Sunday, May 27, 2012 - ST 4483

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4483
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 29, 2012
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4483]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, May 19, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, May 26, 2012

Introduction

There is some very tricky wordplay in today's puzzle. Although I managed to complete the puzzle, there were several clues for which I was not able to fully understand the wordplay – at least not before reading Dave Perry's review.

I've added an entry in Puzzle at a Glance to show the publication date of the puzzle in The Vancouver Sun. I expect that this date will almost always be the day before the puzzle appears in the Ottawa Citizen. I do note that The Vancouver Sun refers to the feature as London Sunday Times Cryptic Crossword while the Ottawa Citizen calls it The Sunday London Times Crossword. Since the name of the British Newspaper is The Sunday Times, neither title would seem to be entirely accurate.

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   Such is American wearing notably loud dicky? (10)

In addition to being a false shirt front, dicky^[5] is used in Britain as an adjective meaning (in reference to a part of the body, a structure, or a device) not strong, healthy, or functioning reliably • a pianist with a dicky heart.

2a   Frothy drink said to be in mug (4)

Phiz^[10] (also phizog) is British slang for the face or a facial expression • an ugly phiz. [Origin: colloquial shortening of physiognomy]

14a   Profits improved by including pop in a Sunday Times piece? (5,2,5)

Even after reading Dave Perry's explanation, I did not fully understand the wordplay. It was only when I actually typed out the clue, that the penny finally dropped regarding the origin of the PER.

The definition is a "Sunday Times piece" – not an article, but literally a piece ripped from a page of the newspaper. The wordplay is {an anagram (improved) of PROFITS + PER (in a)} containing (including) PA (pop) to give STRIP OF PAPER.

17a   Harry, say seen behind coaches in an anorak (12)

In Britain, a trainspotter^[5] is a person who collects train or locomotive numbers as a hobby. The term is also used, often in a derogatory fashion, for a person who obsessively studies the minutiae of any minority interest or specialized hobby • the idea is to make the music really really collectable so the trainspotters will buy it in their pathetic thousands. An anorak^[5] is a waterproof jacket, typically with a hood, of a kind originally used in polar regions. An anorak (of Greenland Eskimo origin) would seem to be similar to, if not simply another name for, a parka^[10] (of Aleutian origin). In Britain, anorak is also an informal, derogatory term for a studious or obsessive person with unfashionable and largely solitary interests • with his thick specs, shabby shoes, and grey suit, he looks a bit of an anorak. The British English informal sense dates from the 1980s and derives from the anoraks worn by trainspotters, regarded as typifying this kind of person.

20a   English soldiers in temporary accommodation to get flat? (8)

A British flat^[10] would be called an apartment in North America. In Britain, a tenement^[4] is a room or flat for rent. In the UK, the word does not seem to have the negative connotation that it carries in North American, where a tenement^[3] is a rundown, low-rental apartment building whose facilities and maintenance barely meet minimum standards.

22a   State information about kick-off (6)

Chambers does have KO^[2] as an abbreviation for kick-off.

25a   Hospital nurse bandaging wife's cut (4)

EN^[2] is the abbreviation for Enrolled Nurse, presumably a shortening of State Enrolled Nurse^[2] (SEN) which, in Britain, is a nurse who is qualified to perform many, but not all, nursing tasks. This is in contrast to a State Registered Nurse^[2] (SRN) who has taken advanced training and is therefore qualified to perform all nursing tasks.

26a   Just have two ends to disentangle (4-6)

The definition is "just" and I got the solution (EVEN-HANDED) with the help of the checking letters. However, I must confess to having missed the wordplay. It is an anagram (to disentangle) of {HAVE + END + END (two ends)}.

2d   Game restarts right away playing with Lions? True (4-4)

In rugby union, a line-out^[2] is the method of restarting play when the ball goes into touch, the forwards forming two parallel lines at right angles to the touchline and jumping for the ball when it is thrown in. Rugby league abolished line-outs in 1897. Instead, a scrum takes place 20 metres infield from the spot where the ball went out and where a line-out would take place in rugby union.^[7]

The Lions^[7] are the Great Britain national rugby league team. So, if the Lions play rugby league (as opposed to rugby union), would not game restarts be done via scrums rather than line-outs?

4d   Finished first of store deliveries (5)

In cricket, an over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled (delivered) by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

6d   Cheers much reduced parking in the end (6-3)

Even though I found the correct solution, I was not able to reverse engineer the wordplay prior to reading Dave Perry's review. Even working from his review, it took a bit of thinking to sort out the solution.

Toodle-pip^[5] (an alternative form of toodle-oo) is an informal, dated British exclamation meaning good-bye • we’ll see you later, toodle-oo (or toodle-pip)!

The definition is "cheers" and the wordplay is {OODLE[S] (much) with the final letter deleted (reduced) + P (parking)} contained in (in) TIP (the end).

12d   Feathery seeds were first introduced in the City here (11)

Yet another clue where the wordplay eluded me. It is LED (were first) contained in (introduced in) THIS TOWN (the City here).

19d   Live near Hertfordshire town in cave (6)

Ware^[7] is a town in Hertfordshire, England. Cave^[5] is dated British school slang meaning look out! [Origin: Latin, imperative of cavere 'beware']

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