Monday, October 2, 2017 — DT 28473 (Published Saturday, September 30, 2017)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28473
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, July 7, 2017
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28473]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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, September 30, 2017 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

This puzzle garnered a mere two stars for difficulty on Big Dave's Crossword Blog which is rare for a Giovanni puzzle.

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   Sell // famous footballer, divine in the middle (6)

Pelé^[5] is a Brazilian footballer [soccer player]; born Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, he appeared 111 times for Brazil and is credited with over 1,200 goals in first-class soccer.

Divine^[5] is a dated term for a cleric or theologian.

Doctor of Divinity^[7] (abbreviation D.D. or DD, Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity. (show more )

Historically, the degree of Doctor of Divinity identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects. In the United Kingdom, Doctor of Divinity has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction. In the United States, the Doctor of Divinity is usually awarded as an honorary degree.

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5a   Extend // piece of writing provided by publicist (8)

PRO^[5] is an abbreviation for public relations officer.

9a   Repeated accident location in nursery rhyme? // Fancy that! (4,4)

"Jack and Jill"^[7] (sometimes "Jack and Gill", particularly in earlier versions) is a traditional English nursery rhyme.

There is a bit of discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog about which nursery rhyme is being referenced — "Jack and Jill" or "Ding Dong Bell"^[7]. Several commenters noted that a well is not mentioned in Jack and Jill and the pair may well have been fetching their water from a spring. On the other hand, in "Ding, Dong, Bell" it was certainly no accident that pussy found herself in the well.

Delving Deeper

Although the true origin of the rhyme "Jack and Jill"[7] is unknown, there are several theories, one of which suggests that the rhyme records the attempt by King Charles I to reform the taxes on liquid measures. He was blocked by Parliament, so subsequently ordered that the volume of a Jack (1/2 pint) be reduced, but the tax remained the same. This meant that he still received more tax, despite Parliament's veto. Hence "Jack fell down and broke his crown" (many pint glasses in the UK still have a line marking the 1/2 pint level with a crown above it) "and Jill came tumbling after". The reference to "Jill" (actually a "gill", or 1/4 pint) is said to reflect that the gill dropped in volume as a consequence.

10a   Inside pub is the // man who gets soaked? (6)

11a   Psychologist meeting German woman /in/ the mountain (8)

Carl Jung^[5] (1875–1961) was a Swiss psychologist who originated the concept of introvert and extrovert personality, and of the four psychological functions of sensation, intuition, thinking, and feeling. He collaborated with Sigmund Freud in developing the psychoanalytic theory of personality, but later disassociated himself from Freud’s preoccupation with sexuality as the determinant of personality, preferring to emphasize a mystical or religious factor in the unconscious.

Frau^[5] is a title or form of address for a married or widowed German-speaking woman ⇒ Frau Nordern.

Jungfrau^[5] is a mountain in the Swiss Alps, 4,158 m (13,642 ft) high.

12a   Little people /in/ air flying round to entertain me (6)

13a   Awful beer's out, // for certain (2,2,4)

15a   Some deer track heading west -- // something in the wood? (4)

Wood is being used in the sense of forest.

17a   Europe's foremost expert returns, /being/ invited (4)

Dab^[10] is short for dab hand^[10], an informal British term for a person who is particularly skilled at something or, in other words, an expert ⇒ a dab hand at chess.

19a   Where you may see Derby // County, fortunate after losing start (8)

Kent^[7] is a county in southeast England.

The Kentucky Derby^[5] is an annual horse race for three-year-olds at Louisville, Kentucky. First held in 1875, it is the oldest horse race in the US.

Scratching the Surface
Derby County Football Club[7] is a professional association football [soccer] club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England that currently plays in the Football League Championship (the second tier in the English football league system). Their home matches are played at Pride Park Stadium.

20a   Loose stones, any number /forming/ barrier (6)

"any number" = N (show explanation )

The letter n^[10] is used (especially in mathematics) as a symbol to represent an indefinite number (of) ⇒ there are n objects in a box.

hide explanation

21a   Something flowing endlessly -- it is // a nasal problem (8)

The Rhine^[5] is a river in western Europe which rises in the Swiss Alps and flows for 1,320 km (820 miles) to the North Sea. It forms the border between Germany and Switzerland in the south, then Germany and France, before flowing north through Germany and westwards through the Netherlands to empty into the North Sea near Rotterdam.

22a   Trick // unfortunately enticed knight to come out (6)

"knight" = N (show explanation )

A knight^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.

N^[5] is the abbreviation for knight used in recording moves in chess [representing the pronunciation of kn-, since the initial letter k- represents 'king'].

As an aside, it is interesting to note that the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines: 

• K^[2] as an abbreviation used in chess for knight. 
• K^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a king. 
• N^[2] is a symbol used in chess to represent a knight.

The dictionary fails to specify how one differentiates an abbreviation from a symbol.

On the other hand, both The Chambers Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary list K or K.^[1,11] as an abbreviation for knight without specifying the specific context in which this abbreviation is used. However, the context may well be in an honours list rather than in a game of chess. In the UK, for instance, KBE^[5] stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

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23a   Poignant // act of tactile person (8)

24a   Surprising dangers eating cold // meat (5,3)

Scrag-end^[5] (or scrag end^[10]) is a British term for the inferior end of a neck of mutton ⇒ scrag-end of mutton.

25a   Festival // always poetic taking place across a street (6)

Down

2d   One who has the will to get things dealt with (8)

3d   Member of conference // was first to turn up, coming to eastern entrance (8)

4d   Flower comes with message about end of affair -- // very bad (9)

Flower is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of something that flows — in other words, a river.

The River Exe^[7] rises on Exmoor in Somerset, 8.4 kilometres (5 mi) from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south (English Channel) coast of Devon.

Messages from the Past
Cable[5] is short for cablegram[5], a historical term for a telegraph message sent by cable ⇒ this was an occasion for using the telephone, not cables, teletexes*, or letters. * teletex[5] is an enhanced version of telex[5], an international system of telegraphy with printed messages transmitted and received by teleprinters using the public telecommunications network

5d   Like some fat // pal involved with nature study carrying duck (15)

"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

6d   Learner /getting/ excellent name when taken in by elder? (7)

"excellent" = AI (show explanation )

A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

hide explanation

The elder^[5] is a small tree or shrub with pithy stems, white flowers, and bluish-black or red berries.

7d   Impressive building // suffering harm, a lab (8)

The Alhambra^[5] is a a fortified Moorish palace, the last stronghold of the Muslim kings of Granada, built between 1248 and 1354 near Granada in Spain.

8d   Book, full of anger, beginning to seem // tedious (8)

14d   Erudite drunk holding court? // Goodness! (9)

"court" = CT (show explanation )

Ct^[2] is the abbreviation for Court in street addresses — and possibly in other contexts as well.

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15d   Deposits drunk /in/ part of ship (8)

Topside^[5] (often topsides) is the upper part of a ship's side, above the waterline.

16d   Nurse finally meets doctor with fast car, // an amorous type? (8)

"doctor" = MB (show explanation )

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree. 

hide explanation

17d   Said to secure the possibility of adapting book for film // legally (2,6)

18d   Editor rising up, one who's spoken for // rebelliousness (8)

19d   Carrying on, // top man secures English record (7)

"record" = EP (show explanation )

EP^[10] (abbreviation for extended-play) is one of the formats in which music is sold, usually comprising four or five tracks.

hide explanation

Carry on^[5] is used in the sense of to continue an activity or task ⇒ she carries on watching the telly [television].

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