Sunday, October 31, 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010 (ST 4400)


Forecast
Based on recent publication pattern

The Sunday London Times Puzzle Number
ST 4400
Publication Date in The Sunday London Times
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4400]
Times for the Times Review Written By
yfyap
Notes

While I am on vacation in Italy, the blog will consist simply of a link to the review at Times for  the Times for the puzzle expected to be published on that date based on the long-standing publication pattern.


Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Sunday, October 24, 2010 (ST 4399)


Forecast
Based on recent publication pattern

The Sunday London Times Puzzle Number
ST 4399
Publication Date in The Sunday London Times
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4399]
Times for the Times Review Written By
talbinho
Notes

While I am on vacation in Italy, the blog will consist simply of a link to the review at Times for  the Times for the puzzle expected to be published on that date based on the long-standing publication pattern.


Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sunday, October 17, 2010 (ST 4398)

Introduction

Tomorrow I will depart for Italy, where I will be taking in the sights for the next two to three weeks. Today, I am busily trying to get ready for the trip, so there will be an abbreviated blog today. In addition, I have created a series of posts that will be published each week during my absence providing a link to the review on Times for the Times for the puzzle that I expect to be published on that date based on the long-standing publication schedule. I expect to reactivate the complete blog early in November.

The Sunday London Times Puzzle Number
ST 4398
Publication Date in The Sunday London Times
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4398]
Times for the Times Review Written By
talbinho

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Sunday, October 10, 2010 (ST 4397)

This puzzle was originally published in The Sunday London Times on September 5, 2010

Introduction

I found this puzzle to be extremely difficult - and not made any easier by the errors in the clues. In addition to the two errors that I have listed, I found the clue at 14a to be suspect (although no complaint was lodged on Times for the Times regarding this latter clue).

Today's Errata

There are errors in at least two clues in today's puzzle.

26a Vagrants seen in brief I ignored (7)

This clue should have read:
  • 26a Vagrants seen in briefs I ignored (7)
4d Move suddenly close to bus - crash (6)

This clue should have read:
  • 4d Moved suddenly close to bus - crash (6)
Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle

Appearing in Clues

cooker - noun 2 British informal an apple or other fruit that is more suitable for cooking than for eating raw

daily - noun informal 2 (also daily help) British dated a woman who is employed to clean someone else's house each day

Appearing in Solutions

bottle - noun 2 British informal the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous: I lost my bottle completely and ran

dosser - noun British informal derogatory
  • 1 a person who sleeps rough; a tramp
  • 2 an idle person
own goal - noun
  • (in soccer) a goal scored when a player inadvertently strikes or deflects the ball into their own team's goal
  • British informal an act that unintentionally harms one's own interests: government scores own goal by assisting organized crime in London
prang - British informal
  • verb crash (a motor vehicle or aircraft)
  • noun a crash involving a motor vehicle or aircraft
ropy - adjective British informal slightly ill: I did feel a bit ropy earlier; noun ropiness

Ross - an area of northern Scotland

Links to Solutions

A review of today's puzzle by 7dpenguin can be found at Times for the Times [ST 4397].

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Sunday, October 3, 2010 (ST 4396)

This puzzle was originally published in The Sunday London Times on August 29, 2010

Introduction

I worked hard to solve this puzzle and, in the end, carelessly overlooked one clue. Perhaps that was for the best, as I likely would have expended considerable time fruitlessly had I attempted to solve the clue - since a test run of my solving tools failed to find the solution.

Today's Errors

There may be errors in two of the clues in today's puzzle.

