Sunday, May 19, 2013 — ST 4534

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4534
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 21, 2013
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4534]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, May 11, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, May 18, 2013
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 18, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

I thought that this was a bit easier than most of the Sunday Times puzzles we have seen recently.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Stratospheric rent for lowest levels in the Savoy? (9,4)

Here Savoy^[5] refers not to the area of SE France bordering on Italy, but to the Savoy Theatre^[7] in London, England. The theatre opened in 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy Operas as a result. As an aside, the theatre was the first theatre, and the first public building in the world, to be lit entirely by electricity.

I don't imagine that there would be more than a single orchestra pit in the Savoy. Therefore, I think we have to interpret the definition as "lowest levels in places such as the Savoy" with the question mark indicating that we are dealing with a definition by example.

10a   Singers can be very quiet next to an Indian princess (7)

Although Oxford Dictionaries Online defines rani^[5] as a Hindu queen, Collins English Dictionary tells us that rani^[10] means (in oriental countries, especially India) a queen or princess; the wife of a rajah.

11a   Person no longer inside a part in wings of Palace (7)

12a   It’s somewhat black in small island (1,3)

Ait^[3,4,11] is a British term for a small island, especially in a river.

13a   Planned food store’s rubbish (10)

In British English, rubbish^[5] is used as a verb meaning to criticize severely and reject as worthless ⇒ he rubbished the idea of a European Community-wide carbon tax.

14a   Penny’s up to be commended (7)

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] is a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound (and is abbreviated p). In the system formerly used, a penny was equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound (and was abbreviated d, for denarius).

16a   He’s one part of a heater (7)

He^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element helium.

18a   Naughty imp used kid’s stuff from Mississippi? (3,4)

Mississippi mud pie^[7] is a chocolate-based dessert pie that is likely to have originated in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The treat contains a gooey chocolate sauce on top of a crumbly chocolate crust. The pie is usually served with ice cream. The name "Mississippi mud pie" comes from the dense cake which resembles the banks of the Mississippi River.

20a   In Tennessee the sun is boiling (7)

22a   Finished camp pocketing a pound in part of Ireland (7,3)

Here pound is a unit of weight, not a denomination of currency. In Britain, camp^[4] may mean effeminate or homosexual. I would conclude that this is a British usage based on a comparison with the definitions in The American Heritage Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary from the same link.

Donegal Bay^[7], an inlet in the northwest of Ireland, is that country's largest bay. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.

24a   An advantage in golf club, wife’s not there! (4)

26a   Swallow one drink (7)

27a   English town’s fearing bar opening (7)

Reading^[5] is a town in Berkshire, southern England, on the River Kennet near its junction with the Thames; population 142,300 (est. 2009).

28a   What could contrive stuttering woe? (6,7)

This is an & lit. (all-in-one) clue. The entire clue serves as both definition and wordplay. The anagram indicator is "what could contrive".

Down

2d   Carpet repair damn slapdash? Only one answer (9)

Carpet^[5] is British slang meaning to reprimand severely ⇒ the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses.

3d   Get better list so to speak (4)

4d   Salary and gratuity in post (7)

5d   Despicable sort let rip badly in front of European (7)

6d   Soldier on for each grave (9)

7d   Amateur and pro turning up in a US city (5)

8d   Key, for instance given to stringed instrument (1,5)

9d   Ambassador is in supreme command (6)

HE^[2] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency^[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.

15d   Huge energy used in dancing (9)

I assembled the correct solution based on the wordplay, but dismissed it as being highly improbable. However, a peek at the dictionary showed that the word actually exists in the UK.

In British English, swingeing^[5] is an adjective meaning severe or extreme in size, amount, or effect ⇒ swingeing cuts in public expenditure.

17d   Stimulant dope herein is out of order, nothing less (9)

18d   Crazy Parisian soul is a local lady (6)

In French, âme^[8] means soul. I initially suspected that "local lady" might refer to the landlady of a pub. However, after a bit of research, I have concluded that it means a woman who is a resident of Paris. Madame^[5] is a title or form of address used of or to a French-speaking woman, corresponding to Mrs.

19d   Not English, earliest cross? (7)

This is another & lit. clue for which Dave Perry gives a very complete explanation.

