Sunday, December 1, 2013 — ST 4562

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4562
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, November 3, 2013
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4562]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time ★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, November 23, 2013
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 30, 2013[Note 2]
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
Notes [1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 30, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. [2] Due to the paywall that has been erected on its web site, I am no longer able to verify the puzzle that is published in the Vancouver Sun.

Introduction

This week's puzzle certainly seemed to be a bit less taxing than those that we have experienced over the previous few weeks.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Lacking experience I acted badly behind a French philosopher (15)

In French, un^[8] is the masculine singular form of the indefinite article.

A sophist^[5] was a paid teacher of philosophy and rhetoric in Greece in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, associated in popular thought with moral scepticism and specious reasoning.

9a   Heather follows dog for game (7)

Ling^[5] is another name for the common heather of Eurasia.

10a   Brilliant hit initially in a Celtic language (7)

A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class. 

I found C.^[10] listed as an abbreviation for Celtic in Collins English Dictionary.

Aramaic^[5] is a branch of the Semitic family of languages, especially the language of Syria used as a lingua franca in the Near East from the 6th century BC. It replaced Hebrew locally as the language of the Jews, and though displaced by Arabic in the 7th century AD, it still has about 200,000 speakers in scattered communities.

11a   Golfer Els drops one for an eagle (4)

Ernie Els^[7] is a South African professional golfer. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)) along with his fluid golf swing.

Erne^[5] is a literary term for the sea eagle.

12a   "Whate'er you think, good words, I think, were best" (King John), for example (10)

The quotation — which comes from William Shakespeare's play King John (Act 4, Scene 3) — is an example of iambic pentameter.

Pentameter^[10] is a a verse line consisting of five metrical feet. An iamb^[10] is a metrical foot consisting of two syllables, a short one followed by a long one. Consequently, iambic pentameter is is a a verse line consisting of five metrical feet, each consisting of two syllables, a short one followed by a long one. 

Either this clue is scarcely cryptic or its cleverness has eluded everyone — in Dave Perry's words, "there's nothing particularly cryptic about it, unless I'm missing something".

13a   Uni has long dissertations about hero (7)

Uni^[5] is an informal [seemingly British] term for university ⇒ he planned to go to uni.

In Greek mythology, Theseus^[5] is the legendary hero of Athens, son of Poseidon (or, in another account, of Aegeus, king of Athens) and husband of Phaedra. He slew the Cretan Minotaur with the help of Ariadne.

15a   Row at club accepting German plonker (7)

Plonker^[5] is a British word that can be used as (1) an informal term for a foolish or inept person or (2) vulgar slang for  a man’s penis.

In North America, Australia and New Zealand, dingbat^[5] is an informal term for a stupid or eccentric person.

17a   Playwright takes in old dog (7)

Harold Pinter^[5] (1930–2008) was an English dramatist, actor, and director. His plays are associated with the Theatre of the Absurd and are typically marked by a sense of menace. Notable plays: The Birthday Party (1958), The Caretaker (1960), and Party Time (1991). Nobel Prize for Literature (2005).

19a   He takes back food with lots of fat (7)

20a   Cunning and black rat circles one primate (10)

Shop^[5] is British slang meaning to inform on (someone) ⇒ she shopped her husband to bosses for taking tools home.

22a   Item of furniture used in Blue Peter -- middle part (4)

Blue Peter^[5] is a blue flag with a white square in the centre, raised by a ship about to leave port.

25a   Usherette may offer this cold as part of selection (4-3)

In the UK, choc ice^[5] is a small bar of ice cream with a thin coating of chocolate [similar to a Klondike ice cream bar]. From its picture, it would appear to be an ice cream on a stick without a stick — although, according to Wikipedia, "Views vary as to whether it is a choc ice^[7] if it has a stick". Collins English Dictionary spells the word as choc-ice^[10] with a hyphen.

26a   Primate tense and more irritable (7)

A tarsier^[5] is a small insectivorous, tree-dwelling, nocturnal primate with very large eyes, a long tufted tail, and very long hindlimbs, native to the islands of SE Asia.

In British slang, arsey^[5] (comparative form arsier) is an adjective meaning bad-tempered or uncooperative ⇒ I was half an hour late phoning her and she didn’t get all arsey about it. I think the derivation of the word is obvious.

It is interesting to note that, in Australia, arsey means very lucky. This usage comes from the expression tin arse meaning 'lucky person' where tin is slang for 'money' and is used figuratively to mean 'luck'.

