Fulani empire from the 16th century, Guinea was colonized by France, becoming part of French West Africa. It became an independent republic in 1958.

In Arthurian legend, Guinevere^[5] is the wife of King Arthur and mistress of Lancelot.

4d   Ceremony just broadcast (4)

5d   Resolution: enact it in some form before start of year (8)

6d   Caught one flushed that's taken up drink (5)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] denotes caught (by).

7d   Song concerning idle fellow (8)

8d   Engineers fast to yield (6)

The Corps of Royal Engineers^[7], usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is a corps of the British Army that provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

14d   Small person making an impression as an athlete (8)

16d   European town like Barcelona in vogue documentary (9)

Barcelona^[5] is a city on the coast of NE Spain, capital of Catalonia; population 1,615,908 (est. 2008).

17d   Point to titles being edited (8)

I was unable to find a source showing that stiletto can mean point. As a noun, stiletto^[10] can mean (1) a small dagger with a slender tapered blade; (2) a sharply pointed tool used to make holes in leather, cloth, etc.; or (3) [also called: spike heel, stiletto heel] a very high heel on a woman's shoe, tapering to a very narrow tip. As a verb, it can mean to stab with a stiletto.

18d   Bashful takes Doc's stuff -- that's funny (6)

Bashful and Doc are two of the seven dwarfs in Walt Disney's 1937 animated musical fantasy film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs^[7] based on a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The story had earlier been made into a Broadway play that debuted in 1912. The dwarfs are not given names in the fairy tale. In the 1912 production they were named Blick, Flick, Glick, Snick, Plick, Whick and Quee. Disney renamed them Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey.

20d   Harry and Mary to get job on farm (7)

As an anagram indicator, harry^[2] is used in the sense of (1) to ravage or destroy (a town, etc), especially in war or (2) to annoy or worry someone.

According to The Chambers Dictionary, yardman^[1] can mean (among other things) a person in charge of a farmyard.

22d   Passage taken from Zola is legible (5)

Émile Zola^[5] (1840–1902) was a French novelist and critic. His series of twenty novels collectively entitled Les Rougon-Macquart (1871–93), including Nana (1880), Germinal (1885), and La Terre (1887), attempts to show how human behaviour is determined by environment and heredity.

24d   Hotel broadcast legal documents (5)

César Ritz^[7] (1850–1918) was a Swiss hotelier and founder of several hotels, most famously the Hôtel Ritz in Paris and The Ritz Hotel in London. His nickname was "king of hoteliers, and hotelier to kings," and it is from his name and that of his hotels that the term ritzy derives.

25d   Object to  intellectual (4)

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)

Signing off for today — Falcon