Sunday, January 29, 2012 - ST 4466

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4466
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, January 1, 2012
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4466]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, January 21, 2012

Introduction

This puzzle seemed to be a bit less difficult than usual as I was able to complete it without the use of any electronic aids.

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.

1a   Date girl at Uni - funny, earthy, with outstanding degree (7,3,5)

In cryptic crosswords, as is also apparently the case in Britain, uni^[5] is a common short form for university

9a   Imagine foodie dropping starter without teaspoon (7)

I spent a bit of time in trying to make PRESUME fit here. It did match the two checking letters that I had managed to identify at the time. Of course, there was no way to make the wordplay work and it certainly handicapped me on 2d. Like Dave Perry, I was surprised to see t used as the abbreviation for teaspoon. I did check to see if it might be in The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition and found that it is not.

Note: However, as Peter Biddlecombe (the Sunday Times Puzzles Editor) comments at Times for the Times, it is in Collins (although seemingly not in the online version): "t for teaspoon was a similar surprise but seems to come from a system where “tablespoon” is represented by T".

17a   Squash taught as something to get you fit (5-2)

In his review, Dave Perry concludes that "'taught' must be UP" but isn't entirely sure why that should be the case. I wondered if it might be related somehow to the British usage of up^[5] to mean at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge • they were up at Cambridge about the same time. The rationale would be that if you are at university, presumably you are being taught.

Note: I am apparently mistaken. On the subject of UP meaning "taught", Peter Biddlecombe (the Sunday Times Puzzles Editor) comments at Times for the Times: "I was a bit surprised by this when editing but found that Collins has “taught”, followed by the example well up in Physics." [see up^[4]]

19a   Forgive prisoner, having been cheated (7)

Do is British slang meaning to swindle • a thousand pounds for one set of photos—Jacqui had been done.

5d   One staggering person clearing weeds goes outside texting "be back later" (7)

AFAIK*, BBL is text-speak for "be back later" (LOL**).

[*as far as I know / **laughing out loud]

6d   He casts Potter character on Isle (9)

Focus on Beatrix Potter (not Harry). 

The Isle of Man^[5] is an island in the Irish Sea which is a British Crown dependency having home rule, with its own legislature (the Tynwald) and judicial system; population 82,000 (est. 2009); capital, Douglas. The island was part of the Norse kingdom of the Hebrides in the Middle Ages, passing into Scottish hands in 1266 for a time, until the English gained control in the early 15th century. Its ancient language, Manx, is still occasionally used for ceremonial purposes.

14d   Parish church's front half moved stroller (9)

In the UK, a pushchair^[5] is a folding chair on wheels, in which a baby or young child can be pushed along. According to Oxford Dictionaries, stroller^[5] is the North American name for this item.

16d   Ordering a new flower (3,6)

In crosswordese, a flower is often a river (something that flows). In this case - continuing the North American theme - it is the Rio Grande^[5], a river which rises in the Rocky Mountains of SW Colorado and flows 3,030 km (1,880 miles) generally south-eastwards to the Gulf of Mexico, forming the US-Mexico frontier from El Paso to the sea.

18d   Elevated land with gold dish on top (7)

Au^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element gold.

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)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, January 22, 2012 - Error-Prone Sub

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times Unknown
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Unknown
Link to Full Review Unknown
Times for the Times Review Written By Unknown
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, January 14, 2011*
Notes * I am assuming that this puzzle would have appeared in the Toronto Star on the customary date. However, I cannot be certain as no solution is posted on the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum website for that date.

Introduction

Normally, the puzzle published in the UK on December 18, 2011 would have appeared today. However, as the Sunday Times published a jumbo Christmas themed puzzle on that date, the puzzle we see today has been substituted in syndication. The same situation arose last year. At that time, the incredibly observant author of the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum recognized that the puzzle published in the Toronto Saturday Star on Saturday, January 22, 2011 (and in the Ottawa Citizen on Sunday, January 23, 2011) had been published in the Saturday Star on January 19, 2008. On this occasion, the puzzle appeared in Toronto only a day before it was published in Ottawa (rather than the customary eight days before) due to the Saturday Star reversing the order of publication of a couple of puzzles. Based upon the information gleaned from the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum, with some additional sleuthing I was then able to identify the puzzle as ST 4257 which was published in the Sunday Times on December 30, 2007. Suspecting that today's puzzle has similarly been resurrected from the archives, I attempted to identify it - but without success. It does share one feature with the substitute puzzle published last year - an error. Last year the error was in the wording of the clue, this year it is in the numeration (see below). In addition to this major error, I would say that the puzzle also contains one or two other (relatively minor) errors.

