Sunday, May 26, 2013 — ST 4535

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4535
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 28, 2013
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4535]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, May 18, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, May 25, 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, May 25, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

There is some tricky wordplay in today's puzzle — including one clue which has left nearly everyone scratching their head.

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   Attendant set out with care (7)

In law, ward^[10] may mean guardianship, as of a minor or legally incompetent person.

5a   Red skirts carried by prisoner (7)

9a   Cook laid lemon round piece of meat (9)

10a   Taste tiniest amount of laksa during carnival (5)

Laksa^[5] is a Malaysian dish of Chinese origin, consisting of rice noodles served in a curry sauce or hot soup.

I believe that taste^[2] may be intended in the sense of  the ability to judge and appreciate what is suitable, fine, elegant or beautiful.

11a   Chap in the toilet (6)

12a   Penny left old vagrant without introduction (8)

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] is a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound (and is abbreviated p). In the system formerly used, a penny was equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound (and was abbreviated d, for denarius).

14a   Type of frame seen in collection of art in Public Record Office? (10)

An architrave^[5] is the moulded frame around a doorway or window.

16a   Large  order (4)

18a   Blades decapitate pigs (4)

19a   After sweet she’s nothing at all! (5,5)

Fanny Adams^[5] (or sweet Fanny Adams) — a euphemism for fuck all (or sweet fuck all) — is British slang meaning nothing at all ⇒ I know sweet Fanny Adams about mining.

22a   Long pompous speech — a bride’s unhappy with it (8)

Although the anagram indicator (unhappy) precedes the charade indicator (with), the two operations must be performed in the reverse order. This is not unlike a martini stirred with ice — one would add the ice cubes before stirring.

23a   One tends to fire  author of scary stories (6)

Bram Stoker^[5] (1847 – 1912) was an Irish novelist and theatre manager; full name Abraham Stoker. He was secretary and touring manager to the actor Henry Irving but is chiefly remembered as the author of the vampire story Dracula (1897).

26a   You were somewhere else? What kind of excuse is that! (5)

27a   Instrument Al Gore keeps to compose (9)

As a verb, horn^[5] means to butt or gore with the horns ⇒ the bull horned him out of the way.

28a   Inside fat there’s some cord (7)

29a   Get fuel to distribute round river in China (7)

The Han River^[5] may refer to either of two rivers in China:

• one in eastern China that flows southeast for 952 miles (1,532 km) from southwestern Shaanxi province to the Yangtze River in Hubei province. Chinese name Han Shui.
• one in south China that rises in southeastern Fujian province and flows south for 210 miles (338 km) to the South China Sea at Shantou in Guangdong province. Chinese name Han Jiang.

Down

1d   Giant rat’s home is a problem before middle of boat- race (7)

The Giant Rat of Sumatra^[7] is a fictional giant rat, first mentioned by Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930) in a 1924 Sherlock Holmes story, and later used in works by many other writers.

2d   It grows down as it grows up (5)

3d   Titan carrying collection of books — one is “The Lost Continent” (8)

In Greek mythology, the Titans^[5] were the older gods who preceded the Olympians and were the children of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth). Led by Cronus, they overthrew Uranus; Cronus' son, Zeus, then rebelled against his father and eventually defeated the Titans. Atlas^[5] was one of the Titans, who was punished for his part in their revolt against Zeus by being made to support the heavens.

4d   Sissy has swim round river (4)

Whereas American dictionaries define drip^[3,11] as a tiresome or annoying person or a boring or colorless person, Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises such a drip^[5] as being weak and ineffectual.

5d   Dispute French version of tale about jet (10)

Conte^[8] is a French word meaning tale. Contravene^[10] is used in the sense of to dispute or contradict (a statement, proposition, etc)
.

6d   Completely useless if only half of it is included (2,4)

The definition is "completely" with the solution being IN FULL. That much I understand. The wordplay — which was a mystery to Dave Perry — is explained on Times for the Times as being formed from NULL (useless) and IF (from the the clue) by placing half of the latter word inside the former producing I + N (F)ULL. However, I can see nothing in the clue to explain why the I in IF is to be moved to the front.

