Sunday, November 11, 2012 - ST 4507

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4507
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 14, 2012
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4507]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, November 3, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 10, 2012
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 10, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. The Date of Publication in the Toronto Star is unconfirmed as there is no entry for this date on the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum blog.

Introduction

Having been away from home last weekend, I only just found time to solve this puzzle today (a week later). I got hung up in the lower right hand quadrant. I failed to find the correct county as I didn't think to consider abbreviations. Moreover, I couldn't get County Down (in Ireland) out of my mind. I also could not recall the name of the Oriental man (who is usually introduced to us as a Scot).

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Express and Mail strongly dislike Sun getting stuck in (4- 5)

The Daily Express, the Daily Mail, and The Sun are all daily tabloid newspapers published in the United Kingdom.^[7] In Britain, the post^[5] is (1) the official service or system that delivers letters and parcels ⇒ (i) winners will be notified by post; (ii) the tickets are in the post, (2) letters and parcels delivered ⇒ she was opening her post, or (3) a single collection or delivery of mail ⇒ entries must be received no later than first post on 14 June. As a verb, post is a chiefly British term meaning to send (a letter or parcel) via the postal system ⇒ I’ve just been to post a letter; (ii) post off your order form today. In Canada, the word post may sometimes be heard used in this sense as a verb — but virtually never as a noun. The word mail is used instead (both as a verb and a noun). However, the word post lives on in the name of the service which delivers the mail — Canada Post. Did you notice the phrase "first post on 14 June" in one of the usage examples above? Apparently, the post is still delivered more often than once per day in Britain!

 

6a   I’ve made a booboo as nothing in musical works (4)

The solution is an exclamation that one may utter on making a mistake. In the field of music, Op. (also op.)^[5] is an abbreviation meaning opus (work). It is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication.

9a   Monetary agreement in Brussels? It’ll never get off the ground (3)

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)^[7] is an umbrella term for the group of policies that set the conditions that must be met to allow a member of the European Union to adopt the euro currency. Brussels^[7], as the de facto capital of the European Union, is often used as a metonym for the EU.

10a   I work for spinster (5,6)

11a   Nobleman mostly ahead of time (4)

The British nobility^[7] consists of two entities, the peerage and the landed gentry. Members of the peerage are titled (duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron), and frequently referred to as peers or lords. The rest of the nobility is referred to as the landed gentry.

12a   Mean rock “Let It Be”, a fine number (4- 6)

Mean^[5] in the sense (especially of a place) poor in quality and appearance or shabby ⇒ her home was mean and small.

14a   Lozenges coming from Kent (Rochester) (7)

15a   Gendarme’s introduction is flipping hilarious, primarily in “Good Moaning”! (7)

In his review, Dave Perry explains the surface reading of this clue which is an allusion to the UK television sitcom 'Allo 'Allo.

17a   Swears about one form of therapy in forces (7)

Effect^[3] in the sense of the condition of being in full force or execution ⇒ a new regulation that goes into effect tomorrow. The wordplay is EFFS (swears; utters the F-word^[5]) containing (about) ECT (one form of therapy; electroconvulsive therapy^[5]).

19a   Not the first curry in bed for the bird! (4,3)

The British name for a chickadee is tit^[5] (or titmouse). The coal tit^[5] (Parus ater)  is a small Eurasian and North African tit (songbird) with a grey back, black cap and throat, and white cheeks. Balti^[7] is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed steel wok-like "balti bowl" which is served in many restaurants in the United Kingdom. In the surface reading of the clue, bird^[5] is undoubtedly used in the British slang sense of a young woman or a man’s girlfriend.

20a   Quick to include an old German coin in second- hand sale (4,6)

22a   Decline seen in most of the county (4)

Wiltshire (abbreviation Wilts.)^[5] is a county of southern England.

24a   Order hotel lunch and tea, disregarding hints of hungry ones? (4,3,4)

This is an & lit. (all-in-one) clue in which the entire clue both provides the definition and serves as the wordplay.

25a   Male from the Orient, as recalled (3)

 The wordplay is [AS]IAN (from the Orient) with AS deleted (as recalled).

26a   Worthies regularly lift company (4)

Lift^[5] is the British term for elevator^[5]. The Otis Elevator Company^[7] is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems today, principally focusing on elevators and escalators.

27a   Music at last from trumpeters? (4,5)

Down

1d   Tense here? Just the job (7,7)

Just the job^[5] is an informal British expression meaning exactly what is needed ⇒ (i) companionship from fellow walkers was just the job; (ii) ⇒ it is just the job for getting rid of stains.

2d   Prepare to fight in marketplace? Not on (6,3)

A market^[10] is a place, such as an open space in a town, at which a market is held. In cricket, the on^[5] (also called the on side) is 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 ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg. Another term for this side of the field is the leg side^[5] (also called just the leg). The opposite side of the field is known as the off^[5] (or the off side).