Errata in Today's Puzzle

There is an egregious error in the numeration for clue 8d which should read:

• 8d   Surprised as I am to say this, not once did I excel (4,1,5,3)

Perhaps the wording of the clue is a very fitting admission by the puzzle editor!

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   RED SKY AT NIGHT - cryptic definition of a sunset (setting)

In North America, we are familiar with the bit of weather lore that begins "Red sky at night, sailor's delight ...". However, in Great Britain and Ireland, this saying is applied to a different occupation "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight ...". Thus "setting" refers to the setting of the sun and "animal welfare groups" are shepherds.

10a   EMOL*|U|MENT~ - anagram (hidden [strange anagram indicator, methinks]) + (at) U (university) + MENT {sounds like (to hear) MEANT (†)}

Note: I use the dagger symbol "†" to indicate that a word has appeared explicitly in the clue.

11a   OLIVE* - anagram (unfortunately) of I LOVE

Olive Oyl is the sweetheart of Popeye, the sailor man.

12a   L|OUSE - L (left) + OUSE (flower [river])

In Crosswordese, a river is often referred to as a flower (something that flows). The River Ouse is a river in England.

13a   DAM|NATION - DAM (barrier) + (erected by; put up beside) NATION (people)

14a   NAISSANT* - anagram (evolution) of IS AN ANTS

Naissant is a term used in heraldry. In the words of the Oxford Dictionary of English it means "(of a charge, especially an animal) issuing from the middle of an ordinary, especially a fess"^[5]. Collins English Dictionary is somewhat less obtuse, defining it as "(of a beast) having only the forepart shown above a horizontal division of a shield"^[4]. While I may have missed some subtlety in the wordplay, the words "heralding", "beastly" and "division" in the clue clearly point us in this direction.

16a   CO(MB)AT - MB (doctor) contained in (finding ... in) COAT (ulster)

Ulster, in addition to being a county in Northern Ireland, is also a type of coat. Note the (intentional) misdirection created by the capitalization of "Ulster".

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.

19a   VENI*|CE - anagram (exotic) of VINE + CE (English church; Church of England)

The sense of the clue ("Italian source of [wordplay]") is that, through executing the wordplay, one may construct the name of something (in this case, a place) that can be found in Italy.

20a   CAMSHAFT* - anagram (revolution) of {MACH (half of MACHines) + FAST (†)}

22a   ROUGH DEAL - a spoonerism for "duff reel"

24a   EPSOM - an English town possessing a famous racecourse

25a   INTER - cryptic definition referring to committing a corpse to the grave (or, perhaps, a crypt)

26a   UNCERTAIN - anagram (new) of CAR IN TUNE

27a   PENNY-FARTHING - cryptic definition of an old-fashioned bicycle

Down

2d   ELOCUTION* - anagram (composed) of COOL TUNE I

3d   SOUSE - SO (this way; "I want it done just so") + (put to; placed adjacent to) USE (some purpose)

"Duck" is used in the sense of push or plunge (someone) under water.

4d   Y(IELD*)IN|G -anagram of LIED contained in {Y (first Year) + IN (of) + G (power)}

I do not have a great deal of confidence in this solution and welcome any better suggestions. The anagram of LIED is pretty obvious and Y being the first letter of year also seems quite solid. "In" and "of" can be synonyms in the sense of 'from' or 'out of' (as "two in every eight" or "two of every eight"). I am guessing that the setter may be employing - in a scientifically inaccurate fashion - G^[5] to mean a unit of acceleration equal to that produced by the earth’s gravitational field (I was pinned to the floor by six Gs!).

5d   TOTE|MS - TOTE (carry) + MS (documents; manuscript (abbreviation)}

MS or ms.^[2] (with the plural being MSS or mss.) is the abbreviation for manuscript^[2] (which is a a book or document written by hand). Thus, in order to be correct, it would seem that the clue should read

• Poles carrying manuscript (in the singular).

