Tuesday, July 11, 2017 — DT 28414

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28414
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, April 29, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28414 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28414 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Tilsit (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 █ - 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
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

While it would appear that today's setter was unable to slip anything past crypticsue, he (or she) was more successful with me. I needed a nudge — albeit only a very gentle nudge — to help me complete the southeast corner.

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

Error in Today's Puzzle

There is a typo in 18d in which the word "earlier" is misspelled as "earier". The clue should read:

• 18d   Old tape repaired jumper at an earlier stage (7)

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 semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Southern headland with river cutting through // tight spot (6)

4a   Factory in which one must be seen /as/ flexible (6)

9a   Order duck /for/ serviceman (8)

"duck" = O (show explanation )

In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game.

In British puzzles, "duck" is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.

hide explanation

10a   Relative // managed to find accommodation in grand US city (6)

While the abbreviation G for "grand" is deemed by the Brits to be an Americanism, it seems to be one that is well known to them — undoubtedly from American gangster films (show more ).

Grand^[5] is an informal term for a thousand dollars or pounds ⇒ he gets thirty-five grand a year. While the term "grand" itself would seem to be commonly used in the UK, the informal abbreviation G^[5] meaning grand appears to be regarded as a North American usage ⇒ I was up nine Gs on the blackjack tables.

G is defined in various British dictionaries as follows:

• Oxford Dictionaries: (North American informal) abbreviation for grand, a thousand dollars)^[5].
• Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: (North American slang) abbreviation for a grand, 1000 dollars^[2].
• Collins English Dictionary: (mainly US slang) a symbol for grand (a thousand dollars or pounds)^[10].

hide explanation

11a   Office // mailbag (4)

Mailbag^[5] is used in the sense of the letters received by a person, especially a public figure such as a Member of Parliament ⇒ Cambodia has been the main subject of my mailbag this week.

Post^[5] is a chiefly British term for mail^[5], including in the sense of letters and parcels sent or received. [I have always thought it more than a little ironic that, in Britain, the post is delivered by the Royal Mail while, in Canada, the mail is delivered by Canada Post.]

12a   At close quarters // to workers on both sides (4-2-4)

13a   Attend a sanctuary /and/ go into withdrawal (4,1,7)

16a   Glassy-eyed, // quite a sight in bed (12)

20a   Rich // source listed (4-6)

21a   Change // lines to be delivered by Virginia (4)

22a   Ate sandwiches a good person // went without (6)

23a   Hurry up /with/ double portion of food (4,4)

Chop-chop^[5] is a term coming from pidgin English meaning quickly or quick ⇒ 'Two pints, chop-chop,' Jimmy called.

24a   New // style our ships must follow (6)

From a British perspective, "our ships" refers to the Royal Navy^[5] (abbreviation RN).

25a   Seek // measures with rights enshrined (6)

Down

1d   Break in journey // provost arranged when going round Orient? (8)

This is an indirect abbreviation. E is the abbreviation for East which is a synonym for Orient.

While I wouldn't necessarily think that East is abbreviated as E when used in this sense, it is not the first time that I have encountered this usage. I have always wondered why indirect abbreviations are permitted when indirect anagrams are verboten..

2d   Pass on // Marmite mother's left for spreading (5)

Scratching the Surface
Marmite[5] is a British trademark for a dark savoury spread made from yeast extract and vegetable extract.

3d   Creature // beginning to pollen part of flower (7)

5d   Person receiving money of late (7)

6d   A wretched // cold (9)

7d   Resident // football team missing one six-footer (6)

Eleven^[5] is the number of players in^* an Association football^[7] [soccer] team — and is often used as a metonym for such a team.

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^* Note that, in Britain, a player is "in a team" rather than "on a team" as one would say in North America.

Eleven also happens to be the number of players on a US football team — but not a Canadian football team which has twelve players.

"six-footer" = ANT (show explanation )

Ants — as do all insects^[5] — have six legs, and correspondingly, six feet.

hide explanation

8d   Where numbers can be found // all day and all night (5,3,5)

14d   Time to appear in strange tableau daughter // carefully organised (9)

15d   What those with largest families do // last of all (8)

17d   Lean // left in poster? (7)

According to dictionaries, post^[3,4,11] is a (chiefly) British term meaning to send by mail. However, the phrase "post a letter" — while certainly much less common than "mail a letter" — does not sound entirely foreign to me.

18d   Old tape repaired // jumper at an earlier stage (7)

19d   Don't get the wind up (6)

21d   Minister /making/ some civic arrangements (5)

A vicar^[5] is a member of the clergy, although the meaning of the term varies among religious denominations (show more ).

The term vicar may mean:

• in the the Church of England, an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman;
• in other Anglican Churches, a member of the clergy deputizing for another;
• in the Roman Catholic Church, a representative or deputy of a bishop;
• in the US Episcopal Church, a clergyman in charge of a chapel;
• a cleric or choir member appointed to sing certain parts of a cathedral service.

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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