Sunday, October 30, 2011 - ST 4452

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4452
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 25, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4452]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 22, 2011

Introduction

Dave Perry says he found this "slightly on the hard side of medium". As for myself, it was definitely several notches of difficulty beyond that. I was only able to solve about six clues before being forced to call in reinforcements from my Tool Chest. With their assistance, I did complete the puzzle - but with question marks beside at least half a dozen clues where I did not comprehend the wordplay. A bit of further contemplation and I managed to get the number of question marks down to three (12a, 15a, and 26a) before visiting Times for the Times. I can stomach failing to decipher 15a, but missing the other two is unforgivable.

Notes 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.

11a   Bullfighter's trouble with entrance, you might say (7)

In this clue, "you might say" is a homophone (sounds like) indicator. I quickly realized that it applied to 'dor' sounding like 'door'. However, I was slow to recognize that it actually applies to the entire solution. The clue relies on the soft R sound in British spoken English where "matter" is pronounced "mattah" so "matter door" would sound (when pronounced by a Brit) like 'mata dor'. This is one of those homophone clues that doesn't travel well across the Atlantic. Then again, since there are apparently more than 50 regional dialects in Great Britain, we often see screams of protest from parts of the UK that these clues don't work.

15a   Looks jolly basic, this runway (8)

I got the solution (AIRSTRIP) from the definition ("runway"). I can see that "looks" could mean 'airs' ("she displayed a look of confidence"). While not fully clearing up my confusion, Dave Perry's explanation put me on a more fruitful track. In Britain, a jolly (Collins English Dictionary, noun 2.) is a trip, especially one made for pleasure by a public official or committee at public expense. Now, that would seem to leave just the word "basic" unaccounted for.

7d   Baby's temperature taken by stranger, about 50 (7)

I initially thought that "taken by" might be a containment indicator. However, it eventually dawned on me that it is being used here as a charade indicator. While the former seems more logical to me, one must bow to the choice of the setter.

19d   Painter puts in call for tyres (7)

Tyre is the British spelling of tire (in the sense of an automobile part). In the solution, RA is a postnominal meaning Royal Academician and denotes membership in the Royal Academy of the Arts.

22d   Witness said "How are you?" (6)

This is another homophone clue (indicated by "said"). A "witness" is a 'watcher' which (taking into consideration the soft British R as well as the British pronunciation of A) would end up sounding like 'wotcha'. Wotcha is also an informal British exclamation used as a friendly or humorous greeting.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 23, 2011 - ST 4451

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4451
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 18, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4451]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 15, 2011

Introduction

The Brits seem to have found this puzzle to be rather easy. For me, not so much. I spent more time in the lower left-hand corner (and needed more help from my electronic assistants) than in the entire remainder of the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

9a   The general test of admissibility in British cryptic crosswords is "Does it appear in Chambers" meaning The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition. Well, let me assure you that OU as an abbreviation for "Oxford University" does pass that test. It also appears at Search Chambers (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary) and TheFreeDictionary (Collins English Dictionary). Ironically, it is not found at Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English) - perhaps in an effort to appear unpretentious!

10a   In rugby, a prop (also known as a prop forward) is a forward at either end of the front row of a scrum.

12a   In Britain, the abbreviation Con. following the name of a Member of Parliament indicates that he or she is a member of the Conservative Party.

13a   Apparently E is the abbreviation for Egyptian, despite the fact that it would seem to fail the Chambers Test (see note for 9a).

14a   At one time, apparently, in Britain it was customary for misbehaving students to be given six of the best, a caning as a punishment, traditionally with six strokes of the cane.

21a   A chaffinch is a Eurasian and North African finch, typically with a bluish top to the head and dark wings and tail. Chaff is light-hearted joking or banter. Although a new term to me, it would seem not to be specifically British.

23a   In cricket, an extra is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited to the batting side rather than to a batsman. Thus, I suppose it would be considered a "run over" - a run above and beyond the regular runs.