6d   ISOLATORS - anagram (upsetting) of TO SAILORS

7d   H|A(IT)I - H (Holiday, start) + IT contained in (in ... accommodation) AI (first-class; looks like A1)

8d   WELL I NEVER DID - Yoda-speak for "I never did well" (I did not excel even once)

Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, noted for the object-subject-verb syntax he employs when speaking. Well I never did!^[5] (or well I never!) is an informal exclamation expressing surprise or indignation (something that one might say when they are surprised). However, when interpreted as having come from the lips of  Yoda, it would mean "I never did well". If the two parts of the clue were to be written in subject-verb-object format, they would become "I am surprised to say this" and "I did not excel even once".

See the section Errata in Today's Puzzle (above) for a discussion of the error in the numeration for this clue.

9d   REIN|STATEMENT - REIN (check) + STATEMENT (the financial summary)

15d   SACCHARIN* - anagram (trade) of IN CAR CASH

17d   BOATSWAIN - BOAT (craft) preceding (before) SWAIN (lover)

18d   CABLE CAR - cryptic definition of a a transport system, typically one delivering skiers to the top of a mountain, in which cabins are suspended on a continuous moving cable (line) driven by a motor at one end of the route

21d   RE-TURF - anagram (put out) of FRUit TReE {FRUIT TREE with TIE removed (off)}

23d   _UNTIE - aUNTIE (relative) with A removed (after A loss)

24d   EARTH* - anagram (breaking) of HEART

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)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, January 15, 2012 - ST 4463

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4463
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, December 11, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4463]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, January 7, 2011

Introduction

I got off to a quick start, but was soon brought to an abrupt standstill - needing lots of electronic help to finish the puzzle.

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.

12a   After a brandy of average quality Cameron breaks into song (1,4,7)

There is disagreement among dictionaries as to what is meant by the term fine when applied to brandy. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, it is "French brandy of high quality made from distilled wine rather than from pomace"^[5]. On the other hand, The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition lists it as "ordinary French brandy"^[1], Collins English Dictionary as "brandy of ordinary quality"^[4], and the Random House Unabridged Dictionary as "ordinary French brandy, usually with no indication of the maker's name or location"^[9]. Thus it would appear that Oxford is outnumbered three to one!

By the way, there is a small - yet fatal - error in the link to the James Bond reference at Times for the Times. The correct link is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine_(brandy).

"Cameron" may (or may not) be a reference to British Prime Minister David Cameron. "A Fine Romance"^[7] is a popular song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, published in 1936. The song was written for the musical film, Swing Time, where it was co-introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It may be familiar to the Brits as a version sung by Judi Dench became the theme song of A Fine Romance^[7], a British television series starring Judi Dench and her husband Michael Williams.

20a   It's some job rigging this! (4)

I failed to notice the answer hiding in the clue and came up with SHIP as a solution. I was certainly on the right track, but this really messed me up at 20d.

24a   If done after onset of ailment, one sherry might make you lower (8)

"Lower" (as used in this clue) is one of those words which takes on a definition invented by cryptic crossword setters - and which have become, depending on your preference, a convention or a cliché. Here, lower means an animal which lows (i.e., a cow). This is similar to describing a river as either a flower (something that flows) or a banker (something that has banks).

1d   Display cycle on platform as a means of transport (8)

Dave Perry comments, "'Cycle' is an unusual way to clue a C". I did not find it standing alone in The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition (presumably considered the bible for British crosswords), although it is found there as part of cps (cycles per second).

2d   American who enlisted to fight in mine and live in squalor (3,2)

Pig it^[5] is an informal expression meaning to crowd together with other people in disorderly or dirty conditions • he didn’t approve of the proposal to pig it in the studio.

4d   Baby starts to scream and pukes rusks over granny (5)

Sprog^[5] is British slang for (1) a baby or (2) a military recruit or trainee. As a verb, it means to have a baby. Rusk^[5] is a chiefly British term for a light, dry biscuit or piece of twice-baked bread, especially one prepared for use as baby food.

5d   Wanting a change L Cohen tours America and Egypt - he's so fickle (9)

Dave Perry observes, "Another slightly suspect method of cluing a single letter, E for Egypt this time. I'm not sure the Daily puzzle would get with that." This abbreviation is not to be found in the aforementioned Chambers. However, as E is the International Vehicle Registration code for Spain (España), there should have been no objection had "Egypt" been replaced by "Spain".

6d   What burlesque dancer will eventually have is class! (6)

It took a while for the penny to drop (if, in fact, that is what was being dropped) but when it did, I could not help but smile.