7d   Hints of honey and lime in Spanish punch is Hilton’s creation (7- 2)

Shangri-La^[7] is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by English novelist James Hilton (1900 – 1954).

8d   At end of season Surrey constructed facility for development (7)

Surrey^[5] is a county of SE England; county town, Kingston upon Thames.

13d   Being after money directors make cuts here! (5,5)

15d   Mind short people in the pink (9)

17d   General store, say, to which I take bag (8)

Jean Martinet^[7] (died 1672) was a French lieutenant-colonel and Inspector General who served during the reign of Louis XIV. He was a severe drillmaster, which made him unpopular among his troops. The English word martinet^[5] [a person who demands complete obedience; a strict disciplinarian] derives from the general's last name.

In the clue, bag^[5] is used as a verb, meaning to catch.

18d   Curious delivery gets you 20 (7)

The number "20" in the clue is a cross reference to clue 20d. To complete the present clue, one must insert the solution to the cross-referenced clue in place of the cross reference indicator.

Delivery^[5] refers to an act of throwing, bowling, or kicking a ball, especially a cricket ball ⇒ he reached 59 runs off only 42 deliveries. Of course, the term is equally applicable to baseball.

20d   Different way to go over mountains (7)

21d   Three Russian officials keep Israeli PM away from Gorbachev’s policy (6)

A troika^[5] is (1) a Russian vehicle pulled by a team of three horses abreast or (2) a team of three horses for a troika. The term has also come to mean a group of three people working together, especially in an administrative or managerial capacity.

In the former Soviet Union, perestroika was the policy or practice of restructuring or reforming the economic and political system. First proposed by Leonid Brezhnev in 1979 and actively promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev, perestroika originally referred to increased automation and labour efficiency, but came to entail greater awareness of economic markets and the ending of central planning. 

Shimon Peres^[5] is a Polish-born Israeli statesman who served two terms as Prime Minister (1984-6 and 1995-6) and has been President since 2007. As Foreign Minister under Yitzhak Rabin he played a major role in negotiating the PLO-Israeli peace accord (1993). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize i 1994, shared with Rabin and Yasser Arafat.

24d   Old sailor in his boat upset losing a bit of hard cash (5)

The wordplay is a reversal (upset) of {NOAH (old sailor) contained in (in) ARK (his boat)} with {A (from the clue) + H (bit of hard; first letter of Hard)} deleted (losing).

The krona^[5] is (1) the basic monetary unit of Sweden, equal to 100 öre or (2) the basic monetary unit of Iceland, equal to 100 aurar.

25d   Some porn and marketing primarily? (4)

This is an & lit. (all-in-one) clue. The entire clue, when read one way, is the definition and, when read a second way, constitutes the wordplay.

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, May 19, 2013 — ST 4534

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4534
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 21, 2013
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4534]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, May 11, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, May 18, 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, May 18, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

I thought that this was a bit easier than most of the Sunday Times puzzles we have seen recently.

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   Stratospheric rent for lowest levels in the Savoy? (9,4)

Here Savoy^[5] refers not to the area of SE France bordering on Italy, but to the Savoy Theatre^[7] in London, England. The theatre opened in 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy Operas as a result. As an aside, the theatre was the first theatre, and the first public building in the world, to be lit entirely by electricity.

I don't imagine that there would be more than a single orchestra pit in the Savoy. Therefore, I think we have to interpret the definition as "lowest levels in places such as the Savoy" with the question mark indicating that we are dealing with a definition by example.

10a   Singers can be very quiet next to an Indian princess (7)

Although Oxford Dictionaries Online defines rani^[5] as a Hindu queen, Collins English Dictionary tells us that rani^[10] means (in oriental countries, especially India) a queen or princess; the wife of a rajah.

11a   Person no longer inside a part in wings of Palace (7)

12a   It’s somewhat black in small island (1,3)

Ait^[3,4,11] is a British term for a small island, especially in a river.

13a   Planned food store’s rubbish (10)

In British English, rubbish^[5] is used as a verb meaning to criticize severely and reject as worthless ⇒ he rubbished the idea of a European Community-wide carbon tax.

