Sunday, May 15, 2011 (ST 4428)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4428
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 10, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4428]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, May 7, 2011

Introduction

I needed lots of electronic assistance on this puzzle (seemingly unlike the Brits who seemed to have found it relatively easy). I did spend an inordinate amount of time sorting out the Tibetan cattle from the Burmese people. Not to mention the silly error I made on 8d down, somehow thinking that the numeration was (4,9) rather than (9,4) - causing one of the more straight-forward clues in the puzzle to be the last to be solved.

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle.

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Solutions

animadversion - noun

• [mass noun] formal criticism or censure: her animadversion against science
• [count noun] a comment or remark, especially a critical one.

Capri - an island off the west coast of Italy, south of Naples.

*(River) Dee - a 70-mile (110 km) long river in the United Kingdom that travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries (also any of several other rivers of that name in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia)

en famille - adverb with one's family, or as a family: when they went out en famille, Steven always drove [origin: French, literally 'in family']

HE - abbreviation high explosive

hieratic - adjective [1^st entry] of or concerning priests: he raised both his arms in a hieratic gesture

mat - US spelling of matte

*matt (also matte or US mat) - adjective (of a surface or colour) dull and flat ; without a shine: prints are available on matt or glossy paper; a matt black

*MB - abbreviation Bachelor of Medicine [from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus], the professional degree held by medical practitioners in Britain [equivalent to a North American MD (Medical Doctor, from Latin Medicinae Doctor]

nim - noun a game in which two players alternately take one or more objects from one of a number of heaps, each trying to take , or to compel the other to take , the last remaining object.

nisei - noun North American an American or Canadian whose parents were immigrants from Japan. [origin:(1940s) from Japanese, literally 'second generation']

piñon (also pinyon or piñon pine) - noun a small pine tree with edible seeds, native to Mexico and the south-western US. Pinus cemebroides, family Pinaceae

quid¹ - noun British informal one pound sterling: we paid him four hundred quid

*RA - abbreviation [3^rd entry] (in the UK) Royal Academician, a member of the Royal Academy

Royal Academy of the Arts (also Royal Academy) - an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose was to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

SS² - the Nazi special police force. Founded in 1925 by Hitler as a personal bodyguard, the SS provided security forces (including the Gestapo) and administered the concentration camps. [origin: abbreviation of German Schutzstaffel 'defence squadron']

Streatham - a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth.

The Life of Timon of Athens - a play by William Shakespeare about the fortunes of an Athenian named Timon (and probably influenced by the philosopher of the same name, as well), generally regarded as one of his most obscure and difficult works.

zo - noun a Tibetan breed of cattle, developed by crossing the yak with common cattle

Zoroaster - (circa 628 - circa 551 bc ), Persian prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism; Avestan name Zarathustra. Little is known of his life , but traditionally he was born in Persia and began to preach the tenets of what was later called Zoroastrianism after receiving a vision from Ahura Mazda.

Commentary 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.

22a   Prophet who cooks beef in Tibet? (9)

The solution that we are looking for is ZOROASTER (a 6^th century bc Persian prophet). The wordplay requires us to split the solution (2, 7) to get the phrase 'zo roaster' which could describe someone who cooks beef from zos (Tibetan cattle).

Having initially missed this wordplay, and following the lead of Dave Perry, I embarked on quite another line of research. I was set on the proper course by Peter Biddlecombe (puzzles editor for The Sunday Times) writing on Times for the Times.

Here is my initial attempt at explaining the wordplay which was built around a different meaning of Zo:

• Zo (also spelled Zou) - a people forming an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma [who, for a brief period in antiquity, apparently resided in Tibet].

The wordplay requires us to split the solution (2, 7) to get the phrase 'Zo roaster' which could mean a member of the Zo people whose profession is roasting (cooking beef).

