Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sunday, May 25, 2014 — ST 4587


Post Mortem

I returned from my travels to discover that during my absence the editors of the Ottawa Citizen completely revamped the newspaper — in the process discontinuing The Sunday London Times Crossword. As a consequence, this puzzle never appeared.
Vacation Edition [Note 1]
Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4587
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Setter
Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4587]
Times for the Times Review Written By
ulaca
Times for the Times Reviewer's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, May 17, 2014[Note 4]
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 24, 2014[Note 3]
Notes
[1] I am currently on vacation. Today's abbreviated posting was prepared prior to my departure and provides a link to the review at Times for the Times for the puzzle that I expect to be published today.
[2] This puzzle is forecast to appear on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 24 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[3] Forecast publication date. Post publication, I will be unable to verify the publication date as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.
[4] Forecast publication date.

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Sunday, May 18, 2014 — ST 4586

Vacation Edition [Note 1]
Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4586
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Setter
Jeff Pearce 
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4586]
Times for the Times Review Written By
paul_in_london
Times for the Times Reviewer's Solving Time
Not provided
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 17, 2014[Note 3]
Notes
[1] I am currently on vacation. Today's abbreviated posting was prepared prior to my departure and provides a link to the review at Times for the Times for the puzzle that I expect to be published today.
[2] This puzzle is forecast to appear on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 17, 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[3] Forecast publication date. Post publication, I will be unable to verify the publication date as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.

Introduction

I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks. During my absence, an abbreviated version of the blog will appear containing a link to the review at Times for the Times for the puzzle that I forecast to be published.

In the blog entry dealing with today's puzzle, Times for the Times reports that the regular reviewer, Dave Perry, has suffered a stroke and "so will obviously be unavailable for blogging duties until further notice".

I am sure we all wish Dave a speedy recovery.

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Sunday, May 11, 2014 — ST 4585

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4585
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Setter
Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4585]
Times for the Times Review Written By
Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 10, 2014[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
- solved but without fully parsing the clue
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
- yet to be solved
Notes
[1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 10, 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[2] Unverified as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.

Introduction

Today's puzzle was not overly difficult, but provided lots of enjoyment.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across


1a   Restrained dog is suffering problems with some chow (6,9)

It may appear that "chow" is yet another dog.— but that is not the case.

9a   Do you transport the lady speaking fast in Eastern capital? (7)

The effect is more pronounced (pardon the pun) when spoken in a non-rhotic[5] British accent. Non-rhotic accents omit the sound /r/ in certain situations, while rhotic accents generally pronounce /r/ in all contexts.

Jakarta[5] is the capital of Indonesia, situated in northwestern Java; population 9,125,000 (est. 2009). Former name (until 1949) Batavia.

10a   Go by bike, carrying on in lots of wind (7)

11a   Votes in favour of timeless Irish poet (4)

W. B. Yeats[5] (1865–1939) was an Irish poet and dramatist; full name William Butler Yeats. His play The Countess Cathleen (1892) and his collection of stories The Celtic Twilight (1893) stimulated Ireland’s theatrical, cultural, and literary revival. Notable poetry: The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair (1929). Nobel Prize for Literature (1923).

12a   We hear one after another intended to get detention (10)

13a   Progressive leader of Indian state (2-5)

Go-ahead[5] is an adjective meaning willing to consider new ideas; in other words, enterprising a young and go-ahead managing director.

Goa[5] is a state on the west coast of India; capital, Panaji. Formerly a Portuguese territory, it was seized by India in 1961. It formed a Union Territory with Daman and Diu until 1987, when it was made a state.

15a   Tower viewed in modified telescope company's put out (7)

17a   Did gag that's despicable, wife walking out (7)

19a   Railing about initially cutting standard brain scanning facility (7)

Positron emission tomography[10] (abbreviation PET[10]) is a technique for assessing brain activity and function by recording the emission of positrons from radioactively labelled substances, such as glucose or dopamine.

