Friday, June 6, 2014

Signing Off For All Time


Farewell

I returned from my recent travels to discover that during my absence the powers-that-be at the Ottawa Citizen had totally revamped the newspaper. Among the changes made was the discontinuance of The Sunday London Times Crossword feature.

I am sure that the scrapping of this feature has done much to elevate the intellectual level of the paper — not to mention making room for such erudite additions as Love and the Stars. I suppose giving up our weekly crossword puzzle is a small price for us cruciverbalists to pay to ensure that the love lives of the citizens of Ottawa unfold in accordance with the dictates of the stars.

This blog existed for almost exactly five years — the first posting appearing on May 17, 2009. The last entry for which a puzzle actually exists is that of May 18, 2014. The entry for May 25, 2014 forecast the appearance of a puzzle that was not published.

In conclusion, I would like to thank those who have followed this blog, especially those who left comments from time to time.

Signing off — Falcon

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sunday, May 25, 2014 — ST 4587


Post Mortem

I returned from my travels to discover that during my absence the editors of the Ottawa Citizen completely revamped the newspaper — in the process discontinuing The Sunday London Times Crossword. As a consequence, this puzzle never appeared.
Vacation Edition [Note 1]
Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4587
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Setter
Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4587]
Times for the Times Review Written By
ulaca
Times for the Times Reviewer's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, May 17, 2014[Note 4]
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 24, 2014[Note 3]
Notes
[1] I am currently on vacation. Today's abbreviated posting was prepared prior to my departure and provides a link to the review at Times for the Times for the puzzle that I expect to be published today.
[2] This puzzle is forecast to appear on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 24 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[3] Forecast publication date. Post publication, I will be unable to verify the publication date as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.
[4] Forecast publication date.

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Sunday, May 18, 2014 — ST 4586

Vacation Edition [Note 1]
Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4586
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Setter
Jeff Pearce 
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4586]
Times for the Times Review Written By
paul_in_london
Times for the Times Reviewer's Solving Time
Not provided
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 17, 2014[Note 3]
Notes
[1] I am currently on vacation. Today's abbreviated posting was prepared prior to my departure and provides a link to the review at Times for the Times for the puzzle that I expect to be published today.
[2] This puzzle is forecast to appear on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 17, 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[3] Forecast publication date. Post publication, I will be unable to verify the publication date as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.

Introduction

I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks. During my absence, an abbreviated version of the blog will appear containing a link to the review at Times for the Times for the puzzle that I forecast to be published.

In the blog entry dealing with today's puzzle, Times for the Times reports that the regular reviewer, Dave Perry, has suffered a stroke and "so will obviously be unavailable for blogging duties until further notice".

I am sure we all wish Dave a speedy recovery.

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Sunday, May 11, 2014 — ST 4585

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4585
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Setter
Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4585]
Times for the Times Review Written By
Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 10, 2014[Note 2]
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
- solved but without fully parsing the clue
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
- yet to be solved
Notes
[1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 10, 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[2] Unverified as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.

Introduction

Today's puzzle was not overly difficult, but provided lots of enjoyment.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across


1a   Restrained dog is suffering problems with some chow (6,9)

It may appear that "chow" is yet another dog.— but that is not the case.

9a   Do you transport the lady speaking fast in Eastern capital? (7)

The effect is more pronounced (pardon the pun) when spoken in a non-rhotic[5] British accent. Non-rhotic accents omit the sound /r/ in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce /r/ in all contexts.

Jakarta[5] is the capital of Indonesia, situated in northwestern Java; population 9,125,000 (est. 2009). Former name (until 1949) Batavia.

10a   Go by bike, carrying on in lots of wind (7)

11a   Votes in favour of timeless Irish poet (4)

W. B. Yeats[5] (1865–1939) was an Irish poet and dramatist; full name William Butler Yeats. His play The Countess Cathleen (1892) and his collection of stories The Celtic Twilight (1893) stimulated Ireland’s theatrical, cultural, and literary revival. Notable poetry: The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair (1929). Nobel Prize for Literature (1923).

12a   We hear one after another intended to get detention (10)

13a   Progressive leader of Indian state (2-5)

Go-ahead[5] is an adjective meaning willing to consider new ideas; in other words, enterprising a young and go-ahead managing director.

Goa[5] is a state on the west coast of India; capital, Panaji. Formerly a Portuguese territory, it was seized by India in 1961. It formed a Union Territory with Daman and Diu until 1987, when it was made a state.

