Tuesday, October 17, 2017 — DT 28484

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28484
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, July 20, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28484]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Falcon
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

The setter of this puzzle remained reclusive although many — myself included — looked in the direction of Shamus to see if he might stand up to take a bow.

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   In which one sees fish thus given new // flavour (6)

4a   Look like // rowdy males lacking a beer (8)

8a   A formal garment, American -- time /for/ change? (6)

Dinner jacket^[10] (abbreviation DJ or dj) is the British name for a tuxedo, a man's semiformal evening jacket without tails, usually black with a silk facing over the collar and lapels.

9a   Accusation after having been elected /and/ bearing authority? (2,6)

10a   Erudite // argument behind school book (8)

What did I say?
In my review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, I pointed out that the educational institution required is a grammar school. Grammar school[3] is a chiefly British term for a secondary or preparatory school.

11a   Financial means /of/ explorer that's lost weight (6)

David Livingstone^[5] (1813–1873) was a Scottish missionary and explorer. He went to Bechuanaland as a missionary in 1841. On extensive travels, he discovered Lake Ngami (1849), the Zambezi River (1851), and the Victoria Falls (1855). In 1866 he went in search of the source of the Nile, and was found in poor health by Sir Henry Morton Stanley in 1871.

The stone^[5] is a British unit of weight equal to 14 lb (6.35 kg) ⇒ I weighed 10 stone.

12a   Informal essay overlooking core // department of hospital (8)

Here and There
From a British perspective, emergency room[5] (abbreviation ER[5]) is a North American term. The equivalent British term would be either accident and emergency[5] (abbreviation A & E[5]) or casualty department[5] (also casualty ward).

13a   Bemoan // what's in the heart of bitter German from the East (6)

15a   Hard-up eccentric /in/ seclusion (6)

Purdah^[5] denotes a state of seclusion or secrecy⇒ (i) the supermarket's own self-imposed purdah on the GM issue; (ii) expect the lawyers to re-emerge from their temporary purdah when the legislation is published.

Delving Deeper

The term purdah[5] comes from a practice observed in certain Muslim and Hindu societies of screening women from men or strangers, especially by means of a curtain. In Britain the term is used to refer to the period leading up to an election, during which government departments generally refrain from making any new announcements⇒ it is very difficult at the moment with the election on and the government in purdah.

18a   Local wearing something revered /in/ Ireland, say (8)

Politically, the island of Ireland^[7] is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, in the northeast of the island.

20a   Call policy restricted /in/ European capital (6)

Dublin^[5] is the capital city of the Republic of Ireland, situated on the Irish Sea at the mouth of the River Liffey.

21a   Shoot perhaps in small film location /revealing/ particular expertise (5,3)

Many British commenters were unfamiliar with this term. A search through my dictionaries found it present in only two. The Chambers Dictionary defines skill set^[1] as commercial jargon for a range of job-related aptitudes.

23a   British firm backed about new-fangled oil /as/ healthy food (8)

24a   Exile might request it, /given/ year in a poor district (6)

25a   Bit of spirit's shown by victory, say, // somewhere in Canada (8)

26a   Increase // unknown number occupying former flat (6)

Flat^[5] is a chiefly British term for what would be called an apartment^[5] in North America.

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.

Down

1d   What smoker's left with after street // drugs haul? (5)

2d   Source of corruption /in/ opulent sport dividing southern Germany (5,4)

"Germany" = D (show explanation )

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Germany is D^[5] [from German Deutschland].

hide explanation

3d   Sincere /kind of/ note (7)

In music, natural^[5] (noun) is another name for natural note; that is, a note that is neither sharp nor flat.

4d   Gary is in slow car moving around // transport intersection (7,8)

5d   For this, a clue's devised 'with minimal sign of religion'? (7)

Some reviewers might have marked merely the word "this" as the definition. However, I have trouble accepting that a single pronoun can be a meaningful definition in its own right.

6d   Advocate dropping good man, // an impediment (7)

7d   Name grand Frenchman on the rise /that's/ very active (9)

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

If René does not top the ranks of most popular names for a Frenchman in Crosswordland, it certainly comes close.

12d   Part of mug // I'd put amid trophies, sign of respect? (6,3)

14d   Fail /in/ devious ploy with bugle (2,5,2)

16d   Dry // food, not good at a reduced price (3,4)

17d   Home where the residents lay on straw beds (3,4)

19d   Soldier/'s/ retiring? (7)

22d   Shrinking // section of government? I'm idealistic! (5)

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