Saturday, October 31, 2009

Saturday, October 31, 2009 - Hallowe'en Monsters


Introduction

I found today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon, teeming with monsters in honour of Hallowe'en, to be a bit more of a challenge than usual.

Today's Glossary

Abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle that may be unfamiliar to overseas readers

London Fog - an American brand name of raincoats and other clothing

sawbuck - American slang for a U.S. ten dollar bill

NBA - abbrev. National Basketball Association

Today's Monsters

basilisk - a mythical serpent that could kill by its breath or glance

Chimera - In Greek mythology, a fire-breathing she-monster usually represented as a composite of a lion, goat, and serpent

dragon - a mythical monster traditionally represented as a gigantic reptile having a lion's claws, the tail of a serpent, wings, and a scaly skin

Gorgon - In Greek mythology, any of the three sisters Stheno, Euryale, and the mortal Medusa who had snakes for hair and eyes that if looked into turned the beholder into stone

griffin - a mythical beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion

leviathan - a monstrous sea creature mentioned in the Bible

manticore - a legendary monster having the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail of a dragon or scorpion

werewolf - In European myth, a person believed to have been transformed into a wolf or to be capable of assuming the form of a wolf

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

28a - We are streaming from behind monster (8)

The wordplay is WERE (we're, short for we are) plus WOLF, the latter coming from FLOW (streaming) reversed (from behind). Unless I am missing something in the wordplay, it seems to be a bit iffy in that I would think that "streaming" would produce FLOWING rather than FLOW.

14d Island nation units infiltrating subcontinent (9)

I eventually arrived in INDONESIA after a brief stopover in AUSTRALIA.

19d Guy that is pocketing one's last lousy item (7)

The wordplay of this clue, for which the solution is CHEAPIE, almost slipped by me. I had initially thought that it was a double definition with the first part, "guy that is pocketing one's last [e.g., sou, penny, dollar, whatever]", perhaps intended to suggest a stingy person and the second part, "lousy item" (a cheap item). It was only when I sat down to write the blog that I recognized the true wordplay.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend: "CD" Cryptic Definition; "DD" Double Definition

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

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

1a BASIL|IS|K - BASIL (Rathbone) IS (portrays) K (kay); British actor Basil Rathbone

5a {GORG|ON}< - NO GROG (drink for a sailor) backing (reversal indicator)

9a AD(D ONT)O - in (container indicator) ADO (trouble) DONT (don't)

10a ELECT|R|A - ELECT (choose) R (republican) A

11a BIN|GO - BIN (recycling container) GO (leave)

12a LEVI|A|THAN - LEVI (Hebrew patriarch) A (article) THAN (compared to)

13a G(RIFF)IN - RIFF (repeated phrase) possessed by (contained in) GIN (spirits)

15a SAW|BUCK - SAW (observed) BUCK (stag)

17a BODE|GAS - BODE (show signs of) GAS (combustible fuel)

19a CHIMER|A - CHIMER (Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a deformed bell ringer from the novel by Victor Hugo) A

21a M(ANTIC)ORE - MORE (extra) about (containing) ANTIC (agitated)

23a _TOR|TE_ - seen through (hidden word indicator) reflecTOR TElescope

25a S(US)TAIN - US (American) with STAIN (blemish) outside (container indicator)

26a PAIN|TED - PAIN (suffering) TED (Koppel): American broadcast journalist Ted Koppel

27a DRAG|ON - DRAG (cross-dresser's outfit) ON (worn by)

28a WERE|WOLF - WERE (we're, abbreviated we are) {FLOW (streaming) from behind (reversal indicator) = WOLF}

Down

1d BE(A|NBA)G - BEG (plead) about (containing) A NBA (sports league)

2d SUDAN* - {US AND} turbulent (anagram indicator)

3d {LONDON FOG}* - fixed (anagram indicator) {ON GOLF DON}

4d STOL(L)EN - L (bit of, i.e., first letter of, lemon) in (container indicator) STOLEN (hot)

6d O(MEG)A - MEG (Ryan) in (container indicator) O (love) with A

7d GATEHOUSE* - {SEE A TOUGH} new (anagram indicator)

8d NEATNIK* - {TAKEN IN} bum (anagram indicator)

10d EL|VIS - with a certain amount of (hidden word indicator) tunnEL VISion

14d IND(ONES)IA - ONES (units) infiltrating (contained in) INDIA (subcontinent)