27a   With time secluded ash rots, producing a threat to the forest (5,3,7)

Dutch elm disease^[5] is a fungal disease of elm trees that is spread by elm bark beetles. A virulent strain of the fungus which arose in North America has destroyed the majority of elms in southern Britain.

Down

1d   A woman finally leaves dirty old man's brother (5)

Here "old man" is an informal term for one's father.

2d   Plain green ties knotted (9)

The Serengeti^[5] is a vast plain in Tanzania, to the west of the Great Rift Valley. In 1951 the Serengeti National Park was created to protect the area’s large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, and Thomson’s gazelle.

3d   Duet's quiet song (4)

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

4d   French draughtsman has succeeded in getting permission to enter (7)

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres^[5] (1780–1867) was a French painter. A pupil of Jacques-Louis David, he vigorously upheld neoclassicism in opposition to Delacroix’s romanticism. Notable works: Ambassadors of Agamemnon (1801) and The Bather (1808).

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

In addition to meaning the action or fact of going in or entering, ingress^[5] can also mean the capacity or right of entrance.

5d   Tried eating duck and drank to the happy couple! (7)

In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game. In British puzzles, duck is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter.

6d   Cameron left one frantic person working mostly in the dark (4,5)

The surface reading is likely a reference to David Cameron^[5], the British Prime Minister.

7d   Prudence clutches rare pamphlet (5)

I found r.^[10] listed as an abbreviation for rare in Collins English Dictionary.

8d   He may use blue or red coat! (9)

I must admit that I had totally missed the anagram before reading Dave Perry's review. Like him, I'm hard put to explain the use of "blue" as an anagram indicator. It is probably used as an adjective in the sense of melancholy, sad, or depressed (which I suppose implies that one is not one's normal self).

13d   Stamped out noisy entertainment (3-6)

14d   Found heat bliss when abroad (9)

16d   Fun time going to Ireland with a lass good at splits? (9)

Erin^[5] is an archaic or literary name for Ireland.

18d   He controversially filmed game at small market (7)

While two major variants of the game of rugby exist in the real world, only one seems to have caught  on in Crosswordland. Rugby union^[5] (abbreviation RU^[5]) is a form of rugby played in teams of fifteen, in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen.

Ken Russell^[7] (1927–2011) was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style.

19d   Disgraced journo follows drunk briefly (7)

Journo^[4,5,11] is an informal, and chiefly British, term for a journalist ⇒ the journos were there in force to see them play.

Blot^[7] is used in the sense of to damage the good character or reputation of ⇒ the turmoil blotted his memory of the school.

As one commenter pointers out at Big Dave's blog, the clue really should have been structured as "BLOTTO (drunk) mostly" rather than "BLOTTO (drunk) briefly" as 'briefly' usually serves as an indicator to use the first letter of a word.

21d   Start to criticise Yahoo's power (5)

The setter uses some unnecessary capitalization to mischievously direct our attention to Yahoo! Inc.^[7], an American multinational Internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California that is globally known for its Web portal, search engine, and related services.

23d   Betrothed carries back a cake (5)

24d   One gentleman upset Murdoch in writing (4)

Dame Iris Murdoch^[5] (1919–1999) was a British novelist and philosopher, born in Ireland. She is primarily known for her novels, many of which explore complex sexual relationships and spiritual life. Notable novels: The Sandcastle (1957) and The Sea, The Sea (Booker Prize, 1978).

Key to Reference Sources: 

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

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, November 24, 2013 — ST 4561

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 1, 2013 but has been backdated to place it in the proper sequence in the Blog Archive.

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4561
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 27, 2013
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4561]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time ★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, November 16, 2013
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 23, 2013[Note 2]
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
Notes [1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 23, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. [2] Due to the paywall that has been erected on its web site, I am no longer able to verify the puzzle that is published in the Vancouver Sun.

Introduction

As I worked off and on at this puzzle over the course of the past week — interspersed with several other puzzles — it is somewhat difficult to formulate a proper assessment of it. While I did find it fairly difficult, my lack of sustained concentration on the puzzle may have contributed to that feeling.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Concerned with the Borders, stays in Peebles (7)

Borders^[5] refers to the boundary and adjoining districts between Scotland and England. Peebles^[7] is a burgh in Peeblesshire in the Local Government area of Scottish Borders, lying on the River Tweed.