20d   One dispute after another getting the bird (7)

Here, "the bird" is not a rude gesture but one of the feathered variety.

21d   Winter transport provided by butcher reportedly (6)

23d   Drug trafficker caught in Algerian port, shooting up (5)

Oran^[5] is a port on the Mediterranean coast of Algeria; population 679,900 (est. 2009). According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, narco^[5] is US slang for a drug trafficker or dealer ⇒ political bosses who may have links to the narcos.

25d   Damn strikes, time for pressure to be applied (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)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, May 12, 2013 — ST 4533

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4533
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 14, 2013
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4533]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, May 4, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, May 11, 2013
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 11, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

A puzzle by Anax is as entertaining as it is difficult. I got tremendous enjoyment from this offering, but wondered if I would even get started. On my first read through, the only clue that I was able to solve was the final one. From there, I did manage to make some inroads before calling in my electronic reserves.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Paper used to cover top surface (5)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7] is a British international business newspaper [that is printed on conspicuous salmon pink newsprint].

4a   Uses statute to cut costs (9)

9a   Most of all, a call at 12d in West Indian style (1,2,6)

In this clue, 12d is a cross reference indicator. To complete the present clue, one must substitute the solution to clue 12d in place of the indicator. Since this puzzle contains both across and down clues originating from the square labelled 12, the setter must specifically show which one is intended.

Although I did get the correct solution, I failed to fully decipher the wordplay, not recognizing that A.^[10] is being used as the abbreviation for acre.

The French term à la is a contraction of à la manière de meaning "in the style of". While I was not able to find à la créole in any dictionary, Google turned up plenty of recipes containing this phrase (although they all seemed to be written in French). At Times for the Times, Anax mentions that this is not a "dictionary phrase" and relates the discussion that ensued between himself and PB (Peter Biddlecombe, the puzzles editor at The Sunday Times) on this subject.

10a   Crime for which jockey’s not caught (5)

Willie Carson^[7] is a retired Scottish jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. He was British Champion Jockey five times (1972, 1973, 1978, 1980 and 1983), won 17 British Classic Races, and passed 100 winners in a season 23 times for a total of 3,828 wins, making him the fourth most successful jockey in Great Britain.

11a   After securing silver, furious chef claims top spot (5,1,7,2)

The symbol for the chemical element silver is Ag^[5].

12a   Publican’s supply held by outlaw (6)

In Britain, a publican^[5] is a person who owns or manages a pub.

13a   Having seen bust, go for a cold shower? (8)

Zing^[5] is used in the sense of to move or vibrate swiftly or with a high-pitched buzzing noise ⇒ another bullet zinged past him.

16a   Texan beer company will finally supply senator (4,4)

The Lone Star Brewery^[7], built in 1884, was the first large, mechanized brewery in Texas. Adolphus Busch, of Anheuser-Busch, founded it along with a group of San Antonio businessmen. Lone Star beer was the company's main brand. It was marketed as "The National Beer of Texas."

In 2000, the brewery was closed and the castle-like building now houses the San Antonio Museum of Art. The Lone Star brand is now owned by the Pabst Brewing Company. Production of Lone Star is currently contracted out to non-Pabst owned breweries (e.g. Miller Brewing Company in Fort Worth).

17a   Absolutely no pressure to return porridge (6)

According to The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition, porridge^[1] is British slang meaning a jail or a jail sentence, especially in the phrase do porridge meaning to serve a jail sentence. This is the only source in which I have found this word having the former meaning ('jail'). The online editions of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2], Collins English Dictionary^[4,10] , and the Oxford Dictionary of English^[5] all show the word as having only the latter meaning ('jail sentence').

19a   Military top brass brutal about injured sergeant on drip (4- 4,7)

It took a while to realize that I was missing a star.

22a   Costume given to old actress (5)

Greta Garbo^[7] (1905 – 1990), born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress and an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods.

23a   Most loathsome taxi drivers will get in the way (9)

24a   Heartless teacher: Spell “acerbic” (9)

25a   That kiss is left a long time (5)

Yonks^[5] is British slang meaning a very long time ⇒ I haven’t seen him for yonks.

Down

1d   Old money split between footballers (5)

The franc^[5] is (or was) the basic monetary unit of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and several other countries, equal to 100 centimes (replaced in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg by the euro in 2002).

