Sunday, August 28, 2011 - ST 4443

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4443
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, July 24, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4443]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, August 20, 2011

Introduction

I certainly seem to have found this puzzle much more of a challenge than the Brits did. There are a fair number of British references - including a disputed flyspeck of a rock in the Atlantic Ocean (apparently Britain's equivalent to Hans Island).

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.

Ascot Racecourse - a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races. The course is closely associated with the British Royal Family, being approximately six miles from Windsor Castle.

The centrepiece of Ascot’s year, Royal Ascot (held in June) is one of Europe's most famous race meetings, and dates back to 1711. It is a major event in the British social calendar, and press coverage of the attendees and what they are wearing often exceeds coverage of the actual racing. There are 3 enclosures attended by guests on Royal Ascot week - with the Royal Enclosure being the most prestigious. The dress code for the Royal Enclosure is strictly enforced. For women, only a day dress with a hat or fascinator is acceptable, with rules applying to the length of the dress. In addition, women must not show bare midriffs or shoulders. For men, black or grey morning dress with top hat is required.

domestic - noun 1 (also domestic worker or domestic help) a person who is paid to help with cleaning and other menial tasks in a person’s home.

Appearing in Solutions

*AB² - abbreviation [1^st entry] able seaman, noun a rank of sailor in the Royal Navy above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman

abradant - [American Heritage Dictionary] adjective abrasive

Angers - a town in western France, capital of the former province of Anjou

banger - noun British informal 1 a sausage: bangers and mash

charwoman - noun British dated a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office.

ff - abbeviation Music fortissimo, adverb & adjective (especially as a direction) very loud or loudly: the movement ends with a fortissimo coda

H² - abbreviation [1^st entry] hard (used in describing grades of pencil lead): a 2H pencil

Ir. - abbreviation 1 Ireland. 2 Irish.

lowlander - [an inhabitant of] the Lowlands, the region of Scotland lying south and east of the Highlands

[Battle of] Naseby - a major battle of the English Civil War, which took place in 1645 near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Royalist army of Prince Rupert and King Charles I was decisively defeated by the New Model Army under General Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell.

*RA - abbreviation [3^rd entry] (in the UK) Royal Academician, a member of the Royal Academy

Royal Academy of the Arts (also Royal Academy) - an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose was to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

*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.

Rockall - an extremely small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast provided by the British Meteorological Office.

Rockall - an uninhabited British island in the N Atlantic, 354 km (220 miles) W of the Outer Hebrides. Area: 0.07 ha (0.18 acres) [102 feet long x 83 feet wide]

rune - noun 1 [1^st entry] a letter of an ancient Germanic alphabet, related to the Roman alphabet: [i] long ago, a rune had been carved in the centre of the stone, [ii] the pommel and guard are embellished with runes

sett (also set) - noun 1 the earth or burrow of a badger.

sword of Damocles - phrase used to refer to an extremely precarious situation.

Damocles - a legendary courtier who extravagantly praised the happiness of Dionysius I, ruler of Syracuse. To show him how precarious this happiness was , Dionysius seated him at a banquet with a sword hung by a single hair over his head.

*up - adverb 4 [2^nd entry] British at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge: they were up at Cambridge about the same time

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.

1a   Eric it could be in the tall grass (4,4)

The wordplay here is a reverse anagram. In a regular anagram type clue, the clue contains an anagram indicator and fodder (the letters on which the anagram indicator operates) and the answer to the anagram is found in the solution to the clue. In a reverse anagram, the answer to the anagram is part of the clue and the anagram indicator and fodder are contained in the solution to the clue.

In case at hand, the definition is "tall grass" with the solution being WILD RICE. "Eric" could be an anagram of RICE - which might be clued in a cryptic crossword as "wild rice". Thus the answer to the anagram (Eric) is found in the clue and the anagram itself (wild rice) is contained in the solution - in fact, in this case, it constitutes the entire solution.

29a   Birds in at least three quarrels? (8)

Whether by coincidence - or not - there seems to be a major bit of misdirection present here. I quickly recognized that "quarrels" might be ARROWS (see definition below), but then was at a loss to explain the remainder of the wordplay. As Dave Perry explains, the definition is "quarrels" with the solution being SPARROWS. The wordplay is SPAR (quarrel) + ROWS (at least two more quarrels). It seems that ARROWS play no part in it!