In the Scottish dialect (as well as South African dialect), stay^[5] means to live permanently ⇒ where do you stay?. Thus, in Peebles (a town in the Scottish lowlands), "stays" would be a synonym for "resides", whereas in most places it would merely indicate a sojourn.

5a   Reading players disheartened about holding United (7)

Reading Football Club^[7] is an English professional football [soccer] club, based in Reading (pronounced RED-ing), that plays in The Championship (properly called the Football League Championship) which is the second level of league football in England.

Manchester United Football Club^[7] (often referred to as Man U or simply United) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

Reading and United currently play at different levels of the English football league system — and therefore presumably would not face each other. However, Reading did compete in the 2012–13 Premier League season, having gained promotion at the end of the 2011–12 season, after winning The Championship. Alas, for them, their good fortune did not last. Reading is competing in The Championship again this season, having been relegated after one year back in the top flight.

9a   What in music could be represented as sliding? (9)

While I realized that it was not the first time that I had encountered this musical term in a puzzle, it was stored away so deeply in my mind that I could not force it to the surface. It certainly would have helped immensely had I recognized that the clue contains an anagram.

In music, a glissando^[5] (plural glissandi or glissandos) is a continuous slide upwards or downwards between two notes.

10a   Letter showing first from Oxford? Excellent! (5)

Mega^[5] is a [seemingly British] informal term meaning excellent ⇒ it will be a mega film. In North America, the term seems to be seen only in the alternate sense of very large or huge ⇒ he has signed a mega deal to make five movies.

Omega^[5] is the last letter of the Greek alphabet (Ω, ω).

11a   Toy gun seen behind bandit's back (6)

12a   Vocal pieces fare well together in headphones (8)

In a neat piece of wordplay, "fare well together" indicates 'farewell'.

In Britain, ta-ta^[5] is an informal way to say goodbye ⇒ well, I’ll say ta-ta, love.

Cans^[5] is a [possibly British] informal term for headphones.

14a   New pay cut with Post Office work is loony (10)

In 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.

16a   Shock comes from having rear-end chopped off in daring display (4)

18a   Former Prime Minister's in a hole, according to reports (4)

Pitt^[5] is the name of two British Tory statesmen:

• William, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–78); known as Pitt the Elder. As Secretary of State (effectively Prime Minister), he headed coalition governments 1756–61 and 1766-8. He brought the Seven Years War to an end in 1763 and also masterminded the conquest of French possessions overseas, particularly in Canada and India.
• William (1759–1806), Prime Minister 1783–1801 and 1804-6, the son of Pitt the Elder; known as Pitt the Younger. The youngest-ever Prime Minister, he introduced reforms to reduce the national debt.

19a   A consumer out to lunch eats one? (4,6)

22a   Youngster gets sporting start on horse in front of Her Majesty (8)

A tee^[5] is a cleared space on a golf course, from which the ball is struck at the beginning of play for each hole ⇒ he smashes the ball off the 15th tee.

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

23a   US is unwanted in troubled Austrian capital (6)

Obviously the solution has to be Vienna. Not!

Tirana^[5] is the capital of Albania, on the Ishm River in central Albania; population 407,000 (est. 2009). Founded by the Turks in the 17th century, it became capital of Albania in 1920.

26a   Caught try by forward in the end (5)

I believe that the surface reading is meant to evoke the sport of rugby, in which a try^[5] is an act of touching the ball down behind the opposing goal line, scoring points and entitling the scoring side to a kick at goal.

27a   After one disembarked, coaches left in entrance (9)

In the cryptic reading, entrance^[5] is used as a verb meaning to fill (someone) with wonder and delight, holding their entire attention ⇒ I was entranced by the city’s beauty.

28a   It's rumoured tango dance has authority (4,3)

Tango^[5] is a code word representing the letter T, used in radio communication.

Hey^[10] (or hay) is (1) a circular figure in country dancing or (2) a former country dance in which the dancers wove in and out of a circle.

The wordplay is T (tango) + HEY (dance) + (has) SAY (authority).

29a   Like the main cocaine supply (7)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term referring to the open ocean.

It always seems to slip my mind that, in situations such as this, supply^[5] must be interpreted as an adverb meaning in a supple way.

Down

1d   Trendy and socially aware resort's needing no introduction (5-2)

The term right-on^[10] is used in the sense of modern, trendy, and socially aware or relevant   ⇒ the young, right-on student crowd rather than [what may be a North American usage] absolutely right or perfectly true^[3].

