Sunday, November 25, 2012 - ST 4509

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4509
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 28, 2012
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4509]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, November 17, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 24, 2012
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 25, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. The Date of Publication in the Toronto Star is unconfirmed as there is no entry for this date on the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum blog.

Introduction

As a glance at the chart above will reveal, I had not made much headway on solving this puzzle when I ordered my electronic reinforcements into action today. I found the puzzle to be both very challenging and very enjoyable — and consequently there was a feeling of immense satisfaction and great accomplishment when it was completed.

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.

Across

1a   Floor covering exchanged for sack cloth? (7)

The definition ("sack cloth") is cryptic (as indicated by the question mark). To defrock^[10] is to deprive (a person in holy orders) of ecclesiastical status; i.e., to fire (or sack) a member of the clergy. The cloth^[10] is another term for the clergy. The clue would seem to be a slight stretch given that the term "the cloth" means the clergy as a profession and not an individual clergyman. However, the setter has inserted a question mark which could be interpreted as an indication that the definition is not only cryptic, but also a little bit loose.

5a   “Blind” is not a word to say (7)

9a   Starts to show girl clothing for baby (5)

Sprog^[5,10] is an informal and humorous British term which can mean (as a noun) a child or baby or (as a verb) to have a baby.

10a   In making 3000 from 1000, 1000 is shaky (9)

11a   Unfriendly person’s absurd rationale (9)

13a   Material written in testimony, longhand (5)

14a   Cause of sand moving around in Lord of the Rings (9,5)

Longshore drift^[10] is the process whereby beach material is gradually shifted laterally as a result of waves meeting the shore at an oblique angle.

17a   A clan held tight wild animals they own? (8,6)

19a   I call on one Catholic to return (5)

20a   Those opening The Van Dyke Show will eat 16 set meals? (2,7)

The number 16 is a cross reference to clue 16 (16d as this is the only clue numbered 16 in today's puzzle). Insert the solution to clue 16d in place of the cross reference indicator to obtain the complete clue.

22a   Regularly issued arrest warrant, lacking initial restraint (9)

24a   A particular diet for one in front (5)

25a   Shock? Not half, having left us extra (7)

26a   Curiosity here — fictional computer guide (7)

Down

1d   Trifling in amateur work, not very well (8)

2d   An MP’s power, given little in advance (7,8)

As a foreign minister is just one particular MP drawn from the ranks of the many who are elected to Parliament, one might have expected the clue to contain some indication that this is a definition by example (DBE).

3d   Sports car maker’s lead-free vehicle (5)

I initially fell for the trap, trying to find an auto manufacturer that I could remove PB from (Pb^[5] being the symbol for the chemical element lead), leaving the name of a vehicle.

The Morgan Motor Company^[7] is a British motor car manufacturer. Morgan is based in Malvern, Worcestershire and employs 163 people. Morgan produced 640 cars in 2007. All its cars are assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately one to two years, although it has been as high as ten years in the past.

Vehicle^[10] is used in the sense of a medium for the expression, communication, or achievement of ideas, information, power, etc.

4d   In strip poker, being completely undressed leads to sex (3)

In this instance, I managed to decipher the wordplay but missed the definition. I knew that, in Britain, kit^[5] means the clothing used for an activity such as a sport (i.e., what North Americans would call a uniform). However, I was not aware that the British refer to the identifying outfit worn by the members of a sports team while playing (i.e., uniform) as their strip ⇒ the team’s away strip is a garish mix of red, white, and blue.

5d   Led, as a bird would in race (11)

6d   University bar near a free city (5,4)

7d   Bumpy or flatter things might conflict? (5,2,8)

8d   Queen of a country in revolution (6)

12d   Matt Newton’s new camping gear (3- 3,5)

15d   Round tours around welcoming hotel at Morecambe (9)

John Eric Bartholomew (1926 – 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe^[7], was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984. Eric took his stage name from his home town, the seaside resort of Morecambe.

16d   A child, almost completely offensive? (8)

Here I thought that child was being used as a special instance of person (just as foreign minister was used as a special instance of an MP in 2d). At least here, I said to myself, the setter has indicated the DBE with a question mark. However, Dave Perry points out that the wordplay is, in part, PER (a) + SON (child) — as in "the fee for the school trip is $5.00 a child".

18d   Failed flier is keeping wheels up half- way (6)

In Greek mythology, Icarus^[7] was the son of Daedalus, who escaped from Crete using wings made by his father but was killed when he flew too near the sun and the wax attaching his wings melted.