16d WAISTLINE* - changed (anagram indicator) {A WINE LIST}

17d B(EMUS)ED - BED (plot) about EMUS (large birds)

18d S|HORN - S (small) HORN (bony outgrowth)

19d CH(E)AP|IE - CHAP (guy) IE (i.e., that is) pocketing (containing) E (one's last; last letter of "one")

20d {AHEAD OF}* - {HAD A FOE} confused (anagram indicator)

22d I|D(AH)O - I DO (marriage vow) swallowing (containing) AH (sigh)

24d R(AT)IO - AT (engaged in) entering (contained in) RIO (Brazilian resort)

Happy Hallowe'en everyone - Falcon

Friday, October 30, 2009

Friday, October 30, 2009 (DT 25954)

This puzzle was originally published Saturday, June 13, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

It was definitely a fairly easy puzzle today, which seems to be typical for puzzles published on Saturday in the UK.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

burgher - noun, rather old or facetious a citizen of a town, especially a town on the Continent, or of a borough

freeman - noun 1 a man or woman who is free or enjoys liberty. 2 a respected man or woman who has been granted the freedom of a city.

medlar - (noun, defn. 1) a small tree, Mespilus germanica, of the rose family, the fruit of which resembles a crab apple and is not edible until the early stages of decay

prang - Brit. a collision or crash (involving an automobile or aircraft)

ramp - (entry 2, verb, defn. 1) slang to rob or swindle

RE - abbrev. Royal Engineers: a corps in the British Army

unco - (adj., defn. 1) Scots strange

Whitsun - noun in the Christian church: the week beginning with Whit Sunday, particularly the first three days

Today's Links

Given that this was a Saturday prize puzzle in the UK, we have links to both Big Dave's day-of-publication hints for today's puzzle at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25954]-hints and Peter Biddlecombe's post-submission-date review at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25954]-review.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

18a Jamaica, Virginia or island farther east (4)

I know we're probably supposed to think of the world map as having been cut at the International Date Line and laid out flat, but I believe many North Americans will view this island as lying to the west rather than the east. I know I always think of the Far East as being to the west.

9d Best passed clockwise (5-6)

As I work my way through the puzzle, I annotate it with various marks to identify clues for which I want to include an entry in Today's Glossary, clues for which I need to verify a meaning, or clues for which I want to write a commentary. This clue fell into the latter category - but Peter has already said it all. I remain as skeptical as him about the wordplay in this clue.

15d Slaverer turning, turning in the wrong direction (8)

Another clue that I had marked as a candidate for a comment, and - once again - Peter has pretty well preempted my thoughts. If the clue had said "opposite direction" rather than "wrong direction", I don't think there could have been any controversy.

It is of interest to note that the difficulty in the two clues involves right and wrong.

20d Case of the shakes (6)

I would elaborate a bit more on Peter's explanation. He indicates that quiver= shake, but the word in the clue is shakes (plural). I would like to suggest that a more complete explanation would be that "to quiver" is "to have a case of the shakes (noun, defn. 4)".

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009 (DT 25953)

This puzzle was originally published Friday, June 12, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I got off to a remarkably speedy start today, but about halfway through the puzzle my progress slowed markedly. I completed the puzzle (even managing to solve clue 17a with its references to both rugby and cricket). A strong suspicion that there was an error in the published clue at 29a was confirmed by a visit to Big Dave's blog.

Today's Errata

As the Brit's would say, yet another cock-up in today's puzzle:

29a Greek character, breaker of promise, about to be spiritually reborn (10)

The Post repeated the error that originally appeared in the print edition of the Daily Telegraph, omitting the final word (reborn).

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

clot - (noun, defn. 2) Brit. a fool

cock-up - Brit. slang a mess or muddle resulting from incompetence

It - Italian vermouth; as in the cocktail Gin and It, a Sweet Martini (or Martinez), made with Italian (sweet) vermouth as opposed to dry vermouth

lock - (entry 1, noun, defn. 7) a position in the sport of rugby

Tony Lock - former cricket player for England (on this occasion, I seem to have identified the correct player, as confirmed by Libellule)

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25953].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

15a Visitors to Buckingham Palace may have poetic quality (5)

The key to solving this clue is knowing where to break it.

15a Visitors to Buckingham Palace may have /\ poetic quality (5)

The solution is something that "visitors to Buckingham Palace may have [done]" which is also the rhythm of a piece of poetry. Interestingly, the clue uses the American spelling - which sparked a storm of protest among the Brits on Big Dave's blog (and drew an apology from the setter).