I could find no evidence that the Zo currently live in Tibet. According to Wikipedia, the Zo are a people who presently inhabit an area straddling the border of India and Burma. They "probably once inhabited the T’ao valley of Kansu province in north-west China. Because of frequent Chinese incursions, the Zomis [Zo people] might have moved to the north east of Tibet around 200 BC. In order to avoid them [the Chinese or Tibetans?], the Zomis traveled across ridges and forests and move[d] further south. The journey probably took hundreds of years and eventually landed in Upper Burma."

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, May 8, 2011 (ST 4427)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4427
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, April 3, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4427]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 30, 2011

Introduction

It was a fairly challenging workout today. I certainly needed lots and lots of help from my Tool Chest to complete today's puzzle.

Dave Perry comments "I would have expected to see the enumeration for 19 to be (10,10) and omitted entirely from 10a, rather than enumerating them separately". The numeration that he complains about may have been specific to the online version of the puzzle in Britain or it may have been corrected prior to syndication, since the clue is published in the Ottawa Citizen with precisely the numeration that he "would have expected to see".

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle.

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

whinge - British informal verb complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way: stop whingeing and get on with it! [North American whine (although the word whine seems to be used in the U.K. as well)]

Appearing in Solutions

André-Marie Ampère (1775 – 1836) - French physicist and mathematician who is generally regarded as one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism. The SI unit of measurement of electric current, the ampere, is named after him.

compound¹ - verb 3 [2^nd entry] settle (a debt or other matter) in exchange for money or other consideration: he compounded the case with the defendant for a cash payment

*flog - verb 2 British informal sell or offer for sale: he made a fortune flogging beads to hippies

H² - abbreviation henry, noun Physics the SI unit of inductance, equal to an electromotive force of one volt in a closed circuit with a uniform rate of change of current of one ampere per second.

Sir Andrew Motion - English poet, novelist and biographer, who presided as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009.

Pistol - a character in the play Henry V written by William Shakespeare.

roe deer (alternative of roe²) - noun a small Eurasian deer which lacks a visible tail and has a reddish summer coat that turns greyish in winter. Genus Capreolus, family Cervidae: two species, in particular the European roe deer (C. capreolus)

sim - noun informal a video game that simulates an activity such as flying an aircraft or playing a sport.

Commentary 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.

4d   Jot last bit of recipe on posh writing material - we hear it'll have many uses in the kitchen (5,6)

This must be the clue to which Dave Perry is referring in his observation concerning "a dubious homophone" - although he misidentifies the clue as 16. The definition is "it'll have many uses in the kitchen" which denotes WHITE PEPPER. The wordplay is WHIT (jot) + E {last bit [i.e., letter] of (recip)E} + PEPPER {sounds like (we hear) PAPER (writing material) when spoken in an upper class British (posh) accent}. Remember that both 'pepper' and 'paper' would undoubtedly be pronounced with a 'soft' R in Britain - quite unlike the 'hard' North American R.

At Times for the Times, jackkt argues "that pepper has only one use in the kitchen, namely to add the flavour of pepper." However, I would suggest that "it'll have many uses in the kitchen" could be interpreted as 'it will be used frequently in the kitchen' rather than 'for many purposes'.

7d   Business with loads of money settles a debt (9)

I failed to see a bit of the wordplay here until I read Dave Perry's review. However, I will offer a variation on his solution. The definition is "settles a debt" for which the solution is COMPOUNDS. The wordplay is CO (firm; i.e., abbreviation for company) + (with) M (loads of; M being the Roman numeral for one thousand) + POUNDS (money).

Does M stand for 'thousand' or 'million'? Dave Perry suggests the latter. However, a cryptic crossword device that I have seen many times is to use phrases such as "a large number", "a great many", "a large amount", "a great deal of", etc. to clue any large Roman numeral - either L (fifty), C (one hundred), D (five hundred), or M (one thousand). It seems to me that the phrase "loads of" certainly fits this mould.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, May 1, 2011 (ST 4426)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4426
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 27, 2011
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4426]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 23, 2011

Introduction

The Ottawa Citizen has goofed big time today - reprinting last week's puzzle (but this week's solution). Thankfully, the Vancouver Sun was not so careless and has printed the correct puzzle, which I have reproduced below. Should you prefer, you can also download a PDF version from here.