24a   Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England in 1938 which holds the official world speed record for steam locomotives. A gin (also gin trap) is a trap for catching birds or small mammals. This would seem to be a British name for what, in North America, is called a leghold (or foothold) trap.

25a   Returning to the cricket theme, the covers is an area of the field consisting of cover point and extra cover. Cover point (also known simply as cover) is a fielding position (or a player at this position) a little in front of the batsman on the off side and halfway to the boundary. Extra cover is a fielding position (or a player at this position) between cover point and mid-off but further from the wicket. Mid-off is a fielding position (or player at this position) on the off side near the bowler. While leg can be another name for the on side of the field, that is presumably not the case here as (by definition) leg (on side) can't be in the covers (which is on the off side).

26a   In British sports parlance, a sitter is an easy catch or shot.

27a   Agar-agar is another name for agar, a gelatinous substance obtained from certain red seaweeds and used in biological culture media and as a thickener in foods.

1d   To the best of my recollection, court is usually considered to mean a roadway (a short street, sometimes closed at one end [Collins English Dictionary]) which is often abbreviated Ct. on street signs. However, I note that Chambers does have two entries, the first being "Ct abbrev: Court (in addresses, etc.)" and the second "ct abbrev: ... court". So perhaps ct can also be an abbreviation for court in a sense other than a roadway - for instance, a court of law.

3d   San Marino is a republic forming a small enclave in Italy, near Rimini; population 30,200 (est. 2009); official language, Italian; capital, the town of San Marino. It is perhaps Europe’s oldest state, claiming to have been independent almost continuously since its foundation in the 4th century.

15d   The puzzle, of course, uses the British spelling enameller rather than the American spelling enameler for this practitioner in a branch of ceramics. The monarch referred to in the clue is Queen Elizabeth, whose royal monogram is ER (for Elizabetha Regina).

19a   This rock star is well-known on both sides of the Atlantic, being English musician Sting (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner). Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock band The Police. We also have yet another cricket reference here in runs (abbreviation R). Since we are currently in the midst of the World Series, North Americans might like to think that this could be a reference to baseball - but that wouldn't pass the Chambers Test (see note for 9a)..

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 16, 2011 - ST 4450

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4450
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 11, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4450]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 8, 2011

Introduction

I was able to complete this puzzle, but only with very substantial assistance from the electronic assistants in my Tool Chest. I was beginning to fear that my mind had become rusty during my recent time away, so I was relieved to see that Dave Perry also struggled with the puzzle.

Vocabulary in Today's Puzzle

Appearing in Clues

In cricket, the on (or on side) [4a] is 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. It is also known as the leg or leg side.

As usual, The Queen [9a] is abbreviated ER (Elizabetha Regina), Tory [10a] as Con. (Conservative) and Rector [15d] as R (the latter from The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition).

[The] White Horse Inn [11a] is an operetta or musical comedy - set in the picturesque Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria - about the head waiter of the White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang who is desperately in love with the owner of the inn, a resolute young woman who at first only has eyes for one of her regular guests. The show enjoyed huge success around the world in the 1930s, with long runs in cities like London, Paris, Vienna, Munich and New York and was filmed several times. The White Horse Tavern or White Horse Inn is also the name of an establishment in Cambridge [England] which was in the 16th century the meeting place for English Protestant reformers who discussed Lutheran ideas.

Berks. [12a] is the abbreviation for Berkshire, a county of southern England, west of London. Berk is also British slang for a stupid person.

A haar [13a] is a cold sea fog on the east coast of England or Scotland.

Appearing in Solutions

Varese [8a] is a town in Lombardy, northern Italy - located a bit north of Milan.

An imaret [11a] is an inn or hostel for pilgrims in Turkey. Here ti is (in tonic sol-fa) the North American name for the seventh note of a major scale. Surprisingly, there were no cries of outrage from those in the UK, where the name of this note is spelled te (according to the Oxford Dictionary of English).