3d   Man on newspaper gets lift (4)

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

4d   Walks in street in front of car (7)

Rolls^[10] is an informal term for a Rolls-Royce automobile.

5d   Catches up with small business associate right away (7)

6d   One such was Strauss, being top man for a waltz moving millions (7,3)

While I did manage to deduce the correct solution, I failed to see the wordplay which is an anagram (for a waltz) of {BEING TOP [M]AN with the M (millions) deleted (moving)}.

In cricket, the term bat^[5] can have any of several meanings, namely (1) a cricket bat, (2) a turn at playing with a bat [an instance of batting], or (3) a person batting (or, in other words, a batsman) ⇒ the team’s opening bat. In this usage example, the "opening bat" would be the first batsman for a team in the match (a term somewhat akin to a leadoff batter in baseball).

Andrew Strauss^[7] is a retired English cricketer and former captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss was also known for his fielding strength at slip or in the covers. The latter is not a reference to his off-field activities; "the covers" is an area of cricket field.

7d   Chambers has it as “set in place” (5)

Indeed, the first entry in The Chambers Dictionary for posit^[1] is "to set in place". In Britain, chamber^[10] is short for chamber pot, as is po^[10]. Thus the wordplay is POS (chambers) + (has) IT (given in the clue).

8d   Arousing snogs and then heartless involvement? (3- 5,6)

Snog^[5] is British slang which, as a verb, means to kiss and cuddle amorously ⇒ (i) [no object] the pair were snogging on the sofa; (ii) [with object]  he snogged my girl at a party and, as a noun, denotes a long kiss or a period of amorous kissing and cuddling ⇒ he gave her a proper snog, not just a peck.

13d   Friends from Prague mentioned utter defeats (10)

16d   It’s natural you find classroom students like this (9)

18d   Ways to be significantly ahead? (7)

Streets ahead of^[10] is an informal (possibly British) expression meaning superior to, more advanced than, etc.

Dave Perry characterises this clue as a double definition, although I might be more comfortable calling it a cryptic definition. "Ways" are streets; but as the expression "streets ahead of" means "significantly ahead of", the word "streets" must equate to merely the word "significantly" and not to the entire phrase "significantly ahead".

19d   Flying saucer seen above one in a break (7)

21d   Story made up about one Middle Eastern port (5)

23d   God entreated from below (4)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, November 4, 2012 - ST 4506

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4506
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 7, 2012
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4506]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 27, 2012 [unconfirmed]
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 03, 2012
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 3, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. The Date of Publication in the Toronto Star is unconfirmed as there is no entry for this date on the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum blog.

Introduction

Today we get a moderately difficult puzzle from Anax. There was one clue that I wasn't able to solve and two or three others for which I did not fully comprehend the wordplay (but, fortunately, Dave Perry did).

You will also notice that I have introduced a couple of innovations in today's blog. The first of these changes is showing the definition for each clue (by underlining it in the clue). This also means that all the clues in the puzzle will be listed in the blog. However, I will continue to offer comments on only a selected number of clues, being those for which I feel I can offer some additional information to complement that which Dave Perry has provided in his Times for the Times review. My comments tend to deal with British words, expressions, or places found in the clues as well as foreign words and references to people, mythology, specialized terms, and popular and classical works of art or entertainment.

The second is to publish a chart showing how I fared in solving the puzzle (for which I provide an explanation immediately below). If you have an opinion on these new features (or anything else about the blog), please leave a comment

New Feature - Falcon's Experience

Falcon's Experience is a new feature that I've added to the Puzzle at a Glance table above. This is a new feature for this blog — but one that I've used for some time in my companion blog, the National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum.

The purpose of this chart is to provide a quick visual overview of how difficult I found a puzzle to be. Of course, your experience with a particular puzzle may be entirely different than mine (horses for courses, as they say). But I hope it may prove to be a somewhat useful tool against which readers may judge their own solving experience.

Explanation of the Chart

The total length of the bar indicates the number of clues contained in the puzzle. Depending on the grid used, this number is generally between 26 and 32. The dark blue portion indicates the number of clues that I was able to solve without the aid of puzzle solving tools — which today was 11 out of the 28 clues. The light blue (cyan) portion shows the number of clues which were solved with the aid of such puzzle solving tools (such as word finders and anagram solvers). Today there were 9 such instances. If I discover through the use of these tools that one of my existing entries is incorrect, I code that clue as orange. There were no clues in this category today. The blue-grey portion shows clues that I solved without the direct use of puzzle solving tools but for which I had checking letters that resulted from the use of such tools. Today, there were 7 clues which fell into this category. Finally, the red portion denotes clues that I either could not solve or clues for which I discovered that the solutions were incorrect from the review at Times for the Times.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Flower — stroke a little one, say (6)

4a   A short defender, American, that one can count on (6)

A back^[5] is a player in a team game who plays in a defensive position behind the forwards ⇒ their backs showed some impressive running and passing. This definition applies to games such as association football (soccer) and field hockey, but not to North American football where there are both offensive and defensive backs (who alternately take the field depending on which team has possession of the ball). In hockey (ice hockey for the Brits), the equivalent position is called a defenceman (in both men's and women's hockey).

