Sunday, March 20, 2011 (ST 4420)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4420
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, February 13, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4420]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, March 12, 2011

Introduction

Unlike Dave Perry, I did not romp through most of this puzzle. There are a number of quite obscure words and a couple of British references in this puzzle that were certainly new to me. While I did manage to work out most of them from the wordplay,  I did not understand the wordplay at 24a until I read Dave Perry's review. And, of course, I would have finished much sooner if I hadn't dallied so long at the Windmill Theatre.

Today's Glossary

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

[Items marked with an asterisk are from a Cumulative Glossary of entries appearing, since the beginning of this year, in either this blog or its companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

Harrogate (or Harrogate Spa) - a spa town in North Yorkshire, England.

Remploy Ltd - a government owned company in the United Kingdom which provides employment and employment placement services for disabled people.

Appearing in Solutions

amaranthine - [American Heritage Dictionary] adjective 2. Eternally beautiful and unfading; everlasting.

autodidact - noun a self-taught person

*read - verb 5 chiefly British study (an academic subject) at a university: I'm reading English at Cambridge; [no object] he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.

sati (also suttee) - noun the former Hindu practice of a widow throwing herself on to her husband's funeral pyre

Tantalus - Greek Mythology a Lydian king, son of Zeus and father of Pelops. For his crimes (which included killing Pelops) he was punished by being provided with fruit and water which receded when he reached for them. His name is the origin of the word tantalize.

touraco (alternative spelling of turaco) - noun a fruit-eating African bird with brightly coloured plumage, a prominent crest, and a long tail. Family Musophagidae (the turaco family): three genera, especially Musophaga and Tauraco, and several species. The turaco family also includes the go-away birds and plantain-eaters.

Windmill Theatre (later The Windmill International) - a variety and revue theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, England famous for its nude tableaux vivants.

Tableau vivant is French for "living picture." The term describes a striking group of suitably costumed actors or artist's models, carefully posed and often theatrically lit. Throughout the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move. The approach thus marries the art forms of the stage with those of painting/photography, and as such it has been of interest to modern photographers. The most recent hey-day of the tableau vivant was the 19th century with virtually nude tableaux vivants or "poses plastiques" providing a form of erotic entertainment.

In his review, Dave Perry provides a link to a fascinating history of the Windmill Theatre (extensively illustrated with pictures that are definitely worthwhile checking out).

Commentary 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.

24a   Ridicule wife's sacrifice, wanting progress (8)

The definition is "ridicule" for which the solution is SATIRISE. The wordplay is SATI (wife's sacrifice; Hindu practice of a widow throwing herself on to her husband's funeral pyre) + (wanting) RISE (progress). Here "wanting" seems to want to be a charade indicator.

28a   Feeling apprehensive about Oxford, finally gaining scholarship (8)

The definition is "feeling apprehensive about", with the solution being DREADING. The wordplay is D (Oxford finally; i.e., the final letter in "Oxford") + READING (gaining scholarship). In Britain, reading means to attend university, thereby 'becoming educated' or, in other words, "gaining scholarship". The surface reading of the clue is designed to make us think of a financial award, but we must see past this to find the cryptic meaning.

3d   Blunder admitted by teacher rarely (3)

The definition is "blunder" and the solution is hidden in (admitted by) teachER Rarely.

Signing off for this week - Falcon