Update: The Ottawa Citizen has published the missing puzzle (ST 4426) on Page B5 of its edition of Tuesday, May 3, 2011, together with a number of other Sunday puzzles that had suffered the same fate. It seems that an entire page of puzzles from the previous week's edition of the paper was reprinted in this last Sunday's paper.

Apparently, the Citizen is not alone in making mistakes. In a quick visit to Times for the Times to get the link to use in the table above, I noticed that Dave Perry writes in his review "This was certainly much harder than previous offerings. It also sees an unwelcome return of the mistakes that the ST was well-known for, but had been hitherto absent since the change in editor. There is one definite mistake, but I have queries against three or four others so there may be more."

I did not read the entire review [before writing this initial posting], not wanting to spoil my experience of solving the puzzle. However, it would appear that one should set aside more time than normal for this one - and be prepared for a surprise or two.

I'm off now to solve the puzzle. I'll be back later with my review.

I'm back. 

It seems that a couple of the errors to which Dave Perry refers in his review appeared only in the online version of the puzzle in the U.K. but were corrected in the print edition of the puzzle, as well as in the syndicated version (a pleasant change!). As for several other of his complaints, I would tend to dismiss them as largely non-issues. However, there is one major issue that carried through to the syndicated puzzle - the missing byline of the setter (see Today's Errata below). And there was at least one Briticism that appears to have baffled even the Brits!

Today's Errata

1d   See me in hot seat now and again (2,5)

Like Dave Perry and some of the other Brits, I managed to solve this clue despite missing a crucial piece of information - the name of the setter. The word "me" in the clue refers to the compiler of the puzzle, Tim Moorey. It seems that starting with this puzzle, The Sunday Times has instituted the practice of publishing the name of the setter for each puzzle. However, this was done only in the printed version of the paper and not on the paper's websites - nor does it appear in the syndicated version of the puzzle.

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle.

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

fellow - noun 3 [2^nd entry] British an incorporated senior member of a college: a tutorial fellow.

Mary Jane - noun 2 informal marijuana.

outfitter - noun 1 British dated a shop selling men's clothing. 2 North American a shop selling equipment, typically for outdoor pursuits: a canoe outfitter.

Appearing in Solutions

A - [The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition] abbreviation adult, formerly used to designate a motion picture at a showing of which any child under 14 should be accompanied by an adult, superseded by PG.

alcopop - noun British informal a ready-mixed drink that resembles a soft drink but contains alcohol.

Ards - the name of several different historical territorial divisions all located on the Ards Peninsula in modern-day County Down, Northern Ireland.

bags - noun 3 British dated loose-fitting trousers.

*don¹ - noun 1 British a university teacher, especially a senior member of a college at Oxford or Cambridge.

F (2) - abbreviation 12. following (page)

Le Mans - a city in France, which has been host to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923.

leman - noun archaic a lover or sweetheart; an illicit lover, especially a mistress.

*M² - abbreviation 10 British Motorway, followed by a number, as in M1.

Majorca (or Mallorca) - an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands. Like the other Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera and Minorca, the island is a highly popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany, the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent, Ireland.

p - [Collins English Dictionary] symbol 2. Music piano: an instruction to play quietly, an abbreviation of piano² music adverb softly [or quietly]. adjective soft [or quiet].