19a Song when Sarah is embraced by her husband! (5)

Although I obtained the correct solution, I did not get the reference to British Prime Minister (PM) Gordon Brown whose wife is named Sarah. I had postulated that Sarah might be a character in a British afternoon (PM) soap opera, which would account for the "when Sarah is embraced by her husband". Of course, if my theory were correct, I am sure the clue would more likely have read "when Sarah is embraced by her lover".

12d Gangster getting close in rural homestead? Nothing to worry about! (5,5)

My initial approach to this clue was a thought that "rural homestead" might be GRANGE, and the answer might be of the form G???? RANGE, where ???? is a four letter word meaning "close" which is contained "in" GRANGE. Further encouraging this approach was the fact that GRANGE can also be formed by using some of the letters of "gangster". Anyway, all of these misguided efforts led absolutely nowhere.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 (DT 25952)

This puzzle was originally published Thursday, June 11, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

It should have been a fairly easy endeavour today, had not a couple of errors in the puzzle (one originating with the Daily Telegraph and one introduced by the National Post) created obstacles to its solution. I quickly solved all but the south-west quadrant; even the incorrect definition at 19d hardly slowed me down. The remainder of the puzzle was a bit more challenging, but with some effort I was able to solve all but 23d. As it was pretty obvious that the clue had been truncated, I visited Big Dave's Blog to find the full clue.

Today's Errata


The following clue has been truncated in the National Post:

23d Store featured in upcoming April edition (4)

The "April edition (4)" part of the clue has been omitted in the National Post.

There is also an error in the definition part of the following clue:

19d Expert on source of thin single plastic material (7)

This error originally appeared in the puzzle as published in the Daily Telegraph. The setter has confused ACETONE and ACETATE (to which he readily admits in a posting on Big Dave's blog). The wordplay leads to ACETONE but the definition (plastic material) is clearly for ACETATE. It is the former that is needed to satisfy the cross-entry.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

despatch - alternative spelling of dispatch

prang - Brit. to crash (a motor vehicle or aircraft)

RE - abbrev. (Corps of) Royal Engineers: a corps within the British Army

tout - Brit. a person who buys up tickets for an event to resell them at a profit (who, in North America, would be called a scalper)

twee - Brit. excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25952].

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (DT 25951)

This puzzle was originally published Wednesday, June 10, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

A relatively easy but quite enjoyable puzzle today. I was able to complete it without resorting to the Tool Chest - a rare event, indeed.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

CH - abbrev. Companion of Honour: a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, an order of the Commonwealth of Nations. I note that Oxford, Chambers, and Collins all incorrectly describe this as a British or UK honour. (I never thought that I would discover an error in Oxford!)

Benjamin Disraeli - former British Prime Minister

NUS - abbrev. Brit. National Union of Students. By the way, an organization known as the National Union of Students/Union nationale des étudiants (NUS/UNE) existed in Canada from 1972 to 1981, at which time it merged with other student organizations to form the Canadian Federation of Students. Many other countries also have organizations with variations of the name National Union of Students.

Today's Links

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25951].

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, October 26, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009 (DT 25950)

This puzzle was originally published Tuesday, June 9, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

The Brit's might describe today's puzzle as a gentle diversion - not very difficult but with a few clues containing some fairly good wordplay. But, then again, they might have quite a different assessment of it. A couple of clues did bring a bit of a smile to my face - but perhaps for a reason unintended by the setter.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

dick - Brit. a stupid or contemptible person

Recorder - (noun, defn. 3) in England and Wales, a barrister appointed to serve as a part-time judge

smallsat - a small satellite

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25950].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

7d Tess and I go crazy for clever dicks! (7)

I must admit that this clue caused me to smile a little. In North America, dick is one of the most commonly used slang expressions for the penis. It is so commonly used, in fact, that it has virtually swamped out any other meaning for the word. It would appear from the entries in Oxford and Chambers that, while dick can have this same connotation in Britain, it is also common to see it used in a less vulgar sense. Even in the expression, "He's a clever dick." I don't believe the word loses this connotation in North America. It's like saying of someone, "He's a decent prick." (yet another slang term for the male genitalia).

Moreover, the word beaver (a slang expression for the female genitalia) appears in clue 4d. Beaver is less commonly used in this vulgar slang sense than dick, and - in most cases - its appearance in a puzzle would probably not even bring to mind this meaning. However, when juxtaposed against clue 7d, the association becomes more difficult to avoid.