14a   Penny’s up to be commended (7)

In Britain's current decimal currency system, a penny^[5] is a bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound (and is abbreviated p). In the system formerly used, a penny was equal to one twelfth of a shilling or 240th of a pound (and was abbreviated d, for denarius).

16a   He’s one part of a heater (7)

He^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element helium.

18a   Naughty imp used kid’s stuff from Mississippi? (3,4)

Mississippi mud pie^[7] is a chocolate-based dessert pie that is likely to have originated in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The treat contains a gooey chocolate sauce on top of a crumbly chocolate crust. The pie is usually served with ice cream. The name "Mississippi mud pie" comes from the dense cake which resembles the banks of the Mississippi River.

20a   In Tennessee the sun is boiling (7)

22a   Finished camp pocketing a pound in part of Ireland (7,3)

Here pound is a unit of weight, not a denomination of currency. In Britain, camp^[4] may mean effeminate or homosexual. I would conclude that this is a British usage based on a comparison with the definitions in The American Heritage Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary from the same link.

Donegal Bay^[7], an inlet in the northwest of Ireland, is that country's largest bay. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.

24a   An advantage in golf club, wife’s not there! (4)

26a   Swallow one drink (7)

27a   English town’s fearing bar opening (7)

Reading^[5] is a town in Berkshire, southern England, on the River Kennet near its junction with the Thames; population 142,300 (est. 2009).

28a   What could contrive stuttering woe? (6,7)

This is an & lit. (all-in-one) clue. The entire clue serves as both definition and wordplay. The anagram indicator is "what could contrive".

Down

2d   Carpet repair damn slapdash? Only one answer (9)

Carpet^[5] is British slang meaning to reprimand severely ⇒ the Chancellor of the Exchequer carpeted the bank bosses.

3d   Get better list so to speak (4)

4d   Salary and gratuity in post (7)

5d   Despicable sort let rip badly in front of European (7)

6d   Soldier on for each grave (9)

7d   Amateur and pro turning up in a US city (5)

8d   Key, for instance given to stringed instrument (1,5)

9d   Ambassador is in supreme command (6)

HE^[2] is the abbreviation for His or Her Excellency, where Excellency^[2] (usually His, Her or Your Excellency or Your or Their Excellencies) is a title of honour given to certain people of high rank, e.g. ambassadors.

15d   Huge energy used in dancing (9)

I assembled the correct solution based on the wordplay, but dismissed it as being highly improbable. However, a peek at the dictionary showed that the word actually exists in the UK.

In British English, swingeing^[5] is an adjective meaning severe or extreme in size, amount, or effect ⇒ swingeing cuts in public expenditure.

17d   Stimulant dope herein is out of order, nothing less (9)

18d   Crazy Parisian soul is a local lady (6)

In French, âme^[8] means soul. I initially suspected that "local lady" might refer to the landlady of a pub. However, after a bit of research, I have concluded that it means a woman who is a resident of Paris. Madame^[5] is a title or form of address used of or to a French-speaking woman, corresponding to Mrs.

19d   Not English, earliest cross? (7)

This is another & lit. clue for which Dave Perry gives a very complete explanation.

20d   One dispute after another getting the bird (7)

Here, "the bird" is not a rude gesture but one of the feathered variety.

21d   Winter transport provided by butcher reportedly (6)

23d   Drug trafficker caught in Algerian port, shooting up (5)

Oran^[5] is a port on the Mediterranean coast of Algeria; population 679,900 (est. 2009). According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, narco^[5] is US slang for a drug trafficker or dealer ⇒ political bosses who may have links to the narcos.

25d   Damn strikes, time for pressure to be applied (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, May 12, 2013 — ST 4533

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4533
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 14, 2013
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4533]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, May 4, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, May 11, 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, May 11, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

A puzzle by Anax is as entertaining as it is difficult. I got tremendous enjoyment from this offering, but wondered if I would even get started. On my first read through, the only clue that I was able to solve was the final one. From there, I did manage to make some inroads before calling in my electronic reserves.

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   Paper used to cover top surface (5)

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

4a   Uses statute to cut costs (9)

9a   Most of all, a call at 12d in West Indian style (1,2,6)

In this clue, 12d is a cross reference indicator. To complete the present clue, one must substitute the solution to clue 12d in place of the indicator. Since this puzzle contains both across and down clues originating from the square labelled 12, the setter must specifically show which one is intended.

