Friday, January 5, 2018 — DT 28544

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28544
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, September 28, 2017
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28544]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Kath
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

After Jay upped the intensity of the mental exercise a bit yesterday, today's mystery setter gives us an opportunity to recover with a gentler workout.

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   Predict // role left for recasting (8)

9a   Old fellow arresting detective? // Very likely! (4,2)

At Oxford and Cambridge universities, a fellow^[10] is a member of the governing body of a college who is usually a member of the teaching staff.

A don^[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.

DS^[10] is the abbreviation for Detective Sergeant. Within the British police, sergeant^[7] is the first supervisory rank. Sergeant is senior to the rank of constable, and junior to inspector. Detective sergeants are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts; only the prefix 'detective' identifies them as having completed at least one of the various detective training courses authorising them to conduct and/or manage investigations into serious and/or complex crime. 

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Odds-on^{[1,2,3,4,5,6,10,11,12,13]} (also odds on^*) is an adjective meaning:

• (especially of a horse) rated as more likely than evens^** to win ⇒ the odds-on favourite
• [likely by extension from the foregoing meaning] very likely to happen or succeed ⇒ it seemed odds-on that Jones would add another century to his 157 [Translation: it seemed likely that Jones, batting in cricket, would add another 100 runs to his current total of 157 runs]

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^* I was able to find the enumeration given in the clue only in Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary [a strangely-named dictionary that I usually ignore] which lists odds on as an alternative spelling of odds-on
^** Evens^[5] is a British term meaning even money^[5], viz. odds offering an equal chance of winning or losing, with the amount won being the same as the stake ⇒ the colt was 4-6 favourite after opening at evens. If the odds are evens^[7], the payout will be equal to the amount wagered plus the original stake, that is, "double-your-money".

In Other Words

Collins English Dictionary defines odds-on[10] in the first sense as (of a chance, horse, etc) rated at even money or less to win. This actually means that the horse (or whatever) is more likely to win since if the horse is "more likely than evens to win" (as Oxford states it) the payout will be less than even money. Conversely, if the horse is less likely than evens to win, the payout will be more than even money.

10a   School missing first of teachers /for/ long time (3)

"school" = ETON (show explanation )

Eton College^[7], often informally referred to simply as Eton, is an English independent boarding school for boys located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor". It is one of ten English schools, commonly referred to as public schools, regulated by the Public Schools Act of 1868.

Here and There

In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system. In Britain, a public school[2] is a particular category of independent school, namely a secondary school, especially a boarding school, run independently of the state and financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees. Another category of independent school is the private school[2,5] which is a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees. What we in North America would call a public school[2], is known in the UK as a state school[5] or a maintained school*. * In England and Wales, a maintained school[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority.

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11a   Cook's ultimate advantage concerning English // rice dish (8)

Kedgeree^[2] is the name of two rice dishes (the former I would think derived from and taking its name from the latter):

• a European, but especially British, dish, now usually a mixture of rice, fish and eggs
• a dish, originally from India, consisting of rice cooked with butter and dal, flavoured with spice and shredded onion, etc.

12a   Book // that can be adjusted on radio? (6)

13a   Bins, bollards and benches for urban loungers? (6,9)

Street furniture^[2] is a possibly British term denoting objects placed or fixed in the street for public use, such as postboxes, road signs, and benches.

15a   Host // politician close to office in centre (7)

"politician" = MP (show explanation )

In Britain (as in Canada), a politician elected to the House of Commons is known as a Member of Parliament^[10] (abbreviation MP^[5]) or, informally, as a member^[5].

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Compère^[5] is a British term for a person who introduces the performers or contestants in a variety show.

18a   Writer with sex appeal in confines of rich // Cumbrian town (7)

"It"^[7] (written in quotation marks) is a term that has come to mean sex appeal — although, in its earliest manifestation, it seems that the term pertained more to personality than to glamorous looks. Despite having been used as early as 1904 by Rudyard Kipling, the term was popularized  in the 1927 film It starring Clara Bow (who became known as the "It Girl").

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Penrith^[7] is a market town and civil parish in the county of Cumbria, England. Penrith lies less than 3 miles (5 km) outside the boundaries of the Lake District National Park.

What did she say?
In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath describes a pen as [a] writer, not a person but something you can write with. While North American dictionaries define pen[3,11] as a writer or an author ⇒ a hired pen, British dictionaries do not list this meaning although they do show pen[2,4] (or the pen[5,10]) as symbolically denoting writing as an occupation.

