Sunday, April 29, 2012 - ST 4479

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4479
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 1, 2012
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4479]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 21, 2012

Introduction

It's blatantly obvious that this puzzle appeared in the UK on April 1. While I did complete the puzzle (with a lot of help from my electronic friends), Anax did fool me on the wordplay for a couple of clues, causing me to rely on Dave Perry's review for the explanations of those.

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   A crude hole's full of milk for locals (9)

Local^[5] is an informal British term meaning a pub convenient to a person’s home • a pint in the local. Alehouse^[10], an archaic name for a place where ale was sold (tavern), is today used informally as another name for a  pub. "Milk" here means to get all possible advantage from (a situation) • the newspapers were milking the story for every possible drop of drama.

13a   Cannon vehicle order (5)

A cannon^[5], chiefly a British term, is a stroke in billiards or snooker in which the cue ball strikes two balls successively. In Canada and the US, this shot would be called a carom^[5].

14a   Pipe carrying hot gas (6)

Pipe^[5] (said of a bird) means to sing in a high or shrill voice • outside at the back a curlew piped.

24a   Battle against 26d (9)

"26d" is a cross-reference which indicates that the solution to clue 26d (woo) forms part of the clue, thus making the clue in full "Battle against woo".

The Battle of Agincourt^[5] was a battle in northern France in 1415 during the Hundred Years War, in which the English under Henry V defeated a large French army. The victory, achieved largely by use of the longbow, allowed Henry to occupy Normandy.

25a   Degenerate regretted keeping mental notes (3,2,4)

'Run to seed'^[5] is an alternative way of saying 'go to seed'.

2d   Face city bank, shabby one (9)

I had incorrectly parsed the wordplay as SCARE (?) + C (city) + ROW (bank) which left me perplexed as to why "face" would be 'scare'. In actual fact, the wordplay is SCAR (face; cliff) + EC (city; postcode) + ROW (bank; of seats, for example).

Face^[5] is used in the sense of a vertical or sloping side of a mountain or cliff • the north face of the Eiger. A scar^[5] is a steep high cliff or rock outcrop, especially of limestone : high limestone scars bordered the road.

The EC (Eastern Central) postcode area^[7], also known as the London EC postcode area, is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. It includes almost all of the City of London and parts of the London Boroughs of Islington, Camden, Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

4d   Singer's legs broken in two, like (8)

My electronic assistants erroneously told me that the only word to match the checking letters is ISLESMAN which left me thoroughly confused about the wordplay. I discovered the correct solution from Dave Perry's review.

6d   Supply cocaine, damn practical (3-8)

In the surface reading, "supply" is a verb meaning to provide^[5]. However, in the cryptic reading one must interpret it as an adverb (derived from supple) meaning flexibly^[5].

12d   April fool might, extremely stupidly, stand in the sea? (3,8)

The definition is "stand in the sea" (where "stand" is a noun) with the wordplay being an anagram (stupidly) of {APRIL FOOL + MT (the outer [extreme] letters of the word MighT)}.

17d   Democrat's farewell in time for Irish statesman (2,6)

In the surface reading, the 's forms the possessive of Democrat. However, in the cryptic reading, we must interpret the 's as a contraction of 'has'. The wordplay therefore is D (Democrat) + (has) {VALE (farewell) contained in ERA (time)}.

Vale^[5] is an archaic exclamation meaning farewell.

Eamon de Valera^[5] (1882–1975) was an American-born Irish statesman, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) 1937–48, 1951-54, and 1957-59 and President of the Republic of Ireland 1959–73. He was the leader of Sinn Fein 1917–26 and the founder of the Fianna Fáil Party in 1926. As President of the Irish Free State from 1932, de Valera was largely responsible for the new constitution of 1937 which created the state of Eire.

20d   I count on thumb being caught in here (7)

The definition is "I count on thumb". The wordplay is C (caught) contained in (in) HITHER (here). On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] indicates caught (by) • ME Waugh c Lara b Walsh 19.

