Thursday, May 31, 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012 - DT 26841

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26841
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, April 16, 2012
Setter
Rufus
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26841]
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
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by 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 26840 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, April 14, 2012


Introduction

Rufus dishes up a fairly gentle offering today with only a minimum sprinkling of Briticisms - although one of these did stump me.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

29a   Neat running of Oxford university (4)

I knew very well that neat[5] is an archaic term for (1) a bovine animal or (2) cattle. However, I had no idea that Oxon[5], in degree titles, means of Oxford University BA, Oxon.

3d   Picks spot for recreation (4)

Here, recreation is used in the sense of the action of creating anew rather than activity done for enjoyment.

15d   The spirit of my French translation (5)

The French words for "of" and "my" are de[8] and mon[8] respectively.

16d   Noblemen, they’re put up for fights (5)

Until it was pointed out by Gazza, I hadn't realised the origin of the word dukes[5] meaning the fists, especially when raised in a fighting attitude. It comes from rhyming slang Duke of Yorks 'forks' (= fingers).

20d   Quietly put out sailor that’s fired from a submarine (7)

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

27d   Part of the Tuileries holding the sewers (4)

The Tuileries[5] are formal gardens next to the Louvre in Paris. The gardens are all that remain of the Tuileries Palace, a royal residence begun in 1564 and burnt down in 1871 during the Commune of Paris.
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)
Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - DT 26839

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26839
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, April 13, 2012
Setter
Giovanni
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26839]
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
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by 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 26814 through DT 26838 which were published in The Daily Telegraph from
Thursday, March 15, 2012 through Thursday, April 12, 2012

Introduction

Today the National Post takes a great leap forward, skipping virtually an entire month of puzzles.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

9a   Gosh, an honoured member is in the valley! (6)

Gosh, could the setter have crammed any more Briticisms into one clue! Coo[5] is an informal British exclamation used to express surprise ‘Coo, ain’t it high!’ Mary squeaked. MBE[5] is an abbreviation for Member of the Order of the British Empire (see below). Coombe[5] (also combe or coomb) is a British term for a short valley or hollow on a hillside or coastline, especially in southern England.

I tried very hard to squeeze in cor[5], another informal British exclamation, but one with a seemingly broader repertoire of.emotions – being able to express excitement, admiration, or alarm in addition to surprise.
The Order of the British Empire[5] is an order of knighthood instituted in 1917 and divided into five classes, each with military and civilian divisions. The classes are: Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), Knight or Dame Commander (KBE/DBE), Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE), and Member (MBE). The two highest classes entail the awarding of a knighthood.

Foreign recipients are classified as honorary members of the Order they receive, and do not contribute to the numbers restricted to that Order as full members do. Awards in the Order of the British Empire in the Commonwealth Realms were discontinued with the establishment of national systems of honours and awards such as the Order of Australia, the Order of Canada and the New Zealand Order of Merit. The Order of the British Empire is the most junior of the British orders of chivalry, and the largest, with over 100,000 living members worldwide.[7]
12a   Clown playing with a rock band, famous travellers from across the Atlantic (6,3,5)

British aviators Alcock and Brown[5] (John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown) made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland.

17a   Restrictions in no-go areas (5)

I totally missed the subtraction type wordplay, and never really committed to a solution on this one. I was wavering between REINS and RAILS. I was leaning toward the later, thinking that railway tracks were a place where one should not walk.

23a   Involuntary action that leads to a blessing? (8)

Despite this being a bit of an old chestnut, I was held up for some time by having inserted MODS at 24d.

25a   Irish peninsula’s wooded hollow (6)

I knew the Irish peninsula but not the wooded hollow. A dingle[5] is a deep wooded valley or dell. This is not specifically a British word, but it is one with which I am not familiar. Oxford characterises it as literary or dialect. I grant that I'm not particularly literary and I must speak the wrong dialect.

27a   Raider at sea makes very good speed (6)

Pi[5] is an informal British short form for pious.

1d   Old emperor in plain car (4)

Inca[2] can mean any of (1) a member of an indigenous South American people living in Peru before the Spanish conquest in the 16c, who had a complex civilization and empire; (2a) a king or emperor of the Incas; (2b) a member of the Incan royal family; or (3) the language of the Incas, Quechua.

4d   Mark on sailor was something symbolically sacred (6)

In the Royal Navy, able seaman (abbreviation AB)[5]. is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman.

24d   Very influential people in the gallery (4)

The gods[5] is an informal term for the gallery[5] (the highest balcony in a theatre, containing the cheapest seats) they sat in the gods.

I stumbled here initially, thinking that gallery might be a reference to the Tate Modern[7] in London and – applying a wry, cryptic sense of humour – that mods might be very influential people there. In 1960s Britain, mods[5] were young people of a subculture characterized by a smart stylish appearance, the riding of motor scooters, and a liking for soul music.
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)
Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - DT 26813

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26813
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Setter
Jay
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26813]
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
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Today's puzzle may not have been quite as easy for me as Pommers seems to have found it, but I did complete it without resorting to my Tool Chest. It doesn't seem to have quite the usual quantity of 'take the inner (or outer) letters' or 'replace X with Y' type clues that we have come to expect from Jay. However, there are certainly enough Briticisms to justify adding an extra star for difficulty for solvers on this side of the Atlantic.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

1a   The reverse of bargain items of jewellery (4)

This was my last one in, solved from the definition and checking letters. Only then did I vaguely recall having previously encountered the bit of British slang appearing in the wordplay. In the UK, a snip[5] is an informal term for a surprisingly cheap item or, in other words, a bargain the wine is a snip at £3.65.

9a   Charlie got married again and worked on a yacht (6)

In radio communication, charlie[5] is a code word representing the letter C ...

11a   The French agree, accepting hotel with fatal consequences (8)

... and hotel[5] is a code word representing the letter H.

23a   Withdraw story after six-pack, and make a rapid climbdown (6)

In Britain, to abseil[5] is to descend a rock face or other near-vertical surface by using a doubled rope coiled round the body and fixed at a higher point. Another term for this (and the one which is commonly used in North America) is rappel[5].

24a   European spies held by China grow weak (8)

The capitalisation of "China" is a bit of cryptic deception. 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'.

25a   Dwelling on estimate being wrong (10)

Maisonette[3] is a chiefly British expression for an apartment occupying two or more floors of a larger building and often having its own entrance from outside.

26a   Dinner date with an anorak (4)

An anorak[5] is a waterproof jacket, typically with a hood, of a kind originally used in polar regions. An anorak (the word being of Greenland Eskimo origin) would seem to be similar to, if not simply another name for, a parka[10] (which is of Aleutian origin, and is the name commonly used in Canada). In Britain, anorak is also an informal, derogatory term for a studious or obsessive person with unfashionable and largely solitary interests with his thick specs, shabby shoes, and grey suit, he looks a bit of an anorak. This British English informal sense dates from the 1980s and derives from the anoraks worn by trainspotters, regarded as typifying this kind of person. In Britain, a trainspotter[5] is a person who collects train or locomotive numbers as a hobby (huddling in the cold and rain in their anoraks, they stand beside the railway tracks and write down the numbers of the locomotives that pass by). The term is also used, often in a derogatory fashion, for a person who obsessively studies the minutiae of any minority interest or specialized hobby the idea is to make the music really really collectable so the trainspotters will buy it in their pathetic thousands.

2d   Presents for fussy sticklers in golf (8,7)

A stocking filler[4] is the British equivalent of a stocking stuffer[3].

4d   Wanted to pinch student, annoyed (7)

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

6d   Thought process of club charging nothing? (4,11)

In his review, Pommers states "[The solution] also describes a club that doesn’t charge subs." In Britain, sub[5] is short for subscription[4] (membership dues or fees) • the annual sub for the golf club will be £200. This sense of the word subscription is chiefly a British usage.

7d   Drink rum in case of tragedy (5)

Rum[5] is a dated British term meaning odd or peculiar.

12d   Ladies left spectacles (3)

This clue incorporates a relatively rarely seen type of clue, a visual clue. "Spectacles" is used to clue 'OO' as these letters look like a drawing of a pair of spectacles. In Britain, ladies[4] is an informal way to refer to a women's public lavatory.

21d   Warning from French-style Marine (5)

The Royal Marines (RM)[5] is a British armed service (part of the Royal Navy) that was founded in 1664, and trained for service at sea, or on land under specific circumstances.
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)
Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, May 28, 2012

Monday, May 28, 2012 - DT 26812

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26812
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26812]
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
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

This is a puzzle where you need to find a starting point and then build out from that beachhead. My electronic aids got to enjoy a long weekend.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

9a   Shot, clerical dignitary, reportedly at social function (10)

A canon[5] is a member of the clergy who is on the staff of a cathedral, especially one who is a member of the chapter he was appointed canon of Christ Church, Oxford.

13a   In New York, a sole cooked with onions (9)

In cookery, lyonnaise[5] is an adjective indicating that food, especially sliced potatoes, is cooked with onions or with a white wine and onion sauce.

15a   Prince about to broadcast back in capital (8)

According to Chambers, P[1] is an abbreviation for Prince.

16a   Old thriller writer taking stroll by river (6)

Eric Ambler[7] (1909 – 1998) was an influential British author of spy novels who introduced a new realism to the genre.

1d   Stagger, having no head for wine (4)

Hock[5] is a British term for a dry white wine from the German Rhineland.

2d   Trainer mostly worried about English racecourse (7)

Aintree Racecourse[7], a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England is the home of the Grand National steeplechase, one of the most famous horse races in the world.

3d   Limitations of concise US poet, it’s said (12)

E. E. Cummings[7] (1894 – 1962) was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. His name is often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings (in the style of some of his poems), although this is apparently not a style that he himself encouraged.

4d   Satirist, a Bel Air comic, on second (8)

François Rabelais[7] (c. 1494 – 1553) was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar.

Bel Air[7] is an affluent residential community in the hills of the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California. Together with Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills it forms the Platinum Triangle of Los Angeles neighborhoods.

8d   Following bullock, soldier and dog (3,7)

In Britain, Terrier[5] is an informal name for a member of the Territorial Army (TA)[5], a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency.

21d   Pirate in element following my lead in sea-roving (7)

Cor[5] is an informal British exclamation expressing surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm: Cor! That‘s a beautiful black eye you’ve got!

25d   Study prepared? Almost (4)

In Britain, to read[5] means to study (an academic subject) at a university I’m reading English at Cambridge or (with no object) he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.
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)
Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Saturday, May 26 - Puzzling Dilemma

Introduction

Deciphering the theme of today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon should not pose a dilemma - but, then again, it might.













Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   F(LOTS)AM - FAM (sis, bro, et al.) containing (collecting) LOTS (quite a few)

5a   PITCHER - double definition; "someone who tosses" & "ewer"

9a   STAMINA - double definition; "pollen producers" & "endurance"
Note: the plural of stamen[3,4] may be either stamens or stamina
10a   RE(WAR)DS - WAR (conflict) contained in (in) REDS (Warren Beatty epic)
Reds[7] is a 1981 American epic film that was co-written, produced, directed by and starred Warren Beatty[7].
11a   L|{OGOG(RIP)H}* - L ([Roman numeral for] fifty) + {an anagram (wild) of GO HOG containing (about) RIP (split)}

12a   LO-CAL - cryptic definition; based on "homegrown" (local) & "diet" (lo-cal)
I don't think that this can be called a double definition as the first part does not satisfy the numeration (2-3). Therefore, I would say that this clue must be considered to be a cryptic definition.
13a   {GORDIAN KNOT}* - anagram (changing) of TANK OR DOING

18a   {BRAIN TEASER}* - anagram (ordered) of ARTISAN BEER

21a   HELL|O - HELL (torment) + (with) O (love; score of 0 in tennis)

22a   CON|UND|RUM - {UND (Hamburg and; German word meaning 'and') + RUM (booze)} following (behind) CON (prisoner)

25a   DO|U|BLE U - DO (make) + U (up) + BLEU (Roquefort relative)
Roquefort[4] is a blue-veined cheese with a strong flavour, made from ewe's and goat's milk and matured in caves. It is named after Roquefort, a village in southern France. Bleu (the French word for 'blue') is a cheese containing a blue mold.
26a   INTEGER - anagram (rent) of ENTIRE containing (divided by) G (grand; 1000)

27a   W|A|SHOUT - W (with) + A (†) + SHOUT (cry)

28a   S(WORN) IN - SIN (wrong) containing (about) WORN (showing age)

Down
1d   F(USE|LAG)E - FE ([chemical symbol for] iron) containing (clad) {USE (function) + LAG (delay)}

2d   ORANGERY* - anagram (busted up) of GREY ROAN

3d   S(W)ING - SING (vocalize) containing (around) W (George Bush)
George Walker Bush[7] is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. He is often referred to as Dubya or W, in part to distinguish him from his father, George Herbert Walker Bush[7] who served as the 41st President of the United States (1989–93).
4d   {MIAM|I}< - reversal (going the wrong way) of {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + MAIM (hurt)}

5d   PART|HEN|ON - PART (leave) + HEN (chicken) + ON (atop)

6d   TO(WE|LET)TE - {WE (†) + LET (permitted)} contained in (in) TOTE (handbag)

7d   HORACE* - anagram (unraveling) of A CHORE
Quintus Horatius Flaccus[7] (65 BC – 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.
8d   RU(ST)LE - ST (street) contained in (breaking) RULE (law)
Cop[3,4] means to steal.
14d   {IMBROG(L|I)O}* - {L (left) + I ([Roman numeral for] one)} contained in (in) an anagram (scattering) of BIG ROOM

15d   N|{O-ACCOUNT}* - N (knight) + an anagram (cracked) of A COCONUT

16d   _ESTRAGON_ - hidden in (obscured by) orchESTRA GONg
Estragon[7] (affectionately Gogo; he tells Pozzo his name is Adam) is one of the two main characters from Irish playwright Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. His name is the French word for tarragon.
17d   TRIM(A)RAN - {TRIM (ornament) + RAN (extended)} containing (around) A (†)
Usage example: From behind the barn, the orchard ran (extended) as far as the river.
19d   SHADOW - SOW (plant) containing (outside) HAD (†)

20d   AL|BUMS - AL (Alan) + BUMS (mooches)

23d   N(A)ILS - A (article) contained in (penned by) NILS (guitarist Lofgren)
Nils Lofgren[7] is an American rock music recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has marked over 25 years as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as well as a former member of Crazy Horse and Grin.
24d   NITRO< - reversal (returned) of {OR (alternative + TIN (container)}
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)
Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, May 25, 2012

Friday, May 25, 2012 - DT 26811

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26811
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Monday, March 12, 2012
Setter
Rufus
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26811]
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
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by 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 26810 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, March 10, 2012

Introduction

I guess I fell short in the lateral thinking department, as two of the three clues for which I had to rely on the assistance of my electronic aids were ones that Libellule highlighted as requiring this ability.

Here's a note to those who read the comments on Big Dave's site. I have recently observed that all of the comments no longer display on the same page as the review. At the bottom of the first page of comments, you will now find three sets of navigation buttons. One set (<< Previous 1 2 Next >>) allows you to navigate to the previous page, the next page, or a specific page.  The other sets (<< Older Comments) and (Newer Comments >>) do pretty much the same thing as the (<< Previous" and ""Next >>" controls. I find that they are not very prominent, as it took me a while to notice this change. I believe that this behaviour is a change and that it is fairly recent. However, if I am mistaken on this point and this is a long-standing behaviour of the site, then I am definitely even less observant than I thought.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

9a   Ring Henry, love (4)

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a number (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of love equating to this letter.

10a   Mixes drink for fund-raiser (6,4)

In Britain, a jumble sale[5] is a sale of miscellaneous second-hand articles, typically held in order to raise money for a charity or a special event. The North American term for this sort of event is rummage sale[5]

I tried to force-fit the latter term into the space provided. I thought it looked strange with only one M but supposed either I must be mistaken thinking that it had two or that there was an alternative British spelling with only one. This messed me up on 3d until I discovered my error.

15a   Sort of map to study on journey (7)

Con[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing) • the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

16a   Scot returns to service somewhere in Scotland (5)

If one were guided by cryptic crossword puzzles, one would have to conclude that at least 99% of Scotsmen were named Ian. The Royal Navy (abbreviation RN)[5] is the British navy. Nairn[5] is a seaside resort on the east coast of Scotland located about 16 miles (26 km) east of Inverness.

21a   Snow shoe accepted by some backward Arctic people (7)

How one could confuse a snow shoe with a ski is beyond me. I suppose because they are both used to travel on snow, they are considered to be synonyms. Of course, using that reasoning, a car could be a truck. Apparently, the term Eskimo does not carry the same aura of offensiveness in Britain as it does in Canada - probably due to the lack of a significant Inuit population there!

22a   Tool for portions of lobster? (7)

Putting an H in the solution certainly did not help me at all!

3d   Some British submarines set up and spring a trap (6)

I think the Brits may have sprung a trap when they sold us their used Upholder-class submarines[5] (which we call Victoria-class). In retrospect, they should have been called Lemon-class.

7d   Not a starter in the ocean race (4,6)

Starter[5] is a chiefly British name for the first course of a meal.

8d   Dead bodies seen in protected areas for shooting? (4,6)

Despite – or perhaps due to – needing assistance from the electronic aids in my Tool Chest, this is my clue of the day.

13d   He won’t get the sack if the bag’s big enough (10)

Bag[5] is the amount of game shot by a hunter an estimated bag of 3,000 ducks.

15d   Move stealthily like Red Indian, quietly (5)

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

Libellule defines Cree as "a North American native Indian that originally lived in central Canada". Many of them still do, but this people migrated west with the fur trade so that Cree are now found as far west as eastern British Columbia.

19d   It’s smoked chestnuts and hazelnut (7)

I believe that there is a subtle distinction between chestnuts and corn. An old chestnut becomes trite or boring from frequent repetition, while corn may be trite or boring on its first telling.

Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines cob[2] as a hazelnut or hazel tree. Collins English Dictionary characterises the meaning of cob[10] as a hazel tree as being British and I would assume that this also would be true when applied to the hazelnut (although it is not stated as such in the dictionary entry).

23d   Tart and explicit Rice/Webber piece (6)

Tim Rice[7] and Andrew Lloyd Webber[7] collaborated on a number of musical theatre hits including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita.

Given that the latter's surname is Lloyd Webber, should the clue not have read "... explicit Rice/Lloyd Webber piece".
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)
Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - DT 26809

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26809
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, March 9, 2012
Setter
Giovanni
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26809]
Big Dave's Review Written By
Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★★ Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
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└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
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 Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

I was especially pleased with my performance today, seeing as Gazza awarded this puzzle four stars for difficulty.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

1a   Worked hard and succeeded — recorded hit (7)

I had two candidates for the solution based on possible definitions and three of the checking letters. The solution could have been SLOGGED (worked hard) or SLUGGED (recorded hit). I was leaning to the former, as I figured that the latter was baseball lingo that likely did not carry over into cricket. This hunch was confirmed once I had the solution to 2 down.

To solve this clue, one must interpret succeed[5] as meaning take over a throne, office, or other position from he would succeed Hawke as Prime Minister. When used in this sense, s[5] is the abbreviation for succeeded.

9a   Trendy doctor, a divine being (5)

Indra[7] or Śakra is the King of the gods and Lord of Heaven in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall – a fact you would be well advised to remember.

18a  Brief stop in Bury to join evangelistic enterprise (12)

By falsely capitalising bury, the setter is attempting to mislead us into thinking of Bury[7], a town situated approximately 8 miles from the city of Manchester.

22a   Notice I put into church to manage (10)

Minster[5] is a British term for a large or important church, typically one of cathedral status in the north of England that was built as part of a monastery • York Minster.

25a   Brian ain’t fussed about woman being nation’s figurehead (9)

Britannia[5] is the personification of Britain, usually depicted as a helmeted woman with shield and trident. The figure appeared on Roman coins and was revived with the name Britannia on the coinage of Charles II. [Origin: the Latin name for Britain]

26a   This person’s mature in public perception (5)

As a cryptic crossword convention, the creator of the puzzle will often use terms such as setter, compiler, author, writer or (a new one to me today) "this person" to refer to himself or herself. To solve the clue, one must substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms is found in the clue.

28a   Tank hard to get on to islands (7)

I got the solution from the definition (tank) and checking letters but failed to decipher the wordplay. The Channel Islands[5] are a group of islands in the English Channel off the NW coast of France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. Formerly part of the dukedom of Normandy, they have owed allegiance to England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and are now classed as Crown dependencies.

2d   Yesteryear’s book chain won’t get book ____! (6)

I was a bit leery of my attempt to fill in the blank as I was unsure whether this American bookstore chain operated in Britain. In fact, it did. Borders Group[7] was once an international bookseller based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, now defunct. Borders (UK) Ltd.[7] was once one of the UK's leading booksellers, a former subsidiary of Borders Group, now also defunct (and therefore "yesteryear's book chain").

3d   Arranged somehow to import old piano for entertainment (5,5)

Piano[3,5] (abbreviation p[5])  is a direction used in music to mean either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb).

4d   Money expected to run short, Tom? (5)

A ducat[3,4] was any of various former European gold or silver coins, especially those used in Italy or the Netherlands. Today the word is used as a slang term to refer to any piece of money.

5d   Agreements to study geographical regions (9)

Con[5] is an archaic term meaning to study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing) • the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry.

7d   Container that’s damper inside? (5,3)

As Gazza explains, "that's" is to be interpreted as a contraction for "that has". In Australia and New Zealand, damper[5] is an unleavened loaf or cake of flour and water baked in wood ashes [in the sense 'something that takes the edge off the appetite'].