21d   I refuse runs yet will run around (5)

The solution is how someone might emphatically express their refusal to do something.

23d   Tiller must not feature hard wood (3)

H^[5] is the abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

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, November 18, 2012 - ST 4508

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4508
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 21, 2012
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4508]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, November 10, 2012 [unconfirmed]
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 17, 2012
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 17, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. The Date of Publication in the Toronto Star is unconfirmed as there is no entry for this date on the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum blog.

Introduction

The Brits would appear to have found this puzzle to be easier than last week's offering. For myself, it was definitely the reverse. Perhaps my mind was overtaxed from having already solved and reviewed last week's puzzle earlier today. I did manage to do quite well in three quadrants, but the southeast was a disaster as I was able to make virtually no inroads there until I ordered my electronic assistants into action.

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.

Across

1a   See 24 down

5a   Food with bread, followed by sponge (7)

A rollmop^[10] is a herring fillet rolled, usually around onion slices, and pickled in spiced vinegar.

9a   Nasty pirate left in base (9)

10a   German painter reveals one of his articles about old city (5)

Albrecht Dürer^[5] (1471–1528) was a German engraver and painter. Der^[7] is a form of the German definite article (used in several declensions). Ur^[5] was an ancient Sumerian city located on the Euphrates, in southern Iraq.

11a   On bed find a collar (6)

Being chiefly an historical term, a bertha^[5] is a deep collar, typically made of lace, attached to the top of a dress that has a low neckline.

12a   In spite of everything, being behind American lines (5,3)

14a   Start to lecture a French rustic without it being rude (10)

Un^[8] is the masculine singular form of the French indefinite article.

16a   Small can at back of pantry (4)

18a   Biting  a type of pie (4)

19a   Stupid cop alarmed tall African (10)

Camelopard^[5] is an archaic name for a giraffe.

22a   Extremely trendy suit (2,6)

23a   Criticised journo following second drink (6)

Journo^[5] is an informal term for a journalist ⇒ the journos were there in force to see them play.

26a   Goes off when retreating — before military’s first assault (5)

27a   Great painter  soon to leave school? (3,6)

This may be more of a cryptic definition than a double definition. For it to be a double definition, one must infer that the second part of the wordplay is "(someone) soon to leave school". In Britain, a male school teacher is called a master^[5].

28a   Refused to go topless and was thrown out (7)

29a   Ambassador finally visits poor inmate in the Tower (7)

The surface reading seemingly alludes to Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London^[7], is a historic castle (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England.

Down

1d   Copper carries a bone of small animal (7)

Cu^[5], is the symbol for the chemical element copper. Note that the setter uses the expression "of small" (short for of) to clue the letter O. We see o'^[5] used as a short form for of in expressions such as "a cup o' coffee".

2d   It’s great to drink with the Queen (5)

As a verb, sup^[5] is a dated or Northern English dialect term meaning to take (drink or liquid food) by sips or spoonfuls ⇒ (i) she supped up her soup delightedly; (ii) he was supping straight from the bottle. As a noun, it means (1) a sip of liquid ⇒ he took another sup of wine or (2) in Northern England or Ireland, an alcoholic drink ⇒ the latest sup from those blokes at the brewery.

The cipher (monogram) of Queen Elizabeth is comprised of the initials ER^[5] — from the Latin version of her name and title, Elizabetha Regina.

3d   Man’s surroundings? (5,3)

The Isle of Man (abbreviation IOM)^[5] is an island in the Irish Sea which is a British Crown dependency.

4d   Look happy when dull work is nearly done (4)

5d   Position band may take at the match (4,6)

6d   There’s large snake — run! (6)

In the UK, a ladder^[5] is a vertical strip of unravelled fabric in tights or stockings • one of Sally’s stockings developed a ladder. The term run^[5] is characterised by the Oxford Dictionary of English as being chiefly North American – but apparently not too much so for the Brits to be expected to know it.

7d   A girl put on weight but knocked back drink (9)

8d   Discussion about small plant used in cooking (7)

13d   What a car with speedo going crazy may turn into! (6,4)

In this semi & lit. clue, speedo^[5] is an informal term for a speedometer — not a man’s brief, tight swimming trunks. In Britain, an escape road^[5] is a slip road, especially on a racing circuit, for a vehicle to turn into if the driver is unable to negotiate a bend or slope safely. Slip road^[5] is a British term for a road entering or leaving a dual carriageway^[5] [a road with a dividing strip between the traffic in opposite directions and usually two or more lanes in each direction] or motorway^[5] [a dual-carriageway road designed for fast traffic, with relatively few places for joining or leaving].

