Introduction
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Get from A to B — simpler, faster, better. |
Solution to Today's Puzzle
Falcon's Experience
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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
█ - solved but without fully parsing the clue
█ - yet to be solved
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| Legend: | "*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed |
| "( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue | |
| 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. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//). |
Across
1a Old men each taking in eastern
// body of water (4,3)
D(E)AD S|EA — {DADS (old men) + EA ([abbreviation for] each)} containing (taking in) E (eastern)
The Dead Sea is a salt lake or inland sea in the Jordan valley, on the Israel-Jordan border. Its surface is 400 m (1,300 ft) below sea level.
5a Official decision about frightful
female // artist (7)
C(HAG)ALL — CALL (official decision) containing (about) HAG (frightful female)
Marc Chagall[5] (1887–1985) was a Russian-born French painter and graphic artist. His work was characterized by the use of rich emotive colour and dream imagery, and had a significant influence on surrealism.
9a Getting pickled cucumber,
Matilda // walked around (15)
CIRCUMAMBULATED* — anagram (getting pickled) of CUCUMBER MATILDA
Circumambulate[5] is a formal term meaning to walk all the way round ⇒
they used to circumambulate the perimeter wall.
10a Brown // slip-on shoe that's
surprising (5)
MOC|HA — MOC (slip-on shoe; short for moccasin) + HA (that's surprising; as an exclamation)
Despite not appearing in the American dictionaries, Oxford Dictionaries Online characterizes moc[5] as an informal North American term for a moccasin.
11a Tammy goes aboard container
// vessel (9)
CA(TAMARA)N — TAMARA (Tammy; name for which Tammy is a nickname) contained in (goes aboard) CAN (container)
12a Fruit // incense held by projecting
point (9)
T(ANGER)INE — ANGER (incense) contained in (held by) TINE (projecting point)
15a Says no to // sex in the wrong way
(5)
NI|XES< — reversal (in the wrong way) of SEX IN
17a Name one island // emirate (5)
DUB|A|I — DUB (name) + A (one) + I (island)
Dubai[5] is a member state of the United Arab Emirates; population 1,775,000 (est. 2009).
19a Antiquated // love article on
being picked up by guys (4-5)
M(O|TH-E|AT)EN — {O (love; nil score in tennis) + THE ([definite] article) + AT (on)} contained in (being picked up by) MEN (guys)
Thank you to a reader whose comment below alerted me to the fact that I had omitted one element of the charade in my original explanation.
On[10] is used in the sense of 'at the occasion of' ⇒
on the count of ten, we will take the plunge.
21a Iron-clad action hero is /getting/
the raspberry? (9)
F(RAMBO|IS)E — {RAMBO (action hero) + IS (†)} contained (clad) in FE ([symbol for the chemical element] iron)
In cookery, framboise[5] [the French word for raspberry[8]] denotes a raspberry ⇒
a deep, rich framboise taste.
23a Get confused /and/ make a
threatening sound (5)
SNARL — double definition
24a Crude sense of humour
attacked after barbarian // act?
(2,7,4,2)
GO TH|ROUGH| WIT|H IT — {ROUGH (crude) + WIT (sense of humour) + HIT (attacked)} following (after) GOTH (barbarian)
A Goth[5] is a member of a Germanic people that invaded the Roman Empire from the east between the 3rd and 5th centuries. The eastern division, the Ostrogoths, founded a kingdom in Italy, while the Visigoths went on to found one in Spain.
25a Range for listening // to hares
gambolling (7)
EARSHOT* — anagram (gambolling) of TO HARES
26a Some English // place returned
brooch (7)
TOPS<|PIN — reversal (returned) of SPOT (place) + PIN (brooch)
Unfortunately, I managed to convince myself that the definition could not be other than "brooch" with the solution taking the form XXXX PIN.
The definition "some English" indicates that we need a specific type of english [the setters having deceptively capitalized the word "english"]. Also note that, strictly speaking, english means sidespin — not topspin.
Also known as side spin, english[7] (which is usually not capitalized) is spin placed on the cue ball when hit with the cue tip to the left or right of the ball's center. The British and Irish do not use this term, instead preferring "side". "English" is sometimes used more inclusively, to colloquially also refer to follow (top spin) and draw (back spin).
Down
1d Nearly destroyed // mice
scrambling into saw (9)
D(ECIM*)ATED — anagram (scrambling) of MICE contained in (into) DATED (saw)
2d Wandering Inca, far // from a
southern continent (7)
AFRICAN* — anagram (wandering) of INCA FAR
The Incas[5] were a South American Indian people living in the central Andes before the Spanish conquest.
3d Small change by a // bandmaster (5)
SOUS|A — SOUS (small change) + (by) A (†)
Historically, a sou[4] is a former French coin of low denomination. Figuratively, it is used to signify a very small amount of money ⇒
I haven't a sou to my name.
John Philip Sousa[5] (1854–1932) was an American composer and conductor. His works include more than a hundred marches, for example The Stars and Stripes.
4d Resistance to government
// characters in Greece found in
one branch (9)
AN|AR(CHIS)M — CHIS (characters in Greece; plural of chi, the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet) contained in (in) {AN (one) + ARM (branch)}
5d Explorer/'s/ bed infiltrated by a
bee (5)
C(A|B)OT — COT (bed) containing (infiltrated by) {A (†) + B (bee)}
John Cabot[5] (circa 1450-circa 1498) was an Italian explorer and navigator; Italian name Giovanni Caboto. He sailed from Bristol in 1497 in search of Asia, but in fact landed on the mainland of North America, the first European to do so. [Unless, of course, the Norse should have happened to beat him to it by 500 years!]