20a   Finish sounding like a drunken side-kick! (10)

22a   Stages that go with 11 called out (4)

In the game of bingo in the United Kingdom, callers announcing the numbers have traditionally used nicknames to refer to particular numbers if they are drawn. The nicknames are sometimes known by the rhyming phrase 'bingo lingo' and there are rhymes for each number from 1 to 90, some of which date back many decades. In some clubs, the 'bingo caller' will say the number, with the assembled players intoning the rhyme in a call and response manner, in others, the caller will say the rhyme and the players chant the number.

The nickname for the number "11" is legs — a reference to the shape of the number resembling a pair of legs, often chicken legs specifically. The players often wolf whistle in response.

Wikipedia has a list of British bingo nicknames[7] which you might find of interest — although the overly decorous may wish to avoid looking at "69" and "83".

25a   Starts to hoover under machines, part of kitchen routine (7)

In the UK, hoover[5] (a genericized version of the trade name Hoover) means (as a noun) a vacuum cleaner (from any manufacturer) and (as a verb) to clean (something) with a vacuum cleaner he was hoovering the stairs

The Hoover Company[7] started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name became synonymous with vacuum cleaners and vacuuming in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Kitchen[5] is an informal term for the percussion section of an orchestra.

26a   Detective hurt and it doesn't look good (7)

Eye[10] is an informal term for private eye[10], which in its own right is an informal term for a private detective.

27a   Important figures that are expanded by a corporation (5,10)

Formally, vital statistics[5] are quantitative data concerning the population, such as the number of births, marriages, and deaths. Informally, the term refers to the measurements of a woman’s bust, waist, and hips. While Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises this latter usage as British, I know from personal experience that the term is in wide-spread use far beyond the shores of the UK.

Corporation[5] is a dated, humorous term for a paunch.


Down


1d   Relish English post, mostly in the Big Apple (5)

The Big Apple[5] is an informal name for New York City.

2d   Pull to pieces what an unemployed actor hopes to do (4,5)

3d   Spy seen in new and old ship (4)

Nark[5] is an British slang for a police informer ⇒ I’m not a copper’s nark.

Ark[5] is an archaic name for a ship or boat. In the Bible, the ark (or Noah's ark) is the ship built by Noah to save his family and two of every kind of animal from the Flood.

Even Oxford Dictionaries Online perpetuates the fallacy that Noah took "two of every kind" of animal on the ark. God's instruction to Noah actually was “You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth” (Genesis 7:2-3).

4d   Tired daughter showered (7)

5d   Bags of pain in street ending in tears (7)

6d   Story-teller working near court (9)

7d   Far Right no longer show feeling (5)

8d   Mint on lamb, for example is a delicacy (9)

Sweet[5] is the British term for a piece of candy[5]a bag of sweets.

A sweetmeat[10] is a sweetened delicacy, such as a preserve, sweet, or, formerly, a cake or pastry. Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises the term as archaic[5]. Not to be confused with sweetbread[5] — which, despite the name, is meat while a sweetmeat could be bread.

13d   Famous Russian composer in new edition of Grove (9)

Johann Sebastian Bach[5] (1685–1750) was a German composer. An exceptional and prolific baroque composer, he produced a massive body of work — not to mention twenty children.

In the surface reading, "Grove" is an instance of the name of an author being used as a substitute for the name of his work.

Sir George Grove (1820–1900) was an English musicologist. He was the founder and first editor of the multi-volume Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1879–89) and served as the first director of the Royal College of Music (1883–94).

Mikhail Gorbachev[5] is a Soviet statesman, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR 1985–91 and President 1988–91. His foreign policy brought about an end to the Cold War, while within the USSR he introduced major reforms known as glasnost and perestroika. Opposition to his policies led to an attempted coup in 1991, after which he resigned. Nobel Peace Prize (1990).

14d   Short-lived, wild maple here (9)

16d   Travelling pioneer keeping very quiet in what may be called a banger (9)

Pianissimo (abbreviation pp)[5] is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very soft or very quiet or (as an adverb) very softly or very quietly.

Banger[5] is an informal British name for a sausage ⇒ bangers and mash [mashed potato].