Anton Chekhov [16a] (1860–1904) was a Russian dramatist and short-story writer whose work, portraying upper-class life in pre-revolutionary Russia with a blend of naturalism and symbolism, had a considerable influence on 20th-century drama. His most notable plays include The Seagull (1895), Uncle Vanya (1900), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Hang it [21a] is a mild oath (likely a euphemism for damn it). Han is the dominant ethnic group in China and git is British slang for an unpleasant or contemptible person.

Eurostar is the trademark for the high-speed passenger rail service that links London with various European cities via the Channel Tunnel.

A cooee [25a] is a call used to attract attention, especially (originally) a long loud high-pitched call on two notes used in the Australian bush. As a verb, it means to utter this call.

Gone west [26a] is a British expression indicating that someone or something has been killed or lost or has met with disaster. This phrase has an almost totally opposite connotation to that of the famous advice by American author Horace Greeley to "Go West, young man".

A leman [3d] is an archaic term for an illicit lover, especially a mistress.

Vita Sackville-West [5d] (1892 – 1962) was an English writer who, despite a strong marriage (she and her husband Harold Nicolson were both bisexual), had affairs with numerous women, including novelist Virginia Woolf. In his review, Dave Perry refers to Vita and Virginia, a two-woman play, created by Eileen Atkins, based on the letters between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.

RAC Limited is a breakdown company (a firm providing roadside assistance to motorists) in the United Kingdom supplying products and services for motorists. Initially formed as the "Associate Section" of the Royal Automobile Club, it was incorporated as R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1978. It was then sold by the members of the Royal Automobile Club to Lex Service Plc in 1999, which subsequently renamed itself RAC Plc (public limited company). In 2005, RAC Plc was bought by Aviva and delisted from the stock exchange (thereby becoming a private limited company).

W. G. Grace [22d] (1848 – 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all 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.

8a   Some Milanese rave about an Italian city (6)

The Italian city of VARESE is hidden (some) and reversed (about) in the phrase MilanESE RAVe.

11a   Recall note covering for example, White Horse Inn? (6)

IMARET (a Turkish inn) is formed from a reversal (recall) of TI (note) containing (covering) MARE (for example, white horse). Generally, examples are specific instances of a more general category. Therefore, saying that a white horse is an example of a mare hardly sounds right. But then again, saying that a mare is an example of a white horse sounds nearly as bad.

25a   Old head of English in school called to attract attention (6)

Here the wordplay is {O (old) + E (head of English; i.e., first letter of English)} contained in (in) COED (school) producing COOEED (called to attract attention). In Britain, unlike North America (where a coed is a female student at a co-educational institution), coed is a shortened form of the adjective co-educational. It is often the case in Britain that adjectives are used as nouns. Thus, a co-ed school is simply called a co-ed in the same way that an Indian restaurant would simply be referred to as an Indian. On my recent trip, I found this tendency to exist in Ireland as well. I discovered that a stud farm there is known simply as a stud. Of course, I could not resist bringing back a souvenir shirt emblazoned with "Irish National Stud".

1d   Clubs prompt with booze (7)

The wordplay is {C (clubs; one of the four suits in a deck of cards) + AROUSE (prompt)} to form CAROUSE (booze; used as a verb). Collins English Dictionary gives, as one definition of arouse, to evoke or elicit a reaction or response (which better seems to fit the clue than definitions that I found in American dictionaries).

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 9, 2011 - ST 4449

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4449 (Forecast)
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 4, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4449]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 1, 2011 (Forecast)

Introduction

I am currently on vacation, so today's blog has been prepared in advance and is necessarily rather abbreviated. It contains a few brief facts about the puzzle that I expect to appear on this date together with a link to the review at Times for the Times.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 2, 2011 - ST 4448

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4448 (Forecast)
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, August 28, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4448]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, September 24, 2011 (Forecast)

Introduction

I am currently on vacation, so today's blog has been prepared in advance and is necessarily rather abbreviated. It contains a few brief facts about the puzzle that I expect to appear on this date together with a link to the review at Times for the Times.

Signing off for this week - Falcon