In Britain [and elsewhere], FC^[5] is the abbreviation for Football Club ⇒ Liverpool FC. Football refers to Association football^[7] or soccer. This usage is not confined to Britain, as can be seen from the names of many Canadian soccer teams such as Toronto FC^[7], Vancouver Whitecaps FC^[7], and Ottawa Fury FC^[7] (but not the Montreal Impact^[7]).

2d   Full references provided in  CV? (7,3,5)

The surface reading of this double definition alludes to a curriculum vitae^[5] (abbreviation CV). However, the cryptic analysis leads to the expression chapter and verse^[5], meaning an exact reference or authority ⇒ she can give chapter and verse on current legislation. Of course, c^[2] and v^[5] are abbreviations for chapter and verse respectively.

One reader of Times for The Times suggests that CV might have been intended to stand for Confraternity Version (a theory that Anax refutes in comments posted on the web site). The Confraternity Bible^[5] is a somewhat broad term that refers to any edition of the Catholic Bible translated under the auspices of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine ("CCD") between 1941 and 1969. The Confraternity Bible is known, and appreciated, for the balance it strikes between accessibility and authenticity. That is, many feel that the translation is neither too loose and friendly, nor too stilted and slavish. It was supplanted in 1970 by the New American Bible and is no longer in widespread use.

3d   Mating period’s coming up and he’s out to attract attention (4,5)

4d   Stop claiming nothing’s hard work in the field (6)

H^[5] is the abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

5d   Laxative that is swallowed by sick parent (8)

6d   Walk or run into stuff (5)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R^[5] indicates run(s).

7d   Rampant ego, concurs Times features editor (8,7)

A doctor who might modify the features of a face, for example.

8d   My  babe in arms? (3,2,1,3)

A double definition, the first being my^[5] in the sense of an exclamation of surprise or amazement.

12d   “Sport” needing strong grip after initial exchanges, say (9)

I initially thought that the solution might have been "WRESTLING" — the professional version being more theatre than sport. Although I eventually managed to figure out the correct sport (and understand the meaning of the quotation marks), I failed to see the Spoonerism.  The wordplay is sounds like (say) a Spoonerism (after initial exchanges) of FULL BITE (strong grip).

14d   Hot sandwiches smell after her untipped fag? (6,3)

In Britain, fag^[5] is a term for a junior pupil at a public school who does minor chores for a senior pupil ⇒ a fag at school who has suffered a well-earned beating. In North America, given that fag^[5] is derogatory slang for a male homosexual, a statement such as the foregoing usage example would likely cause some considerable consternation. At least the surface reading works on both sides of the Atlantic — despite the fact that British dictionaries do appear to believe that fag^[5] is British slang for a cigarette.

15d   One song is about entering mother country (8)

Today being Mother's Day, the mention of mother is timely (although, I am sure, unintentionally so).

18d   Amazed at dresses German possesses (6)

20d   Small bed in lift occupied by one patient (5)

21d   Where American would park American sports car (5)

A North American would park in a parking lot^[5] (or simply a lot^[5]) while a Brit would park in a car park^[5].

Lotus Cars^[7] is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk, England. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics.

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)

Happy Mother's Day — Falcon

Sunday, May 5, 2013 — ST 4532

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4532
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 7, 2013
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4532]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 27, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, May 4, 2013
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 4, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

Dave Perry indicated that he found this puzzle to be a "straightforward, for the most part, offering". However, his solving time does push it — though just barely — into three star territory according to my arbitrary measuring stick.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Novelist’s part of formal dissertation (6)

Brian Aldiss^[5] is an English novelist and critic, best known for his science fiction; notable works: Frankenstein Unbound (1973).

4a   Mark joins Home Counties to run as athlete (8)

The wordplay is PRINT (mark) contained in (joins) SE (Home Counties; South East) + (to) R (run).

The Home Counties^[5] are the counties in the SE of England surrounding London, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire. On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R^[5] indicates run(s).

9a   Cross can shine endlessly within (6)

A tiglon (alternate term for tigon^[5]) is the hybrid offspring of a male tiger and a lioness. Compare this with liger^[5], the hybrid offspring of a male lion and a tigress.

