Wednesday, November 29, 2017 — DT 28515

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28515
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, August 25, 2017
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28515]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
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

Foods I'd never heard of and obscure British dancing politicians did me in today. I also managed to invent a non-existent Briticism.

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

8a   /It's/ clear GP's kit isn't bad /for providing/ first-aid item (8-7)

I initially tried to include the word "it's" in the anagram fodder while omitting the word "isn't". Of course, I found myself one N short of a load.

The word "it's" — despite being placed at the beginning of the clue — plays a role somewhat akin to that of a linkword. The overall structure of the clue might be expressed as:

• /It is/ an anagram (bad) of CLEAR GPS KIT ISNT /whose purpose is to provide (for providing)/ the solution ([a type of] first-aid item).

Scratching the Surface
GP*[5] is the abbreviation for general practitioner. * Despite Oxford Dictionaries characterizing the abbreviation GP (but not the full term general practitioner) as a British usage, I would say that this abbreviation is certainly in widespread use in Canada.

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Sticking plaster^[5] is the British name for a band-aid (or Band-Aid^*[5]).

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^* Band-Aid™^[7] is a is a brand name and registered trademark of American pharmaceutical and medical devices giant Johnson & Johnson for its line of adhesive bandages. Although for legal reasons Johnson & Johnson would likely vehemently disagree, without doubt the name band-aid has become a generic term for such a product from any manufacturer. I can't imagine myself ever saying "Oh dear, I cut myself! Do you happen to have an adhesive bandage?"

9a   Fish around /for/ someone to deal with health problem? (3)

10a   'Globe-trotter' in London, say? (7-4)

I had THEATRE TOUR, although I was a little uncomfortable with the parsing. I reasoned that "trotter" must be a hitherto unbeknownst to me British term for a 'tour' — Let's go for a trotter around London sounds feasibly British to my ear.

The Globe Theatre^[7] was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men and was destroyed by fire in 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed by Ordinance in 1642^*. A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named "Shakespeare's Globe", opened in 1997 approximately 750 feet (230 m) from the site of the original theatre.

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^* In September 1642 the Long Parliament ordered a closure of the London theatres. The order cited the current "times of humiliation" and their incompatibility with "public stage-plays", representative of "lascivious Mirth and Levity". The ban, which was not completely effective, was reinforced by an Act of 11 February 1648. It provided for the treatment of actors as rogues, the demolition of theatre seating, and fines for spectators. In 1660, after the English Restoration brought King Charles II to effective power in England, the theatrical ban was lifted.

11a   Politician participating in 'Strictly' // dances (5)

I guessed the solution based on the second definition and the checking letters and then needed to do some fairly extensive research to explain the first definition.

I did initially try to make the solution be BUMPS or MP (politician) contained in (participating in) BUS. That left me to pursue the questions "Is there a dance named 'the bump'?" (plausibly) and "Is there a bus name 'Strictly'" (seems as likely as a television programme).

Strictly Come Dancing^[5] (informally known as Strictly) is a British television dance contest, featuring celebrity contestants, with professional dance partners competing in a ballroom and Latin dance competition.

Ed Balls^[7] is a retired British Labour Party and Co-operative Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2015. In 2016, Balls appeared as a celebrity contestant on series 14 of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Russian professional dancer Katya Jones.

12a   Trendy translation /making/ change to the usual order (9)

15a   Very rich /and/ very drunk? (7)

According to The Chambers Dictionary:

• rolling^[1] adj ... extremely rich (sl); staggering with drunkenness (sl); ...

17a   Tracks /in/ zones of wood girl enters (7)

A riding^[5] is a path or track for horse riders, typically one through woods.

19a   Pageboy possibly // working this early? (9)

I would dare say that Diana (usually appearing in its diminutive form Di) is certainly the leading contender for most popular female name in Crosswordland.

A pageboy^[5] is a woman's hairstyle consisting of a shoulder-length bob with the ends rolled under.