10a   Guitar held by axe ace (5- 4)

This clue has a nice surface reading. Axe^[5] is a slang term for a musical instrument used in popular music or jazz, especially a guitar or (originally) a saxophone. Consequently, an "axe ace" is an accomplished guitarist. Strat^[5] is an shortened informal name for a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. Dave Perry tells us that the setter, Anax, is himself a guitar player.

11a   Sex with a spiteful person (5)

A tricky clue, but well-explained by Dave Perry.

12a   City area bounded by motorways (5)

The M1^[7] is a north–south motorway^[5] (controlled-access highway^[7]) in England connecting London to Leeds.

13a   Sailor thrashing drums is showing belief in chaos (9)

In the Royal Navy, able seaman (abbreviation AB)^[5], is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

14a   Danger — albeit rum — at sea (7,8)

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

16a   Law officer given brief in Paraguay? (8,7)

I didn't understand the wordplay here until I read Dave Perry's review. The clue is telling us (quite clearly, in hindsight) that an abbreviation for this law enforcement official is to be found (given [in] brief) in the word ParAGuay.

19a   Tin opened by friend having lunch; just over half a teacake (5,4)

Sn^[5] is the symbol for the chemical element tin [from late Latin stannum 'tin']. A Sally Lunn^[5] is a sweet, light teacake, typically served hot [said to be from the name of a woman selling such cakes in Bath, England circa 1800].

21a   Of course, we recycle waste in this (5)

The hidden word indicator is "of" (meaning 'belonging to') and the clue tells us that the solution is part of (belongs to) "courSE WE Recycle".

23a   Small amount of liquid I spit (5)

This is yet another case where I had to rely on Dave Perry to explain the wordplay. Even though I deduced that a "small amount of liquid" would likely be a centilitre (cl), the presence of the Roman numeral failed to register (as my mother would have said, it was "hiding in plain sight"). It certainly did not help to be totally unaware that, in Britain, spit^[10] is another word for spitting image.

24a   Arrogance minus bags of money (9)

The wordplay is LESS (minus) containing (bags) {OF (from the clue) + TIN (money)}.

Tin^[5] is dated British slang for money ⇒ Kim’s only in it for the tin.

25a   Get into bed, wanting endless sex with Italian leader (6)

Duce^[7] is an Italian title (duke in English) that is also used to mean "leader". The word has fallen into disfavour due to its association with World War II Italian dictator Benito Mussolini^[7].

26a   Pound into equally solid cut stones (6)

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

Ashlar^[5] is masonry made of large square-cut stones, used as a facing on walls of brick or stone rubble ⇒ seven windows are set in ashlar along the upper floor. Despite the fact that ashlar might well mean "cut stones", in fact the definition is merely "stones" — with the word "cut" indicating that the solution is obtained by truncating the fodder.

The wordplay is L (pound) contained in (into) {AS (equally) HAR[D] (solid) with the final letter deleted (cut)}.

Down

1d   Charity award that’s accepted by footballers (5)

This is yet another one where I needed a nudge from Dave Perry to fully comprehend the wordplay (having failed to realize the significance of the X).

The Order of Merit^[7] (abbreviation OM^[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).

The Football Association^[7], also known simply as the FA, is the governing body of football [i.e., association football or soccer] in England. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

X signifies by as in 2x4 (a common size of dimensional lumber) or 4x4 (an all wheel drive vehicle).

2d   Pirate’s bawdy song heard (7)

While the 's denotes a possessive form in the surface reading, it becomes a contraction for is (and, as such, functions as a link word between the definition "pirate" and the wordplay "bawdy song heard") in the cryptic reading.

3d   Machiavellian doctor retiring, out of uniform (9)

5d   Get beans for strangely disappointing dish (4,10)

6d   About to get extra insurance (5)

Cover (in reference to insurance) means to protect against a liability, loss, or accident involving financial consequences ⇒ your contents are now covered against accidental loss or damage in transit. While the same verb form is used in both Britain and North America, we use a different form of the noun on this side of the pond. In the UK, cover^[5] means protection by insurance against a liability, loss, or accident ⇒ your policy provides cover against damage by subsidence. This is equivalent to the North American term coverage^[5], the amount of protection given by an insurance policy.

7d   Something looped around a soft young tree (7)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).