10a   Lark has to fly round a dam (8)

I suspect that dam^[5] is being used in the sense of the female parent of an animal, especially a domestic mammal. While I could find no reference source for the abbreviation, Dave Perry does confirm my interpretation in his review.

11a   Shabby British Telecom in complete mess (12)

British Telecom^[7] is a former name of BT Group plc, a British multinational telecommunications services company. While it would seem that the company prefers to style itself as simply BT, the former name appears to have stuck in the mind of the general public. One of the largest such enterprises in the world, BT has operations in over 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of telecoms services to corporate and government customers worldwide and its BT Retail division is one of the largest suppliers of telephony, broadband and subscription television services in the UK.

15a   Around end of dinner, boy is fat (4)

16a   From which spectators watch large bear (10)

18a   Everyone’s after torn pieces of cloth to make fabric (10)

19a   Start to talk then regret being honest (4)

21a   Working theatres rely on Doctors here? (6,6)

Harley Street^[7] is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.

24a   Inter the murdered cardinal (8)

... a cardinal number, that is.

25a   It rains inside when I’m busking (6)

26a   Minister finally gets minor honour when outside Cabinet (8)

OBE stands for Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

The Order of the British Empire^[5] is an order of knighthood instituted in 1917 and divided into five classes, each with military and civilian divisions. The classes are: Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), Knight or Dame Commander (KBE/DBE), Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE), and Member (MBE). The two highest classes entail the awarding of a knighthood.

27a   Physicist finally climbing mountain (6)

Hans Wilhelm Geiger^[5] (1882 – 1945) was a German nuclear physicist. In 1908 he developed his prototype radiation counter for detecting alpha particles, later improved in collaboration with Walther Müller.

Down

1d   It’s clear one copper left in a right state with tip-off (10)

The phrase "It's clear" is a terse expression of the more verbose statement "The solution to the clue is a synonym for clear".

2d   Rogue getting extremely desperate teenager in trouble (10)

"Extremely desperate" indicating the extreme (first and last) letters of DesperatE,

3d   Tool found in small shed (6)

5d   Feeling pressure before amateur dramatic production (7,4)

The first "feeling" to come to mind was EMOTION, which proved to be incorrect. It also seemed to create a mental block to finding the correct term.

6d   International supporter returned to tie instantly (2,1,5)

In Britain, an international^[5] is a game or contest between teams representing different countries in a sport ⇒ the Murrayfield rugby international.

Also, in Britain, a tie^[5] is a sports match between two or more players or teams in which the winners proceed to the next round of the competition [i.e., an elimination match] ⇒ Swindon Town have won themselves a third round tie against Oldham. The example cited does not mean that Swindon Town and Oldham played to a draw; rather, it means that Swindon Town won their second round match and advanced to the third round in which they will play Oldham.

The word "to" serves as a charade indicator, being used in the sense of 'pressed against' — as in the expressions "put your shoulder to the wheel" or "your nose to the grindstone".

7d   Meal with large duck (4)

In Britain, high tea^[5] (or simply tea) is a meal eaten in the late afternoon or early evening, typically consisting of a cooked dish, bread and butter, and tea. In North America, this meal would typically be known as supper.

8d   With lid off fish basket reveals angler’s aid (4)

12d   Eg give in to the English teacher? (7,4)

13d   Person bearing appropriate sort of container (7,3)

Bag^[5] means to succeed in securing (something) ⇒ (i) we’ve bagged three awards for excellence; (ii) get there early to bag a seat in the front row.

14d   He promotes guide touring heart of River Tyne (10)

The Tyne^[5] is a river in NE England, formed by the confluence of two headstreams, the North Tyne, which rises in the Cheviot Hills, and the South Tyne, which rises in the northern Pennines. It flows generally eastwards, entering the North Sea at Tynemouth.

17d   Check container inside for bottle (8)

20d   Habit 23 changes after a time (6)

There is an error in the clue as it appears in the Vancouver Sun in which the cross reference indicator appears as "10" rather than "23". British writers report that the same error appeared in the online version of the puzzle in the UK but was later corrected. I suspect that the error must have also appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times, although there were no reports of it in Times for the Times. The error was also repeated by the Australian — which, like the Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun and Toronto Star — carries the syndicated puzzle. It is quite remarkable that only the Ottawa Citizen somehow managed to correct the error.