Brighton^[5] is a resort on the south coast of England, in East Sussex; population 127,700 (est. 2009).

2d   Literary genre returns in terrific scenes (3-2)

3d   Girl's an unhealthy colour in bar (8)

Di is surely the most popular girl's name in Crosswordland.

4d   Siemens staff, but not the number one, all there (4)

The surface reading refers to Siemens AG^[5], a German multinational engineering and electronics conglomerate headquartered in Munich and Berlin. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company.


In physics, the siemens^[5] (abbreviation S) is the SI unit of conductance, equal to one reciprocal ohm.

5d   One comes between Prince and pop singer, a temperamental lady (5,5)

In the surface reading, Prince^[7] (mononym of Prince Rogers Nelson) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor.

Madonna^[7] (mononym of Madonna Louise Ciccone) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, author, director, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

6d   Son to share cultural heritage in rests (6)

7d   Boxing ace Prescott hit onlooker (9)

John Prescott^[7], Baron Prescott is a British Labour politician who was the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. During the 2001 election campaign, Prescott was campaigning in Rhyl, Denbighshire when farmer Craig Evans threw an egg at him, which struck him in the neck. Prescott, a former amateur boxer, responded immediately with a straight left to the jaw. The incident, overshadowing the launch of the Labour Party manifesto on that day, was captured by numerous television crews. Tony Blair [at the time, British Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party] responded succinctly, stating, "John is John". A National Opinion Polls (NOP) survey found that the incident appeared to do no public harm to Prescott, and may even have benefited his standing amongst male voters.

8d   How unruly dogs need to be taken for tricks (5,2)

In Britain, a lead^[5] is a strap or cord for restraining and guiding a dog or other domestic animal ⇒the dog is our constant walking companion and is always kept on a lead. The word leash^[5] (which would be more commonly used in North America) also seems to be used in the UK.

13d   New play about pop, it seems (10)

15d   Decrepit and remote cathedral church (5,4)

Notre Dame^[5] is a Gothic cathedral church in Paris, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine). It was built between 1163 and 1250 and is especially noted for its innovatory flying buttresses and sculptured facade.

17d   House paper offers stock in great demand (3,5)

18d   Large sum of money recently stolen gets random criticism (7)

Pots of money^[5] is an informal expression meaning a very large amount of money ⇒ people who’ve got pots of money in the bank.

20d   No end of alarm, climate's changing? That can be stretched (7)

21d   Criticise the German patrol cars (6)

In German, das^[8] is one of the forms taken by the definite article.

In Britain, a panda car^[5] (or, presumably, just panda) is an informal name for a small police patrol car (originally black and white or blue and white).

24d   Trouble on navy deck (5)

The Royal Navy^[5] (abbreviation RN^[5]) is the British navy.

25d   One's heard order for starter is a pudding (4)

Sago^[5] is an edible starch which is obtained primarily from the sago palm [Metroxylon sagu, family Palmae] as well as from any of a number of other palms or cycads. The pith inside the trunk is scraped out, washed, and dried to produce a flour or processed to produce the granular sago (sago 'pearls') used in the West. Sago pudding (which may also be called simply sago) is a sweet dish [i.e., dessert] made from sago and milk. While I am personally not familiar with sago, I am certainly well acquainted with tapioca which apparently is a very similar product.

Key to Reference Sources: 

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

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, November 17, 2013 — ST 4560

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4560
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 20, 2013
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4560]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time Not indicated[Note 2]
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, November 9, 2013
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 16, 2013[Note 3]
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 █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
Notes [1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 16, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. [2] Dave Perry comments "I can't really give a solving time for this one ... I did find it one of Dean's trickier ones, though, and I had to revisit it several times."  [3] Due to the paywall that has been erected on its web site, I am no longer able to verify the puzzle published in the Vancouver Sun.

Introduction

Not only did I find this to be a very difficult puzzle, I have struggled for most of the last week to solve some various serious computer glitches. I needed a fair amount of help from my electronic puzzle solving aids to complete this puzzle. Even then, there were several clues where I was unable to explain the wordplay even having the correct solution.

Writers at Times for the Times point out that there is a "theme" to this puzzle. It pays homage to Alton Towers, the most visited theme park in the UK. In addition to the park itself, nine of the park's rides (past or present) are found in the solutions.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Good to keep bowing? I'll wait (6)

Arc^[10], as a verb, means to form an arc. Thus to "keep bowing" is to "arc on".

