Sunday, October 7, 2012 - ST 4502

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4502
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 9, 2012
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4502]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, September 29, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, October 6, 2012
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, October 6, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

Having been away for the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, it has taken me nearly a week to get caught up on my blogs. Today's puzzle by Jeff Pearce has a good mix of clues. There are some fairly easy clues which offer an entry point as well as several rather tricky clues to provide a challenge.

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   Chap going round back of Primark after plain rag (9,4)

Primark^[7] is an Irish clothing retailer that also has operations in the United Kingdom and a number of other Western European countries.

12a   Gorge on cooked 8 initially (6)

The number "8" in the clue is a cross reference to clue 8d. You must substitute the solution to 8d in place of the number 8 to complete the clue.

21a   Supplement making you become angry and speechless if Doc’s around? (8)

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.

24a   Study before exam — (Latin) — stops one being sociable (9)

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing) ⇒ the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

In Britain, a viva voce (often shortened to viva^[5]) is an oral examination, typically for an academic qualification ⇒  (i) candidates may be called for a viva voce; (ii) assessment of the PhD is by thesis and viva voce. Viva can also be used as a verb meaning to subject (someone) to an oral examination ⇒ facing them sat the youth who was being vivaed.

Viva voce may also be used (1) as an adjective indicating (especially of an examination) oral rather than written ⇒ a viva voce examination or (2) as an adverb signifying orally rather than in writing ⇒ we had better discuss this viva voce. To the best of my knowledge, this term is used in North America only as an adjective or adverb. I suspect that the these forms may predate its usage as a noun, and that this may be yet another example of the British propensity to turn adjectives into nouns.

25a   Colour of Loch Restil (5)

Loch Restil is located at the top of the scenic Rest and Be Thankful pass (what a great name) in Argyll And Bute, Scotland. I drove through that area a few years ago when travelling from Glasgow to Oban and remember it as being very picturesque.

1d   Being abundant fill up ten jars (9)

The anagram indicator is "jars" whose use I can only presume may be based on the rationale that if one were to jar (severely jostle) the letters forming FILL UP TEN, they just might happen to rearrange themselves in such a manner as to form the solution to the clue.

4d/20a Prosperous bank has incentive to host it but it`ll end up in smoke! (10,6)

The definition is "it'll end up in smoke" for which the solution is CAMBERWELL CARROT. Camberwell carrot^[10] is British slang for a large, almost conical, marijuana cigarette. Supposedly this particular style of rolling marijuana cigarettes originated in Camberwell^[7], a district of south London, England that forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located 2.7 miles (4.3 km) southeast of Charing Cross [which is considered to mark the centre of London]. 

The wordplay is rather tricky. It helps to add a bit of punctuation to the clue so that it reads "Prosperous, bank has incentive to host it". Since the pronoun "it" refers to the word "prosperous", the clue can be simplified to "bank has incentive to host prosperous" which parses as {CAMBER (bank; as on a road) + (has) CARROT (incentive)} containing (to host) WELL (prosperous).

In Britain, one meaning of camber^[5] is a tilt built into a road at a bend or curve, enabling vehicles to maintain speed [or, in other words, a bank].

I was skeptical that prosperous and well meant the same thing. However, I find that one meaning for well^[10] (as an adjective) given by Collins English Dictionary is prosperous or comfortable.

6d   Topless louts with stories about clubs and bars (9)

Yob^[5] (back slang for boy) is an informal British term for a rude, noisy, and aggressive youth. In the cryptic reading, clubs refers to a suit in a deck of cards.

7d   Occasionally the best possible present can be found at a new Department — Next? (5,3,3,4)

Every^[5] must be interpreted in the sense of all possible or the utmost (used for emphasis) ⇒ you have every reason to be disappointed.

8d   Tin contains an unknown colour (4)

In mathematics, an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

17d   Pick lots of bait to get tasty treats (5,4)

In Britain, cream tea^[5] is a meal taken in the afternoon consisting of tea to drink with scones, jam, and cream. The wordplay is CREAM (pick) + all but the final letter of (lots of) TEAS[e] (bait). Cream^[10] is used in the sense of to take away the best part of [or, in other words, cherry pick].

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