21d   Essentially a cut-off point for April fool (6)

I failed to see the first part of the wordplay (essentially a) which leads us to MIDDAY because A is the mid(dle) letter of 'day'.

23d   Shot when stopping an alarm (5)

In the cryptic reading, I would guess that stop^[10] (actually "stopping") must be interpreted in the sense of restrain : to stop George from fighting.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 22, 2012 - ST 4478

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4478
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 25, 2012
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4478]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 14, 2012
Notes This puzzle is likely by Jeff Pearce based solely on the rotation, although I have no information to confirm this.

Introduction

Although I completed the puzzle, it was not without the use of electronic aids from my Tool Chest — which were called into action early and used extensively. The puzzle definitely contains a rather generous dose of British references as well as a few other terms with which I was not familiar.

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.

1a   Tense choir sit nervously here (8,7)

A grammatical term, the historic present^[5] refers to the present tense used instead of the past in vivid narrative, especially in titles, such as ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, and informally in speech, e.g. ‘so I say to him’.

9a   Sweet pair starting a row (7)

In Britain, a sweet^[5] may be either (1) a small shaped piece of confectionery made with sugar [in North American parlance, a (piece of) candy^[5]] • a bag of sweets or (2) a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; a pudding or dessert. The present clue likely refers to the latter.

In Britain, the term candy^[5] is used much more specifically than in North America and refers to sugar crystallized by repeated boiling and slow evaporation • making candy at home is not difficult—the key is cooking the syrup to the right temperature.

10a   With good cause, annoying high street solicitor (7)

In Britain, high street^[5] denotes the main street of a town, especially as the traditional site for most shops, banks, and other businesses • the approaching festive season boosted the high street. In North America, this area of town would be known as main street^[5].

The solution is a word that we are certainly in need of on this side of the Atlantic. A chugger^[5] is an informal term for a person who approaches passers-by in the street asking for donations or subscriptions to a particular charity. The word is a blend of charity and mugger.

11a   Objection about a part of 14? (4)

The "14" is a cross-reference to clue 14d and indicates that the solution to the cross-referenced clue forms part of the present clue. Thus we must substitute "orchestra" (the solution to 14d) into the present clue to replace the number "14" giving:

• Objection about a part of orchestra?

as the full clue.

Although Dave Perry gives the wordplay as a reversal of {A + BUT}, I read it as {a reversal (about) of BUT (objection)} + A.

12a   Tatty rest-home with a quiet ambience (10)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5])  is a direction used in music to mean either (1) soft or quiet (as an adjective) or (2) softly or quietly (as an adverb).

13a   Melody Maker put pressure on Man City about leader of Oasis (7)

In the rather nonsensical surface reading, we have a couple of references that would likely be familiar to the Brits. Melody Maker^[7] was a UK publication targeted at musicians — the world's oldest weekly music newspaper, according to its publisher. Having been founded in 1926, it was merged into a sister publication, New Musical Express, in 2000. Man City is a short form for the Manchester City Football Club^[7], an English Premier League football (soccer) club based in Manchester, England. Oasis^[7] was a well-known English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. The group broke up in 2009 following a backstage altercation between band members (and brothers) Noel and Liam Gallagher.

Pianola^[4] is a trademark for a make of player piano.

15a   Works with preservationists producing effects (7)

The National Trust^[5] (abbreviation NT) is a trust for the preservation of places of historic interest or natural beauty in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, founded in 1895 and supported by endowment and private subscription. The National Trust for Scotland was founded in 1931.

I was initially puzzled by opera and operant both appearing to be singular nouns whereas the clue clearly seemed to me to call for plural nouns. In the first case,  opera^[5] equates to works as it is used in the sense of operas as a genre of classical music • a very grand programme of opera and ballet. In the second case, the definition is "producing effects" (rather than the noun "effects", as I had assumed) for which the solution is operant^[10], an adjective meaning producing effects or operating.

17a   One making weaker solution for photographer (7)

In photography, a reducer^[2] is a chemical substance used to decrease the density of a negative or print.