7d   Organ providing entertainment on the Sabbath for nearly two centuries (3,6,5)

Judging by Dave Perry's remarks, solvers in the UK may have found this clue far less cryptic than I think it would be for most North Americans. I thought perhaps the word organ might have a different meaning in Britain, but - as far as I can see - the British and American dictionaries attribute similar meanings to it. For example, the Oxford Dictionary of English defines organ^[5] as a newspaper or periodical which promotes the views of a political party or movement. This seems to suggest a closer linkage to a particular special interest group than I think most North American newspapers would admit to.

20d   Club, one featuring Latin dish (5)

Having entered SHIP at 20a, the only dish that I could fit in here was SALMI. I was to discover that I should have been tasting Pakistani cooking rather than French cuisine. Unfortunately, I was not even given a chance to catch my error, since BALTI was not included in the list of possible matches returned by my word finder application. Of course, I could not make the wordplay work.

References: 
^[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)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, January 8, 2012 - ST 4462

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4462
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, December 4, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4462]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, December 31, 2011

Introduction

As usual, there is some rather tricky wordplay in this puzzle

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.

1a   Sergeant mostly seen in fleece (4)

The Phil Silvers Show^[7] (originally titled You'll Never Get Rich) is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko of the United States Army. Bilko and his men seemed to spend very little time actually performing their duties—Bilko in particular spent most of his time trying to wheedle money through various get-rich-quick scams and promotions, or to find ways to get others to do his work for him. His soldiers regularly helped Bilko with his schemes, but were just as often Bilko's "pigeons" ripe for the plucking.

13a   Nothing new, heroin user's blighted careers (8)

Career^[2] is used in the sense of a swift or headlong course.

17a   Outside broadcast display of emotion is repellent (7)

In Britain, an outside broadcast (abbreviation OB)^[5] is a radio or television programme that is recorded or broadcast live on location and not in a studio.

19a   Very Italian covering say, for spear made from wood (7)

The Italian word for "very" is assai^[8]. An assegai^[5] (or assagai) is a slender, iron-tipped, hardwood spear used chiefly by southern African peoples.

21a   What may be swotted in usual offices in a cold manner? (7)

In Britain, swot^[4] is a slang term meaning to cram (to study a subject intensively, as for an examination) as well as being a variant spelling of swat. The "usual offices^[5]" is a British euphemism for a loo^[5] (toilet). Thus, "what may be swotted (swatted) in usual offices" is A LOO FLY (a fly that is found in a loo).

24a   Labour, both sides of Atlantic backing secret plotters (5)

In the cryptic reading, "Labour" (abbreviation Lab.)^[5] refers to the British Labour Party. The surface reading, may be intended to refer to the "labour movement" in a more general sense (as it specifies "both sides of Atlantic"). In the cryptic reading, "both sides of Atlantic" indicates the first and last letters of AtlantiC.

27a   A letter opener (5)

I am not sure that I completely understand this clue. Alpha^[5] is a code word representing the letter A, used in radio communication as well as the first (opening) letter of the Greek alphabet. Perhaps a bit more of a stretch, alpha is also the first (opening) part of the word 'alphabet^[5]', the set of letters or symbols in a fixed order used to represent the basic set of speech sounds of a language.

28a   Comfortable place with standards? (3,2,5)

I had guessed that "standards" might refer to flags, and specifically to those that might have been flown during the War of the Roses^[7]. However, as Dave Perry points out, a standard^[5] is a shrub grafted on an erect stem and trained in tree form (usage example from Oxford Dictionaries: [as a modifier] a standard rose).

30a   Neat container of bay trees used at regular intervals (4)

Neat^[5] is an archaic term for a bovine animal and byre^[5] is a British name for a cowshed. Thus a "neat container" would be a BYRE. The wordplay indicates that we are to use a regular series of letters from the word sequence "BaY tReEs". Such a series could be either the even-numbered letters or (as is the case today) the odd-numbered letters.

1d   Associated with two parties, oil company worker adopts one (10)

The "oil company" is British Petroleum (BP) - of Gulf of Mexico infamy.

2d   Imaginatively, Rice contributes to this (5)

The clue refers to British lyricist Tim Rice^[7] who collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on musicals such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and The Wizard of Oz. The entire clue serves as the definition while the first part only of the clue constitutes the wordplay (thus the clue is a semi-& lit.). The solution is imaginatively hidden (indicated by "contributes") in "imaginativeLY RICe".