• quarrel² - noun historical a short, heavy square-headed arrow or bolt used in a crossbow or arbalest.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, August 21, 2011 - ST 4442

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4442
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, July 17, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4442]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, August 13, 2011

Introduction

I needed a bit of electronic help to complete this puzzle. The clues that caused me grief were also among those mentioned as being troublesome by some of the Brits writing at Times for the Times. These were primarily those located in the northeast quadrant as well as the phrase (new to me) at 20d/17a.

Today's Errata

15a   One leaves Tia Maria with German to be shaken up for a cocktail (9)

It would appear that "German" may have accidentally infiltrated this clue from the following one. I would think that the clue was intended to read:

• 15a   One leaves Tia Maria with Greek to be shaken up for a cocktail (9)

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.

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

chippy - noun informal 2 British a carpenter.

Appearing in Solutions

autobahn - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun An expressway in Germany and German-speaking countries.

batwoman - noun a female attendant or cleaner serving an officer in the British services.

David Beckham - English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C. Milan, as well as the England national team, for whom he holds the all-time appearance record for an outfield player.

Cerberus - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 1. Greek mythology a dog, usually represented as having three heads, that guarded the entrance to Hades; a sop to Cerberus a bribe or something given to propitiate a potential source of danger or problems.

Gr. - abbreviation Greek.

Great Seal - a seal used for the authentication of state documents of the highest importance. That of the UK is held by the Lord Chancellor and that of the US by the Secretary of State.

Mohican¹ (North American Mohawk) - noun a hairstyle with the head shaved except for a strip of hair from the middle of the forehead to the back of the neck, typically stiffened to stand erect or in spikes. [Origin: (1960s) erroneously associated with the American Indian people  (see Huron)]

tallith - noun a fringed shawl traditionally worn by Jewish men at prayer.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

25a   Left in charge of small architectural feature (7)

The wordplay is PORT (left) + IC (in charge) + O (of small; i.e., a cryptic way of saying the first letter of the word "Of").

27a   Aida, for example - extremely tiresome work (7)

The wordplay is OPERA (Aida, for example) + TE (extremely tiresome; i.e., a cryptic way of saying the first and last letters of the word "TiresomE").

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, August 14, 2011 - ST 4441

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4441
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, July 10, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4441]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, August 6, 2011

Introduction

I did not finish this puzzle on the day it was published and came back to it a week later, getting the solutions to a few more clues. However, I eventually threw in the towel with four interlocking clues in the northeast quadrant (3a, 13a, 4d, and 5d) remaining unsolved. It did not help that - like Dave Perry - I had entered the wrong anagram for TASER at 6d (STARES rather than TEARS). It did sooth my wounded ego a bit to see that Dave Perry rated this to be the most difficult puzzle he has seen since he started writing the blog at Times for the Times.

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.

cove² - noun British informal, dated a man: he is a perfectly amiable cove

*porter¹ - noun 2 dark brown bitter beer brewed from malt partly charred or browned by drying at a high temperature [originally made as a drink for porters]

punter [1^st entry] - noun 1 informal, chiefly British a person who gambles, places a bet, or makes a risky investment.

valve - noun 1 [2^nd entry] British short for thermionic valve, noun Electronics a device giving a flow of thermionic electrons in one direction, used especially in the rectification of a current and in radio reception [North American tube or thermionic tube]

Appearing in Solutions

*b. - abbreviation 2 cricket bowled.

barbel - noun 1 a fleshy filament growing from the mouth or snout of a fish. 2 a large European freshwater fish of the carp family, which has barbels hanging from the mouth [Barbus barbus, family Cyprinidae]. 3 [with modifier] an African marine or freshwater fish with barbels round the mouth [Species in several families, including Tachysurus feliceps (family Aniidae), of southern African coasts and estuaries].

Burlesque - a seemingly little-known play written by obscure playwrights George Manker Watters and Arthur Hopkins which had two theatrical runs - the first in 1927 and the second from December 1946 to January 1948.

crayon - noun a pencil or stick of coloured chalk or wax, used for drawing. [Note: To my way of thinking, a crayon is a stick of coloured wax, and would include neither a piece of chalk nor a pencil. However, it would appear that this distinction is not accepted universally.]