A garçon^[5] (literally 'boy' in French) is a waiter in a French restaurant or hotel.

5a   Nerve gas? (8)

Backchat^[5] is an informal British term for rude or cheeky remarks made in reply to someone in authority ⇒ don’t interrupt! I’m not used to backchat or defiance!.

9a   Son's offence, stealing glossy handbags (9)

Glossy^[3] is a chiefly British term for a popular magazine printed on smooth-coated stock.

In Britain, handbags^[10] is a humorous term for a confrontation that does not lead to serious fighting, especially among soccer players. [from the idea of women fighting with their handbags]

10a   Academician will accept it as subject of education (4)

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

Educating Rita^[7] is a 1980 stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell that was the basis of a 1983 Academy Award winning film. 

11a   Spoils  one associated with war (4)

The name of the Greek god Ares^[5] came to me almost immediately, so it is indeed puzzling why it took me so long to think of his Roman counterpart.

In Roman mythology, Mars^[5] is the god of war and the most important Roman god after Jupiter. The month of March is named after him.

13a   Number one is holding tight, lying about job (9)

14a   Pick up trousers? No, just shell suit (6)

In Britain, a shell suit^[5] is a casual outfit consisting of a loose jacket and trousers with elasticated waist, having a soft lining and a shiny polyester outer shell.

15a   Commitment against replacing shooter - there's no sense in it (8)

I arrived at the correct solution with the aid of a Word Finder program — but needed Dave Perry's review to understand the wordplay.

Oblivion^[5] is the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening around one ⇒ they drank themselves into oblivion.

17a   Singer, one from New Zealand, entertains married ladies regularly (3,5)

Kiwi^[5] is an informal term for a New Zealander.

Kim Wilde^[7] (born Kim Smith) is an English pop singer, author, DJ and television presenter who burst onto the British music scene in 1981. In 1987 she had a major hit in the US when her version of The Supremes' classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On" topped the charts.

19a   I'm happy, in the early rounds, not to start from the back (6)

This is another case where I only twigged to the wordplay after reading Dave Perry's review.

A prelim^[5] is an event which precedes or prepares for another, in particular ... a preliminary round in a sporting competition ⇒ the prelims of the 400-meter free relay.

20a   Trunk full of powdered chalk in prison (5,4)

The Black Hole of Calcutta^[5] was a dungeon 6 metres (20 feet) square in Fort William, Calcutta (now Kolkata), where perhaps as many as 146 English prisoners were confined overnight following the capture of the city by the nawab of Bengal in 1756. Only twenty-three of them were still alive the next morning.

23a   You will turn over when being promiscuous (4)

Here I totally failed to grasp the simple, yet elegant, wordplay. It is a reversal (will turn ) of YE (you) containing (over) AS (when).

24a   Synthesizer producing low note (4)

25a   David's wife cleans the man's soul (9)

In ancient Egypt, ba^[5] was the supposed soul of a person or god, which survived after death but had to be sustained with offerings of food. It was typically represented as a human-headed bird. This is not to be confused with ka^[5], the supposed spiritual part of an individual human being or god, which survived (with the soul) after death and could reside in a statue of the person.

In the Bible, Bathsheba^[5] is the mother of Solomon. She was originally wife of Uriah the Hittite, and later one of the wives of David.

27a   Where situation is tense, unhappy in there (8)

Like Dave Perry, I solved 27a first — thereby giving me the solution to 13a.

28a   Run out then run in to say prayers (6)

In cricket, run out^[5] (abbreviation ro^[2]) means to dismiss (a running batsman) by breaking the wicket with the ball, or with the ball in the hand, while he is out of his ground^[10] (the area from the popping crease back past the stumps, in which a batsman may legally stand).

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation R^[5] denotes run(s).

Down

2d   Dipstick quietly dropped from hand (3)

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

3d   Sailors from Irish port take convoluted course (9)

Cork^[5] is a county of the Republic of Ireland, on the south coast in the province of Munster. It is also the name of the county town of Cork, a port on the River Lee; population 190,384 (2006).

4d   Man's humour recalled one's fierce rival (7)

This is another instance where I was not able to decipher the wordplay until I read Dave Perry's review.