15d   Fairies manage tube with mirrors (9)

In Persian mythology, a peri^[5] is a mythical superhuman being, originally represented as evil but subsequently as a good or graceful genie or fairy.

17d   Spring in a futon needs altering (8)

18d   English school in dull Italian port (7)

20d   Philosopher’s leader in daily upset editor (7)

Denis Diderot^[5] (1713–84) was French philosopher, writer, and critic and a leading figure of the Enlightenment in France.

21d   Rodent’s limb carried by climbing cat (6)

24d/1a   Horrific scene with upright actor (5,7)

Peter Cushing^[7] (1913 – 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in films produced by the British studio Hammer Films, in which he played the distinguished-looking but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally Vincent Price.

25d   Invented something to have with crackers (4)

I figured that Edam would go well with crackers but the wordplay eluded me. However, if one were to replace the word "invented" by the equivalent term "made up", the answer would immediately become obvious.

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, November 11, 2012 - ST 4507

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4507
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 14, 2012
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4507]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, November 3, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 10, 2012
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 10, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. The Date of Publication in the Toronto Star is unconfirmed as there is no entry for this date on the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum blog.

Introduction

Having been away from home last weekend, I only just found time to solve this puzzle today (a week later). I got hung up in the lower right hand quadrant. I failed to find the correct county as I didn't think to consider abbreviations. Moreover, I couldn't get County Down (in Ireland) out of my mind. I also could not recall the name of the Oriental man (who is usually introduced to us as a Scot).

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.

Across

1a   Express and Mail strongly dislike Sun getting stuck in (4- 5)

The Daily Express, the Daily Mail, and The Sun are all daily tabloid newspapers published in the United Kingdom.^[7] In Britain, the post^[5] is (1) the official service or system that delivers letters and parcels ⇒ (i) winners will be notified by post; (ii) the tickets are in the post, (2) letters and parcels delivered ⇒ she was opening her post, or (3) a single collection or delivery of mail ⇒ entries must be received no later than first post on 14 June. As a verb, post is a chiefly British term meaning to send (a letter or parcel) via the postal system ⇒ I’ve just been to post a letter; (ii) post off your order form today. In Canada, the word post may sometimes be heard used in this sense as a verb — but virtually never as a noun. The word mail is used instead (both as a verb and a noun). However, the word post lives on in the name of the service which delivers the mail — Canada Post. Did you notice the phrase "first post on 14 June" in one of the usage examples above? Apparently, the post is still delivered more often than once per day in Britain!

 

6a   I’ve made a booboo as nothing in musical works (4)

The solution is an exclamation that one may utter on making a mistake. In the field of music, Op. (also op.)^[5] is an abbreviation meaning opus (work). It is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication.

9a   Monetary agreement in Brussels? It’ll never get off the ground (3)

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)^[7] is an umbrella term for the group of policies that set the conditions that must be met to allow a member of the European Union to adopt the euro currency. Brussels^[7], as the de facto capital of the European Union, is often used as a metonym for the EU.

10a   I work for spinster (5,6)

11a   Nobleman mostly ahead of time (4)

The British nobility^[7] consists of two entities, the peerage and the landed gentry. Members of the peerage are titled (duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron), and frequently referred to as peers or lords. The rest of the nobility is referred to as the landed gentry.

12a   Mean rock “Let It Be”, a fine number (4- 6)

Mean^[5] in the sense (especially of a place) poor in quality and appearance or shabby ⇒ her home was mean and small.

14a   Lozenges coming from Kent (Rochester) (7)

15a   Gendarme’s introduction is flipping hilarious, primarily in “Good Moaning”! (7)

In his review, Dave Perry explains the surface reading of this clue which is an allusion to the UK television sitcom 'Allo 'Allo.

17a   Swears about one form of therapy in forces (7)

Effect^[3] in the sense of the condition of being in full force or execution ⇒ a new regulation that goes into effect tomorrow. The wordplay is EFFS (swears; utters the F-word^[5]) containing (about) ECT (one form of therapy; electroconvulsive therapy^[5]).

