Introduction
There is a fair bit of British content in today's puzzle — including a number of cricket references.
Today's blog appears a bit late as I have been wrestling with computer issues.
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.
Across
1a Old athlete lapping last in race, the very
best (5)
Steve Cram[7] is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow" (after his birthplace in County Durham, England), Cram set world records in the 1500 metres, 2000 metres and the mile
during a 19-day period in the summer of 1985. He was the first man to
run 1500 metres under 3 minutes and 30 seconds. He won the 1500 metres gold medal at the 1983 World Championships and the 1500 metres silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.
4a Aquatic animal dad knocked over, put
into casserole mainly (8)
8a School member entertaining southern
European (8)
David Cameron[7], Prime Minister of the UK, and
Boris Johnson[7], Mayor of London, both attended Eton College
.
Eton College[7], often referred to simply as Eton,
is a British independent [
private] school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded
in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton
besides Wyndsor". It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, and is
one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the
Public Schools Act 1868. [
Note: In Britain, "public schools" are a
special class of private school; what North Americans would call public
schools seem to be referred to in Britain by terms such as state-run or
state-funded schools].
9a Rescind order to a barge (8)
11a US lawman hires scuffling pair of fellows
(7)
F[2] is the abbreviation for Fellow (of a society, etc).
13a Criminal, rude lot misbehaving with day
gone -- and boorish drinker? (5,4)
In British slang, a
lag[5] is
a person who has been frequently convicted and sent to prison ⇒
both old lags were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment
.
Lager lout[5] is British slang for
a young man who behaves in an unpleasant or violent way as a result of excessive drinking ⇒
police said he acted like a lager lout and hit an officer
.
15a Bottom and chest seen awkwardly in
private? (6,3,6)
18a One active in the organ trade? (9)
An
organ[5] is
a newspaper or periodical which promotes the views of a political party or movement ⇒ he repositioned the journal as a leading organ of neoconservatism
.
Newsagent[5] is a British term for
a person or shop selling newspapers, magazines, confectionery, etc..
21a Entrance made by English
conservationists anticipating hour by a
lake (7)
In Britain, the
National Trust[5] (
abbreviation NT) is
a trust for the preservation of places of
historic interest or natural beauty in England, Wales, and Northern
Ireland, founded in 1895 and supported by endowment and private
subscription. The National Trust for Scotland was founded in 1931.
22a Imagination tends to take energy with the
old (5,3)
24a Huge trademark of an aggressive boxer?
(8)
In British slang,
thumping[5] means
of an impressive size, extent, or amount ⇒
(i) a thumping 64 per cent majority
; (ii) a thumping great lie
.
25a Food abundantly supplied for old actress
(8)
Marlene Dietrich[5] (1901 – 1992) was a German-born American actress and singer; born Maria Magdelene Dietrich. She became famous for her part as Lola in The Blue Angel
(1930), one of many films she made with Josef von Sternberg. From the
1950s she was also successful as an international cabaret star.
26a Exam, one set among others (5)
Resit[5] is a British term which, as a verb, means to take (an examination) again after failing it ⇒
she is resitting her maths GCSE [General Certificate of Secondary Education]
and, as a noun, denotes an examination that is resat ⇒
the system allows the office to timetable all resits in a single block
.
Down
1d A club seen to diversify around hotel
offering pastry (7,3)
Chelsea bun[5] is the British name for
a flat, spiral-shaped currant bun sprinkled with sugar.
2d Establish hub overlooking college and
new church (8)
3d Stunted type, German writer, one
supported by family (8)
Mannikin[5] is a variant spelling of
manikin[5],
a very small man.
Thomas Mann[5] (1875 – 1955) was a
German novelist and essayist. The role and character of the artist in
relation to society is a constant theme in his works. Notable works: Buddenbrooks (1901), Death in Venice (1912), and Dr Faustus (1947). Nobel Prize for Literature (1929).
4d A hard-headed character raised marine
creature (4)
A
nut[4] is a person or thing that presents difficulties (especially in the phrase
a tough or hard nut to crack).
5d Strictness in theatre employee, we hear
(6)
The Chambers Dictionary defines
rigger[1] as
someone who puts up and looks after the scaffolding and lifting
apparatus, etc. that is used for building operations and theatrical and
musical productions, etc.
6d Food in container with a cap quietly taken
off (6)
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.
7d Significant mark in flat perhaps (4)
Deep Threat has not convinced me that this is a triple definition. It seems to me that
significant means
noteworthy, and
note is a synonym for
significance (
an event of note
). If it is not a triple definition, then
significant mark must equate to
note — although I am not entirely comfortable with that.
10d Agitatedly get a Tube -- it's been baking
and may get filled (8)
The capitalization of the word "Tube" suggests that the clue might refer to the London subway system (or, more particularly, a train running on that system).
The Tube[5] (
British trademark) is (1)
the underground railway system in London, England ⇒
a cross-London trek on the Tube
or (2)
a train running on the Tube ⇒
I caught the tube home
.
12d Soap even applied to synthetic material?
Not half (8)
Terylene[10] is a British trademark for
a synthetic polyester fibre or fabric based on terephthalic acid, characterized by
lightness and crease resistance and used for clothing, sheets, ropes, sails, etc [
known as Dacron (trademark) in North America].
14d 50 in Ashes duel maybe that gives proof
of high-level suitability (4,6)
The Ashes[10] is
a cremated cricket stump in a pottery urn now preserved at Lord's[7] [a cricket ground in London, England]. Victory or defeat
in test matches between England and Australia is referred to as winning, losing, or
retaining the Ashes. A
Test (short for
Test match)
[5] is
an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries ⇒
the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies
.
16d Person involved in trade in general
grabbing award (8)
George Armstrong Custer[7]
(1839 – 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander
in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. After building a strong
reputation in
the Civil War, Custer was dispatched to the west to
fight in the Indian Wars. His disastrous final battle overshadowed his
prior achievements. Custer and all the men with him were killed at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, fighting against a coalition of
Native American tribes in a battle that has come to be popularly known
in American history as "Custer's Last Stand."
In actual fact, Custer was not a general at the time of his death. During the
Civil War, he had briefly held the rank of Brevet (temporary) Major
General, but reverted to his permanent rank of Captain at the end of the
war. By 1876, he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
The
Order of Merit[7]
(abbreviation
OM[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed
forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture.
Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains
the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the
Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time
from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime
Minister Jean Chrétien).
17d Weapon I smuggled into Tyneside ship
that's just avoided collision (4,4)
Tyneside[5] is
an industrial conurbation (an extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of a central city) on the banks of the River Tyne, in NE England, stretching from Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast.
As is almost invariably the case in Crosswordland, today's ship is a
steamship (
abbreviation SS[5]).
After some thought, I have concluded that the definition must be a "just avoided collision" (a potential collision that did not take place) — which is slightly shorter than what is indicated by Deep Threat in his review.
19d Obtain craftily bit of wine with fish (6)
My downfall was too much wine — I tried to use the first three letters instead of merely the first letter.
20d Spinning of Warne's the solution (6)
Shane Warne[5] is an
Australian cricketer who holds the record for Australian bowlers in taking over 600 test wickets [see 14d for a definition of test]. In cricket,
spin[5] (with reference to a ball) means to move or cause to move through the air with a revolving motion ⇒
(i) the ball spun in viciously
; (ii) they had to spin the ball wide
. Spinning, of course, is the action of imparting spin to the ball as it is bowled.
22d Atmosphere of fate in revolution (4)
23d Design sailing vessel excluding prow (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