To complete the clue, one must substitute the solution to the cross referenced clue (clue 23) in place of the cross reference indicator appearing in the present clue.

22d   Feeble types return in a state of agitation (4)

In Britain, wet^[5] is an informal term meaning, as an adjective, (1) showing a lack of forcefulness or strength of character; feeble ⇒ they thought the cadets were a bit wet or (2) Conservative with liberal tendencies, especially as regarded by right-wing Conservatives ⇒ they came across as the most liberal or wet members of the government. As a noun, it means (1) a person lacking forcefulness or strength of character ⇒there are sorts who look like gangsters and sorts who look like wets or (2) a Conservative with liberal tendencies ⇒the wets favoured a change in economic policy. The use of the term wet^[7] in British politics apparently began during the term in office of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher^[7].

23d   I see Queen after introduction to the band (4)

By tradition, the ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina — and that of King George was GR^[5] — from the Latin Georgius Rex.

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)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, April 28, 2013 — ST 4531

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4531
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 31, 2013
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4531]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 20, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, April 27, 2013
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, April 27, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

Dave Perry's introduction captures my experience very well. I made rapid progress through most of the puzzle — then slowed to a crawl through the final half dozen clues.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Climate’s troublesome for a climber (8)

6a   Advert seen around Spain for refrigerated transport (6)

In the surface reading, advert^[5] is an informal British term for an advertisement. However, in the cryptic reading, advert^[5] is a verb used in formal speech meaning to refer to in speaking or writing ⇒ I have already adverted to the solar revolution.

Reefer^[5] is slang for a refrigerated lorry [truck], railway wagon [railway car for Canadian readers; railroad car for US readers], or ship.

9a   Privy to nothing in bar (2,2)

10a   Check on military supports (10)

11a   Recently arrived fount of wisdom, bishop in diocese is me (6,5)

Although I didn't know the name, I was able to work it out correctly from the wordplay. Early this year, Justin Welby^[7] became the 105th and current Archbishop of Canterbury and senior bishop in the Church of England. As such, he is Primate of All England and the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

A bishop (abbreviation B)^[5] is a chess piece. The Diocese of Ely^[5] is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in the city of Ely.

14a   Manic ideas I’d put out randomly and forget? (8)

I would say that there is an implied second "I'd" in the clue, making it read "Manic ideas I'd put out randomly and [I'd] forget?". This allows the definition to be "I'd forget", justifying the solution being a noun (AMNESIAC). Without this interpretation, the definition is a verb (FORGET) and the solution (AMNESIAC) is either a noun or an adjective.

15a   Broad strip of Devon area getting unusual heat (6)

Devon^[5] is a county of SW England; county town, Exeter.

16a   A start showing how to make a star! (3- 3)

This is a type of semi & lit. clue that I suppose scchua (a fellow blogger on Big Dave's Crossword Blog) might label DIWW (definition intertwined with wordplay). Although, I don't recall ever seeing him use the term, he often mentions a counterpart type of semi & lit. clue which he calls WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition).

In a true & lit. clue, the entire clue is the definition (when read one way) and the wordplay (when read a second way). In a semi & lit. clue, the most common case (in my experience) is for the entire clue to be the definition, with only portion of the clue constituting the wordplay. This is what scchua calls a WIWD clue. However, today we have the converse situation where the entire clue forms the wordplay and the definition is only a portion of the clue. Thus by logical extension, it would seem that such a clue might be described as a DIWW clue.

18a   Where you find digital pictures  not for all to see (2,6)

20a   Hanging features in foreign prison camp with no end of cheering etc and it’s awful (11)

The trick here is to avoid falling into the trap of supposing that STALAG (foreign prison camp) is pointing you in the direction of stalagmites^[5] (which point up — not down).

22a   Cherry’s no charisma unfortunately (10)

Mistakenly thinking the solution is plural — and, and as a result, misspelling maraschino — caused havoc in the southwest corner.

24a   Stink in US created by cowboy show over wasting energy (4)

Odor being the US spelling of odour.

25a   British actor  vacillates (6)

Nigel Havers^[7] is an English actor. He played Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire and Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up. He portrayed the role of Lewis Archer in the British television soap opera Coronation Street from 2009 to 2010. He returned to the role in 2012 and departed once again in February 2013.

