Sunday, October 23, 2011 - ST 4451

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4451
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 18, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4451]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 15, 2011

Introduction

The Brits seem to have found this puzzle to be rather easy. For me, not so much. I spent more time in the lower left-hand corner (and needed more help from my electronic assistants) than in the entire remainder of the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

9a   The general test of admissibility in British cryptic crosswords is "Does it appear in Chambers" meaning The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition. Well, let me assure you that OU as an abbreviation for "Oxford University" does pass that test. It also appears at Search Chambers (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary) and TheFreeDictionary (Collins English Dictionary). Ironically, it is not found at Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English) - perhaps in an effort to appear unpretentious!

10a   In rugby, a prop (also known as a prop forward) is a forward at either end of the front row of a scrum.

12a   In Britain, the abbreviation Con. following the name of a Member of Parliament indicates that he or she is a member of the Conservative Party.

13a   Apparently E is the abbreviation for Egyptian, despite the fact that it would seem to fail the Chambers Test (see note for 9a).

14a   At one time, apparently, in Britain it was customary for misbehaving students to be given six of the best, a caning as a punishment, traditionally with six strokes of the cane.

21a   A chaffinch is a Eurasian and North African finch, typically with a bluish top to the head and dark wings and tail. Chaff is light-hearted joking or banter. Although a new term to me, it would seem not to be specifically British.

23a   In cricket, an extra is a run scored other than from a hit with the bat, credited to the batting side rather than to a batsman. Thus, I suppose it would be considered a "run over" - a run above and beyond the regular runs.

24a   Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England in 1938 which holds the official world speed record for steam locomotives. A gin (also gin trap) is a trap for catching birds or small mammals. This would seem to be a British name for what, in North America, is called a leghold (or foothold) trap.

25a   Returning to the cricket theme, the covers is an area of the field consisting of cover point and extra cover. Cover point (also known simply as cover) is a fielding position (or a player at this position) a little in front of the batsman on the off side and halfway to the boundary. Extra cover is a fielding position (or a player at this position) between cover point and mid-off but further from the wicket. Mid-off is a fielding position (or player at this position) on the off side near the bowler. While leg can be another name for the on side of the field, that is presumably not the case here as (by definition) leg (on side) can't be in the covers (which is on the off side).

26a   In British sports parlance, a sitter is an easy catch or shot.

27a   Agar-agar is another name for agar, a gelatinous substance obtained from certain red seaweeds and used in biological culture media and as a thickener in foods.

1d   To the best of my recollection, court is usually considered to mean a roadway (a short street, sometimes closed at one end [Collins English Dictionary]) which is often abbreviated Ct. on street signs. However, I note that Chambers does have two entries, the first being "Ct abbrev: Court (in addresses, etc.)" and the second "ct abbrev: ... court". So perhaps ct can also be an abbreviation for court in a sense other than a roadway - for instance, a court of law.

3d   San Marino is a republic forming a small enclave in Italy, near Rimini; population 30,200 (est. 2009); official language, Italian; capital, the town of San Marino. It is perhaps Europe’s oldest state, claiming to have been independent almost continuously since its foundation in the 4th century.

15d   The puzzle, of course, uses the British spelling enameller rather than the American spelling enameler for this practitioner in a branch of ceramics. The monarch referred to in the clue is Queen Elizabeth, whose royal monogram is ER (for Elizabetha Regina).

19a   This rock star is well-known on both sides of the Atlantic, being English musician Sting (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner). Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock band The Police. We also have yet another cricket reference here in runs (abbreviation R). Since we are currently in the midst of the World Series, North Americans might like to think that this could be a reference to baseball - but that wouldn't pass the Chambers Test (see note for 9a)..

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 16, 2011 - ST 4450

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4450
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 11, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4450]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 8, 2011

Introduction

I was able to complete this puzzle, but only with very substantial assistance from the electronic assistants in my Tool Chest. I was beginning to fear that my mind had become rusty during my recent time away, so I was relieved to see that Dave Perry also struggled with the puzzle.

Vocabulary in Today's Puzzle

Appearing in Clues

In cricket, the on (or on side) [4a] 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. It is also known as the leg or leg side.