15a   Tower viewed in modified telescope company's put out (7)

17a   Did gag that's despicable, wife walking out (7)

19a   Railing about initially cutting standard brain scanning facility (7)

Positron emission tomography[10] (abbreviation PET[10]) is a technique for assessing brain activity and function by recording the emission of positrons from radioactively labelled substances, such as glucose or dopamine.

20a   Finish sounding like a drunken side-kick! (10)

22a   Stages that go with 11 called out (4)

In the game of bingo in the United Kingdom, callers announcing the numbers have traditionally used nicknames to refer to particular numbers if they are drawn. The nicknames are sometimes known by the rhyming phrase 'bingo lingo' and there are rhymes for each number from 1 to 90, some of which date back many decades. In some clubs, the 'bingo caller' will say the number, with the assembled players intoning the rhyme in a call and response manner, in others, the caller will say the rhyme and the players chant the number.

The nickname for the number "11" is legs — a reference to the shape of the number resembling a pair of legs, often chicken legs specifically. The players often wolf whistle in response.

Wikipedia has a list of British bingo nicknames[7] which you might find of interest — although the overly decorous may wish to avoid looking at "69" and "83".

25a   Starts to hoover under machines, part of kitchen routine (7)

In the UK, hoover[5] (a genericized version of the trade name Hoover) means (as a noun) a vacuum cleaner (from any manufacturer) and (as a verb) to clean (something) with a vacuum cleaner he was hoovering the stairs

The Hoover Company[7] started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name became synonymous with vacuum cleaners and vacuuming in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Kitchen[5] is an informal term for the percussion section of an orchestra.

26a   Detective hurt and it doesn't look good (7)

Eye[10] is an informal term for private eye[10], which in its own right is an informal term for a private detective.

27a   Important figures that are expanded by a corporation (5,10)

Formally, vital statistics[5] are quantitative data concerning the population, such as the number of births, marriages, and deaths. Informally, the term refers to the measurements of a woman’s bust, waist, and hips. While Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises this latter usage as British, I know from personal experience that the term is in wide-spread use far beyond the shores of the UK.

Corporation[5] is a dated, humorous term for a paunch.


Down


1d   Relish English post, mostly in the Big Apple (5)

The Big Apple[5] is an informal name for New York City.

2d   Pull to pieces what an unemployed actor hopes to do (4,5)

3d   Spy seen in new and old ship (4)

Nark[5] is an British slang for a police informer ⇒ I’m not a copper’s nark.

Ark[5] is an archaic name for a ship or boat. In the Bible, the ark (or Noah's ark) is the ship built by Noah to save his family and two of every kind of animal from the Flood.

Even Oxford Dictionaries Online perpetuates the fallacy that Noah took "two of every kind" of animal on the ark. God's instruction to Noah actually was “You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth” (Genesis 7:2-3).

4d   Tired daughter showered (7)

5d   Bags of pain in street ending in tears (7)

6d   Story-teller working near court (9)

7d   Far Right no longer show feeling (5)

8d   Mint on lamb, for example is a delicacy (9)

Sweet[5] is the British term for a piece of candy[5]a bag of sweets.

A sweetmeat[10] is a sweetened delicacy, such as a preserve, sweet, or, formerly, a cake or pastry. Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises the term as archaic[5]. Not to be confused with sweetbread[5] — which, despite the name, is meat while a sweetmeat could be bread.

13d   Famous Russian composer in new edition of Grove (9)

Johann Sebastian Bach[5] (1685–1750) was a German composer. An exceptional and prolific baroque composer, he produced a massive body of work — not to mention twenty children.

In the surface reading, "Grove" is an instance of the name of an author being used as a substitute for the name of his work.

Sir George Grove (1820–1900) was an English musicologist. He was the founder and first editor of the multi-volume Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1879–89) and served as the first director of the Royal College of Music (1883–94).

Mikhail Gorbachev[5] is a Soviet statesman, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR 1985–91 and President 1988–91. His foreign policy brought about an end to the Cold War, while within the USSR he introduced major reforms known as glasnost and perestroika. Opposition to his policies led to an attempted coup in 1991, after which he resigned. Nobel Peace Prize (1990).

14d   Short-lived, wild maple here (9)

16d   Travelling pioneer keeping very quiet in what may be called a banger (9)

Pianissimo (abbreviation pp)[5] is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very soft or very quiet or (as an adverb) very softly or very quietly.

Banger[5] is an informal British name for a sausage ⇒ bangers and mash [mashed potato].