Humour is used in the sense of a body fluid. There is quite a bit of discussion on Times for the Times as to whether or not this is stretching the definition. I found several dictionaries which defined the term in this sense — some narrowly, some more broadly. Collins English Dictionary defines humour^[10] fairly narrowly as any of various fluids in the body, especially the aqueous humour and vitreous humour. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary provides a similar definition for humour^[2], viz. a specified type of fluid in the body ⇒ aqueous humour. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word (for which it naturally uses the American spelling, humor^[2]) a bit more broadly as a body fluid, such as blood, lymph, or bile (in addition to its meanings of aqueous humor and vitreous humor). The broadest definition is found in the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary which defines humor^[11] as any animal or plant fluid, especially one of the body fluids once regarded as determining a person's constitution: blood, phlegm, black bile, or yellow bile.

Thus if we allow that humour may be "any animal or plant fluid" then "man's humour" could certainly include semen.

5d   Pig trotter finally taken from cut of meat (5)

Alas, for me, the word "breast" just does not evoke images of a cut of meat!

6d   As they say, dice completely white? (3,4)

Here "dice" is a verb used in cooking rather than a noun used in the casino.

White^[5] can be used as a noun to refer to a white thing, in particular the white ball (the cue ball) in snooker or billiards.

7d   Toymaker's soldiers used in Toy Story presentation (5)

Corgi Classics Limited^[7] is the current reincarnation of a British toymaker that manufactures die-cast models of cars and other vehicles.

Computer-generated imagery^[7] (abbreviation CGI^[5]) is the application of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, films, television programs, commercials, and simulators.

8d   Theme park possibly roped into changes (5,6)

In tow (also on tow^[5]) means being towed by another vehicle or boat ⇒ (i) his boat was taken in tow by a trawler; (ii) the shallop [a type of sail boat] remained on tow when the ships left for the mainland.

Alton Towers Resort^[7] is a theme park and resort located in Alton, England, UK. In 2012, it was the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom and 9th most visited theme park in Europe.

12d   A fancy mobile, to a Henry Fielding character (6,5)

Although the woman appearing in the solution is a character in a novel by Henry Fielding, the setter uses only the author's surname in the definition.

The henry^[5] (abbreviation H) is 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. In the clue, the setter introduces a bit of cryptic misdirection by capitalizing the first letter of 'henry'.

Amelia Booth is the title character in Amelia^[7], a sentimental novel written by English author Henry Fielding (1707–1754) and published in December 1751. It was the fourth and final novel written by Fielding.

15d   United emerged victorious? We wouldn't all say that (3)

This is another tricky bit of wordplay that I only understood after reading Dave Perry's review.

The definition is "united" for which the solution is ONE. This is a homophone clue with a rather unusual homophone indicator, with the wordplay being sounds like WON (emerged victorious) to some people (we wouldn't all say that). Here the homophone indicator ("we wouldn't all say that") must be interpreted as 'sounds like ... to some people".

16d   Mum solves cryptic when eating dessert? (9)

In the UK, ice^[5] may refer to a  portion of water ice^[5], a dessert consisting of frozen fruit juice or flavoured water and sugar. As well, it could refer to an ice cream or ice lolly^[5], a piece of flavoured ice or ice cream on a stick (the former is known in North America as a popsicle^[5] and the latter would usually be referred to simply as ice cream on a stick).

18d   I'll bake pie that's nice (7)

Pie^[10] is a variant spelling of pi meaning, as a noun, a jumbled mixture and, as a verb, to mix up.

In the past, I have seen clues which have used this meaning of pie. However, I only recall seeing it used as a past participle (pied), making the wordplay much easier to explain. However, 'pie' could be either a noun or the present tense of the verb.

If pie is intended to be a noun, then the wordplay may involve interpreting the wordplay as 'a jumbled mixture of [the letters] ILL BAKE'. The rationale for this interpretation is that if an 'apple pie' is a pie [made] of apples, then it logically follows that an 'ILL BAKE pie' would be a pie (jumbled mixture) [made] of ILL BAKE.

On the other hand, if pie is intended to be a verb, then the wordplay may need to be read as "I'll bake; pie that". That is, interpret the wordplay to be a series of instructions where we start with the letters ILL BAKE; then pie them (mix them up).

Since pie is a transitive verb, the setter could have written the clue in Yoda-speak:

Pie I'll bake is nice.

19d   Author in topless attire upset poet (7)

Edmund Spenser^[5] (circa 1552–99) was an English poet. He is best known for his allegorical romance The Faerie Queene (1590; 1596), celebrating Queen Elizabeth I and written in the Spenserian stanza.