As usual, The Queen [9a] is abbreviated ER (Elizabetha Regina), Tory [10a] as Con. (Conservative) and Rector [15d] as R (the latter from The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition).

[The] White Horse Inn [11a] is an operetta or musical comedy - set in the picturesque Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria - about the head waiter of the White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang who is desperately in love with the owner of the inn, a resolute young woman who at first only has eyes for one of her regular guests. The show enjoyed huge success around the world in the 1930s, with long runs in cities like London, Paris, Vienna, Munich and New York and was filmed several times. The White Horse Tavern or White Horse Inn is also the name of an establishment in Cambridge [England] which was in the 16th century the meeting place for English Protestant reformers who discussed Lutheran ideas.

Berks. [12a] is the abbreviation for Berkshire, a county of southern England, west of London. Berk is also British slang for a stupid person.

A haar [13a] is a cold sea fog on the east coast of England or Scotland.

Appearing in Solutions

Varese [8a] is a town in Lombardy, northern Italy - located a bit north of Milan.

An imaret [11a] is an inn or hostel for pilgrims in Turkey. Here ti is (in tonic sol-fa) the North American name for the seventh note of a major scale. Surprisingly, there were no cries of outrage from those in the UK, where the name of this note is spelled te (according to the Oxford Dictionary of English).

Anton Chekhov [16a] (1860–1904) was a Russian dramatist and short-story writer whose work, portraying upper-class life in pre-revolutionary Russia with a blend of naturalism and symbolism, had a considerable influence on 20th-century drama. His most notable plays include The Seagull (1895), Uncle Vanya (1900), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Hang it [21a] is a mild oath (likely a euphemism for damn it). Han is the dominant ethnic group in China and git is British slang for an unpleasant or contemptible person.

Eurostar is the trademark for the high-speed passenger rail service that links London with various European cities via the Channel Tunnel.

A cooee [25a] is a call used to attract attention, especially (originally) a long loud high-pitched call on two notes used in the Australian bush. As a verb, it means to utter this call.

Gone west [26a] is a British expression indicating that someone or something has been killed or lost or has met with disaster. This phrase has an almost totally opposite connotation to that of the famous advice by American author Horace Greeley to "Go West, young man".

A leman [3d] is an archaic term for an illicit lover, especially a mistress.

Vita Sackville-West [5d] (1892 – 1962) was an English writer who, despite a strong marriage (she and her husband Harold Nicolson were both bisexual), had affairs with numerous women, including novelist Virginia Woolf. In his review, Dave Perry refers to Vita and Virginia, a two-woman play, created by Eileen Atkins, based on the letters between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.

RAC Limited is a breakdown company (a firm providing roadside assistance to motorists) in the United Kingdom supplying products and services for motorists. Initially formed as the "Associate Section" of the Royal Automobile Club, it was incorporated as R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1978. It was then sold by the members of the Royal Automobile Club to Lex Service Plc in 1999, which subsequently renamed itself RAC Plc (public limited company). In 2005, RAC Plc was bought by Aviva and delisted from the stock exchange (thereby becoming a private limited company).

W. G. Grace [22d] (1848 – 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time.

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.

8a   Some Milanese rave about an Italian city (6)

The Italian city of VARESE is hidden (some) and reversed (about) in the phrase MilanESE RAVe.

11a   Recall note covering for example, White Horse Inn? (6)

IMARET (a Turkish inn) is formed from a reversal (recall) of TI (note) containing (covering) MARE (for example, white horse). Generally, examples are specific instances of a more general category. Therefore, saying that a white horse is an example of a mare hardly sounds right. But then again, saying that a mare is an example of a white horse sounds nearly as bad.

25a   Old head of English in school called to attract attention (6)

Here the wordplay is {O (old) + E (head of English; i.e., first letter of English)} contained in (in) COED (school) producing COOEED (called to attract attention). In Britain, unlike North America (where a coed is a female student at a co-educational institution), coed is a shortened form of the adjective co-educational. It is often the case in Britain that adjectives are used as nouns. Thus, a co-ed school is simply called a co-ed in the same way that an Indian restaurant would simply be referred to as an Indian. On my recent trip, I found this tendency to exist in Ireland as well. I discovered that a stud farm there is known simply as a stud. Of course, I could not resist bringing back a souvenir shirt emblazoned with "Irish National Stud".