Sebastian Cabot[5] (circa 1475–1557) was the son of John Cabot. Sebastian accompanied his father on his voyage in 1497 and made further voyages after the latter’s death, most notably to Brazil and the River Plate (1526).
6d Chilean president catching
mother/'s/ square dance move (9)
ALLE(MA)NDE — ALLENDE (Chilean president) containing (catching) MA (mother)
Salvador Allende[5] (1908–1973) was a Chilean statesman, President 1970-3. The first avowed Marxist to win a presidency in a free election, Allende was overthrown and killed in a military coup led by General Pinochet.
An allemande[5] is a figure in country dancing in which adjacent dancers link arms or join hands and make a full or partial turn.
7d Strangely, x-ray pet // kiwi (7)
APTERYX* — anagram (strangely) of XRAY PET
A kiwi[5] is any of three species of birds comprising the genus Apteryx. Native to New Zealand, they are flightless birds with hair-like feathers, having a long downcurved bill with sensitive nostrils at the tip.
8d Olive-green colour // seen in
philodendron (S)
_LODEN_ — hidden in (seen in) phiLODENdron
13d City // bridge Hun ruined (9)
EDINBURGH* — anagram (ruined) of BRIDGE HUN
14d Sue having first pair of children
// leap in ballet class (9)
ENTRE(CH)AT — ENTREAT (sue) containing (having) CH ( first pair [two letters] of CHildren)
In ballet, an entrechat[5] is a vertical jump during which the dancer repeatedly crosses the feet and beats them together.
16d Carol seemed to know
// something unique (9)
SING|LET|ON — SING (carol; as a verb) + LET ON (seemed to know; gave the impression of knowing)
18d Hat worn by small // person with
a big mouth (7)
BOA(S)TER — BOATER (hat; a stiff straw hat with a straight brim and flat crown) containing (worn by) S (small)
20d Lunchroom // changed the soap
(3,4)
{TEA SHOP}* — anagram (changed) of THE SOAP
21d Composition /using/ odd bits of
four gauges (5)
F_U_|G_U_E_ — the odd letters (odd bits) of FoUr GaUgEs
In music, a fugue[5] is a contrapuntal [in counterpoint] composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.
In music, counterpoint[5] is the technique of setting, writing, or playing a melody or melodies in conjunction with another, according to fixed rules.
22d Native of the Arctic, // one night
in Paris (5)
I|NUIT — I ([Roman numeral for] one) + NUIT (night in Paris; French word meaning 'night'[8])
The Inuit[5] are the members of an indigenous people of northern Canada and parts of Greenland and Alaska.
23d Be stingy /with/ low-fat piece
of pie (5)
SKIM|P — SKIM (low fat) + P (piece [first letter] of Pie)
For a not inconsiderable period of time, I laboured under the misconception that the solution might be SLICE (piece of pie).
Epilogue
Key to Reference Sources:Signing off for today — Falcon
[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)
Either my IQ dropped precipitously over the holidays (a possibility, given the amount of food and drink I consumed) or this puzzle was considerably more difficult that the usual Saturday fare.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly, I received an unexpected boost when 9d popped into my head on first reading the clue. And my grade-school square-dancing class helped as well. But the rest was slower going and to finish, I resorted to a crossword dictionary for the two words intersecting in the southeast corner. 28d in particular employs some clever wordplay.
Looking forward to your comments.
I think your experience mirrors mine to a T. I failed to solve a single across clue on my first read through. Fortunately, I was able to make some headway with the down clues.
DeleteI presume you may be referring to 9a and 23d (rather than 9d and 28d).
As you can see, I also needed to use some solving aids in the southeast corner.
Sorry. I meant 9a and 26a. More evidence of my failing powers.
DeleteThanks for the write-up -- especially parsing the clue for catamaran. I filled it in from the crossing letters but the construction eluded me.
Hi Falcon,
ReplyDeleteSimilar to you, 26a was the one that gave me trouble. Even though solved, I did not understand the reference to "some English". Still seems like a bit of a stretch.
Happy New Year!
MG
The term "english" would be well know to pool players. The setters have deceptively capitalized it to mislead the solver (fair ball in cryptic crosswords). The word "some" indicates that the solution is an example of one type of english (TOPSPIN) rather than being all-encompassing. The difficulty, of course, is that the term english properly refers to sidespin (not topspin), although the term is widely misused to include either.
Delete... and a very Happy New Year to you. Your comment reminds me that I failed to wish a Happy New Year to my Saturday readers. Those who follow me on a daily basis would have seen my New Year's greeting but it sometimes slips my mind that there are a lot of visitors who only drop by on Saturday. So Happy New Year to all of you.
DeleteI think I'm still somewhat addle-brained too because I can't see how we get the "at" in moth-eaten.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. It seems that I omitted one element of the charade in my original explanation -- which has now been corrected.
DeleteThe AT comes from the word "on" in the clue which is used in the sense of 'at the occasion of'. Think of a group standing around a hole in the ice at a polar bear swim and the leader proclaims "On the count of ten, we will take the plunge".
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ReplyDelete