18d   Scheduled to include one line over set boundaries (7)

The wordplay parses as a reversal (over) of {TIMED (scheduled) containing (to include) {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + L (line)}}.

19d   Most classy lady's into cannabis (7)

21d   Arrive before time in early jet (5)

The de Havilland DH 106 Comet[7] was the first production commercial jetliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at its Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, the Comet 1 prototype first flew on 27 July 1949.

23d   Do they help one to see what builders are doing? (5)

The entire clue is a cryptic definition for specs as an abbreviation for specifications (builders' plans). The portion of the clue with the dashed underlining is a definition for specs as an abbreviation for spectacles (eye glasses).

One commenter at Times for the Times remarked "I'd have thought architects did SPECS rather than builders ..". True it is architects (and engineers) who draw them up, but it is builders who execute them. Thus if you were to look at the specs, you would have a a better idea of what the builder is doing. Another writer appears to think that the reference is to "building on spec" (that is, on speculation).

24d   Marries for one day? (4)

Wednesday can be abbreviated as either Wed.[5] or Weds.[5]
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)
[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Sunday, May 4, 2014 — ST 4584

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4584
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Setter
Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4584]
Times for the Times Review Written By
Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
Not Provided
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 3, 2014[Note 2]
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
- solved but without fully parsing the clue
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
- yet to be solved
Notes
[1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 3, 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[2] Unverified as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.

Introduction

Today, you might say that Anax gets "down and dirty" (3d, 6d) or, perhaps, "dirty in the Downs". This is certainly far from being one his most difficult puzzles, but a good challenge, nevertheless. And, as always, a very enjoyable solve.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across


1a   Frozen body? Turn up temperature (5)

4a   Chap is carrying iron to platform (9)

The symbol for the chemical element iron is Fe[5].

9a   Big girl starts to test seesaw (9)

The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize (OS[5]) in Britain.

Cilla[7] is an English female given name, originally the diminutive form of Priscilla and less frequently Drusilla. It first appeared in the 20th Century.

"Starts" — being plural — is used to clue the first two letters of TEst.

10a   Crease new sheets (5)

In cricket, a crease is a line — not an area as it is in hockey and lacrosse. In cricket, a crease[10] is any of three lines (bowling crease, popping crease, or return crease) near each wicket marking positions for the bowler or batsman.

11a   Dicky bird's covering for a swallow? (4,2,3,5)

Dicky bird[5] is an informal child’s word for a bird.

Dicky[10] is an informal British term meaning  in bad condition; shaky, unsteady, or unreliableI feel a bit dicky today.

Down in the mouth[10] (or down at the mouth) means in low spirits.

The "bird's covering" is DOWN and one reason [the question mark indicating that this is but an example] for having it IN THE MOUTH would be that one intended to swallow it.

In his review, Dave Perry expresses some misgivings about "dicky" as a definition.

13a   A handle for jug, all in enamel (8)

While I did get the correct solution, I failed to parse the clue.

Nick[5] is an informal British name for a prison he’ll end up in the nick for the rest of his life.

The jug[5] is an informal term for prison ⇒ three months in the jug.

The phrase "all in enamel" is used to clue NAME, all [the letters] in eNAMEl — omitting the letters that comprise the outside edges of the word.

15a   Cooking fuel behind ring (6)

Sterno[5] is a US trademarked name for a flammable hydrocarbon jelly supplied in cans for use as fuel for cooking stoves. The name comes from that of the manufacturer, Sternau and Co.

17a   Fruit in this is completely sliced by mum (6)

The phrase "in this is completely" is used to clue TOTO. The Latin phrase in toto[5] means as a whole or completely.

18a   Mother comes in to sell axe (8)

20a   Made no progress? Perhaps he was forgotten (3,7,4)

23a   In jeopardy, he will hold back a monster (5)

In Greek mythology, the Hydra[5] was a many-headed snake whose heads grew again as they were cut off, eventually killed by Hercules.

24a   Posh boy back in Asian resort in part of Spain (9)

In Britain, U[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words denoting upper class such as posh or superior.

As an anagram indicator, "resort" is used in the somewhat whimsical sense of 'to sort again'.

Andalusia[5] is the southernmost region of Spain, bordering on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; capital, Seville. The region was under Moorish rule from 711 to 1492.

25a   One buys tea that officer gulps (9)

Cha[5] (also chai or char) is an informal British name for tea.

26a   Like a drink? Gin perhaps? (5)

Rummy[10] is a US and Canadian slang word for drunkard.