In British English, haver^[5] means to act in a vacillating or indecisive manner ⇒ (as noun havering) she was exasperated by all this havering.

26a   Discard bet on the best team (3,5)

In Britain, side^[7] is another term for a sports team. The "best team" is the 'A side'. I could find no evidence that the expression is used in this sense in Britain. The clue may be a cryptic allusion to A-side^[5], the side of a pop single regarded as the main one.

Down

2d   Athlete and what covers his or her thighs? (4,6)

In Britain, a jumper^[5] is a knitted garment typically with long sleeves, worn over the upper body (in North American terms, a sweater). What we would call a jumper, the Brits would call a pinafore^[5] (a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or [British] jumper [i.e., North American sweater]). Thus if a British lass wore a pinafore over her jumper and a North American girl wore a jumper over her sweater, they would be dressed identically.

3d   The Tories manifest troubles and he resigns? Rarely! (8,2,5)

In this semi & lit. clue, the entire clue would seem to be the definition, with only the portion preceding the the question mark being the wordplay — making it what scchua would call a WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) [see comment at 16a].

The wordplay, as I see it, is an anagram (troubles) of T[HE] TORIES MANIFEST with HE deleted (and HE resigns).

4d   Stops in car behind the Northern Queen (7)

Mini^[7] is an automobile brand, currently owned by BMW, but originally introduced as a model under the Austin and Morris marques by the British Motor Corporation (BMC).

The pronunciation of "the" in the Geordie dialect of northeast England is t'. Based on this, in this clue, "the Northern" is used to clue the letter T.

Geordie refers to (1) a person from Tyneside or (2) the English dialect or accent typical of people from Tyneside. Tyneside^[5] is an extended urban area on the banks of the River Tyne, in NE England, stretching from Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast. 

The dialect of this area is known as Geordie^[7], and contains a large amount of vocabulary and distinctive word pronunciations not used in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Geordie dialect has much of its origins in the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon populations who migrated to and conquered much of England after the end of Roman Imperial rule. This language was the forerunner of Modern English; but while the dialects of other English regions have been heavily altered by the influences of other foreign languages—particularly Latin and Norman French—the Geordie dialect retains many elements of the old language.

By tradition, the ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

5d   One may be seen up in Kashmir seminary (3)

Sri^[5] (a variant spelling of Shri) is an Indian title of respect used before the name of a man, a god, or a sacred book ⇒ Shri Chaudhuri.

6d   Money raisers for famous Singapore hotel (7)

Raffles Hotel^[7] is a colonial-style hotel in Singapore. Established in 1887, the the hotel has become one of Singapore's best known icons. It was named after Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, whose statue was also unveiled in 1887.

7d   Regular parliamentary business? They are and they aren’t! (5,3,7)

An early day motion^[7] (EDM), in the Westminster system of parliamentary government, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament that formally calls for debate "on an early day". In practice, they are rarely debated in the House and their main purpose is to draw attention to particular subjects of interest.

I learn from Dave Perry that there is more to the clue than meets the North American eye. In Britain, motion^[10] can mean (1) the evacuation of the bowels [bowel movement] or (2) excrement. An early day bowel movement may — or may not — constitute "regular business" for parliamentarians.

8d   With head of Ford away, not so many in jug (4)

12d   Wife with one young child overlooking a US city (7)

Chit^[5] is a derogatory British term for an impudent or arrogant young woman ⇒ she is a mere chit of a girl.

13d   Bladed weapon seen in small bags on command (10)

A short sword^[5] (or shortsword [Wikipedia inconsistently using both spellings within the same article]) is a single-handed sword, typically two to three feet in length.

Bags^[5] is a dated British name for loose-fitting trousers ⇒ a pair of flannel bags. Thus "small bags" would be 'shorts'.

17d   Pope, mostly open and straightforward, starts to change institutional secrecy? (7)

Francis^[7] is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, elected on 13 March 2013. As such, he is Bishop of Rome, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church, and sovereign of the Vatican City State.

19d   Like down clue initially? A bit much, merely leaving learner behind (7)

OTT^[5] is British slang for over the top ⇒ presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT.

21d   One’s followed tasteless articles for so long (2- 2)

Tat^[5] is British slang for tasteless or shoddy clothes, jewellery, or ornaments ⇒ the place was decorated with all manner of gaudy tat.