8d   Unstable country that needs a hand? (6,8)

A hand^[9] is a bunch, cluster, or bundle of various leaves, fruit, etc., as a bundle of tobacco leaves tied together or a cluster of bananas.

9d   Dungeon imprisoning gypsy with general (8)

Oliver Cromwell^[5] (1599–1658) was an English general and statesman, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 1653–1658. Cromwell was the leader of the victorious Parliamentary forces (or Roundheads) in the English Civil War. As head of state he styled himself Lord Protector, and refused Parliament’s offer of the Crown in 1657. His rule was notable for its puritan reforms in the Church of England. He was briefly succeeded by his son Richard (1626–1712), who was forced into exile in 1659.

14d   With money, one’s about to get cabbage (8)

Brass^[5] is British slang for money ⇒ they wanted to spend their newly acquired brass.

The wordplay is BRASS (money) + (with^*) I ([Roman numeral for] one) + (has; 's being a contraction for has in the cryptic reading of the clue) CA (about; circa).

15d   Detailed gossip can’t shake doubters (9)

17d   Applies grease — difficult, over wide square (7)

In cricket, an over (abbreviation O)^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

Also in cricket, a wide^[5], also known as a wide ball, (abbreviation W^[10]) is a ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side. An extra^[5] is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited to the batting side rather than to a batsman.

18d   Poor treatment of untreated wood (3,4)

Deal^[4] may be (1) a plank of softwood timber, such as fir or pine, or such planks collectively or (2) the sawn wood of various coniferous trees, such as that from the Scots pine (red deal) or from the Norway Spruce (white deal).

I had thought that this might be a British expression until I discovered that this meaning also appears in The American Heritage Dictionary. However, even though it would appear not to be an exclusively British term, I would suspect that it is used far more commonly in the UK than it is here. Personally, I would use the term lumber rather than deal, but the Brits certainly wouldn't. In Britain, the word lumber^[5] has a totally different meaning than it does in North America, being articles of furniture or other household items that are no longer useful and inconveniently take up storage space ⇒ [as modifier] a lumber room.

20d   Produce that is left in yard (5)

22d   Vertical pipe is on earth between two castles (5)

A rook, also known as a castle, (abbreviation R)^[5] is a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two rooks at opposite ends of the first rank.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, October 28, 2012 - ST 4505

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4505
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 30, 2012
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4505]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 20, 2012 [unconfirmed]
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, October 27, 2012
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, October 27, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. The Date of Publication in the Toronto Star is unconfirmed as there is no entry for this date on the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum blog.

Introduction

Compared to the rather difficult challenges that we have encountered in recent weeks, today's offering is a welcome respite. I was able to solve approximately half the clues unaided (these being heavily concentrated on the left hand side of the puzzle) but needed to resort to electronic aids in order to progress on the remaining clues.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

1a   It may provide drink for artist in restaurant (6)

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

5a   Flop down on one? (6)

Question marks — and exclamation points — are usually a flag that something a bit out of the ordinary is taking place in the clue. In this double definition, the two definitions are "flop" and "down on one?" where the second definition is to be interpreted as 'an example of something on which down could be found'. Down is found on birds, and a turkey is an example of a bird (as well as being a theatrical flop).

10a   A strange type of lily (4)

Rum^[5] is a dated British term meaning odd or peculiar.

12a   Number deviates wildly (8)

Here number is used in the whimsical cryptic crossword sense of something that induces numbness.

16a   Spots great serve around end of Wimbledon (4)

Wimbledon^[7] is a district in South West London, England. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas of common land in London.

18a   Function with German relish (4)

Despite holding a degree in Mathematics, it took me forever to recognize what kind of function was required here.

19a   Top barrister almost takes Hector around old French province (8)

The definition is "old French province" and the wordplay is a reversal (around) of {SIL [SILK (top barrister) with the final letter deleted (almost)] containing (takes) ANNOY (hector)}.

Lyonnais^[10] is a former province of east central France, on the Rivers Rhône and Saône. This area is now occupied by the present-day departments of Rhône and Loire.

In Britain, silk^[5] is an informal term for a Queen’s (or King’s) Counsel [so named because of the right accorded to wear a gown made of silk].

Queen's Counsel^[7] (postnominal QC), known as King's Counsel (postnominal KC) during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law. Membership exists in various Commonwealth jurisdictions around the world, while in some other jurisdictions the name has been replaced by one without monarchical connotations. Queen's Counsel is a status, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts. Members have the privilege of sitting within the Bar of court.

As members wear silk gowns of a particular design , the award of Queen's or King's Counsel is known informally as taking silk, and hence QCs are often colloquially called silks.

The practice of appointed Queen's Counsel continues in a number of Canada's provinces, although appointments ceased in Ontario in 1985, and the federal government ceased the practice in 1993. No substitute distinctions have been implemented in these jurisdictions as it is felt that the practice is a form of political patronage and is best discontinued entirely. However, existing title holders continue to use the Q.C. postnominal letters.