Gin[5] (also gin rummy) is a form of the card game rummy in which a player holding cards totalling ten or less may terminate play.

Down


1d   Mix 'n' match decoration, possibly (10)

2d   Bird's bill penetrating gullet (5)

A macaw[5] is a large long-tailed parrot with brightly coloured plumage, native to Central and South America.

3d   Dirty little hospital nurses recording for broadcast news? No! (4,2,3,2,4)

This was a new expression to me. I tried in vain to justify TELL IT NOT IN OATH.

The expression "tell it not in Gath" means don't spread scandal — keep the story to yourself ⇒ Tell it not in Gath, but their marriage isn’t turning out too well. There’s good reason to believe ….

The source is 2 Samuel 1:20. David said when he heard of the death of Jonathan in the war against the Philistines:
Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
4d   For now, an expression of self-loathing? (8)

Split (2, 4-2), the solution becomes "Me anti-me" — which could be expressed in a more grammatically correct manner as "I am anti-me".

5d   Missing, as was masseur reportedly (6)

Judging by the comments at Times for the Times, it seems that a lot of solvers got misled by thinking that the wordplay is "as was masseur reportedly". In fact, the wordplay is simply "was masseur reportedly" with the word "as" merely serving as a link between the definition and wordplay. Someone who was (a) masseur could be described as someone who kneaded.

6d   Thought one would snarl about dirty supporter (6,9)

A fellow traveller[2] is someone who sympathizes with a political party, especially the Communist Party, without actually joining it.

7d   Hospitals showing arrogance over adopting a security group (9)

I managed to come up with a spelling, SANITORIA, that turns out to be a hybrid of the British (sanatoria[5]) and US (sanitaria[5]) spellings.

This I parsed — not without some reservations, I may add — as {SNIT (arrogance or, possibly, showing arrogance) + O (over; a division of play in cricket)} containing (adopting) A (from the clue) + RIA (security group).

I assumed the RIA was some hitherto unknown-to-me British counterpart to the CIA. As it turns out, this super-secretive group is unknown to anyone.

Thankfully, Dave Perry provides the correct solution at Times for the Times.

8d   Farmyard sound in so-so nursing home (4)

12d   Consistent supply prepared by Spooner? (4 6)

A spoonerism[5] is a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures. It is named after the Revd W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), an English scholar who reputedly made such errors in speaking.

14d   About to meet host, call for video equipment (9)

16d   Bullfighter pulled a pole up (8)

As a synonym for tear, pull[5] may be used in the sense of to damage (a muscle, ligament, etc.) by abnormal strain he pulled a calf muscle in the first half of the game and had to be replaced. It might also be used in a figurative sense ⇒ they are pulled in incompatible directions by external factors and their own beliefs.

A toreador[5] is a bullfighter, especially one on horseback. Initially, only matador[5] (a bullfighter whose task is to kill the bull) and picador[5] (a person on horseback who goads the bull with a lance) came to mind.

19d   Athlete's kit is striking — stores energy (6)

Kit[5] is a British term for the clothing used for an activity such as a sport a football kit. In other words, what would be called a uniform on this side of the pond.

21d   F1 driver turned up for tea (5)

Felipe Massa[7] is a Brazilian Formula One (F1) racing driver.

Assam[10] is a high-quality black tea grown in the Indian state of Assam.

22d   Fluffy dessert with fruit (4)

A whip[5] is a dessert consisting of cream or eggs beaten into a light fluffy mass with fruit, chocolate, or other ingredients.

A hip[5] is the fruit of a rose, especially a wild kind.
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)
[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sunday, April 27, 2014 — ST 4583

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4583
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Setter
Jeff Pearce 
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4583]
Times for the Times Review Written By
Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, April 26, 2014[Note 2]
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
- solved but without fully parsing the clue
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
- yet to be solved
Notes
[1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, April 26, 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[2] Unverified as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.

Introduction

Today, Jeff Pearce turns down the difficulty level a notch or two from what we have experienced in the last few weeks.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across


1a   T Blair seen wandering around old part of capital (4,6)

Tony Blair[5] is a former British Labour Prime Minister (1997–2007).

Berlin[5] is the capital of Germany; population 3,404,000 (est. 2006). At the end of the Second World War the city was occupied by the Allies and divided into two parts: West Berlin, comprising the American, British, and French sectors and East Berlin, the sector of the city occupied by the Soviet Union. The two parts were reunited in 1990.