16d Horned elk and ox stampeded (8)

I could find no dictionary showing klaxon as a verb; but, then again, it wouldn't be the first noun to be verbified.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Saturday, October 24, 2009 - Music Hall


Introduction

Today's puzzle, a musically themed creation by Cox and Rathvon, covers a broad range of musical genres, a variety of musical instruments, performances - both live and recorded, and venues from Times Square to a famous London concert hall.



Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend: "CD" Cryptic Definition; "DD" Double Definition

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

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

1a TREBLE* - BELTER out (anagram indicator)

4a CAS(SET)TE - SET (group of songs) penned by (contained in) CASTE (Indian group)

9a ALTERABLE* - punk (anagram indicator) {ERA BALLET}

11a _TORCH_ - in (hidden word indicator) thaT ORCHestra

12a HARM(ONICA P|LA)YER* - {A RHYMER} oddly (anagram indicator) [=HARMYER] holding (containing) AL PACINO back (reversed) [=ONICAPLA]

13a _SI|DE B_ - BED (plot) IS reversed

15a CELL(IS)T - IS (composes) in (contained in) CELL (room) T (temperature)

19a {NEW YEAR}* - {NY WE ARE} rearranging (anagram indicator)

20a EARLY - DD (with the second one cryptic); EARLY (ahead of the beat) and (like Earl: legendary jazz pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines)

22a {SINGING THE BLUES}* - revamped (anagram indicator) {BIG ENGLISH TUNES}; legendary blues singer Bessie Smith

26a I|M (B)AD - I (one) B (note) in (contained in) MAD (crazy)

27a _ASSIST|IN|G_ - bASSIST IN Group keeps (hidden word indicator)

28a EL|BOWING - EL (the [in] Spanish) BOWING (violin technique)

29a AL(B)ERT - ALERT (warning) about (containing) B (British); Royal Albert Hall - concert hall in London, England

Down

1d T(EA CH)EST - TEST (trial) about (containing) EACH

2d {ENTERED IN}* - reorganization of (anagram indicator) {ENTIRE DEN}

3d L|ARGO - L (Latin) ARGO (ship of old)

5d ARE(N)A - AREA (space) accommodating (containing) N (nation's first [letter])

6d S(A|TELL)ITE - A TELL (bowman: legendary archer William Tell) in (contained in) SITE (place)

7d TARRY - DD

8d E(THE)RS - ERS (Emergency Rooms) stocking (containing) THE

10d BRIOCHE - BRIO (zest) on (before [in a down clue]) CHE (revolutionary Cuban: Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara)

14d BOW W(IND*)OW - BOW WOW (bark) admitting (containing) wild (anagram indicator) DIN [=IND]

16d L|ARCHES - L (large) ARCHES (curves)

17d TURQUOISE* - bananas (anagram indicator) {QUITE SOUR}

18d E(YES)IGHT - EIGHT (octet) maintaining (containing) YES (sure)

21d ASP|IRE - CD; IRE (wrath) of a ASP (serpent) {or, in other words, ASP IRE}

23d NAB|OB - NAB (catch) OB (short obstetrician)

24d GR(A)IN - GRIN (seem amused) about (containing) A

25d BASIL* - BAILS out (anagram indicator)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, October 23, 2009

Friday, October 23, 2009 (DT 25949)

This puzzle was originally published Monday, June 8, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Today's puzzle was about average in degree of difficulty. I clearly missed the wordplay on one clue and was unable to confirm my take on the wordplay for a second (although it would appear to be correct according to Tilsit).

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

cupboard love - Brit. affection that is given purely to gain a reward

drifter - (noun, defn. 2) Brit. (?) a fishing boat equipped with a drift net

earth - (noun, defn. 6) a hole in which an animal lives, especially a badger or fox

soccer transfer - in soccer, a transfer appears to be what would be termed a "trade" in North America (i.e., teams exchanging players, perhaps with monetary or other considerations - such as draft picks - included). It is explained fairly well by the following excerpt from the referenced article, "Twice a year when the transfer window opens, the soccer world goes crazy with players changing clubs and newspapers and soccer websites all over the world speculating on the latest superstars playing the game of musical chairs.".

Today's Links

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25949].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

15a Event in which competitors run until they drop (3-3-5, 4)

Wow! For the first time that I can recall, errors that appeared in the puzzle published in the UK (see Tilsit's remarks) have been corrected in the syndicated version.

