Monday, August 7, 2017 — DT 28433 (Published Saturday, August 5, 2017)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28433
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, May 22, 2017
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28433]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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
This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, August 5, 2017 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

Today finds Rufus at the top of his form; it also finds him in the National Post on the day his puzzles customarily appear in the UK.

My podium finishers today are 21a, 8d, and 22d with 8d narrowly edging out 22d for the gold.

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 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   They are buried in peace (8)

6a   Cracked a nut, go /for/ something sweet (6)

9a   It sounds quite cold but it may be hot (6)

10a   Dance around on broken toe? /Might make/ a good story (8)

11a   Willing // scholar returned to provide means (8)

12a   Quiet little brook // anything but quiet (6)

13a   Welcome salesman, game to go back and pursue // easier way to pay? (4-8)

"game" = RU (show explanation )

Rugby union^[10] (abbreviation RU^[5]) is a form of rugby football played between teams of 15 players (in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen).

 Rugby union^[7] is is the national sport in New Zealand, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Madagascar.

hide explanation

Hire purchase^[5] (abbreviation h.p. or HP^[5]) is a British term for a system by which one pays for a thing in regular instalments while having the use of it [the equivalent North American term would be rent-to-own^[7]].

16a   Immediately // how one knows that someone is surprised (4,3,5)

19a   Pay // to stay (6)

21a   Retired people won't get such a fanciful idea (8)

23a   Clumsy lout made // to tone down remarks? (8)

24a   Astronaut // found in local, drinking (6)

Buzz Aldrin^[7] (born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.) is an American engineer and former astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, he was one of the first two humans to land on the Moon, and the second person to walk on it, following mission commander Neil Armstrong.

Scratching the Surface
Local[5] is an informal British term for a pub convenient to a person’s home ⇒ a pint in the local.

25a   Slow movement /gets/ a soldier in trouble (6)

"soldier" = GI (show explanation )

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war.

Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

hide explanation

Adagio^[5] is a musical term denoting (especially as a direction) in slow time.

26a   A glass // ship (8)

Here and There
A schooner is a glass on both sides of the pond — albeit very different ones. In Britain, a schooner[5] is a glass for drinking a large measure of sherry, whereas in North American — as well as Australia and New Zealand — the term denotes a tall beer glass.

Down

2d   Relaxed // reception (2-4)

An at-home^[5] is;

• a party in a person's home
• a dated term for a period when a person has announced that they will receive visitors in their home

3d   Stop // small company taking fifty on (5)

Stop^[5] is a dated British term for a punctuation mark, especially a full stop^*.

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^* The punctuation mark (.) known as a period^[5] in North America is called a full stop^[5] by the British.

4d   Dine out on hot food when up /in/ northern capital (9)

Edinburgh^[5] is the capital of Scotland, on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth; population 449,100 (est. 2009). The city grew up round the 11th-century castle built by Malcolm III on a rocky ridge that dominates the landscape.

5d   Mix a cocktail, say, /and/ get fish in to eat (5,2)

... mix this cocktail to suit James Bond.

The hake^[5] is any of several species of large-headed elongated fish with long jaws and strong teeth. It is a valuable commercial food fish.

6d   When the devil drives, they must (5)

Needs^[5] is an archaic term denoting 'of necessity' as in the phrases:

• must needs (or needs must) do something meaning cannot avoid or cannot help doing something ⇒ they must needs depart
• needs must meaning it is or was necessary or unavoidable ⇒ if needs must, they will eat any food

"Needs must when the devil drives"^[*] is a proverb meaning when you are desperate, you must do things you ordinarily would not do ⇒ We're going to have to get an enormous loan to pay for your mother's surgery. I hate to go into debt, but needs must when the devil drives.

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^* McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

7d   Was inadequate as an air gunner /and/ fell short as a pilot (9)

8d   Its members draw on the master's guidance (3,5)

What did he say?

In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops describes the solution as a cryptic definition of a form of students studying how to draw. 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

13d   Powerless /to get/ substandard player suspended (9)

14d   Yard chase forged // money (5,4)

Ready cash is another term for ready money^[5,10], funds for immediate use or, in other words, available money or cash.

15d   Title that's used in all-in wrestling? (8)

Rufus used this very clue in DT 28145 (The Daily Telegraph: Monday, June 20, 2016; National Post: Thursday, October 6, 2016). What's good for the goose is good for the gander, so I will just repeat what I wrote then.