20a   Sea-girt location // doesn't have owner-occupier (5)

Let^[5] is a chiefly British^* term meaning to allow someone to have the use of (a room or property) in return for regular payments ⇒ (i) she let the flat [apartment] to a tenant; (ii) they’ve let out their house.

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^* However, I seriously doubt that this word is quite as British as Oxford Dictionaries would have us believe.^[3,11]

21a   New cabinet door -- // it has information written on it (6,5)

24a   Hurt // girl having little lamb without tail (3)

"Mary Had a Little Lamb"^[7] is an English language nursery rhyme of nineteenth-century American origin. It reportedly recounts an actual incident that occurred in the early 1800s in which Mary Sawyer of Sterling, Massachusetts took her pet lamb to school.

25a   Managers // put in -- tenderness would be unusual (15)

Down

1d   Choose a flower, as you might say -- // something for the dining table (10)

This relish is apparently commonly found in Britain^[7] as well as being well-known in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States^[7]. However, it was totally new to me.

Piccalilli^*[5] is a pickle of chopped vegetables, mustard, and hot spices ⇒ (i) chutneys, piccalillies, and relishes; (ii) sixteen pints of mustard piccalilli.

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^* Rather than an Italian word as I had presumed, this is a mid-18th century English word. Oxford Dictionaries (based on the Oxford Dictionary of English or ODE) states that this term is probably a portmanteau formed from a blend of the words 'pickle' and 'chilli'. However, Wikipedia quotes the presumably more authoritative Oxford English Dictionary or OED (not to be confused with the aforementioned ODE) as tracing the origin of the word piccalilli^[7] to "the middle of the 18th century when, in 1758, Hannah Glasse described how 'to make Paco-Lilla, or India Pickle'".

2d   Fish // glides along (6)

3d   As individuals, never interrupting // in a contemptuous manner (10)

4d   See // drunk keeping quiet (4)

"quiet" = P (show explanation )

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

hide explanation

5d   Hurried // as journalist dedicated to his or her profession (8)

6d   German maybe /in/ extreme circle (4)

"extreme" = OTT (show explanation )

OTT^[5] (short for over the top) is an informal British expression denoting excessive or exaggerated ⇒ presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT.

hide explanation

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Otto^[7] is a masculine German given name. It is one of two common names for German men that you are likely to encounter in Crosswordland — the other being Hans.

7d   Doctor has year with a French // practice (3,3)

"a French" = UN (show explanation )

In French, the masculine singular form of the indefinite article is un^[8].

hide explanation

8d   Short article in paper: // 'Team faces ban' (7)

"team" = SIDE (show explanation )

Side^[5] is a British term for a sports team ⇒ there was a mixture of old and young players in^* their side.

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

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage would seem to exist as well in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team, as we can clearly see from the following usage examples ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.

hide explanation

13d   Entrance gets changed on the outside, // having different colours (10)

14d   Men failing to work out // who wrote spy stories (3,7)

Ian Fleming^[5] (1908–1964) was an English novelist. He is known for his spy novels whose hero is the secret agent James Bond.

16d   At home, understand about dog /being/ unsettled (8)

18d   Volunteers turning up, fathers going round -- // they may raise a laugh (7)

"volunteers" = TA (show explanation )

In the UK, Territorial Army^[5] (abbreviation TA^[5]) was, at one time, the name of a volunteer force founded in 1908 to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined military personnel for use in an emergency. Since 2013, this organization has been called the Army Reserve.

hide explanation

19d   Fair // enough, one states, not revealing everything (6)

20d   Chemical // I love sufficed, needing energy (6)

"love" = O (show explanation )

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).

hide explanation

"energy" = E (show explanation )

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy in mathematical formulae.

hide explanation

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An iodide^[2] is a chemical compound containing iodine and another element or radical, e.g. potassium iodide, methyl iodide.

22d   Plumbing fixtures // ejected liquid the wrong way (4)

23d   Deposit // that is seen by river (4)

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