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 unreliable ⇒
I 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 e
NAMEl —
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 f
lammable 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