6a   School on river making racket (4)

S.[10] is the abbreviation for school.

The Cam[10] is a river in eastern England, in Cambridgeshire, flowing through Cambridge to the River Ouse. Length: about 64 km (40 miles).

9a   Cut from small musical instrument (5)

10a   One could have made you serve old workers in Fleet Street (5,4)

Fleet Street[5] is a street in central London in which the offices of national newspapers were located until the mid 1980s (often used as a metonym for the British Press) the hottest story in Fleet Street.

12a   Standing up for the losers of this tuneful party game (7,6)

This is a cryptic definition in which the primary indication is provided by the part of the clue with the solid underlining while the portion of the clue with the dashed underlining provides a secondary cryptic indication.

The phrase "standing up for the losers" needs to be interpreted as "for the losers, their fate is to stand up [... while others sit]".

14a   Groom Henry and Pat? They won't be there! (3,5)

While the groom, Henry, and his friend — and, possibly, best man — Pat, will not attend, the bride and her friends certainly will.

A hen party[5] is an informal [almost certainly British] term for a social gathering of women, especially a hen night[5], an informal British term for a celebration held for a woman who is about to get married, attended only by women.

15a   Bumpy ride to be one in charge of 10? (6)

The numeral 10 in the clue is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 10a in its place to complete the clue.

17a   Black sheep's first one making thrust (6)

Jet[5] is (1) a hard black semi-precious variety of lignite, capable of being carved and highly polished jet beads and (2) (also jet black) a glossy black colour her jet-black hair.

A ramjet[5] is a type of jet engine in which the air drawn in for combustion is compressed solely by the forward motion of the aircraft.

19a   You have rotisserie but how to get gratuities? (8)

This clue constitutes an instance of inverse wordplay, specifically an inverse reversal. While many commentators refer to this as reverse wordplay rather than inverse wordplay, I prefer the latter term which is analogous to the concept of inverse functions in mathematics. It also has the added advantage of allowing one to avoid using the awkward phrasing reverse reversal.

In inverse wordplay, the solution to the clue can be interpreted as a bit of wordplay that would produce a result that is found in the clue itself — either directly (direct inverse wordplay) or indirectly (indirect inverse wordplay).

In the current clue, the definition is "rotisserie" for which the solution is TURNSPIT. If one were to split this (4,4), it could be interpreted as a reversal (turn) of SPIT giving the result TIPS (gratuities).

Had the word "tips" appeared in the clue itself, we would have had a direct inverse reversal. However, since "tips" is a synonym for the word "gratuities" which actually appears in the clue, this becomes an indirect inverse reversal.

21a   He might get short colonel car park if ordered (5,8)

I certainly haven't been able to make much sense of the surface reading of this clue. It would appear to state that, if ordered to do so, a soldier might fetch (or, perhaps, purchase) a parking lot for his small-statured superior officer.

I did wonder if "short colonel" might be a British expression akin to the American light colonel (lieutenant colonel), but I found no evidence of this. Had that been the case, the word "get" might have signified "be promoted to". Anyway, it seems to me that one would rarely — if ever — be promoted from lance corporal to any sort of colonel. That explanation would also leave the surface reading for the remainder of the clue inexplicable.

Car park[10] is the British term for a parking lot.

From a cryptic perspective, "short" is indicating that we must perform a truncation (remove the final letter from the fodder). I spent a long time supposing that the fodder must be "colonel" from which one would drop the final L. I eventually realized that the fodder is, in fact, "colonel car park" from which one must drop the final K.

24a   Separated chaps with time to see pad (9)

25a   Relative's corrupt, abandoning one (5)

26a   Beer maker dropping brother's jug (4)

27a   Downtown and a way to describe it! (4,6)

Down


1d   Different golfer on start of eighteenth (4)

"Different golfer" ... yes, for a change, not Tiger Woods!

Ernie Els[7] is a South African professional golfer, who has been one of the top professional players in the world since the mid-1990s.

2d   Flaky guy losing form in heat (7)

3d   The ins and outs of domestic finance (4,9)

A document which captures the inflows and outflows of household capital.

4d   Backing a typical financial district to display greed (8)

The City[5] is short for the City of London. Take note that the City of London[5] is not the same thing as the city of London, but merely the part of London situated within the ancient boundaries and governed by the Lord Mayor and the Corporation[5] [in Britain, a group of people elected to govern a city, town, or borough].

