Sunday, April 24, 2011 (ST 4425)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4425
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 20, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4425]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 16, 2011

Introduction

While today's puzzle was not overly difficult, it had a fair smattering of British references. Fortunately, I was familiar with many of them - otherwise, I am sure the puzzle would have been considerably more challenging.

Today's Glossary

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

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, 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.

Cornwall - a county occupying the extreme south-western peninsula of England; county town, Truro.

Nottingham - a city in east central England, the county town of Nottinghamshire; population 237,600 (est. 2009).

Appearing in Solutions

Andrew Bonar Law (1858 – 1923) - British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister who, having been born in the colony (now Canadian province) of New Brunswick, is the only British Prime Minister to have been born outside the British Isles. He was also the shortest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century, spending 211 days in office.

curate's egg - noun British a thing that is partly good and partly bad: this book is a bit of a curate's egg
[origin: (early 20th century) from a cartoon in Punch (1895) depicting a meek curate who, given a stale egg at the bishop's table, assures his host that ‘parts of it are excellent’]

a dog's dinner (or breakfast) - phrase British informal a poor piece of work ; a mess: we made a real dog's breakfast of it

Elia - pseudonym of English essayist Charles Lamb (1775 – 1834)

Emma, Lady Hamilton (1765 – 1815) - mistress of Lord Nelson and muse of painter George Romney.

*lo - exclamation archaic used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event: and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them

lobelia - noun a chiefly tropical or subtropical plant of the bellflower family, in particular an annual widely grown as a bedding plant. Some kinds are aquatic, and some grow as thick-trunked shrubs or trees on African mountains. Genus Lobelia, family Campanulaceae: many species, including the popular blue-flowered L. erinus

Lord North (Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, 1732 – 1792) -  Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782 who led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence.

Sherwood Forest - a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood.

tat¹ - noun British colloquial rubbish or junk

tile - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 5 British, old-fashioned slang a hat

Worcestershire - a county of west central England, part of Hereford and Worcester between 1974 and 1998

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.

23a   Man at 6 frequently up in the air (5)

Here, "man at 6" is a cross reference to clue 6d. Thus, making the appropriate substitution, the current clue becomes "Gangster frequently up in the air (5)".

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 17, 2011 (ST 4424)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4424
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 13, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4424]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 9, 2011

Introduction

This posting is rather delayed - but better late than never, n'est-ce pas?

Today's Glossary

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

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, 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.

neat - noun archaic a bovine animal; cattle

ro-ro - abbreviation British roll-on roll-off

Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels. This is in contrast to lo-lo (lift on-lift off) vessels which use a crane to load and unload cargo.

Appearing in Solutions

box room - noun British a very small room used for storage or as a bedroom

Fe - symbol the chemical element iron

inner - [2^nd & 3^rd entries] noun (in archery and shooting) a division of the target next to the bullseye; a shot that strikes the inner

*international - noun 1 British

• a game or contest between teams representing different countries in a sport
• a player who has taken part in an international game or contest

*it¹ - pronoun 8 (usually ‘it’) informal sexual intercourse or sex appeal

*M² - [1^st entry] abbreviation Cricket (on scorecards) maiden, noun 2 (also maiden over) an over in which no runs are scored

*MB - abbreviation Bachelor of Medicine [from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus], the professional degree held by medical practitioners in Britain [equivalent to a North American MD (Medical Doctor, from Latin Medicinae Doctor]

the roaring forties - stormy ocean tracts between latitudes 40 ° and 50 ° south

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.

12a   Rains get ro-ro if off course here! (7,7)

This is a semi & lit. clue where, in the surface reading, "rains" is a reference to rain storms and ro-ro to roll-on/roll-off cargo vessels (see Today's Glossary). The entire clue can be interpreted to be a definition of the ROARING FORTIES, stormy ocean tracts between latitudes 40 ° and 50 ° south. The wordplay is an anagram (off course) of RAINS GET RORO IF. I would say that the word "here" is a placeholder for the solution, thus making the clue a semi & lit., rather than a true & lit.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 10, 2011 (ST 4423)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4423
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 6, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4423]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 2, 2011

Introduction

A bit of research was needed to complete this puzzle, especially to track down the cricket term at 19a - a word that some may well consider to be an ethnic slur.

Today's Glossary

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

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, 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.

nob¹ - noun British informal a person of wealth or high social position

Appearing in Solutions

Arms and the Man - a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid in Latin: "Arma virumque cano" (Of arms and the man I sing).

*CH - abbreviation  [1^st entry] (in the UK) Companion of Honour

china - noun 2 British informal a friend. [from rhyming slang china plate ‘mate’]

Chinaman (or chinaman) - noun 2 Cricket a ball that spins from off to leg, bowled by a left-handed bowler to a right-handed batsman

*leg - noun 5 (also leg side, on or on side) Cricket the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The opposite of off.

fosterling - noun chiefly archaic a child who is fostered or adopted

ling² - noun the common heather of Eurasia

toad-in-the-hole - noun British a dish consisting of sausages baked in batter

toff - noun British informal derogatory a rich or upper-class person

twee - adjective British excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental: although the film‘s a bit twee, it’s watchable

W - abbreviation weak (apparently from the field of particle physics)
 
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.

1d   Sally Black protects small son (4)

A search for Sally Black turned up a couple of rather unlikely candidates - either a person or persons who worked behind the scenes on a number of television and motion picture productions or the winner of the 1880 California Derby (wearing the saddle, not in it).

In fact, the name is a bit of misdirection. The definition is "sally" in the sense of  'a witty or lively remark, especially one made as an attack or as a diversion in an argument; a retort' for which the solution is JEST. The wordplay is JET (black) containing S (small [part of] son; i.e., first letter of "son"). Since S is frequently seen in puzzles as an abbreviation for either "small" or "son", using "small son" to clue S is sort of a 'belt and suspenders' approach (or 'belt and braces' to the Brits).

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 3, 2011 (ST 4422)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4422
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, February 27, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4422]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, March 26, 2011

Introduction

For a while, I was beginning to feel that I would not be able to complete this puzzle. However, with extensive assistance from my electronic friends I was able to prevail in the end. As usual, there are several British references in the puzzle - with at least one or two of them being quite obscure.

Today's Glossary

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

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, 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.

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

jolly - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 3. Brit slang a Royal Marine

Royal Marines - a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) founded in 1664, trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances

Appearing in Solutions

accelerando - Music adverb & adjective (especially as a direction) with a gradual increase of speed

• noun an accelerando passage

ASBO - noun British a court order which can be obtained by local authorities in order to restrict the behaviour of a person likely to cause harm or distress to the public [Origin: abbreviation of antisocial behaviour order]

char² - British informal a charwoman

*local - noun British informal a pub convenient to a person's home: a pint in the local

pants - plural noun 3 British informal rubbish; nonsense: he thought we were going to be absolute pants

RM - abbreviation [3^rd entry] (in the UK) Royal Marines

Royal Marines - a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) founded in 1664, trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances

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.

17d   Who may be working in Dover and Tees? (9)

Most people will likely recognize Dover, a port on the English channel - renowned for its white chalk cliffs. Tees, on the other hand, may be a less familiar British port - in fact, it may well not exist. There is, however, a River Tees in northern England.

22d   What's quickly seen in recurrent spare capacity (5)

In my case, the solution was not seen very quickly at all. However, I did eventually detect it lurking there reversed (as indicated by "recurrent") in the clue.

Signing off for this week - Falcon