Originally published Wednesday, January 7, 2009 in the Daily Telegraph
Tip of the Day
You may have noted a new gadget has been added - entitled Tool Chest - in the right hand margin of the blog (just below the Blog Archive). Here I will provide links to some of the websites that I find especially useful in helping me solve puzzles.
One of these is OneLook Dictionary Search. This site allows one to look for words in a large number of online dictionaries with a single search. For example, when solving 1ac in today's puzzle, I quickly surmised that the answer was FACADE. I knew FA stood for Football Association, but I had no idea of the connection between "old rebel" and CADE. I typed "cade" into OneLook and it immediately presented me with a list of 29 sources (22 general sources and 7 specialty sources) in which "cade" was defined. One of the sources was Wikipedia which listed two choices, one of which was "Cade (disambiguation)". When I clicked on this link, I was presented with a choice of 22 possibilities, one of which was "Jack Cade (15th century), English rebel".
For 4ac, I fairly rapidly guessed that the answer might be HALF-TERM, but I was not at all familiar with this expression. By searching on OneLook, I was presented with a list of eight online dictionaries that defined this word. This time, I chose to check the Compact Oxford English Dictionary (since I suspected that this might be a British expression). Sure enough, I discovered that "half-term" is a noun meaning "Brit. a short holiday halfway through a school term." - what I would refer to as a "mid-term break".
Today's links
Crossword Ends in Violence (5) [DT 25819] - Again today, this site proves to be the best source for a solution. As CEIV often provides only hints to some of the clues, I invite anyone who needs additional help in solving the clues or understanding the solutions to post a question and I will be more than happy to help you out.
Cryptics.co.uk [DT 25819] - The author is still ill, but one of the regular readers has attempted to fill the void (with self-acknowledged limited success).
AnswerBank [DT 25819] - As usual, a couple of questions were asked concerning today's puzzle - however, there is nothing of particular interest.
Today's Puzzle
It took me a while to get 11ac. I first got hung up on the idea that "woman without sex appeal" was a direction to delete IT from a woman's name. I finally realized that it was actually a direction to write a woman's name outside IT (i.e., [AM^Y] + [IT] = [AM(IT)Y]).
I am still puzzled by 16d A lightning-conductor? (9). The answer would seem to be ELECTRODE. However, for the life of me, I am unable (as are the sources referenced above) to explain this clue. The "?" would indicate that this is a riddle. The only riddle to me is why this clue would be considered "cryptic".
There are a number of British references and expressions used in today's puzzle, some of them being:
1ac - FA: Football Association (governing body of English football)
4ac - Half-term: a short holiday halfway through a school term
18ac - Sidepath: a segregated cycling facility (analogous to a sidewalk for pedestrians)
25ac - Set fair: I assume this is a British expression. I have been unable to find any reference to the unhyphenated version of this word. Several sources define "set-fair" thus: "In plastering, a particularly good troweled surface". However, I do recall seeing this term in a previous Daily Telegraph puzzle AnswerBank [DT 25733].
1d - I note that CEIV suggests that fog-lamps are "lights you might find on the back of a car". My cars have always had fog-lamps mounted on the front. Do Brits drive backwards in the fog?
5d All over the shop: I found no source for this, but I suspect it might be a British expression. I would likely say "All over the place".
6d Lair: study - The Compact Oxford English Dictionary provides "a person’s hiding place or den" as one definition of "lair". Do Brits refer to a "study" as a "lair" (what North American's would call a "den") ? [Note: While I would not hesitate to accompany someone into their den, I might have qualms about entering their lair.] Or, is this a case of equality through association (i.e., Study = Den and Den = Lair, therefore Study = Lair).
8d May Day: a holiday in Europe in recoginition of workers
And with that, I wrap up things for today.
Toughie 3260
9 hours ago
Searching tip: try the word and the definition in the same search - a Google search for "cade rebel" (without the quotes) gets plenty of relevant stuff in the first few hits.
ReplyDeleteBriticisms ...
SIDEPATH: er, never heard of it! I'd say cycle path or cycle track, one dictionary also lists cycleway.
"set fair" describes a prediction of consistent good weather - a marking on some old-style barometers.
"fog-lamps": we often have them both front and back, both brighter versions of the lights usually in those places.
"all over the shop": as you guessed, often describing something messy.
"lair=study" - 2 steps here as you describe - Concise Oxford (next one up from Compact) has lair="a person's den or hiding place".
without = outside rather than "lacking": a corny trick here. Best known in the hymn line "There is a green hill far away, without a city wall", or in London churches with names like "St Giles without Newgate".