Although I did get the correct solution, I failed to fully decipher the wordplay, not recognizing that A.^[10] is being used as the abbreviation for acre.

The French term à la is a contraction of à la manière de meaning "in the style of". While I was not able to find à la créole in any dictionary, Google turned up plenty of recipes containing this phrase (although they all seemed to be written in French). At Times for the Times, Anax mentions that this is not a "dictionary phrase" and relates the discussion that ensued between himself and PB (Peter Biddlecombe, the puzzles editor at The Sunday Times) on this subject.

10a   Crime for which jockey’s not caught (5)

Willie Carson^[7] is a retired Scottish jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. He was British Champion Jockey five times (1972, 1973, 1978, 1980 and 1983), won 17 British Classic Races, and passed 100 winners in a season 23 times for a total of 3,828 wins, making him the fourth most successful jockey in Great Britain.

11a   After securing silver, furious chef claims top spot (5,1,7,2)

The symbol for the chemical element silver is Ag^[5].

12a   Publican’s supply held by outlaw (6)

In Britain, a publican^[5] is a person who owns or manages a pub.

13a   Having seen bust, go for a cold shower? (8)

Zing^[5] is used in the sense of to move or vibrate swiftly or with a high-pitched buzzing noise ⇒ another bullet zinged past him.

16a   Texan beer company will finally supply senator (4,4)

The Lone Star Brewery^[7], built in 1884, was the first large, mechanized brewery in Texas. Adolphus Busch, of Anheuser-Busch, founded it along with a group of San Antonio businessmen. Lone Star beer was the company's main brand. It was marketed as "The National Beer of Texas."

In 2000, the brewery was closed and the castle-like building now houses the San Antonio Museum of Art. The Lone Star brand is now owned by the Pabst Brewing Company. Production of Lone Star is currently contracted out to non-Pabst owned breweries (e.g. Miller Brewing Company in Fort Worth).

17a   Absolutely no pressure to return porridge (6)

According to The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition, porridge^[1] is British slang meaning a jail or a jail sentence, especially in the phrase do porridge meaning to serve a jail sentence. This is the only source in which I have found this word having the former meaning ('jail'). The online editions of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[2], Collins English Dictionary^[4,10] , and the Oxford Dictionary of English^[5] all show the word as having only the latter meaning ('jail sentence').

19a   Military top brass brutal about injured sergeant on drip (4- 4,7)

It took a while to realize that I was missing a star.

22a   Costume given to old actress (5)

Greta Garbo^[7] (1905 – 1990), born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress and an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods.

23a   Most loathsome taxi drivers will get in the way (9)

24a   Heartless teacher: Spell “acerbic” (9)

25a   That kiss is left a long time (5)

Yonks^[5] is British slang meaning a very long time ⇒ I haven’t seen him for yonks.

Down

1d   Old money split between footballers (5)

The franc^[5] is (or was) the basic monetary unit of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and several other countries, equal to 100 centimes (replaced in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg by the euro in 2002).

In Britain [and elsewhere], FC^[5] is the abbreviation for Football Club ⇒ Liverpool FC. Football refers to Association football^[7] or soccer. This usage is not confined to Britain, as can be seen from the names of many Canadian soccer teams such as Toronto FC^[7], Vancouver Whitecaps FC^[7], and Ottawa Fury FC^[7] (but not the Montreal Impact^[7]).

2d   Full references provided in  CV? (7,3,5)

The surface reading of this double definition alludes to a curriculum vitae^[5] (abbreviation CV). However, the cryptic analysis leads to the expression chapter and verse^[5], meaning an exact reference or authority ⇒ she can give chapter and verse on current legislation. Of course, c^[2] and v^[5] are abbreviations for chapter and verse respectively.

One reader of Times for The Times suggests that CV might have been intended to stand for Confraternity Version (a theory that Anax refutes in comments posted on the web site). The Confraternity Bible^[5] is a somewhat broad term that refers to any edition of the Catholic Bible translated under the auspices of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine ("CCD") between 1941 and 1969. The Confraternity Bible is known, and appreciated, for the balance it strikes between accessibility and authenticity. That is, many feel that the translation is neither too loose and friendly, nor too stilted and slavish. It was supplanted in 1970 by the New American Bible and is no longer in widespread use.