20a   Cod put on last scrap of newspaper - a substitute for china (3,7)

Cod^[5] is an informal British term meaning to play a joke or trick on (someone) • he was definitely codding them. Vice^[5] is a preposition meaning as a substitute for • the letter was drafted by David Hunt, vice Bevin who was ill.

22a   English crackers passed round as accompaniment to this? (4)

Crackers^[5] is British slang for (1) insane • if Luke wasn’t here I’d go crackers or (2) extremely angry • when he saw the mess he went crackers.

25a   Is Roman Emperor following right Italian course? (7)

It is not a Roman Emperor at all whom we are seeking, but a Holy Roman Emperor. As the French Enlightenment writer Voltaire remarked, "This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire."^[7]

1d   Leave short gardening tool on stone (3,2)

Hop it^[5] is an informal British expression meaning to go away quickly • I hopped it down the stairs.

4d   Disinclination to act in "The Queen" with headdress only 60% complete (7)

In the surface reading, "The Queen"^[7] may be a reference to a 2006 British drama film starring Helen Mirren in the title role, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Released almost a decade after the event, the film depicts a fictional account of the immediate events following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales on 31 August 1997.

By tradition, British monarchs use initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus Queen Elizabeth's initials are ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

13d   Exotic myrrh put round Egyptian flower (9)

Pyrethrum^[2] is the name formerly used for any of various perennial plants of the chrysanthemum genus, especially a species with finely divided silvery-grey leaves and solitary large white, pink, red or purple daisy-like flower-heads.

E^[10] as an abbreviation for Egyptian is not to be found in Chambers, but it is in Collins English Dictionary - which seems to be a new favourite, at least at The Sunday Times. It is not an International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code, as E is the IVR code for Spain (España).

14d   Actor starts to recite Hamlet's speech — exciting poor folk in the pit (9)

I got the solution from the checking letters and the definition, but never did figure out the wordplay until I read Dave Perry's review. The definition is "folk in the pit" and the wordplay is an anagram (poor) of {ACTOR + the first letters of (starts to) [R(ecite) + H(amlet's) + S(peech) + E(xciting)]}.

16d   A good deal is required to get this bid in solo whist (9)

Solo Whist^[7], sometimes known as simply Solo, is a trick-taking card game whose direct ancestor is the 17th century Spanish game Hombre, based on the English Whist.

The game requires four players using a standard 52 card deck with no jokers. After the cards are dealt (13 to each player), the players bid to establish the contract. Beginning with the player to dealer's left, each competitor may make a bid or pass. If someone bids, then subsequent players can either pass or bid higher. The bidding continues around the table as many times as necessary until the contract is settled. If everyone passes or there is a Prop without a Cop then the hands are thrown in and dealt again. The possible bids are called Prop and Cop, Solo, Misère, Abundance, Royal Abundance, Misère Ouverte, and Abundance Declared. Abundance is a bid where the bidder expects to take at least 9 of the 13 possible tricks.

21d   Champion jockey caught leaving crime (5)

Willie Carson^[7], a retired jockey in thoroughbred horse racing born in Stirling, Scotland, was British Champion Jockey five times (1972, 1973, 1978, 1980 and 1983), won 17 British Classic Races, and passed 100 winners in a season 23 times for a total of 3,828 wins, making him the fourth most successful jockey in Great Britain.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 15, 2012 - ST 4477

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4477
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 18, 2012
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4477]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 7, 2012

Introduction

It was an enjoyable — albeit rather challenging solve today. As is often the case, there are a lot of references in this puzzle that might well be unknown to most North Americans.

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.

1a   Slips perhaps wholly buried in text message (6)

Smalls^[5] is British slang for small items of clothing, especially underwear. Thus slips (ladies' undergarments) are examples (perhaps) of smalls. The wordplay is ALL (wholly) contained in (buried in) SMS (text message; Short Message Service).