23d   Faulty tablet’s lacking power (3)

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)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, April 21, 2013 — ST 4530

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4530
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 24, 2013
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4530]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 13, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, April 20, 2013
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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, April 20, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

As is usually the case with puzzles set by Anax, I needed to call out my electronic reinforcements fairly early in the battle. In the end, I threw in the towel on one clue. The correct solution had actually occurred to me, but I dismissed it as I could not decipher the wordplay.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

4a   Work in  trouble (3)

"Work in" is used in the sense of applying a finish to a piece of furniture, for example.

The rub^[5] is the central problem or difficulty in a situation ⇒ that was the rub—she had not cared enough [from Shakespeare's Hamlet ( iii. i. 65)].

7a   After bible classes, will copy sinner (9)

"Bible classes" is used here as a stand-in for 'Religious Education' (RE). Wikipedia, in an article on Religious education,  says "in England the term religious instruction would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with religious education referring to teaching about religions in general". A former article entitled Religious Education (note the subtle difference in capitalization of the titles of the two articles) has now been removed from Wikipedia. It stated "Religious Education (RE) is a compulsory subject in the state education system in the United Kingdom. Schools are required to teach a programme of religious studies according to local and national guidelines."

I have sourced this information from a blog posting that I wrote on October 28, 2011 reviewing a Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword (DT 26622) in which "bible classes" was used to clue RI (religious instruction).

Probate^[5] can mean (1) the act or process of officially proving the authenticity and validity of a will; (2) the official certificate stating a will to be genuine and conferring on the executors power to administer the estate; or (3) the probate copy of a will (an authenticated copy of a will certified by a judge to be valid). In Britain, it would seem, the word "probate" is used only as a noun. The word appears to exist as a verb only in North America.

9a   Border crossing over here and there (5)

In cricket, an over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

11a   Is this produced with end of trial? (5)

Dave Perry indicates that this is an & lit. clue — one in which the entire clue is the definition (according to one reading) as well as the wordplay (according to second reading). This would be the case if one can justify the words "is this" being part of the wordplay.

As I interpret the clue, the wordplay is GAVE (produced) + (with) L (end [last letter] of triaL) — which does not include the words "is this". If my interpretation is correct, then this would be a semi & lit. clue (rather than a true & lit. clue) since the wordplay constitutes only a portion of the clue — not the entire clue, as it would in a true & lit. clue. Nevertheless, I don't discount the fact that someone more knowledgeable than I might have a different interpretation. Or, perhaps, Dave Perry just does not consider it meaningful to make a distinction between true & lit. clues and semi & lit. clues.

12a   Cruising behind wind (3,6)

I spent a lot of time trying to concoct a rationale for SEA BREEZE. I eventually ditched the idea when I could not make it work with a couple of the intersecting clues. As I was to find out, "wind" is used in a totally different sense.

13a   Passing comment while couple occupying farm sold us ground (6,4,5)

"Passing comment" is a cryptic reference to a statement made just before passing from this life to the hereafter. The anagram indicator is "ground" (used as a verb).

14a   Likely to forget a host? Oddly, needs him on board (7)

16a   Ruckus about one’s lawyer showing contempt (7)

I had expected that there might be complaints from some Brits that District Attorney is an American term — but none materialized.

18a   Having fit iron glove, it can’t go unnoticed (6,9)

The anagram indicator is "having fit".

21a   This be poor Lit badly written (9)

Here we have a situation that is somewhat similar to the one that we encountered in 11a. If the word "this" is considered to be part of the wordplay, this clue would be an & lit. clue i and, if not, it would be a semi & lit. clue.

22a   Wise seabird circling island (5)

Ernest Wiseman (1925 – 1999), known by his stage name Ernie Wise^[7], was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.

24a   Really describing a good man as offensive (5)

I tried to construct the solution as NY (?) containing (describing) {A (from the clue) + ST (good man)}. As I discover from Dave Perry, the wordplay is actually NAY (really) containing (describing) ST (a good man).

Nay^[5] may be used in the sense of 'or rather' (used to emphasize a more appropriate word than one just used) ⇒ permission to build the superstore will take months, nay years. However, the discussion on Times for the Times offers various other explanations.