Freehold^[5] is a British term denoting permanent and absolute tenure of land or property with freedom to dispose of it at will.

All-in wrestling^[5,10] is a British term (seemingly dated in professional application but not in common parlance) for wrestling with few or no restrictions. This style of no-holds-barred wresting is also known as freestyle wrestling (although it should certainly not be confused with Olympic freestyle wrestling).

I don't believe that "freehold" is actually a wrestling term; I think we are supposed to decipher it from the fact that a participant is free to employ virtually any hold whatsoever in a competition. Based on this, I have not marked the clue as a double definition but rather as a cryptic definition comprising a straight definition (solid underline) and cryptic elaboration (dashed underline).

Delving Deeper

Professional wrestling in the Greco Roman style — a style of wrestling which forbids holds below the waist — had enjoyed considerable popularity in Britain during the Edwardian era, but had dwindled and died out by the outbreak of World War I, although various styles of amateur wrestling continued as legitimate sports. One of these was Catch As Catch Can[7] wrestling, a freestyle form of wrestling that was developed in Britain circa 1870. When Catch As Catch Can wrestling reached the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century it became extremely popular. Wrestling as a promotional business (as opposed to a legitimate sport) did not return to Britain until the beginning of the 1930s when the success of the more worked* aspects of professional wrestling in America, like gimmickry and showmanship, were introduced to British wrestling. It was with this revival that the more submission-based Catch As Catch Can wrestling style, which had already replaced Greco Roman wrestling as the dominant style of professional wrestling in the United States back in the 1890s, became the new dominant style in Britain. * In wrestling lingo, work means anything planned to happen, from the carnival tradition of "working the crowd". Thus "worked" means planned or scripted. All-in wrestling[7] was the first wave of professional wrestling in the United Kingdom to be based on the Catch As Catch Can style of wrestling. It was conducted under the All-In Rules of 1930 in which (unlike Olympic freestyle wrestling) no holds were prohibited. The name All In later became synonymous with more anarchic professional wrestling shows, leading to censure by local authorities by the late 1930s. Consequently, the All In label was disowned by most British wrestling promoters following the adoption of the 1947 Mountevans rules and replaced by the term Modern Freestyle. Despite the rejection of the name "All In" by British wrestling promoters, the term continued to be used in the UK to refer to professional wrestling - often in a derogatory sense by non-fans. An example of its use in this context is in the Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch "All In Cricket" which depicts two cricketers dueling with cricket bats in a wrestling ring. Although it really has nothing to do with the clue under consideration, I thought I would share a tidbit [or, for British readers, titbit] of information that I stumbled upon in my research for this clue. It seems that after attempting for many decades to maintain the pretense that professional wrestling was not fake, wrestling promoters actually testified before lawmakers that wrestling was in fact staged — all in an effort to escape paying the taxes which applied to legitimate professional sporting events. In professional wrestling, kayfabe[7] is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true," specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not of a staged or pre-determined nature of any kind. Kayfabe has also evolved to become a code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the direct or indirect presence of the general public. Though the staged nature of professional wrestling had been a frequent topic of conversation among the media and public since at least the latter years of the early 20th century, the professional wrestling industry did not formally acknowledge this until changes in the business during the 1980s professional wrestling boom prompted attitudes within the business to change. In 1989, World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey state senate that wrestling was staged. Long sanctioned by New Jersey and other states as an athletic exhibition for regulation and taxation purposes, McMahon sought to eliminate oversight, and hence taxation, on the WWF's house shows and pay-per-view events held within the state.

17d   Gloomy study son /makes/ blue (7)

18d   Local // vet in a shambles (6)

20d   A long time to // muse (5)

In Greek and Roman mythology, Erato^[5] was the Muse^* of lyric poetry and hymns.

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^* The Muses^[5] are nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences.

Unconventional?

Rufus treads dangerously close to contravening — and perhaps does contravene — a cryptic crossword convention that holds that while it is acceptable for the setter to unnecessarily capitalize words to create misdirection, it is not acceptable to omit necessary capitalization. Since the definition refers specifically to one of the Muses of Greek and Roman mythology, should it not be capitalized? The uncapitalized modern use of the word "muse" really has a somewhat different meaning.

22d   One can't see what it offers as entertainment (5)

What did he say?
In his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Miffypops refers to the solution as a wireless set. Wireless[5] is a dated British term for a radio ⇒ listening to the news on the wireless.

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