5a   Former suspect omitted in speech (8)

Misdoubt^[5] is an archaic (former) word meaning to have doubts about the truth, reality, or existence of • he always misdoubted his own ability.

11a   Shop entrances half obscured (4)

The surface reading is designed to make us think that "entrances" is a noun meaning doorway. However, in the cryptic analysis, entrance^[5] must be treated as a verb meaning to fill (someone) with wonder and delight, holding their entire attention • I was entranced by the city’s beauty.

16a   Check dress isn't rare (8)

As Peter Biddlecombe says in a comment at Times for the Times, "'dress' has meanings which amount to 'arrange'". These include to arrange a display in (a shop window)^[2], to arrange or style (hair)^[5], or possibly — in the cheeky spirit of today's puzzle — even (of a man) to have the genitals habitually on one or the other side of the fork of the trousers • do you dress to the left?^[5] Try using this latter phrase in casual conversation at your next social gathering. It certainly trumps "Do you wear boxers or briefs?" in terms of cockiness. Of course, this usage may be on the way to becoming archaic as — with the modern style of dress seemingly requiring  trousers to be worn with the crotch situated at or below knee level — this would surely no longer be a consideration for most men.

20a   A quiet chum touring Spain — how's that? (6)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5])  is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) soft or quiet (as an adverb) softly or quietly. E^[5] is the International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Spain [from Spanish España]. The question mark indicates that "how's that" is an example of the solution. In cricket, appeal^[5] is used as a verb meaning (of the bowler or fielders) to call on the umpire to declare a batsman out, traditionally with a shout of ‘How’s that?’ or as a noun meaning a shout of ‘How’s that?’ or a similar call by a bowler or fielder to an umpire to declare a batsman out.

24a   Unusual opening of Parliament could be this one (4)

Rum^[5] is a dated British term meaning odd or peculiar. The Rump Parliament^[7] is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "Rump" normally means the hind end of an animal; its use meaning "remnant" was first recorded in the above context. Since 1649, the term "rump parliament" has been used to refer to any parliament left over from the actual legitimate parliament.

26a   Brother Miliband did produce issue (4)

Ed Miliband^[7] is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition.

29a   Hungarian shortly back in awe for match in Brazil? (4,4)

What a match played in Brazil would be for a British football (soccer) team. Magyar^[4] may be (1) a member of the predominant ethnic group of Hungary or (2) the Hungarian language.

30a   In cast iron, knockers should be this (6)

The surface reading states that, if made from cast iron, [door] knockers should be this (i.e., ROBUST). In the cryptic reading, we must cast (throw away or remove) the letters IN from IRON ("in cast iron") to obtain RO to which we add BUST (knockers; a woman's breasts). The required interpretation of the phrase "in cast iron" seems a bit tenuous, to say the least, and generated more than the usual amount of discussion on Times for the Times.

2d   Mark antique articles for rubbish! (2,3)

The mark^[5] (abbreviation M^[2]) was (until the introduction of the euro in 2002) the basic monetary unit of Germany, equal to 100 pfennig; a Deutschmark • Germany spent billions of marks to save the French franc from speculators.

3d   Did twist in thrash like a boisterous youngster (7)

In Britain, laddish is an adjective that means denoting or characteristic of a young man who behaves in a boisterously macho manner • (i) they are told that throwing up is merely laddish; (ii) laddish late-night TV programmes.

The wordplay is an anagram (twist) of DID contained in (in) LASH (thrash) giving the solution LADDISH. Not being familiar with this British word, I thought that the solution might be BADDISH, where "thrash" is replaced by BASH instead on LASH.

4d   Fine having been issued, fast rep in deep trouble — from this? (5,4)

Here we have another bit of tricky wordplay — which prompted several comments on Times for the Times. We start with an anagram (trouble) of FAST REP IN DEEP giving SPEED TRAP FINE from which we must release (issue) FINE to get SPEED TRAP.

6d   Curse sun on the river (5)

The River Wear^[7] is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.