21d   Nettle right at the bottom of pasture (5)

Dave Perry comments "I didn't like this one as there's no indication that the R is being moved." I have observed that, at times, crucial bits of information may be implicit in cryptic crossword puzzles.

22d   Work can be involved (3,2)

In 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.

26d   Excellent start to radio broadcast (3)

A1^[4][5] or A-one^[3] meaning first class or excellent comes from a classification for ships in The Lloyd's Register of Shipping where it means equipped to the highest standard or first-class.

Key to Reference Sources: 

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

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, November 10, 2013 — ST 4559

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4559
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, October 13, 2013
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4559]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time ★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, November 2, 2013
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun Saturday, November 9, 2013[see note]
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 █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, November 9, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. Due to the paywall on its web site, I am no longer able to verify the puzzle that appears in the Vancouver Sun.

Introduction

Despite not being overly difficult, the puzzle contained a heavy dose of British references. As I was familiar with many of them, them true number really only became apparent when I sat down to compose the blog.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Press feature Royal in her skimpy underwear (6)

R^[10] as a symbol for Royal is found in Collins English Dictionary.

5a   Old market is key in Atlantic port (6)

Rialto^[5] is an island in Venice, containing the old mercantile quarter of medieval Venice. The Rialto Bridge, completed in 1591, crosses the Grand Canal between Rialto and San Marco islands.

Rio de Janeiro^[5] (commonly known as Rio) is a city in eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast; population 6,093,472 (2007). The chief port of Brazil, it was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.

9a   How might I describe old railwaymen in sport? (3,6)

This is an inverse wordplay type of clue — specifically an inverse reversal. The solution to the clue consists of a reversal indicator and its fodder, with the result of the reversal being found in the clue itself. The phrase "old railwaymen" refers to the NUR (National Union of Railwaymen), a defunct railway union. The solution is RUN AROUND which, in cryptic crossword terms, could be used as wordplay indicating a reversal (around) of RUN.

The National Union of Railwaymen^[7] (NUR) was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom which came into being in 1913 through the merger of three former unions. In 1990 the NUR merged with the National Union of Seamen to form the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and ceased to exist as a separate union.

Sport is used as a verb meaning to play in a lively, energetic way^[5] or frolic^[3] ⇒ the children sported in the water.

10a   Grade and another entertainment mogul (4)

"Grade" can be interpreted in two senses in this clue.

First, grade^[5] can mean simply a particular level of rank, quality, proficiency, or value.

Second, as is alluded to by the word "another" in the clue, it is a reference to Lew Grade^[5], Baron Grade of Elstree (1906–1998), a British television producer and executive who was born in Russia; born Louis Winogradsky. A pioneer of British commercial television, he served as president of ATV (Associated Television) from 1977 to 1982.

J. Arthur Rank^[5], 1st Baron Rank (1888–1972) was an English industrialist and film executive; full name Joseph Arthur Rank. In 1941 he founded the Rank Organization, a film production and distribution company that acquired control of the leading British studios and cinema chains in the 1940s and 1950s.

11a   Remove obstruction in river (6)

Let^[5] is a formal term meaning obstruction, the phrase "without let or hindrance" meaning without obstruction or impediment ⇒ rats scurried about the house without let or hindrance.

In racket sports, a let^[5] is a circumstance under which a service is nullified and has to be taken again, especially (in tennis) when the ball clips the top of the net and falls within bounds [or, in squash, when one of the players has been obstructed] ⇒ he was obstructed and asked for a let.

12a   Touring East a fiancée acquires a soothing lotion (4,4)

14a   Old fiddler hid silver in some bread (8)

Nicolò Paganini^[5] (1782–1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. His virtuoso violin recitals, including widespread use of pizzicato and harmonics, established him as a major figure of the romantic movement.

The symbol for the chemical element silver is Ag^[5] from Latin argentum.

16a   Drink to politician’s first seat (4)

18a   The talent  present (4)

19a   Fags on offer – extremely dodgy at a low price (3,1,4)

21a   Force into the service  of many Chinese folk? (8)

Shanghai^[5] is a city on the east coast of China, a port on the estuary of the Yangtze; population 11,283,700 (est. 2006). Opened for trade with the west in 1842, Shanghai contained until the Second World War areas of British, French, and American settlement. It was the site in 1921 of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.