18d   Scheduled to include one line over set boundaries (7)

The wordplay parses as a reversal (over) of {TIMED (scheduled) containing (to include) {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + L (line)}}.

19d   Most classy lady's into cannabis (7)

21d   Arrive before time in early jet (5)

The de Havilland DH 106 Comet[7] was the first production commercial jetliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at its Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, the Comet 1 prototype first flew on 27 July 1949.

23d   Do they help one to see what builders are doing? (5)

The entire clue is a cryptic definition for specs as an abbreviation for specifications (builders' plans). The portion of the clue with the dashed underlining is a definition for specs as an abbreviation for spectacles (eye glasses).

One commenter at Times for the Times remarked "I'd have thought architects did SPECS rather than builders ..". True it is architects (and engineers) who draw them up, but it is builders who execute them. Thus if you were to look at the specs, you would have a a better idea of what the builder is doing. Another writer appears to think that the reference is to "building on spec" (that is, on speculation).

24d   Marries for one day? (4)

Wednesday can be abbreviated as either Wed.[5] or Weds.[5]
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, May 4, 2014

Sunday, May 4, 2014 — ST 4584

Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times
ST 4584
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Setter
Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review
Times for the Times [ST 4584]
Times for the Times Review Written By
Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
Not Provided
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Date of Publication in The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 3, 2014[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
- solved but without fully parsing the clue
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Times for the Times
- yet to be solved
Notes
[1] This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, May 3, 2014 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
[2] Unverified as a paywall bars access to the The Vancouver Sun website.

Introduction

Today, you might say that Anax gets "down and dirty" (3d, 6d) or, perhaps, "dirty in the Downs". This is certainly far from being one his most difficult puzzles, but a good challenge, nevertheless. And, as always, a very enjoyable solve.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across


1a   Frozen body? Turn up temperature (5)

4a   Chap is carrying iron to platform (9)

The symbol for the chemical element iron is Fe[5].

9a   Big girl starts to test seesaw (9)

The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize (OS[5]) in Britain.

Cilla[7] is an English female given name, originally the diminutive form of Priscilla and less frequently Drusilla. It first appeared in the 20th Century.

"Starts" — being plural — is used to clue the first two letters of TEst.

10a   Crease new sheets (5)

In cricket, a crease is a line — not an area as it is in hockey and lacrosse. In cricket, a crease[10] is any of three lines (bowling crease, popping crease, or return crease) near each wicket marking positions for the bowler or batsman.

11a   Dicky bird's covering for a swallow? (4,2,3,5)

Dicky bird[5] is an informal child’s word for a bird.

Dicky[10] is an informal British term meaning  in bad condition; shaky, unsteady, or unreliableI feel a bit dicky today.

Down in the mouth[10] (or down at the mouth) means in low spirits.

The "bird's covering" is DOWN and one reason [the question mark indicating that this is but an example] for having it IN THE MOUTH would be that one intended to swallow it.

In his review, Dave Perry expresses some misgivings about "dicky" as a definition.

13a   A handle for jug, all in enamel (8)

While I did get the correct solution, I failed to parse the clue.

Nick[5] is an informal British name for a prison he’ll end up in the nick for the rest of his life.

The jug[5] is an informal term for prison ⇒ three months in the jug.

The phrase "all in enamel" is used to clue NAME, all [the letters] in eNAMEl — omitting the letters that comprise the outside edges of the word.

15a   Cooking fuel behind ring (6)

Sterno[5] is a US trademarked name for a flammable hydrocarbon jelly supplied in cans for use as fuel for cooking stoves. The name comes from that of the manufacturer, Sternau and Co.

17a   Fruit in this is completely sliced by mum (6)

The phrase "in this is completely" is used to clue TOTO. The Latin phrase in toto[5] means as a whole or completely.

18a   Mother comes in to sell axe (8)

20a   Made no progress? Perhaps he was forgotten (3,7,4)

23a   In jeopardy, he will hold back a monster (5)

In Greek mythology, the Hydra[5] was a many-headed snake whose heads grew again as they were cut off, eventually killed by Hercules.

24a   Posh boy back in Asian resort in part of Spain (9)

In Britain, U[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words denoting upper class such as posh or superior.