7d   Hardy, say, keeps one in the theatre (7)

Like Dave Perry, I too thought that "one" seemed to be doing double duty. However, as I discovered from his review, the Olivier Theatre (named after Laurence Olivier, the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain) is the name of the main auditorium in the National Theatre building.

The Royal National Theatre^[7] (generally known as the National Theatre and commonly as The National) in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company. Internationally, it is styled the National Theatre of Great Britain.

8d   Bare all in dancing? I wouldn't do that! (9)

I must admit that it took a long time for the full meaning of the clue to sink in. The wordplay is easy enough, being an anagram (dancing) of BARE ALL IN. I eventually came to realize that this is a semi-& lit. (or semi-all-in-one) clue in which the entire clue serves as the definition. In essence, the clue says "I am a dancer who wouldn't bare all during a performance." In other words, I am a ballerina, not a stripper.

13d   Crowds run in skimpy underwear (7)

In Britain, R^[5] would be seen to be the abbreviation for run(s) on cricket scorecards.

15d   Guy on field injured in soccer war (9)

In Britain, a guy^[5] is a figure representing Guy Fawkes, burnt on a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night, and often displayed by children begging for money for fireworks. Thus a "guy" is an effigy of a man. The definition is "guy on field" or an effigy on a field, with the solution being SCARECROW. As a visitor to Times to Times points out "if you anagram this answer you get soccer war". That is, an anagram (injured) of SCARECROW can be found in "soccer war".

21d   Aspiring sort of bubbly agent in trouble (7)

The definition is "trouble" with the solution being PERTURB. The wordplay is a reversal (aspiring) of {BRUT (sort of bubbly; said of wines, especially champagne: very dry) + REP (agent)}. Aspire^[10] is used in the sense to rise to a great height.

23d   A mountain height near Austria (5)

A^[5] is the International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Austria.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 8, 2012 - ST 4476

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4476
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 11, 2012
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4476]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, March 31, 2012

Introduction

I usually find that Anax's puzzles provide a strenuous mental challenge, and today is no exception. In several instances, I managed to find the correct solution without fully understanding the wordplay.

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.

1a   Register a line in female handbags (8)

In Britain, handbags^[10] is used facetiously as a plural noun to describe an incident in which people, especially sportsmen, fight or threaten to fight, but without real intent to inflict harm (especially in the phrases handbags at dawn, handbags at twenty paces, etc). [from the idea of women fighting with their handbags]^[5]

6a   Shanghai sailor given passage (6)

In the Royal Navy, able seaman (abbreviation AB)^[5] is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

9a   Part of pendant or chain necklace (4)

A torc^[5] is a neck ornament consisting of a band of twisted metal, worn especially by the ancient Gauls and Britons.

10a   Cheese I put on mum's fish (10)

It is not uncommon to be called upon to substitute the Roman numeral I for the word "one" - but here we are required to do just the reverse.

11a   TV show that's inferior to book in three parts (12)

Despite having found the correct solution, I wasn't able to decipher the wordplay until I read Dave Perry's review. The definition is "TV show" and the wordplay is {UNDER (inferior to) + B (book)} contained in THIRDS (three parts) to give THUNDERBIRDS (TV show).

Thunderbirds^[7] is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show which used a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation". The series followed the adventures of International Rescue, a secretive organisation created to help those in grave danger using technically advanced equipment and machinery. The series also aired in Canada.

14a   President dressing in fleece (7)

The wordplay is LINT (dressing) contained in (in) CON (fleece; swindle) to give CLINTON (president) - although I solved the clue mistakenly thinking that the LINT part of the solution was given by "fleece". Lint^[5] is a fabric, originally of linen, with a raised nap on one side, used for dressing wounds • he smeared ointment on a strip of lint.

15a   Object's mass, say (6)

The "correct" solution is MUTTER which is a charade of M (mass) + UTTER (say). "Object" here is a verb meaning say something to express one’s disapproval of or disagreement with something.