19a   Not the first curry in bed for the bird! (4,3)

The British name for a chickadee is tit^[5] (or titmouse). The coal tit^[5] (Parus ater)  is a small Eurasian and North African tit (songbird) with a grey back, black cap and throat, and white cheeks. Balti^[7] is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed steel wok-like "balti bowl" which is served in many restaurants in the United Kingdom. In the surface reading of the clue, bird^[5] is undoubtedly used in the British slang sense of a young woman or a man’s girlfriend.

20a   Quick to include an old German coin in second- hand sale (4,6)

22a   Decline seen in most of the county (4)

Wiltshire (abbreviation Wilts.)^[5] is a county of southern England.

24a   Order hotel lunch and tea, disregarding hints of hungry ones? (4,3,4)

This is an & lit. (all-in-one) clue in which the entire clue both provides the definition and serves as the wordplay.

25a   Male from the Orient, as recalled (3)

 The wordplay is [AS]IAN (from the Orient) with AS deleted (as recalled).

26a   Worthies regularly lift company (4)

Lift^[5] is the British term for elevator^[5]. The Otis Elevator Company^[7] is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems today, principally focusing on elevators and escalators.

27a   Music at last from trumpeters? (4,5)

Down

1d   Tense here? Just the job (7,7)

Just the job^[5] is an informal British expression meaning exactly what is needed ⇒ (i) companionship from fellow walkers was just the job; (ii) ⇒ it is just the job for getting rid of stains.

2d   Prepare to fight in marketplace? Not on (6,3)

A market^[10] is a place, such as an open space in a town, at which a market is held. In cricket, the on^[5] (also called the on side) 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 ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg. Another term for this side of the field is the leg side^[5] (also called just the leg). The opposite side of the field is known as the off^[5] (or the off side).

3d   Man on newspaper gets lift (4)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7] is a British international business newspaper [conspicuously printed on pink newsprint].

4d   Walks in street in front of car (7)

Rolls^[10] is an informal term for a Rolls-Royce automobile.

5d   Catches up with small business associate right away (7)

6d   One such was Strauss, being top man for a waltz moving millions (7,3)

While I did manage to deduce the correct solution, I failed to see the wordplay which is an anagram (for a waltz) of {BEING TOP [M]AN with the M (millions) deleted (moving)}.

In cricket, the term bat^[5] can have any of several meanings, namely (1) a cricket bat, (2) a turn at playing with a bat [an instance of batting], or (3) a person batting (or, in other words, a batsman) ⇒ the team’s opening bat. In this usage example, the "opening bat" would be the first batsman for a team in the match (a term somewhat akin to a leadoff batter in baseball).

Andrew Strauss^[7] is a retired English cricketer and former captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss was also known for his fielding strength at slip or in the covers. The latter is not a reference to his off-field activities; "the covers" is an area of cricket field.

7d   Chambers has it as “set in place” (5)

Indeed, the first entry in The Chambers Dictionary for posit^[1] is "to set in place". In Britain, chamber^[10] is short for chamber pot, as is po^[10]. Thus the wordplay is POS (chambers) + (has) IT (given in the clue).

8d   Arousing snogs and then heartless involvement? (3- 5,6)

Snog^[5] is British slang which, as a verb, means to kiss and cuddle amorously ⇒ (i) [no object] the pair were snogging on the sofa; (ii) [with object]  he snogged my girl at a party and, as a noun, denotes a long kiss or a period of amorous kissing and cuddling ⇒ he gave her a proper snog, not just a peck.

13d   Friends from Prague mentioned utter defeats (10)

16d   It’s natural you find classroom students like this (9)

18d   Ways to be significantly ahead? (7)

Streets ahead of^[10] is an informal (possibly British) expression meaning superior to, more advanced than, etc.

Dave Perry characterises this clue as a double definition, although I might be more comfortable calling it a cryptic definition. "Ways" are streets; but as the expression "streets ahead of" means "significantly ahead of", the word "streets" must equate to merely the word "significantly" and not to the entire phrase "significantly ahead".

19d   Flying saucer seen above one in a break (7)

21d   Story made up about one Middle Eastern port (5)

23d   God entreated from below (4)

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, November 4, 2012 - ST 4506

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4506
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 7, 2012
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4506]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 27, 2012 [unconfirmed]
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 03, 2012
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 3, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. The Date of Publication in the Toronto Star is unconfirmed as there is no entry for this date on the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum blog.

Introduction

Today we get a moderately difficult puzzle from Anax. There was one clue that I wasn't able to solve and two or three others for which I did not fully comprehend the wordplay (but, fortunately, Dave Perry did).