21a   Liking for Cage melody (8)

John Cage^[7] (1912 – 1992) was an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist. Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians who present the work do nothing aside from their presence for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is not "four minutes and 33 seconds of silence," as is sometimes assumed, but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance.

27a   Make formal offer to nurse? (6)

I stand to be corrected, but my interpretation is that this clue is a cryptic definition which encompasses within it a double definition. My rationale is that the two definitions must be "make formal offer" (verb) and "nurse" (noun). I don't think that the word "to" can be considered to be part of the first definition and it is definitely not part of the second definition — making it superfluous to the double definition. The setter solves his dilemma of how to incorporate the word "to" (required by the surface reading) by phrasing the clue as a cryptic definition (as indicated by the question mark).

28a   Soldier, say, owing money made long speech (6)

My first choice for a solution was RANTED (made long speech) and my second choice was RANKER (soldier). However, I could not figure out how to make the wordplay work for either option.

As Dave Perry notes, the clue contains "a cheeky little bit of wordplay that crops up from time to time" — and one which always seems to elude me. Since another term for "owing money" is to be "in the red", we have ANT (soldier) contained in (in) RED giving us RANTED. The wording "soldier, say" indicates that a soldier is an example of the term that we need. A soldier^[5] is a wingless caste of ant or termite with a large specially modified head and jaws, involved chiefly in defence.

2d   Trouser pocket (11)

In British slang, trouser^[5] is a synonym for pocket, meaning to receive or take (something, especially money) for oneself.

4d   Part of hospital gets drunk, up for port (8)

The most frequently visited part of the Crosswordland hospital would certainly seem to be the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[5]) department.

An entrepôt^[10] is a trading centre or port at a geographically convenient location, at which goods are imported and re-exported without incurring liability for duty.

6d   New radiator developed as a means of moving freight (4,5)

Road train is an Australian term for a line of linked trailers pulled by a truck, used for transporting stock, etc.

Try passing this sucker!

A road train (or roadtrain)^[7] is a trucking concept used in remote areas of Argentina, Australia, Mexico, the United States and Canada to move freight efficiently. The term "road train" is most often used in Australia. In the U.S. and Canada the terms "triples," "turnpike doubles" and "Rocky Mountain doubles" are commonly used for longer combination vehicles (LCVs). A road train consists of a relatively conventional tractor unit, but instead of pulling one trailer or semi-trailer, a road train pulls two or more of them.

8d   Harry set to call in on Draco, perhaps (13)

For the benefit of the few of you — who like myself — have never read J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, Draco Malfoy^[7] is a fictional character and a major antagonist in this series. He is a Slytherin student in Harry Potter's year. He is frequently accompanied by his two accomplices, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen. He is portrayed as a spoiled, cowardly bully who uses magic to get what he wants, often by force.

13d   Dressing Royal in vintage tie if going out (11)

Regina^[5] (Latin for queen) or Rex^[5] (Latin for king) — either of which is abbreviated as R^[5] — is part of the official title of a monarch, now used chiefly in documents, legal proceedings, and inscriptions on coins. It may be used following a name (e.g. Elizabetha Regina, or ER^[5], for Queen Elizabeth; Georgius Rex, or GR^[5], for King George) or in the titles of lawsuits, e.g. Regina v. Jones: the Crown versus Jones [which would often be written simply as R. vs Jones].

17d   Messenger takes in end of Hamlet for Rosenkrantz, say (8)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern^[7] are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. They are courtiers who are sent by the king to spy on Hamlet, using their claimed friendship with him to gain his confidence.

25d   Alcohol can make you dim when put under pressure (3)

To get this clue, one must put just the right twist on the (intentionally) ambiguous wording. The phrase "can make you dim" does not mean 'can make the reader become dim' (which is the natural interpretation) but rather 'can produce for you the result dim'. The clue could be stated a bit more verbosely — and less ambiguously — as "Alcohol [that] can make dim [for] you when put under pressure". That is, should you choose to place ALE (an example of alcohol) under P (the abbreviation for pressure) — this being a down clue — the result would be PALE (dim).

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, October 21, 2012 - ST 4504

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4504
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 23, 2012
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4504]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 13, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, October 20, 2012
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, October 20, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

Not only did I think that I might not finish this puzzle, I feared for a while that I might not even be able to start it. On first read through, I was able to solve but one clue (25d — the very last clue in the puzzle!). On second read through, I cracked one more (26a). And there I stalled. After staring at the puzzle for some considerable period of time and making no further progress, I dipped into my Tool Chest of electronic puzzle solving aids. By using every weapon at my disposal, I slowly began to make some headway and eventually finished the puzzle.