3d   Mating period’s coming up and he’s out to attract attention (4,5)

4d   Stop claiming nothing’s hard work in the field (6)

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

5d   Laxative that is swallowed by sick parent (8)

6d   Walk or run into stuff (5)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R^[5] indicates run(s).

7d   Rampant ego, concurs Times features editor (8,7)

A doctor who might modify the features of a face, for example.

8d   My  babe in arms? (3,2,1,3)

A double definition, the first being my^[5] in the sense of an exclamation of surprise or amazement.

12d   “Sport” needing strong grip after initial exchanges, say (9)

I initially thought that the solution might have been "WRESTLING" — the professional version being more theatre than sport. Although I eventually managed to figure out the correct sport (and understand the meaning of the quotation marks), I failed to see the Spoonerism.  The wordplay is sounds like (say) a Spoonerism (after initial exchanges) of FULL BITE (strong grip).

14d   Hot sandwiches smell after her untipped fag? (6,3)

In Britain, fag^[5] is a term for a junior pupil at a public school who does minor chores for a senior pupil ⇒ a fag at school who has suffered a well-earned beating. In North America, given that fag^[5] is derogatory slang for a male homosexual, a statement such as the foregoing usage example would likely cause some considerable consternation. At least the surface reading works on both sides of the Atlantic — despite the fact that British dictionaries do appear to believe that fag^[5] is British slang for a cigarette.

15d   One song is about entering mother country (8)

Today being Mother's Day, the mention of mother is timely (although, I am sure, unintentionally so).

18d   Amazed at dresses German possesses (6)

20d   Small bed in lift occupied by one patient (5)

21d   Where American would park American sports car (5)

A North American would park in a parking lot^[5] (or simply a lot^[5]) while a Brit would park in a car park^[5].

Lotus Cars^[7] is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk, England. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics.

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)

Happy Mother's Day — Falcon

Sunday, May 5, 2013 — ST 4532

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4532
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 7, 2013
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4532]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 27, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, May 4, 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, May 4, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

Dave Perry indicated that he found this puzzle to be a "straightforward, for the most part, offering". However, his solving time does push it — though just barely — into three star territory according to my arbitrary measuring stick.

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   Novelist’s part of formal dissertation (6)

Brian Aldiss^[5] is an English novelist and critic, best known for his science fiction; notable works: Frankenstein Unbound (1973).

4a   Mark joins Home Counties to run as athlete (8)

The wordplay is PRINT (mark) contained in (joins) SE (Home Counties; South East) + (to) R (run).

The Home Counties^[5] are the counties in the SE of England surrounding London, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire. On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R^[5] indicates run(s).

9a   Cross can shine endlessly within (6)

A tiglon (alternate term for tigon^[5]) is the hybrid offspring of a male tiger and a lioness. Compare this with liger^[5], the hybrid offspring of a male lion and a tigress.

10a   Lark has to fly round a dam (8)

I suspect that dam^[5] is being used in the sense of the female parent of an animal, especially a domestic mammal. While I could find no reference source for the abbreviation, Dave Perry does confirm my interpretation in his review.

11a   Shabby British Telecom in complete mess (12)

British Telecom^[7] is a former name of BT Group plc, a British multinational telecommunications services company. While it would seem that the company prefers to style itself as simply BT, the former name appears to have stuck in the mind of the general public. One of the largest such enterprises in the world, BT has operations in over 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of telecoms services to corporate and government customers worldwide and its BT Retail division is one of the largest suppliers of telephony, broadband and subscription television services in the UK.

15a   Around end of dinner, boy is fat (4)

16a   From which spectators watch large bear (10)

18a   Everyone’s after torn pieces of cloth to make fabric (10)

19a   Start to talk then regret being honest (4)

21a   Working theatres rely on Doctors here? (6,6)

Harley Street^[7] is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.

24a   Inter the murdered cardinal (8)

... a cardinal number, that is.

