Sunday, August 19, 2012 - ST 4495

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4495
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, July 22, 2012
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4495]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, August 11, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, August 18, 2012

Introduction

It was the four-letter words that did me in today. I only managed to solve about half of them.

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   Military movements in quiet border districts (4,7)

Having the wrong solution for 2d nixed my chances here, although I did get the second word correct.

The notion of "movements" being used in the musical sense never occurred to me. A dead march^[5] is a slow, solemn piece of music suitable for a funeral procession. Marches^[5] are an area of land on the border between two countries or territories, especially between England and Wales or (formerly) England and Scotland • the Welsh Marches.

I would say that this clue is more a cryptic definition than a double definition, although it has aspects of both types of clue. I don't think that dead marches are literally "military movements". However, the clue plays on the fact that a march could be either a military movement or a piece of music. The second part ("quiet border districts") alludes to Marches that are 'dead' (i.e., dull and uninteresting; perhaps having no nightlife).

9a   Potty train

With a grandson approaching that stage, I couldn't stop focusing on toilet training.

Potty^[5] is British slang for (1) mad or crazy • he’s driving me potty or (2) extremely enthusiastic about or fond of someone or something • she’s potty about you. Loco^[5] is used in Britain as a short form for locomotive • (i) Britain’s most famous steam loco; (ii) [as modifier] loco sheds.

10a   Emma Squires jazzed up religious work (7,4)

To the best of my knowledge, Emma Squires is nothing but a convenient made-up name.

16a   Island thoroughfares announced (6)

Rhodes^[7] is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, and also the island group's historical capital.

19a   Membership embraces the Ashes (6)

The Ashes^[5] is a trophy for the winner of a series of Test matches in a cricket season between England and Australia. The name comes from a mock obituary notice published in the Sporting Times (2 September 1882), with reference to the symbolical remains of English cricket being taken to Australia after a sensational victory by the Australians at the Oval^[7] (a cricket ground in London, England). A Test match is an international match in cricket or rugby, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries.

21a   Get support from songwriter, one replacing number (4,2)

Replace the first N (number) in LENNON (the surname of songwriter John Lennon^[7]) with an A (one) to create a phrase (4,2) meaning support.

23a   After bill issued, huge sums showing items with a charge (4)

"Issued", meaning released, indicates that BILL must be removed from BILLIONS (huge sums) to get IONS (items with a charge).

27a   One at 16 runs away, a social misfit (4)

Here "16" is a cross-reference indicator to clue 16a. Insert the solution to clue 16a in its place to reveal the clue in its entirety "One at Rhodes runs away, a social misfit". Since Rhodes is an island in Greece, "One at Rhodes" would be a GREEK. Take away R (runs) and you are left with GEEK (a social misfit).

28a   Cake provided by host caterer abroad? (11)

A Sachertorte^[5] is a chocolate gateau (cake) with apricot jam filling and chocolate icing. I had never heard of this dessert but it certainly sounds delicious.

2d   Flat race, say not quite finished (4)

I had — with some uncertainty — entered OVER (finished) here, although I was unable to justify the wordplay. This, of course, caused me grief on 1a. The definition, as I was eventually to discover, is "flat" (EVEN) and the wordplay is EVENT (race, say) with the final letter deleted (not quite finished).

A flat race^[5] is a horse race over a course with no jumps, as opposed to a steeplechase or hurdles.

3d   Abba perhaps charged up (4)

In the New Testament, Abba^[5] means God as father • ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘all things are possible to you’. Of course, the setter probably expects us to think of the Swedish pop group ABBA^[7].

4d   One parliamentarian initially claimed outgoings for summits (6)

In Britain, outgoings^[5] refers to a person’s regular expenditure • if your outgoings regularly exceed your incomings, you have a problem. According to Dave Perry, exes is a "colloquialism for expenses", although I was not able to find this meaning in any of my dictionary sources.

This clue is rather topical as there has been a major scandal unfolding in Britain over a number of years concerning members of Parliament claiming expenses to which they are not entitled.^[7]

6d   English teacher missing end of term break (6)

The definition is "break" (EASTER) and the wordplay is E (English) + MASTER (teacher) with the M deleted (missing end of terM).

In Britain, a male schoolteacher is known as a master^[5].

13d   To enjoy drunken spree, fool with no date opening an ale (2,2,1,6)

According to Collins English Dictionary, the abbreviation nd^[10] stands for no date.

The definition is "to enjoy drunken spree" (GO ON A BENDER) and the wordplay is GOON (fool) + (with) {ND (no date) contained in (opening) BEER (an ale)}.

21d   Letter of comfort held within ambit of lawyer (6)

Ambit^[5] means the scope, extent, or bounds of something. Thus the "ambit of lawyer" means the first and last letters of LawyeR.

24d   Victor maybe to clasp Oscar (4)

Victor Hugo^[5] (1802–85) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist; full name Victor-Marie Hugo. A leading figure of French romanticism, he brought a new freedom to French poetry, and his belief that theatre should express both the grotesque and the sublime in human existence overturned existing conventions. His political and social concern is shown in his novels. Notable works: Hernani (drama, 1830) and Les Misérables (novel, 1862).

Oscar^[5] is a code word representing the letter O, used in radio communication.

25d   Cook perhaps set about Eastern buffet (4)

Contrary to Dave Perry's statement "so 'bat' is the well-disguised definition", the definition is actually "buffet", where buffet^[5] is used in the sense (especially in reference to wind or waves) to strike repeatedly and violently or batter • rough seas buffeted the coast. The wordplay is BAT ([Alistair] Cook) containing (set about) E (Eastern) to produce the solution BEAT (buffet).

Alistair Cook^[7] (not to be confused with Alistair Cooke^[7]) is is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England. In cricket, bat^[5] — among other things — means a person batting or, in other words, a batsman • the team’s opening bat.

And would I have been able to figure this out without Dave Perry's help. Never in a million years!

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