The City is also a metonym for the financial and commercial institutions located in the City of London ⇒ (i) the Budget got a stony reception from the City; (ii) a City analyst. This is analogous to the use of the terms Wall Street and Bay Street to refer to the financial institutions located in New York and Toronto respectively.

5d   Model fish on a line (.5)

Ide[5] is another name for the orfe[5], a silvery freshwater fish (Leuciscus idus) of the carp family, which is fished commercially in eastern Europe.

7d   Diagram includes one old vehicle (7)

8d   Person in court showing mother point made to judge (10)

Here "made to" is a charade indicator, with "made" meaning created or written and "to" denoting "pressed against" — as in expressions such as "shoulder to the wheel" or "nose to the grindstone".

11d   Send a rude chef away enjoying his misery? (13)

Here, it is the person who is dismissing the chef who is enjoying this poor chap's misery. Schadenfreude[10] is a German word signifying delight in another's misfortune.

13d   Sailors shouldn't be working on this (5,5)

16d   Unconvincing presentation that may have strings attached (8)

Puppetry[10] is an unconvincing or specious presentation.

18d   Command chap to be accompanied by boyfriend (7)

20d   Use rod with whip on beast (7)

Cat[5] is short for cat-o'-nine-tails[5], a rope whip with nine knotted cords, formerly used (especially at sea) to flog offenders.

A polecat[5] is a weasel-like Eurasian mammal with mainly dark brown fur and a darker mask across the eyes, noted for its fetid smell. There are three species, in particular the European polecat (Mustela putorius) which is the probable ancestor of the domestic ferret. In North America [although only in the US, as far as I know], the name is also applied to the skunk.

22d   Old black priest showing signs of doubt (5)

In the Bible, Eli[5] is a priest who acted as a teacher to the prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 1-3).

An obelus (plural obeli) can be either (1) a symbol (†) used as a reference mark in printed matter, or to indicate that a person is deceased or (2) a mark (- or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to mark a word or passage as spurious, corrupt or doubtful.

23d   Cost includes tenor for gala (4)

A gala[5] is a social occasion with special entertainments or performances a gala performance by the Royal Ballet.

In Britain, a fete[5] is a public function, typically held outdoors and organized to raise funds for a charity, including entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments a church fete.
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)
[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Sunday, April 20, 2014 — ST 4582

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4582
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Setter
Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4582]
Times for the Times Review Written By
Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, April 19, 2014[Note 2]
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
- solved but without fully parsing the clue
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
- yet to be solved
Notes
[1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, April 19, 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[2] Unverified as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.

Introduction

It took me a long time to get started on this puzzle, and even once I did my progress was painfully slow, In the end, I did fairly well but needed some electronic help to finish — in particular, in the southwestern corner.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Definitions are underlined in the clue, with subsidiary indications being marked by means of a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across


1a   Shake breakfast food bowl (8)

5a   Outfit absorbs union coercion (6)

10a   Something fishy about former W Indian batsman — suspect trickery (5,1,3)

A smelt[5] is a small silvery fish which lives in both marine and fresh water and is sometimes fished commercially.

Brian Lara[7] is a former West Indian international cricket player. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of his era and one of the finest ever to have graced the game.

11a   Fast driver in luxury car gets round one (5)

In card games, an ace[2] is the card in each of the four suits with a single symbol on it, having either the highest value or the value one.

The monogram RR appears on the grill of a Rolls-Royce[5] automobile, a luxury car produced by the British Rolls-Royce company.

12a   Rain god rejected by Richard Nixon? Not entirely (5)

Richard Nixon[5] (1913–194) was an American Republican statesman, 37th President of the US 1969–74. His period of office was overshadowed by the Vietnam War. Re-elected in 1972, he became the first President to resign from office, owing to his involvement in the Watergate scandal.

In Hinduism, Indra[5] is the warrior king of the heavens, god of war and storm, to whom many of the prayers in the Rig Veda[5] [the oldest of four collections of Hindu scripture] are addressed.

13a   Brutish type seen in a couple of pubs and in a mess (9)

14a   Erik, say, in profit did harvest (8,2)

Eric the Red[5] (circa 940-circa 1010) was a Norse explorer. He left Iceland in 982 in search of land to the west, exploring Greenland and establishing a Norse settlement there in 986.

Of the several dictionaries that I consulted which had a listing for the explorer, all spelled his name as Eric the Red[3,4,5,10,11]. Wikipedia is the only reference I looked at which spells the name as Erik the Red[7].