*P² - abbreviation (on road signs and street plans) parking.

parget - noun another term for pargeting, plaster or mortar applied over part of a building, typically with an ornamental pattern.

ragbag - noun [3^rd entry] British informal a woman dressed in an untidy way.

recto - noun a right-hand page of an open book, or the front of a loose document.  Contrasted with verso.

s - abbreviation [4^th entry] singular.

shaman - noun a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits, especially among some peoples of northern Asia and North America. Typically such people enter a trance state during a ritual, and practise divination and healing.

spotted dick - noun British a suet pudding containing currants [... and not a venereal disease!]

step-ins - noun 1 a pair of step-in shoes; slip-ons. 2 dated, chiefly North American a pair of women's briefs. [I think North Americans would be more likely to use the term slip-ons for shoes; the term step-ins might conjure images of ladies' underwear for North Americans of a certain generation.]

step-in - adjective [attributive] denoting a garment or pair of shoes that is put on by being stepped into and has no need for fastenings.

*sup¹ - noun

• a sip of liquid: he took another sup of wine
• Northern English & Irish alcoholic drink

Commentary 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.

1a   Father finally found local bar ending drink favoured by youngsters (7)

The definition is "drink favoured by youngsters" for which the solution is ALCOPOP (in the U.K., a soft drink containing alcohol). The wordplay is POP (father) following (finally) an anagram (found) of LOCA {LOCAL with the final letter deleted (bar ending)}. Although I failed to discern the anagram indicator in the clue, Dave Perry points out that it is "found". Although Dave Perry questions "found" as an anagram indicator, I think it is quite appropriate when used in the sense of to "make (an article) by melting and moulding metal".

11a   Suspect Times is often right to cover case of absent member of Government (8,2,5)

The puzzle appeared on The Sunday Times website missing the word "is" (part of the anagrist, or fodder for the anagram). The puzzle was correct in the printed edition of The Sunday Times and in syndication.

21a   Business partnership involving Mary Jane? (5,10)

This is another clue that Dave Perry and others questioned on the basis that there is no wordplay to clue "enterprise". However, I fail to see why it does not work perfectly well as a cryptic definition.

25a   Craft minus aft, fellow lost? Could be result of this (7)

I missed the wordplay here, initially falling for the trap that "craft minus aft" would be CR. Even when I had found the correct solution, I was not able to decipher the wordplay.

Some of the Brits thought that it was bad taste to publish this clue only two weeks following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. As Peter Biddlecombe (the puzzles editor at The Sunday Times) points out, "[b]ecause the setters work weeks or months ahead of time, it's pretty difficult to avoid this kind of thing".

6d   Rock fans nod assent (9)

I fail to see the justification for using "fans" as an anagram indicator. Fan means to "spread out or cause to spread out into a semicircular shape" as a card player might do with their hand. However, as I see it, the word means simply to spread out without rearranging, and therefore seems not to meet the requirements of an anagram indicator.

16d   Marshals with slices of bread and drink (6,2)

The definition is "marshals" for which the solution is ROUNDS UP. The wordplay is ROUND (slices of bread) + SUP (drink). Judging by the discussion on Times for the Times, the Brits are of the opinion that the British expression "round" refers to a single slice of bread and therefore the clue (which says "slices of bread") must be incorrect.

I checked the definition in several British dictionaries:

• Search Chambers (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary): noun 3 a single slice of bread. 4 a sandwich, or two or more sandwiches, made from two slices of bread.
• Encarta UK: noun 17 slice of bread: a slice of bread or toast, or a sandwich made from two slices of bread
• Oxford Online: noun 6 British a slice of bread: two rounds of toast; the quantity of sandwiches made from two slices of bread.
• Collins English Dictionary (TheFreeDictionary.com): 15 (Cookery) a single slice of bread or toast or two slices making a single serving of sandwiches.

The latter definition (from Collins) would seem to indicate that a round is only the two slices of bread used to make a sandwich and not the completed sandwich itself. However, I also note that Collins seems to stand alone in giving this shade of meaning to the word. Moreover, I certainly do not intend to take issue with the Brits on the nuances of their language.

20d   Tight corset shown in pages of book (6)

I initially also questioned the use of "tight" as an anagram indicator. However, one meaning of tight given by Oxford Dictionaries Online is "(of a written work or form) concise, condensed, or well structured: a tight argument", which would seem to be acceptable.

