Sunday, March 10, 2013 — ST 4524

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4524
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, February 10, 2013
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4524]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, February 2, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, February 9, 2013
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, March 9, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

I struggled with this one, and needn't to call my electronic reinforcements into action early — and work them strenuously.

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   Dead skin — it’s all over (6)

"It"^[2] is an old [which would presumably indicate that the currency of the term is less dated than archaic] slang term for sex appeal. The expression, although having appeared in the writing of Rudyard Kipling as early as 1904, appears to have come into widespread use as a result of the 1927 film It^[7] starring Clara Bow (who became known as the 'It girl'^[7]). SA^[5] is also an informal, dated term for sex appeal.

5a   Online Android resource full of old material (8)

In the cryptic reading, material must be interpreted as an adjective.

9a   Clairvoyant’s digital watch? (10)

10a   Christian Scientist wanted dynamic hosts (4)

Mary Baker Eddy^[5] (1821 – 1910) was an American religious leader and founder of the Christian Science movement. Long a victim to various ailments, she believed herself cured by a faith healer, Phineas Quimby, and later evolved her own system of spiritual healing.

11a   Contrivance old lady enters in beach resort? (7,7)

This is an & lit. (all-in-one) clue. A bathing machine^[10] is a small hut, on wheels so that it could be pulled to the sea, used in the 18th and 19th centuries for bathers to change their clothes.

13a   Change into  suit (6)

A rather appropriate follow-on clue to 11a.

14a   Rip off clothes put on pagan (8)

I'm really not certain that a pagan is the same thing as a hedonist.

16a   Dog swallowing number one whale product (5,3)

Train oil^[5] is oil obtained from the blubber of a whale (and formerly of other sea creatures), especially the right whale. The name has nothing to do with railway equipment. The word train comes from a Middle Dutch word meaning 'tear' (because it was extracted in droplets).

18a   Romantic spot around dock (6)

Sloppy^[5] is an informal term meaning (of literature or behaviour) weakly or foolishly sentimental ⇒ lovers of sloppy romance.

20a   If you want an example, I’ll give you one (6,8)

Give someone one^[5] is British vulgar slang meaning (said with respect to a man) to have sexual intercourse with a woman.

21a   This bread’s very good, thanks (4)

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious. Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒ ‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

22a   Couldn’t stand backing top launderette (10)

Launderette^[4] is a British and New Zealand name for laundromat. Washateria^[7] is an alternate US name for laundromat, especially in Texas. A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

23a   Cut his plastic and note returned payment (4,4)

Shin^[5] is a British term for a cut of beef, the lower foreleg.

24a   Baby’s wind? Not quite (6)

Pampero^[5] is a strong, cold south-westerly wind in South America, blowing from the Andes across the pampas towards the Atlantic.

Down

2d   Small fall (7)

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

3d   Format correctable in home computer (10,5)

4d   Something sweet from bread maker? Bravo! (11)

5d   Similar to self-loathing one suffers (5,3,5,2)

6d   Be punished a year after parking (3)

7d   As songsmith, he’s done well. As pensmith, he’s done badly (7,8)

Stephen Sondheim^[7] is an American composer and lyricist known for his contributions to musical theatre.

8d   Papers cutting Jamaican articles in news (7)

TING being the way a Jamaican might pronounce 'thing'.

12d   Assistants, while netting fish, beat it (5-2-4)

13d   Save boat that’s capsized (3)

15d   Examine timelines? (3)

Ry^[5] is the abbreviation for railway.

17d   Man in the corner is husband after a bird? (7)

The phrase "after a bird" used in the sense 'like a bird'.

19d   Virgin Island you might say is silly (7)

22d   Start to write the letter (3)

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