Sunday, July 17, 2011 - ST 4437

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4437
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, June 12, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4437]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, July 9, 2011

Introduction

There is some tricky wordplay in today's puzzle. However, having plenty of time and no access to my Tool Chest, I eventually worked my way through it. A couple of the solutions were new words to me, but I was able to work them out from the wordplay.

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.

dress - verb 3 [7^th subentry] arrange or style (hair).

jolly - noun 3. British slang a Royal Marine

soldier - noun 3 British informal a strip of bread or toast, used for dipping into a soft-boiled egg.

Appearing in Solutions

ANC - abbreviation African National Congress.

Asti - noun 1 a white wine from the Italian province of Asti and neighbouring parts of Piedmont. 2 a light sparkling wine from the Asti region.

atrium - noun  (plural atria or atriums) 1 [1^st entry] Architecture an open-roofed entrance hall or central court in an ancient Roman house.

beef tea - noun British a drink made from stewed extract of beef, used as nourishment for invalids.

char - noun British informal a charwoman.

copper-bottomed - adjective British thoroughly reliable; certain not to fail: a copper-bottomed guarantee [from earlier usage referring to the copper sheathing of the bottom of a ship]

*EC (Eastern Central) postcode area (also known as the London EC postcode area) - a group of postcode districts in central London, England which includes almost all of the City of London and parts of several other London Boroughs.

*ER - abbreviation Queen Elizabeth. [from Latin Elizabetha Regina] [Note: She is Head of State for the United Kingdom, as well as for Canada and many other Commonwealth countries.]

largo - Music adverb & adjective (especially as a direction) in a slow tempo and dignified in style. noun a passage, movement, or composition marked to be performed in this way.

LEM - abbreviation lunar excursion module.

lunar module - noun a small craft used for travelling between the moon's surface and an orbiting spacecraft ( formerly known as lunar excursion module or LEM).

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

Sir Roy Colin Strong FRSL - English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has been director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

*U³ - adjective British informal (of language or social behaviour) characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes: U manners. [consequently superior]

Signing off for this week - Falcon