*it² - noun British informal, dated Italian vermouth: he poured a gin and it

mews - noun British a row or street of houses or flats that have been converted from stables or built to look like former stables: an eighteenth-century mews

p - [4^th entry] abbreviation Music piano², (especially as a direction) adjective soft, adverb softly

pit - noun 9 (the pit) literary hell

quite - exclamation (also quite so) expressing agreement with or understanding of a remark or statement: [First speaker] ‘I don’t want to talk about that now.’ [Second speaker] ‘Quite'

requite - verb formal [a] make appropriate return for (a favour, service , or wrongdoing): they are quick to requite a kindness [b] return a favour to (someone): to win enough to requite my friends [c] respond to (love or affection): she did not requite his love

tetrode - [The American Heritage Science Dictionary] A four-element electron tube containing an anode, cathode, control grid, and additional electrode called the screen. They function in the same manner as triode, but are more effective at higher frequencies due to the effect of the screen.

turn - noun [2^nd entry] a short performance, especially one of a number given by different performers in succession: a comic turn

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.

10a   Broadway show band's opening surely almost arranged? Yes, take it away! (9)

The definition is "Broadway show" for which the solution seems to be the 1927 show BURLESQUE (which was restaged in 1946 for a run of just over a year) - and not the 2010 musical film starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. The wordplay is B (band's opening; i.e., the opening letter of "band") + an anagram (arranged) of SUREL (surely almost; i.e., almost all of "surely") + QUE {QUITE (yes) with IT deleted (take it away)}.

By the way, the Brits seemed to think that burlesque is merely a reference to the genre rather than the 1927 play.

9d   Do think sea cooler (4,4)

The definition is "cooler" (noun) with the solution being HEAT SINK. The wordplay is an anagram (do) of THINK SEA. Here "do" is used in the sense of 'arrange' as in the expression 'It takes her twenty minutes just to do her hair every morning'.

26d   Cries from cat heard in converted stables (4)

As Dave Perry's comment seems to make absolutely no sense in the context of this clue, I can only guess that a different clue has been substituted in the syndicated version of the puzzle from that which appeared in the U.K. The clue in the U.K. must have involved a play on the homophone pair of MEWS and MUSE. The version of the clue seen here is merely a (very poor) double definition with "cries from cat" and "converted stables" both being definitions of MEWS. In this case, the word "heard" would appear to be totally superfluous, as "Cries from cat in converted stables" would seem to stand on its own. Perhaps the original clue was something along the lines of "Cries of cat heard from Greek goddess" in which the solution would be MEWS (cries of cat) and the wordplay would be sounds like (heard from) MUSE (Greek goddess).

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, August 7, 2011 - ST 4440

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4440
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, July 3, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4440]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, July 30, 2011

Introduction

I found the puzzle to be a tad easier than some that we have seen lately. There were a few new expressions but I was able to figure them out from the wordplay. One bit of wordplay did elude me (26a) where I tried vainly to insert one of the four cardinal points of the compass into ACTOR (which I thought might qualify as an "active person"). Eventually, I resorted to my electronic aids which revealed that only a single candidate matched the checking letters.

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.

Chinese - noun 2 [a] a native or inhabitant of China, or a person of Chinese descent. [b] British informal a Chinese meal. [c] British informal a Chinese restaurant.

Appearing in Solutions

curé - noun a parish priest in a French-speaking country.

*ER - abbreviation Queen Elizabeth. [from Latin Elizabetha Regina]

G-man - 1 US informal an FBI agent. [Origin: (1930s) probably an abbreviation of Government man]

OK! - British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news.

pleasure garden - a garden that is opened to the public for recreation. They are differentiated from other public gardens by containing entertainments in addition to the planting; for example, concert halls or bandstands, rides, zoos or menageries.

Purim - noun a lesser Jewish festival held in spring (on the 14th or 15th day of Adar) to commemorate the defeat of Haman's plot to massacre the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther.

purism - noun 1 scrupulous or exaggerated observance of or insistence on traditional rules or structures, especially in language or style. 2 (Purism) an early 20th -century artistic style and movement founded by Le Corbusier and the French painter Amédée Ozenfant (1886–1966) and emphasizing purity of geometric form . It arose out of a rejection of cubism and was characterized by a return to the representation of recognizable objects.

ranker¹ - noun 1 chiefly British [a] a soldier in the ranks; a private. [b] a commissioned officer who has been in the ranks.

S² - abbreviation [1^st entry] (chiefly in Catholic use) Saint: S Ignatius Loyola

yuan - noun (plural same) the basic monetary unit of China, equal to 10 jiao or 100 fen.

Signing off for this week - Falcon