22d   Turn bit of gold into this (5)

This is another case where the clue was incorrect on The Sunday Times website but correct in the printed edition and in syndication. As discussed at Times for the Times, the version that appeared on the web site read:

• Turn bit of gold into old cast and you could get this (5)

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 24, 2011 (ST 4425)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4425
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 20, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4425]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 16, 2011

Introduction

While today's puzzle was not overly difficult, it had a fair smattering of British references. Fortunately, I was familiar with many of them - otherwise, I am sure the puzzle would have been considerably more challenging.

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle.

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

Cornwall - a county occupying the extreme south-western peninsula of England; county town, Truro.

Nottingham - a city in east central England, the county town of Nottinghamshire; population 237,600 (est. 2009).

Appearing in Solutions

Andrew Bonar Law (1858 – 1923) - British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister who, having been born in the colony (now Canadian province) of New Brunswick, is the only British Prime Minister to have been born outside the British Isles. He was also the shortest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century, spending 211 days in office.

curate's egg - noun British a thing that is partly good and partly bad: this book is a bit of a curate's egg
[origin: (early 20th century) from a cartoon in Punch (1895) depicting a meek curate who, given a stale egg at the bishop's table, assures his host that ‘parts of it are excellent’]

a dog's dinner (or breakfast) - phrase British informal a poor piece of work ; a mess: we made a real dog's breakfast of it

Elia - pseudonym of English essayist Charles Lamb (1775 – 1834)

Emma, Lady Hamilton (1765 – 1815) - mistress of Lord Nelson and muse of painter George Romney.

*lo - exclamation archaic used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event: and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them

lobelia - noun a chiefly tropical or subtropical plant of the bellflower family, in particular an annual widely grown as a bedding plant. Some kinds are aquatic, and some grow as thick-trunked shrubs or trees on African mountains. Genus Lobelia, family Campanulaceae: many species, including the popular blue-flowered L. erinus

Lord North (Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, 1732 – 1792) -  Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782 who led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence.

Sherwood Forest - a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood.

tat¹ - noun British colloquial rubbish or junk

tile - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 5 British, old-fashioned slang a hat

Worcestershire - a county of west central England, part of Hereford and Worcester between 1974 and 1998

Commentary 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.

23a   Man at 6 frequently up in the air (5)

Here, "man at 6" is a cross reference to clue 6d. Thus, making the appropriate substitution, the current clue becomes "Gangster frequently up in the air (5)".

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 17, 2011 (ST 4424)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4424
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 13, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4424]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 9, 2011

Introduction

This posting is rather delayed - but better late than never, n'est-ce pas?

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle.

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

neat - noun archaic a bovine animal; cattle

ro-ro - abbreviation British roll-on roll-off

Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels. This is in contrast to lo-lo (lift on-lift off) vessels which use a crane to load and unload cargo.

Appearing in Solutions

box room - noun British a very small room used for storage or as a bedroom

Fe - symbol the chemical element iron

inner - [2^nd & 3^rd entries] noun (in archery and shooting) a division of the target next to the bullseye; a shot that strikes the inner

*international - noun 1 British

• a game or contest between teams representing different countries in a sport
• a player who has taken part in an international game or contest

*it¹ - pronoun 8 (usually ‘it’) informal sexual intercourse or sex appeal

*M² - [1^st entry] abbreviation Cricket (on scorecards) maiden, noun 2 (also maiden over) an over in which no runs are scored

*MB - abbreviation Bachelor of Medicine [from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus], the professional degree held by medical practitioners in Britain [equivalent to a North American MD (Medical Doctor, from Latin Medicinae Doctor]

the roaring forties - stormy ocean tracts between latitudes 40 ° and 50 ° south

Commentary 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.