17a   What really shouldn't be brought back in Aberdeen academy? (4)

I would say that this is a semi-& lit. (semi-all-in-one) clue in which the entire clue provides the definition and a portion of the clue (the part with the dashed underlining) serves as the wordplay.

Aberdeen[5] is a city and seaport in northeastern Scotland; population 166,900 (est. 2009). It is a centre of the offshore North Sea oil industry.

Caning[7] is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks or palms of the hands.

The thin cane generally used for corporal punishment is not to be confused with a walking stick, sometimes also called (especially in American English) a "cane" but which is thicker and much more rigid, and more likely to be made of stronger wood than of cane.

The western educational use of the cane dates principally to the late nineteenth century, gradually replacing birching—effective only if applied to the bare bottom—with a form of punishment more suited to contemporary sensibilities, once it had been discovered that a flexible rattan cane can provide the offender with a substantial degree of pain even when delivered through a layer of clothing.

Caning as a school punishment is strongly associated in the English-speaking world with England, but it was also used in other European countries in earlier times, notably Scandinavia, Germany and the countries of the former Austrian empire.

In some schools corporal punishment was administered solely by the headmaster, while in others the task was delegated to other teachers. In many English and Commonwealth private schools, authority to punish was also traditionally given to certain senior students (often called prefects). In the early 20th century, such permission for prefects to cane other boys was widespread in British public schools. [Note: In the UK, a public school[5] is a private fee-paying secondary school, especially one for boarders — what North Americans would call public schools are referred to in Britain as state (funded) schools].

In many state secondary schools in England and Wales caning was in use, mostly for boys, until 1987, while elsewhere other implements prevailed, such as the Scottish tawse [a strip of leather, with one end split into a number of tails]. The cane was generally administered in a formal ceremony to the seat of the trousers, typically with the student bending over a desk or chair. Usually there was a maximum of six strokes (known as "six of the best").

Schoolgirls were caned much more rarely than boys, and if the punishment was given by a male teacher, nearly always on the palm of the hand. Rarely, girls were caned on the clothed bottom, in which case the punishment would probably be applied by a female teacher.

In the UK, all corporal punishment in private schools was finally banned in 1999 for England and Wales, 2000 in Scotland, and 2003 in Northern Ireland.

19a   Prepare to swallow Tory cut (4)

A Tory[4] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada. Historically, a Tory was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679-80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

20a   Duff American meets one of his former presidents — nothing comes out (5,5)

In the surface reading, duff[10] is an informal British term meaning bad or useless, as by not working out or not operating correctly(i) a duff idea; (ii) a duff engine.

In the wordplay, duff[5] is an informal North American term for a person’s buttocks I did not get where I am today by sitting on my duff. Thus the setter uses the phrase "duff American" to denote 'what duff means in America'.

Fanny[5] is another informal North American term for a person’s buttocks. In Britain, fanny[5] is vulgar slang for a woman’s genitals. Now there is an opportunity ripe for misunderstanding!

John Adams[5] (1735–1826) was the 2nd President of the US 1797–1801; father of John Quincy Adams. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence (1776).

John Quincy Adams[5] (1767–1848) was the 6th President of the US 1825-9; eldest son of John Adams. [I wonder if, in his day, he was known as Q — as Bush the younger was known as W.]

Fanny Adams[5] is British slang meaning nothing at all [a euphemism for fuck all and commonly appearing in the phrase sweet Fanny Adams] ⇒ I know sweet Fanny Adams about mining.

23a   Nice fellows in Europe captivated by Argentinian footballer and son (9)

Nice[5] is a resort city on the French Riviera, near the border with Italy; population 348,721 (2007).

Messieurs[8] (plural of monsieur) is a French word meaning gentlemen.

Lionel Messi[7] is an Argentine footballer [soccer player] who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team.

25a   Handle small piece with only two tenors (5)

A tittle[3] — which turns out not to be a Briticism as I had expected — is the tiniest bit or an iota.

27a   A legal action cut short in open courts (S)

28a   Laver's hit out in play (3,6)

Rod Laver[5] is an Australian former professional tennis player. In 1962 he became the second man (after Don Budge in 1938) to win the four major singles championships (British, American, French, and Australian) in one year; in 1969 he was the first to repeat this.

The Rivals[7] is a comedy of manners play by Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) in five acts. It was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775.

29a   There's dope in the republic (6)

The term turkey[10] is slang (mainly US and Canadian) for a stupid, incompetent, or unappealing person.