In the first definition, shanghai^[5] is used as a verb meaning to force (someone) to join a ship lacking a full crew by drugging them or using other underhand means ⇒ they specialized in drugging and robbing sailors, sometimes arranging for them to be shanghaied aboard tramp boats.

In the second definition, I suspect that the name of the city might be being used as an adjective (as in "Shanghai Metro", the name of the rapid transit system serving the city of Shanghai) with the definition being "of many Chinese folk". However, I could be wrong, and the setter may have intended the phrase "many Chinese folk" to simply be a reference to the city itself.

22a   Countless heads of rebel insurgents are discovered behind well (6)

24a   Beat a Tibetan monk (4)

26a   Stubborn soldier – after power - returned and was in charge (3-6)

27a   Cut off top of noisome flower (6)

The setter uses flower in a whimsical cryptic crossword sense meaning something that flows — in other words, a river.

The Severn^[5] is a river of SW Britain. Rising in central Wales, it flows north-east then south in a broad curve for some 290 km (180 miles) to its mouth on the Bristol Channel.

28a   Before opening of theatre you must arrange clean knife (6)

Down

2d   Cook has his order for Root (11)

3d   One cat or 16 for a pound (5)

4d   Plant’s poor drainage (8)

5d   The Sun is said to be  what Man Utd fans buy? (3-3)

I suppose that red is an appropriate colour for this clue. I wrongly guessed that the solution might be RED-HOT, thinking that a red-hot might be some sort of food sold at soccer stadiums.

In Britain, a tabloid newspaper is known as a red top^[5] (from the red background on which the titles of certain British newspapers are printed).

Manchester United Football Club^[7] (often referred to as Man Utd in newspaper headlines) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system). The team's home uniform consists of a red top and white shorts [and a large commercial endorsement].

6d   The first animals to be included in the dictionary? (9)

7d   Chap lacking hint of sun won’t! (3)

It is highly unlikely that STAN could TAN in the absence of Sun.

8d   Extremists cut finger and nail off (7,6)

13d   Desperate Cameron goes round with Liberal – Sparks will fly from this! (5,6)

The wordplay is an anagram (desperate) of CAMERON containing (goes around) {AND (with) + L (Liberal)}.

David Cameron^[5] is a British Conservative statesman, Prime Minister since 2010 (in coalition with the Liberal Democrats); full name David William Donald Cameron.

The Liberal Party^[5] in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats; a small Liberal Party still exists. Although I believe that Lib.^[5] may be the more common abbreviation for the party, Chambers 21st Century Dictionary indicates that L^[2] may also be used.

15d   Slender cardinal you texted in a gallery (9)

Here, attenuate^[5] is an adjective (a rarely seen usage) meaning reduced in force, effect, or physical thickness ⇒ the doctrines of Christianity became very attenuate and distorted.

The Tate Gallery^[5] (commonly known simply as the Tate) is a national museum of art in London, England founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened.

17d   Dandy’s ring absorbs funny maiden (8)

George Bryan Brummell^[5] (1778–1840) was an English dandy; known as Beau Brummell. He was the arbiter of British fashion for the first decade and a half of the 19th century, owing his social position to his friendship with the Prince Regent.

In Britain, bell^[5] is used as a verb meaning to telephone (someone) ⇒ no problem, I’ll bell her tomorrow.

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

In cricket, a maiden^[5], also known as a maiden over, (abbreviation M)^[5] is an over in which no runs are scored. An over^[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.

20d   Pianist’s short friend is carrying his work (6)

Frédéric Chopin^[5] (1810–49) was a Polish-born French composer and pianist. Writing almost exclusively for the piano, he composed numerous mazurkas and polonaises inspired by Polish folk music, as well as nocturnes, preludes, and two piano concertos (1829; 1830).

In Britain, china^[5] is an informal term for a friend (or, as the Brits would say, a mate^[5]). This comes from Cockney rhyming slang, where china is the shortened form of china plate which rhymes with 'mate'.

In 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.

23d   Cook managed without hazardous substance (5)

The verb to do may well be associated with cooking most frequently when used as a past participle ⇒ a steak that is well done.

25d   Idiot parking in place where ambulances go (3)

A&E^[5] (accident and emergency) is the British term for the Emergency Department in a hospital ⇒ an A&E department.

The wordplay is P (parking) contained in (in) {A + (&) E} (place where ambulances go).

Key to Reference Sources: 

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

Signing off for this week — Falcon