21a   Mid-year calamity disrupted // Sandhurst, say (8,7)

Sandhurst^[5] is a training college at Camberley, Surrey, for officers for the British army. It was formed in 1946 from an amalgamation of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in Berkshire and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, London. Official name Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

24a   Some secret inadequacy /found in/ sensitive element in a viewer (6)

In her review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Kath show the hidden word indicator to be "found in". There is also a discussion concerning this clue at Comment #16 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog where several of those leaving comments question whether the hidden word indicator is "some", "found in", or even "some ... found in".

As I see it, the hidden word indicator is "some" with "found in" being a link phrase joining the wordplay and definition.

25a   I moan terribly about female American // of bad repute (8)

26a   Manage // function (3)

27a   Hazy, a bit, in pronouncing // Chinese cuisine (3,3)

Dim sum^[5] is a Chinese dish of small steamed or fried savoury dumplings containing various fillings.

28a   My // saintly character? (8)

My^[5] is used in various phrases [or even on its own] as an expression of surprise ⇒ (i)my goodness!; (ii) oh my!.

Down

1d   Importance /of/ mount holding sign (6)

2d   Measurement no longer used /in/ competitive division (6)

A league^[2] is an obsolete unit of distance which can denote either:

• a unit for measuring distance travelled, usually taken to be 3 miles (about 4.8 km)
• a nautical measure equal to 1/20th of a degree or 3 international nautical miles (3.456 statute miles or 5.556 km)

3d   Volunteers summed up with word of thanks (11,4)

I see the latter part of the clue (marked with a dashed underline) as cryptic elaboration on the definition (marked with a solid underline).

Here "summed up" could be thought of as meaning 'stated succinctly'.

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

TA is also the abbreviation for (or succinct way of stating) Territorial Army (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.

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4d   Joyous // sensation arising in much of bay (7)

There is an extended discussion at Comment #2 on Big Dave's Crossword Blog about whether "sensation" can mean feel as well as feeling.

Feel^[5] can mean a sensation given by an object or material when touched ⇒nylon cloth with a cotton feel.

5d   Assemble round unusually nice chef's business /for/ ready-made grub (11,4)

6d   Wedding vow delayed /for/ one besotted? (8)

Idolater^[2] is used in the sense of someone who is a passionate and devoted admirer of someone or something.

7d   Private try-out on a regular basis? // Nonsense (8)

In the UK, tommy^[5,10] (also Tommy or Tommy Atkins) is an informal term for a private in the British Army. The term originates from the use of the name Thomas Atkins in specimens of completed official forms in the British army during the 19th century.

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Tommyrot^[5] is a dated, informal expression denoting nonsense or rubbish ⇒ did you ever hear such awful tommyrot?.

14d   Strike // sheep (3)

16d   Loves hosting in the flesh with the Italian // part of Mediterranean diet (5,3)

"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).

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In Italian, the masculine singular form of the definite article is il^[8].

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The Mediterranean diet^[5] is a diet of a type traditional in Mediterranean countries, characterized especially by a high consumption of vegetables and olive oil and moderate consumption of protein, and thought to confer health benefits ⇒ researchers found that people who eat a Mediterranean diet have lower odds of having a heart attack.

17d   Most dear // minister touring centre of Nice (8)

The use of the word "touring" as a containment indicator is predicated on it meaning  'going around' (i.e., travelling).

Scratching the Surface
Nice[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy.

19d   Something to put in drink /or/ decorate a cake? (3)

20d   Medical accessory // in grey's redesigned (7)

Scratching the Surface
I did initially wonder if there might be some significance to the word "grey". However, as it is not capitalized, I must conclude that it refers to the colour grey rather than to the American medical drama Grey's Anatomy[7]. The spelling would preclude it being a reference to the classic human anatomy medical textbook, Gray's Anatomy[7], first published in 1858.

22d   Require // partner for supply? (6)

The phrase supply and demand^[5] relates to the amount of a commodity, product, or service available and the desire of buyers for it, considered as factors regulating its price ⇒ by the law of supply and demand the cost of health care will plummet.

23d   Uses bananas with instant // dessert (6)

"instant" = MO (show explanation )

Mo^[3,5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal, chiefly British term for a short period of time ⇒ hang on a mo!.

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Mousse^[5] is a sweet or savoury dish made as a smooth, light mass in which the main ingredient is whipped with cream and egg white ⇒ (i) sponge topped with chocolate mousse; (ii) a salmon mousse.

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