I did need help from Times for the Times to understand the wordplay at 2d. Technically, I had an incorrect solution for 18a. However, I would be prepared to argue that my solution may actually be superior to the "correct" solution. The English novelist and English DJ are equally well-known to me (meaning not at all) and, while Mark may not be as prominent an icon from a religious perspective as Mary, I think that the word mark could denote an icon.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

5a   This man could be cover for cover (7)

To understand this clue, it is essential to know a bit about cricket. Cricket^[7] is a game played between two teams of eleven players each. Substitute fielders (only) are permitted in cases of injury or illness. Cover^[5] is short for cover point^[5], which is (1) a fielding position a little in front of the batsman on the off side and halfway to the boundary or (2) a fielder at cover point ⇒ an easy catch by Hick at cover. The boundary^[2] is the marked limits of a cricket field. The off^[5]  (also called off side) is the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) towards which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball.  The other side of the field is known either as the leg^[5] (also called leg side) or on (also called on side). The pitch is a rectangular area (22 yards long by 10 feet wide) in the centre of the cricket field. The bowler delivers the ball from one end of the pitch to a batsman positioned at the other end.

The first instance of "cover" in the clue means a substitute or backup and the second instance refers to the fielding position.

9a   Hot red meat sandwiches not available in Pret A Manger? (5,4)

The question mark indicates that "Pret A Manger" is an example of the solution (in other words, this is a definition by example — which you may sometimes see abbreviated in Dave Perry's reviews as DBE). Pret a Manger^[7] (French for "ready to eat")  is a British sandwich retail chain.

10a   A Councillor I caught around and about (5)

The abbreviation for Councillor is Cr^[10].

11a   Rabbit’s popular with butchers (4,2)

A female rabbit is called a doe^[5], as is a female deer, hare, rat, ferret, or kangaroo.

I expended not an inconsiderable effort in pursuing a couple of dead-end paths here, thinking that rabbit^[5] might be used in the British slang sense of to talk at length, especially about trivial matters and that butchers^[5] might be rhyming slang for look (from "butcher's hook").

16a   Bet with old money abroad (4)

This being a British puzzle, "abroad" refers to some place outside the UK. Punt^[4] is British slang meaning to gamble. Prior to the introduction of the euro in 2002, the punt^[5] was the basic monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland, equal to 100 pence [punt being the Irish Gaelic word for pound].

18a   Wesley: a religious icon (4)

Dave Perry comments "about as obvious a dd as I've seen, providing you know the author Mary Wesley, of course". I didn't, but I did manage to identify English disk jockey Mark Wesley^[7], whose chief claim to fame appears to consist of being the person who "announced the death of Elvis Presley in a news bulletin on the station in August 1977, the first reporting of the singer's death in Europe". I reasoned that an icon might be considered to be a mark with St. Mark accounting for the religious angle. I may not have been that far off the mark (pardon the pun), judging by the comment at Times for the Times from Peter Biddlecombe (Sunday Times Crossword Editor) that "our collective judgment was that Mary W was better known than a DJ called Mark, by a wide enough margin".

Mary Wesley^[7] (1912 – 2002) was an English novelist. During her career, she was one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including 10 best-sellers in the last 20 years of her life.

19a   If you’re this down, the game may be up! (3,7)

It sometimes seems that everything in cricket is called a wicket. A wicket^[10] may be (1) either of two constructions, placed 22 yards apart, consisting of three pointed stumps stuck parallel in the ground with two wooden bails resting on top, at which the batsman stands; (2) the strip of ground between these [constructions] (i.e., the pitch); (3) a batsman's turn at batting or the period during which two batsmen bat ⇒ a third-wicket partnership; or (4) the act or instance of a batsman being got out ⇒ the bowler took six wickets.

Depending on the type of cricket match being played, each team has one or two innings^[7] apiece (innings ending with 's' in both singular and plural form).

The main aim of the bowler, supported by his fielders, is to dismiss the batsman. A batsman when dismissed is said to be "out" and that means he must leave the field of play and be replaced by the next batsman on his team. When ten batsmen have been dismissed (i.e., are out), then the whole team is dismissed and the innings is over. The last batsman, the one who has not been dismissed, is not allowed to continue alone as there must always be two batsmen "in". This batsman is termed "not out".

There are ten ways in which a batsman can be dismissed, four of which (bowled, run out, stumped or hit wicket) require his wicket to be put down. Thus "ten wickets down" would constitute ten dismissals meaning the end the batting team's innings and possibly the game.

I fully expect that there may well be subtleties associated with the wording used in this clue that I have failed to grasp.

22a   Loaf on the Sussex coast perhaps (3,5)

Rye^[7] is a small town in East Sussex, England, which now stands approximately two miles from the open sea. In medieval times, however, as an important member of the Cinque Ports confederation, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel and almost entirely surrounded by the sea.

