Friday, May 5, 2017 — DT 28367

Posted Sunday, May 7, 2017 but backdated to maintain sequence.

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28367
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, March 6, 2017
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28367]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By ShropshireLad
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★	Enjoyment - ★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

I am afraid that I am a few days late on parade with this review. I spent six hours behind the wheel in pouring rain on Friday. I can still see the wipers whipping back and forth in front of my eyes.

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

Notes on Today's Puzzle

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

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (&lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

1a   Got a first of course (6,1,6)

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, ShropshireLad writes The ‘course’ being referred to in the clue could be Aintree. And this is what you would have done if you placed money on Aldiniti in 1981. Aintree Racecourse[7] is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. The racecourse is best known for annually holding the world-famous Grand National steeplechase. Aldaniti[7] (1970-1997) was a racehorse who won the Grand National on 4 April 1981. Jockey Bob Champion recovered from cancer while Aldaniti recovered after suffering a career threatening injury. He starred as himself in the 1983 film Champions.

10a   No way to get wealthy -- /you'll just get/ the bird (7)

11a   A giddy goat, it /may be/ musically excited (7)

Agitato^[5] is a musical term denoting (especially as a direction) agitated in manner ⇒ allegro agitato.

12a   One in front /gets/ conceited (4)

13a   One's husband's late (5)

14a   Suggest // a clue for this answer (4)

17a   Sell oil, rum /and/ sticky sweets (7)

As an anagram indicator, rum^[5] is used in a dated informal British sense meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

Here and There

Sweet[5] is a British term for a small shaped piece of confectionery made with sugar ⇒ a bag of sweets. In North American parlance, sweets would be candy[5] and a sweet would be a piece of candy*. * In Britain, candy[5] means sugar crystallized by repeated boiling and slow evaporation ⇒ making candy at home is not difficult—the key is cooking the syrup to the right temperature. To the Brits, lolly[5] can refer to either a lollipop or an ice lolly[5] (also called iced lolly), a piece of flavoured ice [a popsicle[5] to North Americans] or ice cream on a stick.

18a   Term very much like another (7)

19a   Something that's essential when around // fruit (7)

A satsuma^[5] is a tangerine of a hardy loose-skinned variety, originally grown in Japan.

22a   Acid // criticism (7)

Vitriol^[5] is an archaic or literary term for sulphuric acid.

24a   Dutch product // manufactured to be sent west (4)

Edam^[5] is a round Dutch cheese, typically pale yellow with a red wax coating.

25a   Grub /is/ right at the centre of burning issue (5)

26a   Residence // with no outstanding features (4)

Here and There
Flat[5] is the British term for what would be called an apartment[5] in North America.

29a   Agree // to read in front of class (7)

Unlike ShropshireLad, I would place the word "to" in the wordplay rather than in the definition.

"study"= CON (show explanation )

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing)  ⇒ the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

hide explanation

In Britain, a form^[5] is [or, perhaps more correctly,was] a class or year in a school, usually given a specifying number. Thus what we in North America would call a grade would be — or once was — known in Britain as a form, although the numbering system for forms and grades are vastly different. (show more )

The term "form" seems to have become passé as Miffypops in his review of DT 28163 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog refers to "sixth-former" as "What a schoolchild would be during the year before university back in the old days. This would now be known as year 13 or 14." Furthermore, Wikipedia (see table below) characterizes the term "form" as an "alternative/old name".

A form^[7] is a class or grouping of students in a school. The term is used predominantly in the United Kingdom, although some schools, mostly private, in other countries also use the title. Pupils are usually grouped in forms according to age and will remain with the same group for a number of years, or sometimes their entire school career.

Forms are normally identified by a number such as "first form" or "sixth form". A form number may be used for two year groups and differentiated by the terms upper and lower [in general, this would seem to apply primarily for the sixth form]. Usually the sixth form is the senior form of a school [although this apparently does not hold true for New Zealand where they would appear to have a seventh form]. In England, the sixth form is usually divided into two year groups, the lower sixth and upper sixth, owing to the 3-year English college/university system. In Scotland or North America, the 6th form is usually a single year, owing to the 4-year college/university system. If there is more than one form for each year group they will normally be differentiated by letters, e.g., "upper four B", "lower two Y". Schools do not follow a consistent pattern in naming forms [in the foregoing quotation witness Miffypops' reference to "year 14",  a term which does not appear in the table below].

Wikipedia would appear to be at best ambiguous and at worst inconsistent on the relationship between the British and American systems of naming school years. The article from which the table below is excerpted shows that the British first form is equivalent to the American 6th grade. On the other hand, the article cited above states "In North America, the 1st Form (or sometimes 'Form I') is equivalent to 7th Grade." However, this latter statement may in fact be a comparison between the few North American schools to use the form system and the vast majority of North American schools that don't rather than a comparison between British and American schools.

Naming of School Years (British System vs American System)[7]
Age Range	British System		American System
	Name	Alternative/Old Name	Name
11-12	Year 7	First form	6th grade
12-13	Year 8	Second form	7th grade
13-14	Year 9	Third form	8th grade
14-15	Year 10	Fourth form	9th grade
15-16	Year 11	Fifth form	10th grade
16-17	Year 12	Lower sixth form	11th grade
17-18	Year 13	Upper sixth form	12th grade

hide explanation

30a   An upholder of the Christian word (7)

31a   One prefers things not so-so, but just so (13)

Down

2d   A rising of workers (7)

"worker" = ANT (show explanation )

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

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

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

hide explanation

3d   Work with stitches // to heal (4)

4d   Sail had to be put up /for/ these blooming things (7)

5d   Paws one damaged // which could be used in self-defence (7)

6d   Return article if // too unsophisticated (4)

Naif^[3,4,11] (or naïf) is a less common variant spelling of naive.

7d   Member of clergy leaves Apocalypse /in/ state of euphoria (7)

The Apocalypse^[5] is another name (especially in the Vulgate Bible^*) for the book of Revelation.

---

^* used by the Roman Catholic church

8d   The time it takes for ill-feeling to disappear (13)

9d   Looking /or just/ thinking about it (13)

15d   Virtuous but losing out over // poisonous influence (5)

16d   Untie tricky // knot (5)

20d   One under instruction // to make a stand about wet weather (7)

21d   Ian came to dance // looking pale and sickly (7)

Anaemic^[5] is the British spelling of anemic. I expect the Brits consider our spelling of the word to be anaemic.

22d   He composed // valid styles for entertaining quartet (7)

Antonio Vivaldi^[5] (1678–1741) was an Italian composer and violinist, one of the most important baroque composers. His feeling for texture and melody is evident in his numerous compositions such as The Four Seasons (concerto, 1725).

23d   Complaint /made by/ one head about learners (7)

Ness^[5] (a term usually found in place names) means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

"learner" = L (show explanation )

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

hide explanation

In Crosswordland, a complaint is very likely to be medical in nature.

27d   House cover (4)

Scratching the Surface

Possibly, the surface reading is an allusion to homeowner's insurance. In the UK, the word cover[5] is used to denote protection by insurance against a liability, loss, or accident ⇒ your policy provides cover against damage by subsidence. This is equivalent to the North American term coverage[5] meaning the amount of protection given by an insurance policy ⇒ your policy provides coverage against damage by subsidence.

28d   Work of art /and/ one fake (4)

An icon^[10] (also ikon) is a representation of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, especially one painted in oil on a wooden panel, depicted in a traditional Byzantine style and venerated in the Eastern Church.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon