Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011 - DT 26598

Puzzle at a Glance
Vacation Edition
While I am on vacation, an abbreviated version of the blog will appear each weekday providing basic information and a link to Big Dave's Crossword Blog for the puzzle expected to be published. This information is a forecast (prepared prior to my departure) based on recent publication patterns for Daily Telegraph syndicated cryptic crossword puzzles appearing in the National Post. Should the National Post happen to depart from the expected pattern, the information will, of course, be incorrect.
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26598
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Setter
Ray T
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26598]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Big Dave
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★ Enjoyment - ★★★★

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thursday, September 29, 2011 - DT 26597

Puzzle at a Glance
Vacation Edition
While I am on vacation, an abbreviated version of the blog will appear each weekday providing basic information and a link to Big Dave's Crossword Blog for the puzzle expected to be published. This information is a forecast (prepared prior to my departure) based on recent publication patterns for Daily Telegraph syndicated cryptic crossword puzzles appearing in the National Post. Should the National Post happen to depart from the expected pattern, the information will, of course, be incorrect.
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26597
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Setter
Jay
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26597]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Pommers
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★ Enjoyment - ★★★

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - DT 26596

Puzzle at a Glance
Vacation Edition
While I am on vacation, an abbreviated version of the blog will appear each weekday providing basic information and a link to Big Dave's Crossword Blog for the puzzle expected to be published. This information is a forecast (prepared prior to my departure) based on recent publication patterns for Daily Telegraph syndicated cryptic crossword puzzles appearing in the National Post. Should the National Post happen to depart from the expected pattern, the information will, of course, be incorrect.
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26596
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26596]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★ Enjoyment - ★★★

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - DT 26595

Puzzle at a Glance
Vacation Edition
While I am on vacation, an abbreviated version of the blog will appear each weekday providing basic information and a link to Big Dave's Crossword Blog for the puzzle expected to be published. This information is a forecast (prepared prior to my departure) based on recent publication patterns for Daily Telegraph syndicated cryptic crossword puzzles appearing in the National Post. Should the National Post happen to depart from the expected pattern, the information will, of course, be incorrect.
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26595
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, July 4, 2011
Setter
Rufus
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26595]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Libellule
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★ Enjoyment - ★★★
Notes
The National Post has skipped DT 26594 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, July 2, 2011.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, September 26, 2011

Monday, September 26, 2011 - DT 26593

Puzzle at a Glance
Vacation Edition
While I am on vacation, an abbreviated version of the blog will appear each weekday providing basic information and a link to Big Dave's Crossword Blog for the puzzle expected to be published. This information is a forecast (prepared prior to my departure) based on recent publication patterns for Daily Telegraph syndicated cryptic crossword puzzles appearing in the National Post. Should the National Post happen to depart from the expected pattern, the information will, of course, be incorrect.
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26593
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, July 1, 2011
Setter
Giovanni
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26593]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★ Enjoyment - ★★★

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Saturday, September 24, 2011 - On Occasion

Introduction

Is there a theme to today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon? I did find the words 'now' and 'then' as well as 'off' and 'on' hidden in the solutions. However, that may merely be a coincidence - or, perhaps, serendipity.

Vacation

As I will be away for a couple of weeks, postings may be somewhat delayed until I return in mid-October. I will post links to Big Dave's site for the weekday Daily Telegraph puzzles that I expect to appear during my absence. However, postings for the Cox and Rathvon puzzles will be delayed.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

27a   Female at big pop party (7)

The definition is "party" (more on that later) with the wordplay being SHE (female) + (at) BANG (big pop), or SHEBANG. Does shebang really mean party? I suppose it could - in the same way that event or thing could mean party. Shebang means 'a situation, organization, contrivance, or set of facts or things' (American Heritage Dictionary), 'an affair or matter; a situation' (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary), 'a situation, matter, or affair' (Collins English Dictionary), 'a matter, operation, or set of circumstances' (Oxford Dictionary of English) and is most frequently encountered in the phrase "the whole shebang". Shebang was originally a North American term meaning 'a rough hut or shelter'. I have to wonder whether the compilers may have confused this word with shindig.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend: "*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed

"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

1a   A|TROPHY - A (explicit in the clue) + TROPHY (prize)

5a   KNOWHOW~ - sounds like (pronounced) NOHOW (not in any way)

9a   SCARLATTI* - anagram (oddly) of TRIAL ACTS
Alessandro Scarlatti - (1660 – 1725), Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti (1679–1750) as well as being the brother of composer Francesco Scarlatti (1666 – c. 1741) and either the uncle or grandfather of composer Giuseppe Scarlatti (1718 or 1723 – 1777).
10a   TORME_ - [the first] half [of] TORME(nting)
Mel Tormé - (1925 – 1999), nicknamed The Velvet Fog, an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books. He composed the music for the classic holiday song "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells.
11a   SA(L)UTE - SAUTE (cook) containing (receives) L (large)

12a   S(KIN|HE)AD - {KIN (relative) + HE (that guy)} contained in (in) SAD (blue)

14a   SEREN(DIP)ITY - SERENITY (pacific state) containing (has) DIP (downturn)

18a   AUTHENTICAL* - anagram (strange) of ATLANTIC HUE

21a   {CHECK OFF}~ - sounds like (for audition) CHEKHOV (Russian dramatist)
Anton Chekhov - (1860–1904), Russian dramatist and short-story writer; full name Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Chekhov’s work , portraying upper-class life in pre-revolutionary Russia with a blend of naturalism and symbolism, had a considerable influence on 20th -century drama. Notable plays: The Seagull (1895), Uncle Vanya (1900), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904).
23a   IMP|AIR - IMP (little rascal) + AIR (tune)
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films (produced from 1922 to 1944) about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together.
25a   D|RAIN - D (low grade; e.g., such as a poorly performing student might receive on a school assignment) + RAIN (shower)

26a   IN|CUBA|TED - IN (explicit in the clue) + CUBA (Caribbean land) + TED (Theodore)

27a   SHE|BANG - SHE (female) + BANG (big pop)
See Commentary on Today's Puzzle above.
28a   MAD|IS|ON - MAD (humour magazine) + IS (explicit in the clue) + ON (explicit in the clue)
Mad - an American humo[u]r magazine founded in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.

Madison Avenue - a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, that runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to the Madison Avenue Bridge at 138th Street. It is named after and arises from Madison Square, which is itself named after James Madison, the fourth President of the United States. Since the 1920s, the street's name has been synonymous with the American advertising industry.
Down
1d   _ASSIST - (b)ASSIST (band member) with the first letter deleted (with no leader)

2d   RE-ALLY - REALLY (truly)

3d   POLITESSE* - anagram (reshaped) of ELSIE POST
Perhaps Elsie Post is Crosswordland's counterpart to Emily Post (1872 – 1960), an American author famous for writing on etiquette.
4d   YET|I - YET (still) + I ([Roman numeral for] one)
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. The term "sasquatch" is an anglicized derivative of the word "sésquac" which means "wild man" in a Salish Native American language.
5d   KNICKKNACK - If split (5,5), the result (knick knack) would mean KNACK (skill) of a KNICK (NBA player).
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
6d   OF|TEN - OF (associated with) + TEN (a decade)

7d   HER(M)ETIC - HERETIC (religious miscreant) containing (holds) M (mass; a unit encountered in the field of Physics)

8d   WEEKDAYS~ - sounds like WEAK (feeble) + DAZE (stupor)

13d   G|RATIFYING - G (good; a mark that the student 25a might attain with more study) + RATIFYING (act of confirmation)

15d   I|SLAM|A|BAD - I (explicit in the clue) + SLAM (harshly criticize) + A (explicit in the clue) + BAD (rotten)

16d   CAS(CAD)ES - CAD (no-goodnik) contained in (surrounded by) CASES (boxes)
Note: The setters have inverted the normal order of the clue.
17d   STEERAGE* - an anagram (new) of SEE GREAT

19d   PAST|AS - PAST (done) + AS (like)

20d   DRY|DEN - DRY (alcohol-free) + DEN (room)
John Dryden - (1631–1700), English poet, critic, and dramatist of the Augustan Age. He is best known for Marriage à la mode (comedy, 1673), All for Love (a tragedy based on Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, 1678), and Absalom and Achitophel (verse satire in heroic couplets, 1681).
22d   K|ENYA - K (king; in card games or chess) + ENYA (Irish singer)
Enya (born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, anglicized as Enya Brennan) is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter.
24d   _S|CAM_ - hidden in (employed by) thiS CAMerman

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday, September 23, 2011 - DT 26592

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26592
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Setter
Ray T
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26592]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Big Dave
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★ Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Performance
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
Legend:
- solved without assistance
- incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
- solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I am preparing to leave on vacation for a couple of weeks and have fallen a bit behind in updating the blog. The postings for the next few days and those appearing during my absence will consist of merely basic information about the puzzle together with a link to the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog. As the schedule of puzzles on which these postings rely is a forecast based on the recent publication pattern, any deviation by the National Post from this pattern will result in the daily postings linking to the wrong puzzle.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011 - DT 26591

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26591
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Setter
Jay
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26591]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Pommers
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★ Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Performance
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
Legend:
- solved without assistance
- incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
- solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I am preparing to leave on vacation for a couple of weeks and have fallen a bit behind in updating the blog. The postings for the next few days and those appearing during my absence will consist of merely basic information about the puzzle together with a link to the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog. As the schedule of puzzles on which these postings rely is a forecast based on the recent publication pattern, any deviation by the National Post from this pattern will result in the daily postings linking to the wrong puzzle.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - DT 26590

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26590
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Setter
Shamus
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26590]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★ Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
Legend:
- solved without assistance
- incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
- solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I certainly felt that this puzzle was a bit more difficult than the Brits appear to have found it. I completed the north-east quadrant on my own, but needed help from my electronic assistants to solve clues scattered across the remaining quadrants.

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 Ottawa Citizen 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.

batman - noun dated (in the British armed forces) an officer’s personal servant.

Elizabeth I - (1533 – 1603), queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.

Appearing in Solutions:

A1 - the longest numbered road in the UK at 410 miles (660 km) which connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

*DI - abbreviation [2nd entry] (in the UK) Detective Inspector
Within the British police, inspector is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
[John] Dryden - (1631–1700), English poet, critic, and dramatist of the Augustan Age. He is best known for Marriage à la mode (comedy, 1673), All for Love (a tragedy based on Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, 1678), and Absalom and Achitophel (verse satire in heroic couplets, 1681).

*Eton College - a boys‘ public school in southern England, on the River Thames opposite Windsor, founded in 1440 by Henry VI to prepare scholars for King’s College, Cambridge. [Note: a 'public' school in Britain would be regarded as a 'private' school in North America.]
public school - noun 1. (in the UK) a private fee-paying secondary school, especially one for boarders. 2. (chiefly in North America) a school supported by public funds.
F - [The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition] abbreviation Fellow (of a society, etc)

F2 - [11th entry] abbreviation France (international vehicle registration).

fall - noun 5. (also Fall) North American autumn: that fall Roosevelt was elected to his first term [Note: in Canada (and also in the US, as far as I know), the terms autumn and fall are used interchangeably]

Ibiza - the westernmost of the Balearic Islands.

Jo [March] - character in the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of] Leicester - (1532 – 1588), English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death. She giving him reason to hope, he was a suitor for the Queen's hand for many years.

Lester [Piggott] - retired English professional jockey, popularly known as "The Long Fellow". He is considered to be the best of his generation and the greatest English flat jockey of all time, with 4,493 career wins, including nine Derby victories.

minim - noun 1 Music, British a note having the time value of two crotchets or half a semibreve, represented by a ring with a stem.  Also called half note

MOT - noun [a] (also MOT test) (in the UK) a compulsory annual test for safety and exhaust emissions of motor vehicles of more than a specified age. [b] (also MOT certificate) a document certifying that a vehicle has passed the MOT test.

*OB - abbreviation 1 old boy, noun 1. British [a] a former male student of a school or college [b] a former male member of a sports team or company 2. informal [a] an elderly man [b] chiefly British an affectionate form of address to a boy or man

PR - [1st entry] abbreviation proportional representation, noun an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them.

Ry - abbreviation Railway.

tail1 - noun 3. [3rd entry] Cricket the end of the batting order, with the weakest batsmen: McDermott worked his way through the tail, finishing with ten wickets

*ton2 - noun fashionable style or distinction: riches and fame were no guarantee of a ticket — one had to have ton; Origin: French, from Latin tonus (see tone)
ton2 - 3. donner le ton: French phrase meaning "to set the tone" or "to set the fashion"
*U2 - abbreviation British universal (denoting films classified as suitable without restriction).

*U3 - adjective British informal (of language or social behaviour) characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes: U manners. [consequently refined]

windscreen - noun British [North American windshield] a glass screen at the front of a motor vehicle.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - DT 26589

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26589
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, June 27, 2011
Setter
Rufus
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26589]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Libellule
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★ Enjoyment - ★★
Falcon's Performance
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
█████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
Legend:
- solved without assistance
- incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
- solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes
The National Post has skipped DT 26588 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, June 25, 2011.

Introduction

This puzzle may have been easy (Libellule awards it two stars for difficulty), but I still managed to mess up. I misinterpreted "flog" in 15d to mean 'promote or talk about (something) repetitively or at excessive length' (leading me to an incorrect solution, PITCH) rather than a form of corporal punishment. Of course, I was at a loss to explain the "what might be silver" portion of the clue.

In yet another flub, I put TELEPHONE BELL at 8d reasoning that with fewer calls the telephone would ring less often. The actual solution TELEPHONE BILL likely rings truer in Britain where I believe they have usage sensitive pricing for local calls (i.e., the amount of the bill depends on the usage, similar to wireless and long distance service in Canada). [In Canada, we pay a flat monthly charge for unlimited local calling on landline phone service.]

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 Ottawa Citizen 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.

assume - [American Heritage Dictionary] verb 4. To put on; don: The queen assumed a velvet robe.

best - verb outwit or get the better of (someone): she refused to allow herself to be bested

birch - verb chiefly historical beat (someone) with a bundle of birch twigs as a formal punishment: the school would attempt to birch them into submission

Odile - a character in the ballet Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Odile, the Black Swan, is the daughter of the evil genius von Rothbart and closely resembles Odette, the White Swan. The two roles are traditionally danced by the same ballerina.

St Odile of Alsace - (c. 662 - c. 720), a saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, although according to the current liturgical calendar her feastday (13 December) is not officially commemorated. She is a patroness of good eyesight.

savoury (US savory) - noun chiefly British a savoury snack: refreshments include cakes and savouries

worst - verb get the better of; defeat: this was not the time for a deep discussion — she was tired and she would be worsted

Appearing in Solutions:

[Anton] Chekhov - (1860–1904), Russian dramatist and short-story writer; full name Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Chekhov’s work , portraying upper-class life in pre-revolutionary Russia with a blend of naturalism and symbolism, had a considerable influence on 20th -century drama. Notable plays: The Seagull (1895), Uncle Vanya (1900), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

gaga - adjective informal slightly mad, typically as a result of old age, infatuation, or excessive enthusiasm.

[Lady] Gaga - stage name of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, an American pop singer-songwriter.

rarebit (also Welsh rarebit) - noun a dish of melted and seasoned cheese on toast, sometimes with other ingredients. [Origin: (late 18th century) alteration of rabbit in  Welsh rabbit; the reason for the use of the term rabbit is unknown]

Truro - the county town of Cornwall in SW England; population 23,700 (est. 2009).

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, September 19, 2011

Monday, September 19, 2011 - DT 26587

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26587
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, June 24, 2011
Setter
Giovanni
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26587]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★ Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
Legend:
- solved without assistance
- incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
- solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I sailed through this puzzle quite quickly until I foundered in the south-west quadrant. I needed assistance from my Tool Chest for 22a and 18d. Not that these clues were any more difficult than others in the puzzle - I just seem to have developed a mental block concerning them. At this point I must have become really dense, as (even after having solved 18d) I needed Gazza's hint to decipher the (not very difficult) wordplay.

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 Ottawa Citizen 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.

Bill [Clinton] - American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

eminence - noun 3. formal or literary a piece of rising ground: an eminence commanding the River Emme

*grass - verb 2. British informal inform the police of someone's criminal activities or plans: [i] someone had grassed on the thieves; [ii] she threatened to grass me up

loo1 - noun British informal a toilet: [as modifierloo paper

murmur - verb 1. [2nd entry] (murmur against) archaic express one’s discontent about (someone or something) in a subdued manner: now they do not simply murmur against him, they quarrel noisily with him

Appearing in Solutions:

bomb - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 6. British slang a large sum of money (especially in the phrase make a bomb)

*char3 - (also cha or chai) noun British informal tea.

Charon - 1. Greek Mythology an old man who ferried the souls of the dead across the Rivers Styx and Acheron to Hades.

Chelsea - an area of West London, England. Chelsea's modern reputation as a centre of innovation and influence originated in a period during the 19th century, when the area became a Victorian artists' colony. It became prominent once again as one of the centres of 1960s "Swinging London".

