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