Turkey[5] is a country comprising the whole of the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia, with a small enclave in southeastern Europe to the west of Istanbul; population 76,805,500 (est. 2009); official language, Turkish; capital, Ankara.

30a   Former PM's wordplay is not sophisticated (8)

Sir Alec Douglas-Home[5], Baron Home of the Hirsel of Coldstream (1903–1995) was a British Conservative statesman, Prime Minister 1963-4. When Douglas-Home became Prime Minister he relinquished his hereditary peerage.

Down


1d   Could be one with large public transport fleet in street diversion (7)

2d   Advanced study's hard for Rex in front (5)

Read the wordplay as A (advanced) + READ (study) has (the 's is a contraction for has) H (hard) replacing (for) R (Rex).

In the UK (with the exception of Scotland), A level[5] (advanced level) is a qualification in a specific subject typically taken by school students aged 16-18, at a level above GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education).

In Britain, to read[5] means to study (an academic subject) at a university (i) I’m reading English at Cambridge; (ii) he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.

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

Rex[5] (abbreviation R[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones). 

3d   Middle Eastern leaves, seldom made full of beans? (8)

Even having deciphered that this was an anagram and having not only all the letters, but also all the checking letters, I still needed electronic assistance to fill in the blanks.

Dolma[5] (plural dolmas or dolmades) is a dish consisting of ingredients such as meat and spiced rice [but, seemingly, not often beans] wrapped in vine or cabbage leaves, popular in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the eastern Mediterranean.

4d   Cancel credit in subscription (5)

In Britain, sub[5] is an informal short form for subscriptionthe annual sub for the golf club will be £200.

6d   Republic formerly passed over professional racket (6)

The United Arab Republic[5] (abbreviation UAR) was a former political union established by Egypt and Syria in 1958. It was seen as the first step towards the creation of a pan-Arab union in the Middle East, but only Yemen entered into loose association with it (1958–66) and Syria withdrew in 1961. Egypt retained the name United Arab Republic until 1971.

7d   Mexican dish is a pound in new hacienda (9)

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

In Spanish-speaking countries or regions, a hacienda[5] is a large estate or plantation with a dwelling house.

An enchilada[5] is a tortilla [Mexican flatbread] served with chilli sauce and a filling of meat or cheese.

8d   A litre having been put away, suppress rum (7)

The comma indicates an inversion in the sentence structure of the wordplay. Thus the wordplay can be interpreted as STRANGLE (suppress) [with] a L (litre) deleted (having been put away).

Rum[5] is dated British slang meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

9d   Archer for one has succeeded with novel ratings (4,4)

The surface reading is likely an allusion to Jeffrey Archer[5], Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare who is a British writer and Conservative politician. He resigned as an MP after being declared bankrupt, and embarked on a career as a bestselling novelist. He was deputy chairman of the Conservative Party 1985-6, but resigned after a libel case; in 2001 he was found to have committed perjury in that case and was jailed for four years.

The Archer[5] is the zodiacal sign or constellation Sagittarius.

The abbreviation s[5] stands for succeeded, in the sense of to have become the new rightful holder of an office, title, or property ⇒ he succeeded to his father’s kingdom. It might be seen, for instance, it charts of royal lineages.

15d   Tycoon's capital behind housing firm: he should look after it (9)

The word "housing" is the containment indicator.

16d   Assess girl with a lute impromptu (8)

18d   Not working a full week, pour out gin put up (4-4)

A gin[5] (or gin trap) is a British term for a leghold (or foothold) trap[7].

19d   What comes initially with CD is a bargain (7)

In this clue, there are two interpretations for the wordplay. The intended one (as stated by Peter Biddlecombe, the puzzles editor at The Sunday Times) is "that in CD = 'compact disc', 'what comes initially' is 'compact'".

The second interpretation, provided by Dave Perry in his review is "'comes initially' is C [i.e., C is the initial letter of Comes], and the C in CD is Compact".

21d   Advances unrelated issue (7)

Issue[5] is a formal or legal term for children of one’s own the earl died without male issue. Is a stepchild considered to be 'issue'? I was unable to find an answer.

22d   Anger on motorway — you can't believe it! (6)

The M1[7] is a north–south motorway [controlled access, multi-lane divided highway] in England connecting London to Leeds.

24d   Who should have notes in the right order? (5)

I solved the clue solely on the basis of the cryptic definition and totally failed to see the anagram.

26d   Walk wearily from vehicle parking (5)

Tram[3] is a chiefly British term for a streetcar.
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)
[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
Signing off for this week — Falcon