5d   Sterling Post Office lost, therefore experience needed (7)

As an adjective, sterling^[5] may mean excellent or valuable (which is how it is used in the surface reading). The cryptic reading, on the other hand, relies on the fact that  sterling^[5] and pound^[5] (or  pound sterling^[5]) both refer to the basic monetary unit of the UK. The definition is "experience" (which, as is sometimes the case in British puzzles, is placed in the middle of the clue). The word "needed" acts in a similar fashion to a link word - even though it does not appear between the wordplay ("Sterling post office lost, therefore") and definition ("experience"). The sense of the clue is that the solver needs to find a synonym for "experience" that also satisfies the wordplay.

9d   Good chums going round catch up immediately (4-4)

Slap-bang^[4] is an informal British expression meaning directly or immediately, equivalent to the North American expression slam-bang^[4].

18d   What can be found on mountain tops? THESE! (8)

I thought that I must have overlooked some exceedingly clever aspect of this clue. However, judging by Dave Perry's comments I didn't. It seems that the entire clue is a charade with "What can be found on mountain tops?" being SNOW and "THESE!" being CAPS with the whole clue serving as a definition of SNOWCAPS. I'm no more impressed than Dave Perry appears to be.

20d   Your setter's finished with leader of Opposition laying it on thick (7)

As usual, the phrase "your setter" calls for a first person pronoun. In this case, "your setter's finished" must be replaced by "I'm past" (IM PAST). Add to this the first letter (leader) of Opposition to get IMPASTO. Impasto^[5] is the process or technique of laying on paint or pigment thickly so that it stands out from a surface. In countries having a Westminster System of parliamentary government, the leader of the largest party not in government carries the title Leader of the Opposition^[7].

22d   Henry in cheap eatery gets something worth little (7)

In physics, the henry^[5] (abbreviation H) is the SI unit of inductance, equal to an electromotive force of one volt in a closed circuit with a uniform rate of change of current of one ampere per second. Caff^[5] is British slang for a café.

References: 
^[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)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, December 25, 2011 - ST 4460

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4460
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, November 20, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4460]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, December 17, 2011
Notes This puzzle was published in the Ottawa Citizen edition of Saturday, December 24, 2011

Introduction

Posted: January 8, 2012

This posting is rather tardy as I fell considerably behind in tending my blogs over the holiday period. Hopefully, my schedule will soon return to normal.

I am not really in a position to comment on the difficulty of this particular puzzle, as it was completed in dribs and drabs over a period of a couple of weeks. Judging by the comments on Times for the Times, the Brits did not seem to find it overly taxing. However, I must say that, in general, I feel that the level of difficulty of the Sunday London Times Crossword does seem to have increased 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.

1a   Some corn needed initially to make bread? (4)

The phrase "needed initially" indicates the first (initial) letter of Need. "Bread" is used in the slang sense of money.

10a   Loss of reputation after cricketer follows beautiful woman without husband (8)

A "beautiful woman" might slangily be called a DISH, from which we must delete the H (without a Husband). W.G. Grace^[7] (1848 – 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, and who was important in the development of the sport.

11a   Being drunk with Germans do I scoff like a 28? (10)

Here "28" is a cross-reference to clue 28d (we know that it must be 28d as there is no 28a in this puzzle). Substitute the solution to 28d in place of "28" to get the full clue "Being drunk with Germans do I scoff like a pig?".

14a   First third of fabric removed for cloak (4)

Both "cloak" and the solution MASK are used as verbs in a figurative sense.

17a   One slow to learn finally eliminated with an innovative dancer (6)

Isadora Duncan^[7] (1877 — 1927) was a dancer, considered by many to be the creator of modern dance. Born in the United States, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50. In the United States she was popular only in New York, and only later in her life. She performed to acclaim throughout Europe.

30a  Old Master has year in Indian Territory (4)

Francisco Goya^[7] (1746 – 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goa^[7], a state located in South West India, is that country's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population.

3d   Jade knight with silver as base (3)

Archaic meanings of jade^[5] are (1) a bad-tempered or disreputable woman or (2) an old or worn-out horse. Take your pick as to which one the setter intended.