I thought the solution was MATTER since object^[5] (as a noun) can mean a person or thing to which a specified action or feeling is directed (an object of public attention) and matter^[5] is a subject or situation under consideration (a matter for public attention). Of course, an object is also a material thing that can be seen and touched which would qualify as matter in the sense of a physical substance in general and mass^[5] is a large body of matter with no definite shape.

16a   Trouble starts to frighten those seeking to prevent it? (6)

The definition is "trouble". The solution FRACAS is a charade of FR (starts to frighten; note that "starts" is plural indicating that more than one letter must be used from "frighten") + ACAS (those seeking to prevent [trouble]; the pronoun "it" is standing in for the word "trouble").

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)^[7] is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong industrial relations practice. It may do this through a number of mediums such as arbitration or mediation, although the service is perhaps best known for its collective conciliation function - that is resolving disputes between groups of employees or workers, often represented by a trade union, and their employers.

I had missed the significance of the word "starts" (rather than "start") and so had split the charade as F + RAC + AS where I assumed that RAC^[7] referred to the British roadside assistance company which is an offshoot of the Royal Automobile Club^[7]. Of course, I was at a loss to explain the final AS.

18a   Sharp copper's after facts (2,5)

Cu^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element copper.

2d   Chemist supplies a drug - he runs out of stock (10)

In Britain, chemist^[5] is the common name for a pharmacist. The Brits are expected to see "runs" as a reference to cricket where R^[5] on a scorecard means run or runs.

3d   As deputy, resign? (6-2-7)

This is another clue where I got the correct solution but didn't fully comprehend the wordplay. To start with, the question mark is a clear indication that there is something offbeat about this clue. Dave Perry calls it a 'wordplay in solution' clue. In a cryptic crossword puzzle, the word RESIGN can be expressed as S (second) contained in (in) REIGN (command) — that is, "resign" can be expressed "as second-in-command". Since second-in-command is another term for deputy, it follows that "resign" can be expressed "as deputy".

5d   Power evident in huge military activity (3)

The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size^[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize (OS)^[5] in Britain.

6d   One is somewhat tired of waiter's method (7)

Even though I knew exactly what I was looking for, I failed to find it. I knew the solution as there is (according to my word finder tools) only one word which matches the checking letters. So I knew that there must be an example (indicated by "one is ...") of an ANAGRAM in the clue. This is a definition by example clue (or as Dave Perry calls it a DBE).

12d   More attractive German city that is on river (7)

Bonny (also bonnie)^[5] is used in Scottish and Northern English as an adjective meaning attractive or beautiful • a bonny lass.

17d   Sabbath's not over for Saint (7)

St Swithin^[5] (d.862) was an English ecclesiastic who was bishop of Winchester from 852. The tradition that if it rains on St Swithin’s day (July 15) it will do so for the next forty days may have its origin in the heavy rain said to have occurred when his relics were to be transferred to a shrine in Winchester cathedral.

19a   United, given long time, getting closer to Arsenal (7)

In the cryptic interpretation, "closer to Arsenal" refers to the closing (or final) letter of Arsenal. The setter uses FED in the sense of passed (the secret agent fed information to his handler). Manchester United^[7] (commonly referred to simply as United) and Arsenal^[7] are English football (soccer) clubs.

21d   Food for Mexican Army Officer (4)

In the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)^[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency. We usually see this clued as "volunteers".

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 1, 2012 - ST 4475

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4475
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 4, 2012
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4475]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, March 24, 2012

Introduction

I completed this puzzle — but not without extensive help from the electronic assistants in my Tool Chest.

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.

1a   Bearer of gift about to open box (6)

Caspar^[7] was one of the three Magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus. The wordplay is a charade that starts (to open) with CA (about; circa) and finishes with SPAR (box).

5a   Great cricketer becomes more like a judge? (6)

Garfield Sobers^[7] is a former Barbadian cricketer who captained West Indies. He is widely regarded as one of cricket's greatest ever all-rounders, having excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and fielding.