12a   Rains get ro-ro if off course here! (7,7)

This is a semi & lit. clue where, in the surface reading, "rains" is a reference to rain storms and ro-ro to roll-on/roll-off cargo vessels (see Today's Glossary). The entire clue can be interpreted to be a definition of the ROARING FORTIES, stormy ocean tracts between latitudes 40 ° and 50 ° south. The wordplay is an anagram (off course) of RAINS GET RORO IF. I would say that the word "here" is a placeholder for the solution, thus making the clue a semi & lit., rather than a true & lit.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 10, 2011 (ST 4423)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4423
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 6, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4423]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 2, 2011

Introduction

A bit of research was needed to complete this puzzle, especially to track down the cricket term at 19a - a word that some may well consider to be an ethnic slur.

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle.

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

nob¹ - noun British informal a person of wealth or high social position

Appearing in Solutions

Arms and the Man - a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid in Latin: "Arma virumque cano" (Of arms and the man I sing).

*CH - abbreviation  [1^st entry] (in the UK) Companion of Honour

china - noun 2 British informal a friend. [from rhyming slang china plate ‘mate’]

Chinaman (or chinaman) - noun 2 Cricket a ball that spins from off to leg, bowled by a left-handed bowler to a right-handed batsman

*leg - noun 5 (also leg side, on or on side) Cricket the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The opposite of off.

fosterling - noun chiefly archaic a child who is fostered or adopted

ling² - noun the common heather of Eurasia

toad-in-the-hole - noun British a dish consisting of sausages baked in batter

toff - noun British informal derogatory a rich or upper-class person

twee - adjective British excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental: although the film‘s a bit twee, it’s watchable

W - abbreviation weak (apparently from the field of particle physics)
 
Commentary 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.

1d   Sally Black protects small son (4)

A search for Sally Black turned up a couple of rather unlikely candidates - either a person or persons who worked behind the scenes on a number of television and motion picture productions or the winner of the 1880 California Derby (wearing the saddle, not in it).

In fact, the name is a bit of misdirection. The definition is "sally" in the sense of  'a witty or lively remark, especially one made as an attack or as a diversion in an argument; a retort' for which the solution is JEST. The wordplay is JET (black) containing S (small [part of] son; i.e., first letter of "son"). Since S is frequently seen in puzzles as an abbreviation for either "small" or "son", using "small son" to clue S is sort of a 'belt and suspenders' approach (or 'belt and braces' to the Brits).

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, April 3, 2011 (ST 4422)

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4422
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, February 27, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4422]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, March 26, 2011

Introduction

For a while, I was beginning to feel that I would not be able to complete this puzzle. However, with extensive assistance from my electronic friends I was able to prevail in the end. As usual, there are several British references in the puzzle - with at least one or two of them being quite obscure.

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle.

[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.]

Appearing in Clues

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

daily - noun informal 2 (also daily help) British dated a woman who is employed to clean someone else's house each day

jolly - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 3. Brit slang a Royal Marine

Royal Marines - a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) founded in 1664, trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances

Appearing in Solutions

accelerando - Music adverb & adjective (especially as a direction) with a gradual increase of speed

• noun an accelerando passage

ASBO - noun British a court order which can be obtained by local authorities in order to restrict the behaviour of a person likely to cause harm or distress to the public [Origin: abbreviation of antisocial behaviour order]

char² - British informal a charwoman

*local - noun British informal a pub convenient to a person's home: a pint in the local

pants - plural noun 3 British informal rubbish; nonsense: he thought we were going to be absolute pants

RM - abbreviation [3^rd entry] (in the UK) Royal Marines

Royal Marines - a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) founded in 1664, trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances

Commentary 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.

17d   Who may be working in Dover and Tees? (9)

Most people will likely recognize Dover, a port on the English channel - renowned for its white chalk cliffs. Tees, on the other hand, may be a less familiar British port - in fact, it may well not exist. There is, however, a River Tees in northern England.

22d   What's quickly seen in recurrent spare capacity (5)

In my case, the solution was not seen very quickly at all. However, I did eventually detect it lurking there reversed (as indicated by "recurrent") in the clue.

Signing off for this week - Falcon