8d   Strikingly good or irritating? (8)

Both The American Heritage Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary classify rattling[5] as a kind of adverb (an intensifier, to be precise) as would be used in the phrase "the guiltless gust of a rattling good yarn" (Anthony Burgess). On the other hand, the Oxford Dictionary of English prefers to call rattling[5] an informal, dated adjective meaning very good of its kind (used for emphasis) a rattling good story.

I guess it comes down to how one interprets the phrase "rattling good story". If the story is rattling good, then it would seem to be an adverb but if the rattling story is good, then it would presumably be an adjective. On this issue, I must side with American Heritage and Collins.

15d   What might excite 9 — a nice one being executed? (4,5)

I told you to keep Indra's portfolios in mind. The "9" in the clue is a cross-reference to clue 9 (since there is no 9d in the puzzle, 9 is sufficient to identify the cross-referenced clue). Substitute the solution to clue 9 for "9" to obtain the full clue.

Rain dances are rainmaking rituals that are performed by natives ("Indians") of the Southwestern United States. I suppose Indra might well leap at the chance to add these to his repertoire.

24d   Emergency organisation needs hour to get round in the fog (4)

In my first attempt, I tried appending HR (hour) to TA (Territorial Army). That accounted for the first four words in the clue, but left me in a fog as to what to do with the rest. Then I discovered from the dictionary that the result (tahr[5]) is a goat-like mammal inhabiting cliffs and mountain slopes in Oman, southern India, and the Himalayas. I eventually realised that not only did I have the wrong "emergency organisation" but I had also positioned it incorrectly.

The Automobile Association (The AA)[7] is a British motoring association founded in 1905. Its counterparts in North America would be the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) and the American Automobile Association (AAA).

A haar[5] is a cold sea fog on the east coast of England or Scotland.

By the way, in the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency.
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)
Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - DT 26808

Puzzle at a Glance
Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number
DT 26808
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Setter
Ray T
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26808]
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
- solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools
- unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog
- reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

It's classic Ray T fare today - a bit of naughty wordplay and an appearance by Her Majesty (symbolising the setter's favourite band).

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

5a   Writer’s career decline (7)

Salman Rushdie[7] is a British Indian novelist and essayist whose fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), was the centre of a major controversy, provoking protests from Muslims in several countries, some violent. Death threats were made against him, including a fatwā issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran.

10a   Tarts consuming spirit showing jugs (7)

I must say that Big Dave exercised remarkable restraint in his choice of illustration.

11a   Management finish around four (9)

I thought that "finish" might be a synonym for "execute" in the sense that a mob boss might use the word in discussing the fate of someone who had crossed him.

12a   Small tool generating offspring (5)

Is our setter stating the case that "size doesn't matter" when it comes to procreation?

13a   Pips best players (5)

Not understanding the details of the seeding process, my first reaction was that seeds are not necessarily the best players. However, according to Wikipedia, "only the top 32 players are seeded" in Tennis Grand Slam tournaments[7].

19a   Buddhist belief gets you more serene, say (5)

As pronounced by at least some Brits, 'calmer' (more serene) would sound like (say) 'karma'. You can listen to the British pronunciations of these words and compare them to the American pronunciations at the following links (calmer, karma). As with any homophone clue, I am sure that speakers of some of the fifty or so dialects of British English will object to the clue.

25a   Cloudiness over outskirts of Palma town (7)

On cricket scorecards, O[5] appears as an abbreviation for over[5], 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.

3d   It’s goodbye to Sarkozy! (5)

This clue appeared in Britain prior to the recent French elections in which now former French President Nicolas Sarkozy[7] went down to defeat. Big Dave had commented at the time "is this cryptic definition of the French for goodbye wishful thinking on the part of our setter, who lives in Paris?" Or.on the other hand, did our setter cast a spell.

6d   Initially sits on knees with instant horseplay (9)

Tick[3,4] is a chiefly British term meaning a moment or instant.

14d   Stunning bird hugging tank top (9)

In Britain, bird[5] is an informal term for a young woman or a man’s girlfriend.

17d   Taxing is useless under old Italian leader (7)

Displaying a bit of misguided ingenuity, I concluded that the US came from truncating (less) the word USE. Not so, apparently. U/S (or u/s)[1] is an abbreviation for unserviceable – as I eventually discovered in The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition.

20d   Excessive common sense shown by rugby union international (7)

Nous is an informal British term meaning common sense or practical intelligence if he had any nous at all, he’d sell the film rights. Rugby union (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.
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)
Signing off for today - Falcon