25a   It rains inside when I’m busking (6)

26a   Minister finally gets minor honour when outside Cabinet (8)

OBE stands for Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

The Order of the British Empire^[5] is an order of knighthood instituted in 1917 and divided into five classes, each with military and civilian divisions. The classes are: Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), Knight or Dame Commander (KBE/DBE), Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE), and Member (MBE). The two highest classes entail the awarding of a knighthood.

27a   Physicist finally climbing mountain (6)

Hans Wilhelm Geiger^[5] (1882 – 1945) was a German nuclear physicist. In 1908 he developed his prototype radiation counter for detecting alpha particles, later improved in collaboration with Walther Müller.

Down

1d   It’s clear one copper left in a right state with tip-off (10)

The phrase "It's clear" is a terse expression of the more verbose statement "The solution to the clue is a synonym for clear".

2d   Rogue getting extremely desperate teenager in trouble (10)

"Extremely desperate" indicating the extreme (first and last) letters of DesperatE,

3d   Tool found in small shed (6)

5d   Feeling pressure before amateur dramatic production (7,4)

The first "feeling" to come to mind was EMOTION, which proved to be incorrect. It also seemed to create a mental block to finding the correct term.

6d   International supporter returned to tie instantly (2,1,5)

In Britain, an international^[5] is a game or contest between teams representing different countries in a sport ⇒ the Murrayfield rugby international.

Also, in Britain, a tie^[5] is a sports match between two or more players or teams in which the winners proceed to the next round of the competition [i.e., an elimination match] ⇒ Swindon Town have won themselves a third round tie against Oldham. The example cited does not mean that Swindon Town and Oldham played to a draw; rather, it means that Swindon Town won their second round match and advanced to the third round in which they will play Oldham.

The word "to" serves as a charade indicator, being used in the sense of 'pressed against' — as in the expressions "put your shoulder to the wheel" or "your nose to the grindstone".

7d   Meal with large duck (4)

In Britain, high tea^[5] (or simply tea) is a meal eaten in the late afternoon or early evening, typically consisting of a cooked dish, bread and butter, and tea. In North America, this meal would typically be known as supper.

8d   With lid off fish basket reveals angler’s aid (4)

12d   Eg give in to the English teacher? (7,4)

13d   Person bearing appropriate sort of container (7,3)

Bag^[5] means to succeed in securing (something) ⇒ (i) we’ve bagged three awards for excellence; (ii) get there early to bag a seat in the front row.

14d   He promotes guide touring heart of River Tyne (10)

The Tyne^[5] is a river in NE England, formed by the confluence of two headstreams, the North Tyne, which rises in the Cheviot Hills, and the South Tyne, which rises in the northern Pennines. It flows generally eastwards, entering the North Sea at Tynemouth.

17d   Check container inside for bottle (8)

20d   Habit 23 changes after a time (6)

There is an error in the clue as it appears in the Vancouver Sun in which the cross reference indicator appears as "10" rather than "23". British writers report that the same error appeared in the online version of the puzzle in the UK but was later corrected. I suspect that the error must have also appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times, although there were no reports of it in Times for the Times. The error was also repeated by the Australian — which, like the Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun and Toronto Star — carries the syndicated puzzle. It is quite remarkable that only the Ottawa Citizen somehow managed to correct the error.

To complete the clue, one must substitute the solution to the cross referenced clue (clue 23) in place of the cross reference indicator appearing in the present clue.

22d   Feeble types return in a state of agitation (4)

In Britain, wet^[5] is an informal term meaning, as an adjective, (1) showing a lack of forcefulness or strength of character; feeble ⇒ they thought the cadets were a bit wet or (2) Conservative with liberal tendencies, especially as regarded by right-wing Conservatives ⇒ they came across as the most liberal or wet members of the government. As a noun, it means (1) a person lacking forcefulness or strength of character ⇒there are sorts who look like gangsters and sorts who look like wets or (2) a Conservative with liberal tendencies ⇒the wets favoured a change in economic policy. The use of the term wet^[7] in British politics apparently began during the term in office of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher^[7].

23d   I see Queen after introduction to the band (4)

By tradition, the ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina — and that of King George was GR^[5] — from the Latin Georgius Rex.

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