10a Hesper - evening star - orbiting the globe (6)

Hesper (or Hesperus) is "the planet Venus in its appearance as the evening star". However, the phrase "- evening star -" is completely extraneous to the clue. Here is how talbinho attempts to explain its appearance:
a lovely anagram but a bizarre clue. Given that 'orbiting' is the only possible anagram indicator, my guess is that '- evening star -' was included in error, and was an annotation to a draft version or something (such as might have been included to reassure a typesetter who hadn't come across the word)
Thus the clue likely should have read merely:
10a Hesper orbiting the globe (6)
15a Threatening who's not well-favoured towards you? (4,8)

The consensus at Times for the Times is that a word is missing from this clue which may have been intended to read along the lines:
15a Threatening client who's not well-favoured towards you? (4,8)
Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

Appearing in Clues

wipe the floor with - phrase informal inflict a humiliating defeat on: they wiped the floor with us in a 3-0 win

Appearing in Solutions

albert (also albert chain) - noun British a watch chain with a bar at one end for attaching to a buttonhole; Origin: mid 19th century, named after Prince Albert

Albert Herring - a comic chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, his Op. 39

bye-law - alternative spelling of by-law, noun 1 British a regulation made by a local authority or corporation
[Note: Chambers and Oxford both show the spelling as by-law and bye-law, while Collins opts for bylaw and bye-law; however, it seems our setter prefers byelaw]
calf love - [Collins English Dictionary] noun [possibly British] temporary infatuation or love of an adolescent for a member of the opposite sex; also called puppy love [Note: the term puppy love is certainly familiar to North Americans, but (to the best of my knowledge) calf love is not used here]

copper1 - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 4 Chiefly British a large vessel, formerly of copper, used for boiling or washing

holt2 - noun the burrowed lair of an animal, esp an otter

mate1 - noun 3 British informal a friend or companion: my best mate Steve

Links to Solutions

A review of today's puzzle by talbinho can be found at Times for the Times [ST 4396].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a Having set sail, three-master is in Eastern sea (8)

I wasted a bit of time becalmed in the Red Sea until I discovered that the winds were more favourable in the Mediterranean.

2d & 3d In comic opera, watch her jewellery! (6,7)

I noticed (as did a commenter at Times for the Times), that an "albert" is a watch chain, not a watch.

6d Former pilot's acrobatic deed (7)

While talbinho says "some confusion between acrobatics and aerobatics, I think", I personally don't think one can quibble with the clue as Oxford gives the origin of the word aerobatics as "First World War: from aero- + a shortened form of acrobatics".

7d Wiped the floor with worsted (8)

The surface reading suggests cleaning up a spill using a piece of woolen fabric. However, "worsted" here is a verb, not a noun, and means 'got the better of; defeated'. In this double definition type clue, "wiped the floor with" means 'inflicted a humiliating defeat'.

It is interesting to note that, as a verb, worst is a synonym for best which means 'outwit or get the better of (someone)' whereas, as adjectives or adverbs, these words are antonyms!

11d Without being without space, visitor dances (7)

In his review, talbinho says "unfortunately the comma between 'space' and 'visitor' ruins the clue". However, I have come to understand that one of the basic rules of cryptic clues is that punctuation is present for the surface reading of the clue and should be ignored in the cryptic reading. Of course, there is a corollary to this rule which states that one should ignore the rule if the punctuation is important to the cryptic reading.

14d Regulations along a route passing through Wales need to be changed (7)

The definition is "regulations" with the solution being BYELAWS (a new - perhaps British - spelling of the word for me). The wordplay seems to be BY (along a route passing through) + an anagram (need to be changed) WALES. If that is the correct explanation, then the phrase "along a route passing through" would appear to be a long and convoluted way to express the idea by - but then Wales is the location of the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (or Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, for short).

By the way (which, incidentally, could mean 'along a route'), the British dictionaries define bylaw as a British term, especially when referring to regulations enacted by local levels of government. However, bylaw is a common term in Canada (and apparently other Commonwealth countries). The United States on the other hand tends to use terms such as code, ordnance and regulation.

25d Otter's refuge - when heated, plunge in lake (4)

I didn't realize that I had overlooked this clue until I reached this point in reading talbinho's review. In any event, I probably would have failed to find the solution anyway, as a test run of my tools failed to produce the answer.

An otter's refuge (lair) is called a HOLT (a new word to me). This is what I like to think of as a recipe style clue, where the wordplay takes the form of a set of steps in a procedure. Thus we have:
Step 1: heated = HOT
Step 2: plunge in (i.e., insert) L (lake) = HO(L)T

In his review, talbinho dubs this "dubious wordplay". However, it is a style that one does see from time to time.

Signing off for this week - Falcon