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38ac: The look of an old Italian army man?(5)The solution is DEKKO.

I get 'The look' part, but not the rest of the clue. Any help would be much appreciated!

Are you sure the clue did not say "Indian" as that would make sense, the word Dekko being introduced by the British army in India.

I think we're talking WW2 British army slang. apart from the look thing we called italian soldiers Dekkos - a soldier perpetually at the base therefore maintaining comfort and safety. i.e. didn't want to fight . unless someone has a better answer.

The Standard E-edition has 'Italian'. I did wonder if there was a mistake.

I had not heard of the Italian connection.
I remember one of my uncles returning from India after WW2 and using dekko and other Indian words picked up during his service there.

I just checked in google and the clue is shown on other crosswords as "Indian"

Jazzgirl's right about the word originating with the Raj but the later italian soldier bit is true as well. It does seem a bit non-pc for these sensitive times. if it is a typo it's a good 'un isn't it.

Apparently this clue has been doing the rounds since 2006.

Wasn't the soldier perpetually based called a Base Wallah, or base rat. Can't find the dekko connection.

are you asking me? Yes, base wallah is the same thing. it's all on google.