18a Upper class rejecting two prizes (3,6)

Although I came up with the correct solution, I needed Tilsit's review to understand the wordplay. My downfall was failing to recognize "rejecting" as a reversal indicator (from its meaning "to return" or "to throw back").

21a A ship, possibly a tramp (7)

Tilsit comments that as a tramp, drifter is more of an American term than a British one. While I could not definitely confirm it, as a ship, I suspect that drifter may be primarily a British term.

24a Italian man of affairs (8)

I very much like this type of clue, a cryptic definition in which the surface reading cleverly obscures a rather wry underlying cryptic meaning. I always feel a great deal of satisfaction in successfully solving such a clue.

26a Hide a broken heart (5)

For this clue, I seem to have been on the right track but I was unable to confirm my theory about the wordplay. I thought, as Tilsit suggests, that a hide might be an animal's lair. However, I was unable to find a source that defined it thus. The only thing that I came up with was "a concealed shelter used for observing birds and wild animals" (Chambers, entry 1, noun).

10d Sort of love one may hunger for? (8)

Tilsit seems perplexed by the reference to hunger in this clue. (I must say that I do delight in seeing the Brits puzzled by their own obscure expressions!). I had never before encountered this expression, and succeeded in finding a reference to it only through some fairly persistent digging. However, I think it is fairly clear from the Wikipedia article referenced in Today's Glossary where the hunger comes from. I suspect (or apprehend) that Tilsit's difficulty may be a case of being familiar with the expression itself without understanding its provenance. After all, I am sure that most of us could not explain the derivation of many expressions that we commonly use in day-to-day speech.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009 (DT 25948)

This puzzle was originally published Saturday, June 6, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Typical of Saturday prize puzzles, this one was not overly difficult - but it did include some cryptic definitions that I found rather appealing. I liked 5d and especially 14a and 12d.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

bumper - (noun, defn. 3) archaic a large glass of an alcoholic drink

steward - (noun, defn. 5) a senior official who monitors a horse race and who has to adjudicate on photo-finishes, enquiries, etc.

Today's Links

Big Dave's date-of-publication hints for today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25948]-hints and Peter Biddlecombe's post-submission-date review at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25948]-review.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a Bar drink (6)

I was surprised to see "bumper" defined in Chambers as "Brit a bar on the front or back of a motor vehicle ...". This term is certainly not peculiar to Britain and is also the term used in North America for this part of an automobile.

3d Enquiry agent of course (7)

An agent is a STEWARD, but until I saw Big Dave's hint I could not figure out the rest the wordplay. As it turns out, this is a cryptic definition for the "agent who handles enquiries at a racetrack (course)", who is known as a steward.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 (DT 25947)

This puzzle was originally published Friday, June 5, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I completed today's puzzle with a bit of effort, finding it to be slightly to the more difficult end of the scale. It contained three deletion-type clues (which often give me considerable difficulty), so I felt quite good about recognizing them and successfully solving them.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

kinglet - a minor king

prang - Brit. a collision or crash (involving a motor vehicle or an aircraft)

RE - abbrev. Brit. Royal Engineers

spaghetti junction - a complicated or massively intertwined highway interchange that resembles a plate of spaghetti

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25947].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

Today's puzzle contains three deletion-type clues (which, in my experience, occur fairly rarely in puzzles). This type of clue has often stumped me in the past, so I was quite pleased with myself at having solved them all.

21a A doubter, not quiet self-denying type (7)

A SCEPTIC (doubter) not (deletion indicator) P (quiet: piano, musical notation) gives ASCETIC (self-denying type).

24a Outside, stealing a kiss, going on for ages (7)

EXTERNAL (outside) stealing (deletion indicator) X (a kiss) gives ETERNAL (going on for ages).

2d A provider of accommodation - not house, a workshop (7)

My solution was:

A HOTELIER (provider of accommodation) not (deletion indicator) HO (house) gives ATELIER (a workshop).

However, Libellule provides an even more elegant take on this clue:

HOTELIER (a provider of accommodation) not HO, A (delete HO and replace it with A) gives ATELIER (workshop).

8d What a sucker may need (8,5)

The first thing to pop into my head on reading this clue was "pruning shears", but I quickly realized that the distribution of letters is wrong - (7,6) rather than (8,5).

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 (DT 25946)

This puzzle was originally published Thursday, June 4, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I thought that today's puzzle exhibited an average level of difficulty - fairly readily solvable with the aid of my Tool Chest.