1d   Clubs prompt with booze (7)

The wordplay is {C (clubs; one of the four suits in a deck of cards) + AROUSE (prompt)} to form CAROUSE (booze; used as a verb). Collins English Dictionary gives, as one definition of arouse, to evoke or elicit a reaction or response (which better seems to fit the clue than definitions that I found in American dictionaries).

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 9, 2011 - ST 4449

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4449 (Forecast)
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, September 4, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4449]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, October 1, 2011 (Forecast)

Introduction

I am currently on vacation, so today's blog has been prepared in advance and is necessarily rather abbreviated. It contains a few brief facts about the puzzle that I expect to appear on this date together with a link to the review at Times for the Times.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, October 2, 2011 - ST 4448

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4448 (Forecast)
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, August 28, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4448]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, September 24, 2011 (Forecast)

Introduction

I am currently on vacation, so today's blog has been prepared in advance and is necessarily rather abbreviated. It contains a few brief facts about the puzzle that I expect to appear on this date together with a link to the review at Times for the Times.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, September 25, 2011 - ST 4447

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4447
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, August 21, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4447]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, September 17, 2011
Link to Solution at Saturday Star Cryptic Forum Saturday Star Cryptic Forum [ST 4447]

Introduction

I am in the midst of preparing to leave on vacation, so today's blog is necessarily rather abbreviated. During my absence, postings will be of a similar abbreviated nature containing brief facts about the puzzle with a link to the review at Times for the Times. I have also included a link to the solution posted at the Saturday Star Cryptic Forum.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, September 18, 2011 - ST 4446

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4446
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, August 14, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4446]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, September 10, 2011

Introduction

This puzzle is a strange mix of rather easy clues mixed with several very difficult (or obscure) ones. I needed to study up on linguistics to solve 13d and take a refresher course in physics for 19d (after incorrectly guessing LUMIENT - only to discover that this word has yet to be invented). The 14-letter word at 15a was also a revelation to me. I almost got it correct  - interchanging the first "I" and the "E". Perhaps this word is more common in the U.K., given that the usage example in Oxford is "the valetudinarian English". As for 23a, I was even more in the dark than Dave Perry concerning the wordplay, overlooking the fact that the first letter of "university" is the symbol for the element in question (it seems that I should have brushed up on chemistry as well). Finally, having failed to recognize (more correctly, never having heard of) the British composer and conductor in 19d, I may need some music lessons.

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

collocation - noun 1 Linguistics [a] the habitual juxtaposition of a particular word with another word or words with a frequency greater than chance: the words have a similar range of collocation [b] a pair or group of words that are habitually juxtaposed: ‘strong tea’ and ‘heavy drinker’ are typical English collocations

dis - noun informal speak disrespectfully to or criticize: [i] I don’t like her dissing my friends; [ii] a campaign of forum postings and emails dissing the company; [iii] maybe you should stop dissing psychics and discover that part of yourself  [Origin: (1980s) abbreviation of  disrespect]

Dis - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 1. (Also called Orcus or Pluto) the Roman god of the underworld.

il - Italian the

lambert - noun a former unit of luminance, equal to the emission or reflection of one lumen per square centimetre.

Constant Lambert - (1905 – 1951), British composer and conductor.

*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

love - noun 4 (in tennis, squash, and some other sports) a score of zero; nil: love fifteen [apparently from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money); folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero]

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

moot - verb 2 intransitive to dispute or plead, especially as a form of academic exercise.

OT - abbreviation [3^rd entry] Old Testament [cryptic crossword convention books]

Educating Rita - a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell which premiered in 1980. It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University lecturer. The play follows the relationship between a young Liverpudlian working-class hairdresser and a middle-aged university lecturer, during the course of a year. The play was adapted by Russell for a 1983 film with Michael Caine and Julie Walters, directed by Lewis Gilbert.

tent² - noun a deep red sweet wine chiefly from Spain, used especially as sacramental wine.

U² - symbol the chemical element uranium.