As an anagram indicator, "resort" is used in the somewhat whimsical sense of 'to sort again'.

Andalusia[5] is the southernmost region of Spain, bordering on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; capital, Seville. The region was under Moorish rule from 711 to 1492.

25a   One buys tea that officer gulps (9)

Cha[5] (also chai or char) is an informal British name for tea.

26a   Like a drink? Gin perhaps? (5)

Rummy[10] is a US and Canadian slang word for drunkard.

Gin[5] (also gin rummy) is a form of the card game rummy in which a player holding cards totalling ten or less may terminate play.

Down


1d   Mix 'n' match decoration, possibly (10)

2d   Bird's bill penetrating gullet (5)

A macaw[5] is a large long-tailed parrot with brightly coloured plumage, native to Central and South America.

3d   Dirty little hospital nurses recording for broadcast news? No! (4,2,3,2,4)

This was a new expression to me. I tried in vain to justify TELL IT NOT IN OATH.

The expression "tell it not in Gath" means don't spread scandal — keep the story to yourself ⇒ Tell it not in Gath, but their marriage isn’t turning out too well. There’s good reason to believe ….

The source is 2 Samuel 1:20. David said when he heard of the death of Jonathan in the war against the Philistines:
Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
4d   For now, an expression of self-loathing? (8)

Split (2, 4-2), the solution becomes "Me anti-me" — which could be expressed in a more grammatically correct manner as "I am anti-me".

5d   Missing, as was masseur reportedly (6)

Judging by the comments at Times for the Times, it seems that a lot of solvers got misled by thinking that the wordplay is "as was masseur reportedly". In fact, the wordplay is simply "was masseur reportedly" with the word "as" merely serving as a link between the definition and wordplay. Someone who was (a) masseur could be described as someone who kneaded.

6d   Thought one would snarl about dirty supporter (6,9)

A fellow traveller[2] is someone who sympathizes with a political party, especially the Communist Party, without actually joining it.

7d   Hospitals showing arrogance over adopting a security group (9)

I managed to come up with a spelling, SANITORIA, that turns out to be a hybrid of the British (sanatoria[5]) and US (sanitaria[5]) spellings.

This I parsed — not without some reservations, I may add — as {SNIT (arrogance or, possibly, showing arrogance) + O (over; a division of play in cricket)} containing (adopting) A (from the clue) + RIA (security group).

I assumed the RIA was some hitherto unknown-to-me British counterpart to the CIA. As it turns out, this super-secretive group is unknown to anyone.

Thankfully, Dave Perry provides the correct solution at Times for the Times.

8d   Farmyard sound in so-so nursing home (4)

12d   Consistent supply prepared by Spooner? (4 6)

A spoonerism[5] is a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures. It is named after the Revd W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), an English scholar who reputedly made such errors in speaking.

14d   About to meet host, call for video equipment (9)

16d   Bullfighter pulled a pole up (8)

As a synonym for tear, pull[5] may be used in the sense of to damage (a muscle, ligament, etc.) by abnormal strain he pulled a calf muscle in the first half of the game and had to be replaced. It might also be used in a figurative sense ⇒ they are pulled in incompatible directions by external factors and their own beliefs.

A toreador[5] is a bullfighter, especially one on horseback. Initially, only matador[5] (a bullfighter whose task is to kill the bull) and picador[5] (a person on horseback who goads the bull with a lance) came to mind.

19d   Athlete's kit is striking — stores energy (6)

Kit[5] is a British term for the clothing used for an activity such as a sport a football kit. In other words, what would be called a uniform on this side of the pond.

21d   F1 driver turned up for tea (5)

Felipe Massa[7] is a Brazilian Formula One (F1) racing driver.

Assam[10] is a high-quality black tea grown in the Indian state of Assam.

22d   Fluffy dessert with fruit (4)

A whip[5] is a dessert consisting of cream or eggs beaten into a light fluffy mass with fruit, chocolate, or other ingredients.

A hip[5] is the fruit of a rose, especially a wild kind.
Key to Reference Sources: 

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