23a   Cat’s second employer (6)

In the UK, mo^[5] is an informal term for a short period of time (hang on a mo!) [abbreviation of moment].

27a   Shocked actor Timothy caught in a brawl (3-6)

Timothy West^[7] is an English film, stage and television actor. Ruck is British slang for a quarrel or fight, especially a brawl involving several people ⇒ there was a rare old ruck before the police arrived.

29a   Express tears over one secret agent (7)

Sleeper^[3,4] is the British name for a railway tie^[3,4] (also called a crosstie^[3]).

1d   See bonkers close up in German city (7)

I managed to identify the correct German city — but initially for all the wrong reasons! I guessed that pots might be a British expression meaning potty (crazy). With dam meaning to close up, I got Potsdam. When a dictionary search failed to confirm the former part of this analysis, the correct interpretation eventually dawned on me. The wordplay is a reversal (up) of {MAD (bonkers) + STOP (close)}.

2d   Keep bottles of Italian white wine (5)

In his review, Dave Perry states "I've never studied Italian, so I didn't know that the Italian for 'of' was O ...". He is wrong, of course, a fact that is pointed out in the Comments section of the blog. As it happens, o'^[10] is an informal or archaic shortened form of the preposition of ⇒ a cup o' tea.

5d   First person to show what the Queen passes daily ( it’s said) (3,5,2)

In Britain, Australia and New Zealand, wee^[4] is an informal term for urine.

7d   Nothing withheld, uproar about corrupt unit in Cabinet? ( 9)

As one would expect, the setter uses the British spelling (furore^[3]) rather than the US spelling (furor^[3]).

8d   Do shed tea cans (7)

Cans^[4] is an informal name [possibly British] for headphones.

15d   Nanny working in Suriname with daughter (9)

Suriname^[10] is an alternate spelling of Surinam.

18d   Cherry’s further left, look! (7)

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event • and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them. Morello^[5] is a dark cherry of a sour kind used in cooking.

20d   One not working as a forward (7)

In soccer, a forward is called a striker^[5].

21d   Ring Himalayas? You may need their help (6)

I would say that this is a semi-& lit. clue, a type of clue where the entire clue serves as the definition but only a portion of the clue constitutes the wordplay. The wordplay is O (ring) + RANGE (Himalayas) giving ORANGE as the solution. The clue, in effect, is saying 'You may need their help to place a call to (ring) the Himalayas'. 

Orange^[7] is a French multinational telecommunications corporation and represents the flagship brand of the France Telecom group. It is a global provider for mobile phone, landline, Internet, mobile internet, and IP television services, and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, October 14, 2012 - ST 4503

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4503
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 16, 2012
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4503]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 6, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, October 13, 2012
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, October 13, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

As usual, Anax gives us some masterfully clever wordplay. I must admit that even though I completed the puzzle correctly, I needed help from Dave Perry's explanations to fully appreciated the wordplay in a couple of clues.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

16a   Sculptor’s endless chipping away ( 5)

Auguste Rodin^[5] (1840–1917), was a French sculptor. He was chiefly concerned with the human form. Notable works include The Thinker (1880) and The Kiss (1886).

17a Bone made of iron — strange, on reflection ( 5)

The symbol for the chemical element iron is Fe^[5]. Rum^[5] is dated British slang meaning odd or peculiar.

26a   How one may see guts of crippled patient? ( 6- 6)

My electronic assistants suggested that softly-softly was about the only possible solution. While Dave Perry says that it took him a while to work out the wordplay, I admit that I never was able to work it out on my own. Softly-softly^[5], which means gradual, cautious, and discreet, would appear to be a British expression.

1d   Run into bar for scrap? ( 7)

On cricket scorecards, R^[5] appears as an abbreviation for run(s).

4d   Way cats exercise? ( 9)

Cat^[10] is a [seemingly British] slang word meaning to vomit. Thus the wordplay is ST (way; street) + RETCHES (cats; vomits).

8d   Country garden in Cornwall? ( 6)

Cornwall^[5] is a county occupying the extreme south-western peninsula of England.

13d   Author’s praise, or otherwise, for manager ( 10)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as setter, compiler, author, or writer to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must usually substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used  in the clue. Today, the setter complicates matters a tad by requiring us to insert I'm (I am) in place of author's (author is).

19d   Boozer’s body found in squat, covered in refuse ( 7)

Again, I needed Dave Perry to explain the wordplay. The definition is "boozer's body" (more on that later) and the wordplay is SIT (squat) contained in (covered in) DENY (refuse; as in to refuse admittance to someone).