The use of the word "describe" as a containment indicator is a cryptic crossword convention. The device relies on describe^[3] being used in the sense of to trace the form or outline of ⇒ describe a circle with a compass. Thus, in today's clue, we have NAY (really) containing (describing) ST (a good man; saint). The idea is that the container (NAY) forms an outline around the contained entity (ST) in a similar manner to the circumference of a circle forming an outline around the circular area contained within it.

25a   Virgin — no slag? (9)

In the second definition, slag^[5] is the stony waste matter separated from metals during the smelting or refining of ore. A countryside not marred by heaps of slag could be described as unspoiled.

The surface reading of the clue relies on slag being derogatory British slang for a promiscuous woman.

26a   Old woman beginning to tie knot (3)

Down

1d   Old maid puts doctor under pressure (4)

Doctor in the sense of falsify.

2d   Boxer Billy who sings in French — yes, soprano (3,5)

Joe Louis^[5] (1914 – 1981) was an American boxer; born Joseph Louis Barrow; known as the Brown Bomber. He was heavyweight champion of the world 1937–49, defending his title twenty-five times during that period.

Billy Joel^[6] is a US pop singer and songwriter.

The French word oui^[8] means yes.

3d   Servant girl with bible standing up (6)

Primarily a British term, the Authorized Version (AV)^[5] is an English translation of the Bible made in 1611 at the order of James I and still widely used, though never formally ‘authorized’. It is also called the King James Bible — a name by which it is undoubtedly better known in North America.

4d   Covered in grass, circuits got worse (8)

5d   A river runs through bend in Northern town (6)

Barrow-in-Furness^[7] (commonly known as Barrow) is a large industrial town and seaport in the county of Cumbria in North West England.

6d   When playing, actor Niven also relaxed (14)

David Niven^[7] (1910 – 1983) was an English actor.

8d   Flags down vehicle for this designer? (8,6)

The meaning of this one took a long while to sink in. In Britain, a pavement artist^[5] is an artist who draws with coloured chalks on paving stones or paper laid on a pavement to earn money from passers-by. In the UK, unlike North America, pavement refers to the sidewalk — not the roadway. A flag^[5] is a flat stone slab, typically rectangular or square, used for paving. Thus paving stones laid down to form a walkway are the surface on which this artist creates his (or her) designs.

10d   Persuades train station to keep gutted livestock (5,4)

13d   Devour jars of peanuts (5,4)

15d   Fell over during shortened rest (5,3)

A fell^[5] is a hill or stretch of high moorland, especially in northern England.

Where have we seen over before — oh yes, in 9a.

17d   Work ending, so claimed benefit (6,2)

19d   Sandwich is one yours truly’s thrown up — it’s got a little horse in it (6)

The sandwich^[5] was named after the 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718 – 1792), an English nobleman said to have eaten food in this form so as not to leave the gaming table.

This clue garnered several mentions on Times for the Times commenting on its timeliness. The 2013 meat adulteration scandal^[7] is ongoing in Europe; foods advertised as containing beef were found to contain undeclared horse meat, as much as 100% of the meat content in some cases, and other undeclared meats, such as pork. The issue came to light on 15 January 2013, when it was reported that horse DNA had been discovered in frozen beefburgers sold in several Irish and British supermarkets.

20d   Red cabbage wants nothing in spring (6)

23d   More wheels? Pretty much — works fantastic! (4)

Unlike Dave Perry, I was not able to decipher the wordplay. However, I take some small comfort in knowing what the Eddas are. An Edda^[5] is either of two 13th-century Icelandic books, the Elder or Poetic Edda (a collection of Old Norse poems on Norse legends) and the Younger or Prose Edda (a handbook to Icelandic poetry by Snorri Sturluson). The Eddas are the chief source of knowledge of Scandinavian mythology.

The wordplay is rather convoluted. Start with a reversal (wheels [turns about]) of ADDED (more) which gives us DEDDA. The phrase "pretty much" indicates that a letter must be deleted. As I recall, such a construction would usually indicate that the last letter is to be deleted — but, in this case, it is the first letter (unless one considers that the deletion is to be done before the reversal, but that is not the order in which the instructions appear). In any event, we are expected to end up with EDDA.

The definition is "works fantastic", where "works" is a noun and "fantastic" is a postpositive adjective.

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)

Signing off for this week — Falcon