Chelsea [Clinton] - only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

dutch - noun (usually one's old dutch) British informal (especially among cockneys) one’s wife. [Origin: (late 19th century) abbreviation of  duchess]

haematologist - noun British (US hematologist) a practitioner in the branch of medicine involving study and treatment of the blood.

paddle steamer (also paddleboat) - noun a boat powered by steam and propelled by paddle wheels. [Note: I have always heard this type of vessel referred to as a paddle-wheeler.]

[St] Paul - (died circa 64), missionary of Jewish descent; known as Paul the Apostle, or Saul of Tarsus, or the Apostle of the Gentiles. He first opposed the followers of Jesus, assisting at the martyrdom of St Stephen. On a mission to Damascus he was converted to Christianity after a vision and became one of the first major Christian missionaries and theologians. His epistles form part of the New Testament. Feast day, 29 June.

repine - verb literary feel or express discontent; fret: you mustn’t let yourself repine

spacer - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 3. Astronautics a person who travels in outer space.

*st - abbreviation [1st entry] stone (in weight), noun 4. (plural same) British a unit of weight equal to 14 lb (6.35 kg): I weighed 10 stone

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

3d   Poor woman losing pair of spectacles in the loo! (5)

The definition is "loo", a British term meaning bathroom or PRIVY. The woman in the clue is name Ivy, so that the wordplay is POOR IVY with OO deleted (losing pair of spectacles). The use of "spectacles" to clue the letters OO is known as a visual clue because these letters look like a drawing of a pair of glasses.

In North America, bizarrely, a bathroom is a room containing a toilet (which may or may not also contain a bath). A room containing just a toilet and sink might be referred to as a half bath (generally when enumerating the total number of facilities in a dwelling, such as in a real estate listing; a split-level with two and a half baths). Judging by dictionary entries, a bathroom in Britain would appear to be a room with a bath. Other North American euphemisms for a toilet are washroom and restroom. The former term may well not be used by Brits and the latter seems to have quite a different meaning in the U.K.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Saturday, September 17, 2011 - Opera at the Savoy

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon, we are presented with a number of works from another famous pair of collaborators - W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. In fact, the puzzle contains six of the thirteen Savoy Operas that the pair wrote for Richard D'Oyly Carte.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

12a   Wrapping a present, hurt great racehorse (3,1,3)

The definition is "great racehorse" for which the solution is MAN O WAR. The order of the wordplay is inverted, as the phrase "wrapping a present, hurt" would be more straight-forwardly expressed as "hurt wrapping a present". In this case, the inversion is fairly easy to spot as the surface reading supports (in fact, requires) the inclusion of a comma in the clue. However, it is often the case (in this type of inverted wordplay clue), that the surface reading does not require a comma and thus none is included. In such clues, in order to correctly interpret the clue, the solver must mentally insert the implied comma.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend: "*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed

"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

1a   PATIENCE* - anagram (tangled up) of A NICE PET
Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride (1881) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan
5a   TRI(B)AL - B (good grade) contained in (in) TRIAL (test)

10a   N(IX)ED< - reversal (from the east) of {DEN (study) containing (involving) XI ([Roman numeral for] eleven)}

11a   THE M|I|K|A|DO - THEM (those guys) + I ([Roman numeral for] one) + K (thousand) + (at) A (explicit in the clue) + DO (party)
The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu (1885) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan
12a   MAN O WAR - MAR (hurt) containing (wrapping) {A (explicit in the clue) + NOW (present)}
Man o' War - (1917 – 1947), considered to be one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time. During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses.
13a   TUN(IS|I)A - {IS (explicit in the clue) + I (island)} contained in (surrounded by) TUNA (fish)

14a   PIN(A|FOR)E - {A + FOR} (explicit in the clue) contained in (wearing) PINE (long; meaning 'yearn')
H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass that Loved a Sailor (1878) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan
16a   B(R)AD - BAD (wrong) containing (about) R (right)

19a   EAR|N - EAR (attention; as in 'have one's ear') + N (name)

20a   IOLANTHE* - anagram (cast) of IN A HOTEL
Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri (1882) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan
23a   SO|MALI|A - SO (true; as in 'It is so') + MALI (site of Timbuktu) + A (explicit in the clue)

24a   PAN|THE|R - PAN (face) + THE (explicit in the clue) + R (Rex; 'king')

26a   RUD(DIG|OR)E - {DIG (mine) + OR (gold; 'heraldic tincture')} contained in (in) RUDE (uncouth)
Ruddigore, or The Witch's Curse (1887) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan
27a   EIGHT~ - sounds like (auditor's; meaning, in the cryptic reading, 'to an auditor [listener]') ATE
Note: This clue works with certain foods - such as celery.
28a   DACRON* - anagram (revised) of CONRAD
Dacron (trademark) - a synthetic polyester fabric or the fiber from which it is made [known in the U.K. as Terylene (trademark)]
29a   PENZANCE - Z (last letter) contained in (in) PENANCE (punishment)
The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty (1880) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan
Down
1d   PA(NA)MA - {PA (father) + (and) MA (mother)} containing (going around) NA (North American)

2d   T(OX)IN - TIN (container) containing (filled with) OX (bovine)

3d   END|OWING - END (quit) + OWING (being in debt)

4d   CATER* - anagram (in a mess) of CRATE

6d   REIGNS - sounds like (recited) RAINS (showers)

7d   BRASS|ERIE - BRASS (important officials) + (in front of) ERIE (Great Lake)

8d   L(EON)ARD|O - EON (long time) contained in (taken by) {LARD (fat) + O (old)}
Leonardo da Vinci - (1452 – 1519, Old Style), an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. He has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination".He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.
9d   RE{ST AREA}* - RE (regarding} + an anagram (fixed) of RATE AS
rest area - North American term for what would be called a lay-by in Britain.
14d   PARAMEDIC* - anagram (misrepresented) of EPIC DRAMA

15d   {FROM A TO Z}* - anagram (wrong) of OF MOZART

17d   MEA(SURE)D - SURE (confident) contained in (in) MEAD (honey product)

18d   {S(TAN G)ETZ}* - anagram (unusual) of ZEST containing (acquiring) TANG (spicy taste)
Stan Getz - (1927 – 1991), American jazz saxophone player known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone. While having performed a number of musical styles, he is perhaps best known for popularizing bossa nova, as in the worldwide hit single "The Girl from Ipanema" (1964).
21d   _AL|BINO_ - hidden in (seen through) digitAL BINOculars

22d   WRIT|HE - WRIT (court document) + (in front of) HE (the guy)

24d   PIECE~ - sounds like (voiced) PEACE (harmony)

25d   HOG|AN - HOG (monopolize) + AN (one)
Ben Hogan - (1912 – 1997) was an American golfer, and is generally considered one of the greatest golfers in the history of the game.
Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, September 16, 2011

Friday, September 16, 2011 - DT 26586

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26586
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26586]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Big Dave
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★ Enjoyment - ★
Falcon's Performance
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
Legend:
- solved without assistance
- incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
- solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I found this puzzle to be fairly easy - but I don't think I would go so far as to give it only a single star for difficulty. It might have been a walk in the park had I been more familiar with the British landscape architect and had I known the English comedy duo. I recall having encountered the former in at least one previous puzzle. As for the comedians, they are totally new to me. For a brief while, I thought we might be looking for Hope and Crosby.

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 Ottawa Citizen 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.

bottle - noun 2 British informal the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous: I lost my bottle completely and ran

Bude - a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet [also known locally as the River Strat].

Ilchester - a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset.

Appearing in Solutions:

*B3 - symbol 1 chess bishop.

Capability [Brown] - (1716 –1783), name by which English landscape architect Lancelot Brown was commonly known. Remembered as "England's greatest gardener", he designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure.

Hale & Pace - English comedy duo who have starred in several TV sketch series.

OT (abbreviation Old Testament) - cryptic crossword convention books [a similar meaning is also ascribed to NT (abbreviation New Testament)]

rarebit (also Welsh rarebit) - noun a dish of melted and seasoned cheese on toast, sometimes with other ingredients.

soirée - French evening

test1 - noun 2 (Test) short for Test match the first Test against New Zealand
Test match - noun an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries: the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies
Commentary on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

10a   At heart accepting change of direction is cockeyed (7)

... and maybe the clue is as well. If one starts with AT HEART and changes E(ast) to W(est) (accepting change of direction), one ends up with ATHWART. However, I don't really see this clue working as cockeyed is an adjective, while athwart can be either a preposition or an adverb. Nevertheless, I may be being overly picky, as Big Dave expresses no concerns regarding the clue.

1d   Regularly scraggly? Frank? Far from it (4)

In his hint, I would presume that Big Dave meant to say "the even letters from the second word of the clue" rather than "the even letters of two words from the clue".

Signing off for today - Falcon