"Boozer's body" is to be interpreted as what the word "body" would mean to someone who drinks a lot of alcohol beverages. One meaning of body^[10] is the characteristic full quality of certain wines, determined by the density and the content of alcohol or tannin ⇒ a Burgundy has a heavy body. In particular, density could refer to the concentration of alcohol or alcohol by volume^[7]. It is this particular characteristic of the wine that is likely of most interest to the "boozer" as opposed to the wine connoisseur, for whom other attributes would be of at least equal significance. As a contributor at Times for the Times points out, using "Boozer's body" in this manner is akin to cluing the word 'un' as "Napoleon's one".

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, October 7, 2012 - ST 4502

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4502
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 9, 2012
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4502]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, September 29, 2012
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, October 6, 2012
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday Puzzles pages in the Saturday, October 6, 2012 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

Having been away for the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, it has taken me nearly a week to get caught up on my blogs. Today's puzzle by Jeff Pearce has a good mix of clues. There are some fairly easy clues which offer an entry point as well as several rather tricky clues to provide a challenge.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

1a   Chap going round back of Primark after plain rag (9,4)

Primark^[7] is an Irish clothing retailer that also has operations in the United Kingdom and a number of other Western European countries.

12a   Gorge on cooked 8 initially (6)

The number "8" in the clue is a cross reference to clue 8d. You must substitute the solution to 8d in place of the number 8 to complete the clue.

21a   Supplement making you become angry and speechless if Doc’s around? (8)

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree.

24a   Study before exam — (Latin) — stops one being sociable (9)

Con^[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing) ⇒ the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

In Britain, a viva voce (often shortened to viva^[5]) is an oral examination, typically for an academic qualification ⇒  (i) candidates may be called for a viva voce; (ii) assessment of the PhD is by thesis and viva voce. Viva can also be used as a verb meaning to subject (someone) to an oral examination ⇒ facing them sat the youth who was being vivaed.

Viva voce may also be used (1) as an adjective indicating (especially of an examination) oral rather than written ⇒ a viva voce examination or (2) as an adverb signifying orally rather than in writing ⇒ we had better discuss this viva voce. To the best of my knowledge, this term is used in North America only as an adjective or adverb. I suspect that the these forms may predate its usage as a noun, and that this may be yet another example of the British propensity to turn adjectives into nouns.

25a   Colour of Loch Restil (5)

Loch Restil is located at the top of the scenic Rest and Be Thankful pass (what a great name) in Argyll And Bute, Scotland. I drove through that area a few years ago when travelling from Glasgow to Oban and remember it as being very picturesque.

1d   Being abundant fill up ten jars (9)

The anagram indicator is "jars" whose use I can only presume may be based on the rationale that if one were to jar (severely jostle) the letters forming FILL UP TEN, they just might happen to rearrange themselves in such a manner as to form the solution to the clue.

4d/20a Prosperous bank has incentive to host it but it`ll end up in smoke! (10,6)

The definition is "it'll end up in smoke" for which the solution is CAMBERWELL CARROT. Camberwell carrot^[10] is British slang for a large, almost conical, marijuana cigarette. Supposedly this particular style of rolling marijuana cigarettes originated in Camberwell^[7], a district of south London, England that forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located 2.7 miles (4.3 km) southeast of Charing Cross [which is considered to mark the centre of London]. 

The wordplay is rather tricky. It helps to add a bit of punctuation to the clue so that it reads "Prosperous, bank has incentive to host it". Since the pronoun "it" refers to the word "prosperous", the clue can be simplified to "bank has incentive to host prosperous" which parses as {CAMBER (bank; as on a road) + (has) CARROT (incentive)} containing (to host) WELL (prosperous).

In Britain, one meaning of camber^[5] is a tilt built into a road at a bend or curve, enabling vehicles to maintain speed [or, in other words, a bank].

I was skeptical that prosperous and well meant the same thing. However, I find that one meaning for well^[10] (as an adjective) given by Collins English Dictionary is prosperous or comfortable.

6d   Topless louts with stories about clubs and bars (9)

Yob^[5] (back slang for boy) is an informal British term for a rude, noisy, and aggressive youth. In the cryptic reading, clubs refers to a suit in a deck of cards.

7d   Occasionally the best possible present can be found at a new Department — Next? (5,3,3,4)

Every^[5] must be interpreted in the sense of all possible or the utmost (used for emphasis) ⇒ you have every reason to be disappointed.

8d   Tin contains an unknown colour (4)

In mathematics, an unknown^[10] is a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation ⇒ 3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns. [Unknowns are typically represented symbolically by the letters x, y and z.]

17d   Pick lots of bait to get tasty treats (5,4)

In Britain, cream tea^[5] is a meal taken in the afternoon consisting of tea to drink with scones, jam, and cream. The wordplay is CREAM (pick) + all but the final letter of (lots of) TEAS[e] (bait). Cream^[10] is used in the sense of to take away the best part of [or, in other words, cherry pick].

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon