Thursday, October 22, 2017 — DT 28486

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28486
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, July 22, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28486 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28486 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave (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

The run of gentle puzzles continues with this "Saturday" offering from an unknown setter.

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   Look here, // there's more to come (5,4,5)

Is this a double definition (as crypticsue indicates in her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog) or merely definition with wordplay? If the later, the wordplay would be WATCH (look) + THIS SPACE (here). If the former, the first part of the clue would be seen as a literal instruction and I would mark the clue as:

• Look here, // there's more to come (5,4,5)

In instances such as this, in which a literal instruction could simply be interpreted as wordplay, I tend to see it as wordplay.

9a   Wow, other ranks will eat free /in/ hall (8)

Cor^[5] is an informal British exclamation expressing surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm ⇒ Cor! That‘s a beautiful black eye you’ve got!.

"other ranks" = OR (show explanation )

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks^[5] (abbreviation OR^[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

hide explanation

10a   Prince /shows/ bottle going round a hospital (5)

Rajah is an alternative spelling of raja^[5],  a historical term for an Indian king or prince.

12a   Scribe topped and tailed // ceremony (4)

13a   Painstaking // detail (10)

15a   Respect // dad backing professional versus a learner (8)

"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

16a   Promise // parking can be found by lake shore? (6)

18a   Home brewer (6)

20a   Diabolical // meal causing misfortune inside (8)

23a   Applying // first of gears to follow former pilot manoeuvring in (10)

24a   Decomposed fuel // outlet (4)

26a   Fancy that American soldier? // Snappy little tyke! (5)

Fancy that, the British exclamation from 9a reprises its role.

"American 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

Snappy Little Tykes

The Welsh Corgi[7] (corgi being Welsh for "dwarf dog") is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. Two separate breeds are recognized: the Pembroke Welsh Corgi and the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. In an article on behaviour modification training for corgis entitled Aggression in Pembrokes, Liz Myhre writes "the Pembroke Welsh Corgi breed has a world-wide reputation of biting that's been well-earned by certain members of the breed". Princess Elizabeth (now Elizabeth II), age 10 Welsh Corgis have a strong association with Queen Elizabeth II, who has personally owned more than 30 dogs, either Pembrokes or Corgi/Dachshund crosses[7]. According to an article on The Daily Beast website entitled The Queen’s Corgis’ Secret Life, "The palace footmen loathe the animals, as they are yappy and snappy".

27a   Number study city's outskirts -- /it's a/ trend (8)

28a   Shut it -- nuisance when liquid /is/ lukewarm (14)

Down

2d   Brace favourites to get up /and/ dance (3-4)

The two-step^[5] is a round dance with a sliding step in march or polka time.

3d   Brave guy /that presents/ that girl with ring (4)

4d   Hurried pronouncedly on a path, /making/ retreat (8)

5d   Supports // parades (6)

6d   Gather below Dover perhaps /is/ castle entrance (10)

A portcullis^[5] is a strong, heavy grating that can be lowered down grooves on each side of a gateway to block it.

7d   Flattered // little woman the French rogue's cuddling (7)

Little Women^[7] is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—detailing their passage from childhood to womanhood, and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters. Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts.

"the French" = LE (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le^[8].

hide explanation

8d   List of accusations -- // rush these to be reviewed (6,5)

Here and There

Charge sheet[10] (or chargesheet) is a British* term for a document on which a police officer enters details of the charge against a prisoner and the court in which he will appear. * On the other hand, Oxford Dictionaries characterizes the term charge sheet[5] as Indian or South African. I had initially supposed a charge sheet might be another name for a rap sheet[3,4,11], an informal US and Canadian term for a law enforcement record showing a person's history of criminal arrests and convictions. However, the documents turn out to be somewhat different with a charge sheet relating to a specific charge and a rap sheet being a cumulative record of charges.

11d   Start a conversation? /It's/ what travellers do in the Arctic (5,3,3)

Unlike 1a, the subsidiary indication here (i.e., the latter part of this clue) cannot be decomposed into simple wordplay so I have no hesitation in marking it as a cryptic definition — in fact, I have no choice but to do so.

Breaking the Ice
Yes, if one were travelling by icebreaker, this would be "what travellers do in the Arctic". However, most boats would be incapable of breaking the ice and I would say that most travel on ice-bound waters in the Arctic would be accomplished on foot or by dog sled, snowmobile or aircraft. For travellers using such means, breaking the ice would be the last thing they would want to do.

14d   See company proposal /for/ moving capacity (10)

"look" = LO (show explanation )

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

hide explanation

17d   Not a chain in southern Europe /but/ one in northern England (8)

In her solution on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, crypticsue misspells the Italian mountain range with two many Ps and not enough Ns. The difference in the names of the two chains really is a single letter A.

The Apennines^[5] are a mountain range running 1,400 km (880 miles) down the length of Italy, from the north-west to the southern tip of the peninsula.

The Pennine Hills^[5] (also Pennine Chain or the Pennines) are a range of hills in northern England, extending from the Scottish border southwards to the Peak District in Derbyshire. Its highest peak is Cross Fell in Cumbria, which rises to 893 m (2,930 ft).

19d   Sprain I developed, painkiller /needed/ (7)

Although the word "needed" appears at the end of the clue, it functions as a link word. Its unusual positioning results from the inverted sentence structure employed in the clue. This can be seen more clearly if we rephrase the clue in a more standard sentence structure:

• Painkiller /needed for/ sprain I developed (7)

21d   I will put on the item about Guernsey etc // criminal (7)

The Channel Islands^[5] (abbreviation CI^[5]) are a group of islands in the English Channel off the northwestern coast of France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. Formerly part of the dukedom of Normandy, they have owed allegiance to England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and are now classed as Crown dependencies.

22d   Pain // that's left after surgery (6)

25d   Found written inside maze, Talmudic // Greek character (4)

Zeta^[5] is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ζ, ζ).

Scratching the Surface

The Talmud[5] is the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend comprising the Mishnah and the Gemara. There are two versions of the Talmud: the Babylonian Talmud (which dates from the 5th century AD but includes earlier material) and the earlier Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud. Is the Talmud likely to have actually been written in Greek? If not written in Greek, it certainly contains Greek words. According to Wikipedia, "The Talmud[7] is often cryptic and difficult to understand. Its language contains many Greek and Persian words that became obscure over time".

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