6d   Butcher perhaps bearing a small present (9)

The definition is "Butcher perhaps" with Butcher referring to "one of the fictional families in the BBC soap opera Eastenders^[7]" (thanks to Dave Perry for that info). I don't feel too bad at not understanding that - from reading the comments on Times for the Times, it seems that several of the Brits were equally in the dark. The wordplay is E ([compass] bearing) + A (explicit in the clue) + S (small) + TENDER (present; as a verb). I did get the solution based on the wordplay and (perhaps incorrectly) supposed that the East End might be the area of London where butcher shops or slaughterhouses were concentrated.

The East End^[7] is an area of London, England, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Use of the term East End in a pejorative sense began in the late 19th century, as the expansion of the population of London led to extreme overcrowding throughout the area and a concentration of poor people and immigrants. The East End became synonymous with poverty, overcrowding, disease and criminality. Despite improvements such as the Canary Wharf development, improved infrastructure, and the Olympic Park, some parts continue to contain some of the worst poverty in Britain.

7d   A large travelling bag for brunch? (11)

Dave Perry's reference to "DbE" means 'definition by example'.

8d   One function hosted by Northern Ireland at a city (7)

A cosine (abbreviation cos) is a trigonometric function.

12d   Person taking risks for a rise, but after initial deduction remuneration is poor (11)

North Americans will likely fail to fully appreciate this clue. In Britain, an increase in pay is called a rise (rather than a raise, as it is known in North America). In the wordplay, "after initial deduction" indicates that we are to delete the first letter of "remuneration" and "is poor" indicates that we form an anagram of the remainder. Thus the first part "person taking risks for a rise" could be read as either someone taking chances in hopes of getting a salary increase or a cryptic definition of a mountaineer.

16d   Colour telly and Wii Henry broke (4-5)

For Brits, the surface reading would refer to a colour television set and a Wii game console. In physics, the henry^[5] (abbreviation H) is the SI unit of inductance, equal to an electromotive force of one volt in a closed circuit with a uniform rate of change of current of one ampere per second.

19d   The Spectator's solution is nonesense too (7)

The Spectator^[7] is a weekly British current affairs magazine.

21d   After end of season Surrey built new facility for learners (7)

Surrey^[7] is a county in the South East of England, and one of the home counties^[5] (as the counties surrounding London are called). The surface reading may actually be a reference to the Surrey County Cricket Club^[7], a professional cricket club based in Surrey.

26d   Bloomers on line blowing around in field (3)

Bloomers^[5], in addition to being flowers, are women’s loose-fitting knee-length knickers (panties), considered old-fashioned.

28d   Unforged metal regularly used when making springs (3)

The definition is "unforged metal" with the solution being PIG. A pig^[4] is a mass of metal, such as iron, copper, or lead, cast into a simple shape for ease of storing or transportation. The wordplay tells us that the letters in the solution also constitute the even-numbered letters in (regularly used when making) "springs" (sPrInGs). As "regularly" could indicate either the 'even-numbered' or 'odd-numbered' letters (since either of these is a regular series), we are left to chose the one that fits the circumstances.

References: 
^[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)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, December 18, 2011 - ST 4459

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4459
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, November 13, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4459]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, December 10, 2011*
Notes * As no solution is posted at the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum site (as of the time of writing), I can only assume that this puzzle appeared in the Saturday Star in accordance with the normal publication schedule.

Introduction

The difficulty level was fairly typical of a Sunday Times puzzle, heightened somewhat by a few new (to me) British expressions.

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.

1a   Employees in one section "The Week" magazine? (3,7)

THE WEEK^[7] is a British weekly news magazine, first published in 1995, which also has American and Australian editions. It is also the name of a defunct Canadian publication which was in existence from 1883-1896. The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition defines Man Friday (plural Man Fridays), which it spells with the first word in upper case, as a factotum or servile attendant while the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, which spells the term as man Friday (plural man Fridays) with the first word in lower case, has it as either (1) a faithful or devoted manservant or male assistant or (2) a junior male worker given various duties, especially in an office. The American Heritage Dictionary also spells it as man Friday, but with the plural being either men Friday or men Fridays.

7a   Extra score (4)

Score is used in the sense of to cut. Gash^[3] is (seemingly British) slang for surplus to requirements; unnecessary, extra, or spare.

11a   Pressure one found in Diplomacy recalled another game (6)

Diplomacy^[7] is a strategic board game. Tipcat^[9] is "another game" - apparently one played in days gone by - in which a short piece of wood, tapered at both ends, is struck lightly at one end with a bat, causing the wood to spring into the air so that it can be batted for a distance.

17a   RPO is involved with theatrics from here? (9,3)

RPO^[5] is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

20a   Book on English party: discuss at length (8)

According to Chambers, the abbreviation for "book" is b^[1].

22a   Second plate is fashionable (6)

Mo^[5] is an informal, chiefly British term meaning a short period of time • hang on a mo!

4d   Hopeless writer's shown up in appeal (5)

Appeal here denoting sex appeal or 'it' (pronoun, sense 8)^[5].

7d   End with mean scoring ratio (4,7)

Goal average^[5] is a soccer term denoting the ratio of the numbers of goals scored for and against a team in a series of matches, sometimes used in deciding the team’s position in a table (table is a British term which appears to be equivalent to standings) • the first club to win the league on goal average.

8d   No lager's served up in such clothing (4-2)

Pils^[5] is a type of lager beer similar to Pilsner. The wordplay is a reversal (is served up [it being a down clue]) of {NO (from the clue) + PILS (lager)}. Note that the S in the solution comes from Pils and not the 's on the end of lager (which is a contraction for is in the cryptic reading as well as the surface reading).

12d   A firm tummy (11)

I likely only got this as I recalled having seen it before or, as Dave Perry suggests, it is "an old chestnut". Corporation^[5] is a dated, humorous term for a paunch.

18d   Printing mistake is dumb, keeping a bishop up (7)

If you solved the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword which was published in the National Post on Friday, it should be fresh in your mind that Right Reverend (abbreviation RR)^[5] is a title given to a bishop, especially in the Anglican Church.

24d   Scottish resort? Yes, right (3)

Ayr^[7] is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. During the 19th and 20th centuries Ayr became a popular holiday resort. This was due to its fine sandy beach and its popularity was increased by the building of a rail link to Glasgow in 1840.

References: 
^[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)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, December 11, 2011 - ST 4458

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4458
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, November 6, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4458]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, December 3, 2011*
Notes * As no solution is posted at the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum site (as of the time of writing), I can only assume that this puzzle appeared in the Saturday Star in accordance with the normal schedule.

Introduction

I found this to be a rather challenging puzzle and my electronic assistants were called into action early and often. I was also in the dark on parts of the wordplay in a couple clues until I read Dave Perry's review.

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.

1a   Emulate Mrs Clinton and fall short of total success? (8)

The clue is a reference to an episode that occurred during the 2008 US election campaign. Presidential candidate (and former First Lady) Hillary Clinton admitted in late March that her repeated campaign statements about having been under hostile fire from snipers during a 1996 visit to U.S. troops at Tuzla Air Base in Bosnia-Herzegovina were not true.



6a   Who boasts a disturbed heart? (6)

I think this must be seen as a semi & lit. (semi-all-in-one) clue? The wordplay is clearly "boasts a disturbed heart". The entire clue could serve as the definition, in which case it would be a semi & lit. clue. The only alternative would appear to be for the single word "who" to be the definition - which seems to be a bit inadequate for the job.

9a   Hook - and its double shape, of course (6)

Hook^[3][4][5] is used in the sense of to steal (a new meaning for me, but one that I did find it in both British and American dictionaries - although Oxford describes this usage as archaic). S comes from "its double shape", i.e., the letter S from the word "its" (presumably because the shape of an S is a double curve). NATCH is slang for 'naturally' which Dave Perry characterizes as Shakespearean.

13a   Old river with extremely fertile fish (4)

Here, "extremely fertile" means to use the letters found on the extremities of the word "fertile" - i.e., FertilE. The orfe^[5] (also called the ide) is a silvery freshwater fish of the carp family, which is fished commercially in eastern Europe.

14a   Sacred text journalist found in museum (4)

The Veda^[5] is any or all of the most ancient sacred writings of Hinduism. The Victoria and Albert Museum^[7] (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design. Thus the wordplay is ED (journalist; editor) contained in (found in) {V + A (V&A)}.

 15a   Officer, not dated soldier? (10)

There is a maxim associated with cryptic crosswords that one ignores the punctuation. Of course, there is a caveat (which I failed to invoke) that one must ignore the maxim when required. In this clue, the comma plays a key role with the wordplay being COMMA (,) + ND (not dated) + ANT (worker). The abbreviation n.d. (no date)^[5] is apparently one that is used especially in bibliographies.

19a   Miss World finalist found behind topless joint (4)

The term "lift and separate" used by Dave Perry in his review is a favourite among British commentators on cryptic crosswords. It alludes to a situation where a word or phrase in the surface reading of a clue must be split into two components playing differing roles in the cryptic reading. Here, in the phrase "Miss World", the first word (miss) is the definition and the second word (world) must be combined with the following word to produce "world finalist" (signifying D, the final letter of "world"). In other words, the phrase "Miss World" (which, on the surface, would appear to be a single unit) must be 'lifted and separated'. The expression 'lift and separate' is one that has long been associated with brassieres (and I suspect that Dave Perry's use of it in relation to this clue is likely no mere coincidence).

24a   Blessed on river of Wales (8)

This clue is overflowing with British references. Brian Blessed^[7] is an English actor, known for his sonorous voice. The River Cam^[7] is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England (there are also a couple of other rivers by the same name in England). Cambrian^[5] means Welsh (i.e., 'of Wales').

25a   It helps to make weather balloon like rocket, for example (6)

Rocket^[5] is the British name for arugula^[5].

27a   On the pull? It's infuriating (3,3)

In British slang, pull means an attempt to attract someone sexually (an eligible bachelor on the pull). So "on the pull" has a very similar meaning to "on the make"^[5]. However, that is a bit of a red herring (or misdirection) in this clue. The definition alludes to the expression a red rag to a bull^[5] meaning an object, utterance, or act which is certain to provoke someone. The wordplay is RE (on [the subject of]) + DRAG (the pull).

3d   One drinks shorts regularly (3)

In Britain, a short^[5] is a drink of spirits served in a small measure. In this definition, measure might be intended to mean "a standard quantity or amount" but I think it might well mean "a container of standard capacity used for taking fixed amounts of a substance (gifts have included silver measures from a whisky company)". I had thought that maybe short was just the British term for shot^[5] (a small drink of spirits). However, it would seem that the term shot is also used in the UK. I suspect that the difference may be that a short is a small but well-defined quantity of spirits while a shot is a small but imprecise amount.

8d   Steel traps as it were on marshland (7)

I have to admit that, despite finding the correct solution, I had to rely on Dave Perry to explain the first part of the wordplay. I certainly knew that FEN meant marshland, which gave me the second part of the solution. Dave Perry attributes the expression fit up to "American cop shows". However, it is not an expression with which I am familiar and Oxford and Collins state that fit up^[4] or fit-up^[5] is British slang meaning frame-up (which is what I would expect it to be called in North America). Thus, 'fits up' (traps) indicates a reversal (up [in a down clue]) of FITS or STIF which gives us the first part of the solution STIFFEN.

12d   Old court giving 8 caution? (4,7)

The Star Chamber^[5] was an English court of civil and criminal jurisdiction that developed in the late 15th century, trying especially those cases affecting the interests of the Crown. It was noted for its arbitrary and oppressive judgements and was abolished in 1641. The "8" in the clue is a cross reference to 8d and indicates that we need a synonym for the solution to that clue. Thus the wordplay is STARCH (stiffen; the solution to 8d) + AMBER (caution; an amber traffic light is a caution signal).

18d   Puts pants on mature dwarf? (7)

Pants^[5] is British slang for rubbish or nonsense (he thought we were going to be absolute pants). Here it plays the role of an anagram indicator.

20d   Passage over court (7)

Passage^[5] is used in the sense of a short extract from a book or other printed material. Over and extra are likely used in the sense of 'to spare' (i.e., more than necessary). Thus if you needed five points to win a competition and you scored eight, you would have three points to spare (or three points extra) or be three points over. [While this example almost works, I am sure there must be more appropriate ones.] The equality between the two words almost seems to be more apparent when over- used as a prefix, with an overcoat being an extra coat.

23d   Starts to rail against new council housing estate (5)

While North Americans would probably not apply the term estate^[4] to a ranch, the definition (a large piece of landed property, especially in the country) may technically fit. In the UK, an estate may also mean a large area of property development, especially of new houses or (trading estate) of factories. "Council housing"^[5] refers to government subsidized housing. The wordplay directs us to use the starting letters of (starts to) "Rail Against New Council Housing".

26d   Like a recruit with supporting soldiers (3)

The soldiers are the Royal Artillery (RA)^[7]. The wordplay is W (with) following (supporting) RA. RA is considered to be supported by W because (in a down clue) RA is written on top of W. Of course, this bit of wordplay does not work in an across clue.

References: 
^[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)

Signing off for this week - Falcon