You will also notice that I have introduced a couple of innovations in today's blog. The first of these changes is showing the definition for each clue (by underlining it in the clue). This also means that all the clues in the puzzle will be listed in the blog. However, I will continue to offer comments on only a selected number of clues, being those for which I feel I can offer some additional information to complement that which Dave Perry has provided in his Times for the Times review. My comments tend to deal with British words, expressions, or places found in the clues as well as foreign words and references to people, mythology, specialized terms, and popular and classical works of art or entertainment.

The second is to publish a chart showing how I fared in solving the puzzle (for which I provide an explanation immediately below). If you have an opinion on these new features (or anything else about the blog), please leave a comment

New Feature - Falcon's Experience

Falcon's Experience is a new feature that I've added to the Puzzle at a Glance table above. This is a new feature for this blog — but one that I've used for some time in my companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.

The purpose of this chart is to provide a quick visual overview of how difficult I found a puzzle to be. Of course, your experience with a particular puzzle may be entirely different than mine (horses for courses, as they say). But I hope it may prove to be a somewhat useful tool against which readers may judge their own solving experience.

Explanation of the Chart

The total length of the bar indicates the number of clues contained in the puzzle. Depending on the grid used, this number is generally between 26 and 32. The dark blue portion indicates the number of clues that I was able to solve without the aid of puzzle solving tools — which today was 11 out of the 28 clues. The light blue (cyan) portion shows the number of clues which were solved with the aid of such puzzle solving tools (such as word finders and anagram solvers). Today there were 9 such instances. If I discover through the use of these tools that one of my existing entries is incorrect, I code that clue as orange. There were no clues in this category today. The blue-grey portion shows clues that I solved without the direct use of puzzle solving tools but for which I had checking letters that resulted from the use of such tools. Today, there were 7 clues which fell into this category. Finally, the red portion denotes clues that I either could not solve or clues for which I discovered that the solutions were incorrect from the review at Times for the Times.

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.

Across

1a   Flower — stroke a little one, say (6)

4a   A short defender, American, that one can count on (6)

A back^[5] is a player in a team game who plays in a defensive position behind the forwards ⇒ their backs showed some impressive running and passing. This definition applies to games such as association football (soccer) and field hockey, but not to North American football where there are both offensive and defensive backs (who alternately take the field depending on which team has possession of the ball). In hockey (ice hockey for the Brits), the equivalent position is called a defenceman (in both men's and women's hockey).

10a   Guitar held by axe ace (5- 4)

This clue has a nice surface reading. Axe^[5] is a slang term for a musical instrument used in popular music or jazz, especially a guitar or (originally) a saxophone. Consequently, an "axe ace" is an accomplished guitarist. Strat^[5] is an shortened informal name for a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. Dave Perry tells us that the setter, Anax, is himself a guitar player.

11a   Sex with a spiteful person (5)

A tricky clue, but well-explained by Dave Perry.

12a   City area bounded by motorways (5)

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway^[5] (controlled-access highway^[7]) in England connecting London to Leeds.

13a   Sailor thrashing drums is showing belief in chaos (9)

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

14a   Danger — albeit rum — at sea (7,8)

An & lit. (all-in-one) clue.

16a   Law officer given brief in Paraguay? (8,7)

I didn't understand the wordplay here until I read Dave Perry's review. The clue is telling us (quite clearly, in hindsight) that an abbreviation for this law enforcement official is to be found (given [in] brief) in the word ParAGuay.

19a   Tin opened by friend having lunch; just over half a teacake (5,4)

Sn^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element tin [from late Latin stannum 'tin']. A Sally Lunn^[5] is a sweet, light teacake, typically served hot [said to be from the name of a woman selling such cakes in Bath, England circa 1800].

21a   Of course, we recycle waste in this (5)

The hidden word indicator is "of" (meaning 'belonging to') and the clue tells us that the solution is part of (belongs to) "courSE WE Recycle".

23a   Small amount of liquid I spit (5)

This is yet another case where I had to rely on Dave Perry to explain the wordplay. Even though I deduced that a "small amount of liquid" would likely be a centilitre (cl), the presence of the Roman numeral failed to register (as my mother would have said, it was "hiding in plain sight"). It certainly did not help to be totally unaware that, in Britain, spit^[10] is another word for spitting image.