*(River) Ure - a river in North Yorkshire, England, approximately 119km long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse

[Walt] Whitman - (1819–92), American poet. In 1855 he published the free verse collection Leaves of Grass, incorporating ‘I Sing the Body Electric’ and ‘Song of Myself’; eight further editions followed in Whitman’s lifetime.

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.

23d   What this person does sometimes in a card game sets a pattern (5)

The definition is "pattern" with the solution being IDEAL. The wordplay is "what this person does sometimes in a card game". Here "this person" is the setter of the puzzle referring to himself (or herself) and needs to be replaced by 'I'. This usage is similar to a journalist referring to himself or herself in a newspaper article as "this writer". Thus, "what I do sometimes in a card game" is "I deal". The word "sets" acts as a link word between the wordplay and the definition. Similarly, when words such as "setter" or "compiler" appear in clues, one must replace them with a first person pronoun such as "I" or "me", depending on the particular situation.

Signing off for this week - Falcon

Sunday, September 11, 2011 - ST 4445

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4445
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, August 7, 2011
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4445]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, September 3, 2011

Introduction

On the whole, the puzzle did not seem overly difficult, but there are a few tricky clues. I needed Dave Perry to explain the wordplay at 22d where the name of the British middle distance runner does not ring a bell, although I do recall the other two members of the trio mentioned in the Wikipedia entry cited below.

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.

*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.

neat² - noun archaic [a] a bovine animal. [b] [mass noun] cattle.

organ - noun 4 a newspaper or periodical which promotes the views of a political party or movement: he repositioned the journal as a leading organ of neoconservatism

pong - noun British informal a strong, unpleasant smell: corked wine has a powerful pong

Domenico Scarlatti - (1685 – 1757), Italian composer who today is known almost exclusively for his 555 keyboard sonatas mostly written for the harpsichord or the earliest pianofortes. According to Wikipedia, "[By 1709] Scarlatti was already an eminent harpsichordist: there is a story of a trial of skill with George Frideric Handel at the palace of Cardinal Ottoboni in Rome where he was judged possibly superior to Handel on that instrument, although inferior on the organ."

Appearing in Solutions

Steve Cram - British retired athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s.

crambo - noun a game in which a player gives a word or line of verse to which each of the other players must find a rhyme.

hook - noun 4 [2^nd entry] Cricket a stroke made to the on side with a horizontal or slightly upward swing of the bat at shoulder height.

on - (also on side) noun Cricket the leg side (or, simply, leg) [see definition for leg in Appearing in Clues section above]

mock turtle soup - noun imitation turtle soup made from a calf’s head.

Edvard Munch - (1863–1944), Norwegian painter and engraver. He infused his subjects with an intense emotionalism, exploring the use of vivid colour and linear distortion to express feelings about life and death. Notable works: the Frieze of Life sequence, incorporating The Scream (1893).

Quentin Tarantino - American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor.

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.

27a   Traditional dancing venue for a day? Stick with it! (7)

According to Wikipedia, a maypole is "a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost (Whitsun) although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer. In some cases the maypole is a permanent feature that is only utilised during the festival, although in other cases it is erected specifically for the purpose before being taken down again." Since people traditionally dance around the maypole during these festivals, it is a "traditional dancing venue for a day" (in Britain, the festival seems to occur on a single day, May 1 or May Day). But what about the rest of the clue ("Stick with it!"). Well "stick" is certainly a reference to the maypole, and since the maypole is reputed by some to be a phallic symbol, the "it!" may be intended to mean "sex appeal". This would make the maypole a stick with sex appeal.

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

22d   Athlete's natural pong coming after game (6)

The definition is "game" and we are looking for CRAMBO (a game that I had never heard of). The wordplay is a charade of CRAM (athlete) and BO (pong). Steve Cram is a retired British middle distance runner and pong is British slang for an unpleasant smell - such as body odour (BO).

24d   Pirate's powerful shots to side of leg (5)

This is a double definition, with one definition being "pirate" for which the solution is HOOK, the pirate captain from Peter Pan. The second definition is "powerful shots to the side of the leg". Here "to the side of the leg" means the 'leg side' (also called the 'on side') of a cricket field. In cricket, a hook is a "powerful shot" to the "on side" (or "leg side") of the field.

Signing off for this week - Falcon