9a   Fungus from mouldy old toast — brown in the middle (9)

The definition is "fungus" and the wordplay is an anagram (mouldy) of {OLD TOAST + the middle letter of brOwn (brown in the middle)}. It took me a long time to see the wordplay here.

11a   Exam without notes is a trying experience (6)

Without^[5] is used in the archaic or literary sense of outside • the barbarians without the gates. Notes (in the cryptic reading) are a couple of notes from the musical scale.

12a   The Evening Star discover Nazi outside somewhere in South America (8)

In the surface reading, the Evening Star^[7] is a newspaper - which we can suppose to be the one published in Ipswich, England. In the cryptic reading, it is the name given to the planet Venus when it appears in the West (evening sky) after sunset; the ancient Greeks gave it the name Hesperus^[7].

16a   One with nothing volunteers very small amount (4)

In the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)^[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency.

19a   Following nervously a master pauses (8)

In music, a fermata^[5] is a pause of unspecified length on a note or rest.

22a   We hear it's one topping home for a Viscount? (6)

A question mark (or an exclamation mark) in a clue is usually a signal to expect something a bit out of the ordinary. As Dave Perry reports was also the case for him, this was my last one in (LOI). I also interpreted the clue in the same manner as did he. A hanger^[5] is someone who hangs something (or, in the mind of the setter, somebody).

The Vickers Viscount^[7] was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world. It would go on to be one of the most successful of the first generation postwar transports, with 445 being built.

26a   Soldier eats a coarse biscuit (9)

In Britain, a garibaldi^[5] is a biscuit containing a layer of compressed currants.

5d   Headline — "What must Tom Daley keep to a minimum in London 2012?" (6)

Tom Daley^[7], an English diver who specialises in the 10 metre platform event, is a 2012 Olympic medal prospect — whom Brits hope will make more of a splash in the media than in the pool (divers get marks deducted for producing an excessive splash). He started diving at the age of seven and has made an impact in national and international competitions from age 9 — becoming the 2009 FINA World Champion in the individual 10 metre platform event at the age of 15. He represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics where he was Britain's youngest competitor, the youngest competitor of any nationality outside the sport of swimming, and the youngest to participate in a final. In the first post-Rome 2009 World Championships edition of the FINA World Diving Rankings for the ten-metre platform, Daley reached a new career best ranking of number one.

6d   The whole of Ireland is captivated by graduate dancer (9)

Erin^[5] is an archaic or literary name for Ireland.

7d   Book Henry concealed for a spell of arousal (3)

Ruth^[5] is a book of the Bible telling the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman, who married her deceased husband’s kinsman Boaz and bore a son who became grandfather to King David. In physics, the henry^[5] (abbreviation H) is the SI unit of inductance, equal to an electromotive force of one volt in a closed circuit with a uniform rate of change of current of one ampere per second. Note that the setter capitalizes Henry as a bit of cryptic misdirection — as well as to polish the surface reading.

17d   Stop expert going to Italy carrying cause of meningitis (8)

Hib^[5] (Haemophilus influenzae type B) is a bacterium that causes infant meningitis.

20d   Hound has rare distinguishing mark on it (6)

The wordplay is R (rare) with BADGE (distinguishing mark) before (on; in a down clue) it. This abbreviation (r. for rare) does not appear in The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition, but it is found in Collins English Dictionary^[10] — which seems to have become a new favourite of Sunday Times setters and puzzle editor.

23d   New wing of Tate captivates mature artist (5)

The Tate^[7] is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art. It is a network of four art museums: Tate Britain, London (previously known as the Tate Gallery, founded 1897), Tate Liverpool (founded 1988), Tate St Ives, Cornwall (founded 1993) and Tate Modern, London (founded 2000), with a complementary website, Tate Online (created 1998). There are plans to open a TATE in Southampton in 2020. The clue refers specifically to the Tate Modern which is adding a new wing, the first phase of which is scheduled to open prior to the start of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

Emil Nolde (1867 – 1956) was a German painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and is considered to be one of the great oil painting and watercolour painters of the 20th century.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week - Falcon