24a   Arrogance minus bags of money (9)

The wordplay is LESS (minus) containing (bags) {OF (from the clue) + TIN (money)}.

Tin^[5] is dated British slang for money ⇒ Kim’s only in it for the tin.

25a   Get into bed, wanting endless sex with Italian leader (6)

Duce^[7] is an Italian title (duke in English) that is also used to mean "leader". The word has fallen into disfavour due to its association with World War II Italian dictator Benito Mussolini^[7].

26a   Pound into equally solid cut stones (6)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

Ashlar^[5] is masonry made of large square-cut stones, used as a facing on walls of brick or stone rubble ⇒ seven windows are set in ashlar along the upper floor. Despite the fact that ashlar might well mean "cut stones", in fact the definition is merely "stones" — with the word "cut" indicating that the solution is obtained by truncating the fodder.

The wordplay is L (pound) contained in (into) {AS (equally) HAR[D] (solid) with the final letter deleted (cut)}.

Down

1d   Charity award that’s accepted by footballers (5)

This is yet another one where I needed a nudge from Dave Perry to fully comprehend the wordplay (having failed to realize the significance of the X).

The Order of Merit^[7] (abbreviation OM^[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).

The Football Association^[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of football [i.e., association football or soccer] in England. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

X signifies by as in 2x4 (a common size of dimensional lumber) or 4x4 (an all wheel drive vehicle).

2d   Pirate’s bawdy song heard (7)

While the 's denotes a possessive form in the surface reading, it becomes a contraction for is (and, as such, functions as a link word between the definition "pirate" and the wordplay "bawdy song heard") in the cryptic reading.

3d   Machiavellian doctor retiring, out of uniform (9)

5d   Get beans for strangely disappointing dish (4,10)

6d   About to get extra insurance (5)

Cover (in reference to insurance) means to protect against a liability, loss, or accident involving financial consequences ⇒ your contents are now covered against accidental loss or damage in transit. While the same verb form is used in both Britain and North America, we use a different form of the noun on this side of the pond. In the UK, cover^[5] means protection by insurance against a liability, loss, or accident ⇒ your policy provides cover against damage by subsidence. This is equivalent to the North American term coverage^[5], the amount of protection given by an insurance policy.

7d   Something looped around a soft young tree (7)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).

8d   Unstable country that needs a hand? (6,8)

A hand^[9] is a bunch, cluster, or bundle of various leaves, fruit, etc., as a bundle of tobacco leaves tied together or a cluster of bananas.

9d   Dungeon imprisoning gypsy with general (8)

Oliver Cromwell^[5] (1599–1658) was an English general and statesman, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 1653–1658. Cromwell was the leader of the victorious Parliamentary forces (or Roundheads) in the English Civil War. As head of state he styled himself Lord Protector, and refused Parliament’s offer of the Crown in 1657. His rule was notable for its puritan reforms in the Church of England. He was briefly succeeded by his son Richard (1626–1712), who was forced into exile in 1659.

14d   With money, one’s about to get cabbage (8)

Brass^[5] is British slang for money ⇒ they wanted to spend their newly acquired brass.

The wordplay is BRASS (money) + (with^*) I ([Roman numeral for] one) + (has; 's being a contraction for has in the cryptic reading of the clue) CA (about; circa).

15d   Detailed gossip can’t shake doubters (9)

17d   Applies grease — difficult, over wide square (7)

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

Also in cricket, a wide^[5], also known as a wide ball, (abbreviation W^[10]) is a ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side. An extra^[5] is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited to the batting side rather than to a batsman.

18d   Poor treatment of untreated wood (3,4)

Deal^[4] may be (1) a plank of softwood timber, such as fir or pine, or such planks collectively or (2) the sawn wood of various coniferous trees, such as that from the Scots pine (red deal) or from the Norway Spruce (white deal).

I had thought that this might be a British expression until I discovered that this meaning also appears in The American Heritage Dictionary. However, even though it would appear not to be an exclusively British term, I would suspect that it is used far more commonly in the UK than it is here. Personally, I would use the term lumber rather than deal, but the Brits certainly wouldn't. In Britain, the word lumber^[5] has a totally different meaning than it does in North America, being articles of furniture or other household items that are no longer useful and inconveniently take up storage space ⇒ [as modifier] a lumber room.

20d   Produce that is left in yard (5)

22d   Vertical pipe is on earth between two castles (5)

A rook, also known as a castle, (abbreviation R)^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two rooks at opposite ends of the first rank.

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