I see that Gazza has commented on my post from last Tuesday. Apparently, I was incorrect in my assertion that "dust" means garbage in Britain. Since I did find that definition in a couple of sources, I presume that the word must have been used in that sense at one time. As Gazza mentions, that meaning still exists in compound words such as dustbin and dustman. I have noticed that many of the dictionaries on the Internet rely on editions (some dating to the 19th century) for which copyrights have expired and that have consequently entered the public domain. They therefore often contain usages that are no longer current and omit usages that have come into existence within the last century. While these dictionaries sometimes denote usages as archaic, this may mean that these meanings were already archaic in the 19th century!

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

pit - (noun, defn. 9) Brit. a bed

pitta - Brit. pita

short - (noun, defn. 1) Brit. a strong alcoholic drink, especially spirits, served in small measures (which, in North America, would be called a "shot")

TA - abbrev. Territorial Army; British volunteer army

top - (verb, defn. 5a) (likely Brit.) to kill, especially by hanging

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25946].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

17a Top do (7)

Although the initial image evoked by this clue was of the guillotine, it turns out that "top" is slang for "to kill, especially by hanging". While I could find no explicit reference to this being a British expression, I assume that it likely is - given that I found this meaning only in British dictionaries.

21a One graduated by short steps (5)

My first attempt here proved to be incorrect. I had A MBA (one graduated) by S (short) to give SAMBA. This was basically the right approach - just the wrong graduate, the wrong short, and the wrong dance.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, October 19, 2009

Monday, October 19, 2009 (DT 25945)

This puzzle was originally published Wednesday, June 3, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

A relatively easy puzzle today - but one containing some quite clever wordplay.

Today's Links

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25945].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

12a Spring bloke, it's reported (6)

The wordplay in this clue depends on the fact that "geyser" is pronounced "gee-zer" in Britain. For North Americans, who pronounce it "guy-zer" (which sounds like "guy-sir"), the clue could perhaps be recrafted, with "blokes" in the plural, as:

12a Spring blokes, it's reported (6)

27a Opera star with sob creating impression (7)

Upon reading this clue, I surmised that "star" might have a different connotation in Britain than in North America. However, after reviewing the definitions in Chambers and Oxford, I would have to conclude that the meaning there is identical to that used here. Clearly, the "star" is the performer playing the principal role and not the principal role itself. So, to my way of thinking, "Mimi" may be a character, a role, a part, even a starring role - but not a star.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Saturday, October 17, 2009 - The Master of Suspense


Introduction

Today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon has as its theme a famous British film producer and director whose identity is revealed at 25a.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4d Drive stake for old poet (5)

Should you imagine, as did I initially, that the "old poet" is KEATS (an anagram of STAKE), you would be sadly mistaken.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend: "CD" Cryptic Definition; "DD" Double Definition

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

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

1a PO(SITE)D - SITE (location) within (contained by) POD (group of whales)

5a WINDS|OR - WINDS (meanders) + OR (otherwise); House of Windsor (British Royal Family)

9a C|REAM - C (one hundred) + REAM (twenty quires of paper)

10a NO|TOR(IO)US - IO (moon of Jupiter) surrounded by (contained by) NO TORUS (ring); film by 25a

11a DON|A|HUE - DON (put on) + A + HUE (shade); talk show host Phil Donahue

12a RIDDLED - DD ("presented puzzles" and "full of holes")

13a {REAR WINDOW}* - {WARN WEIRDO} about (anagram indicator); film by 25a

15a HIND - DD

18a F|I|DO - F (female) + I DO (avowal of a groom)

19a SPELL|BOUND - SPELL (give the letters of) + BOUND (spring)

22a A(IRMA)IL - AIL (have problems) receiving (containing) IRMA

24a ARIA|DNE< - ARIA (song) + DNE {END (finale) brought back (reversed)}

25a HIT|CH(C)OCK - HIT (attacked) + {CHOCK (wedge) eating (containing) C (piece - i.e., first letter - of cheese)}; British film producer and director Alfred Hitchcock

26a _G|AT|ED_ - pointinG AT EDmonton houses (hidden word indicator)

27a R|UNLESS - R (right) + UNLESS (except)

28a W|AD|E|D IN - W (with) + AD (commercial) + E (energy) + DIN (racket)

Down

1d PICADOR~ - sounds like (to hear) PICK A DOOR (choose a way)

2d STE(RN)WARD - STEWARD (cruise attendant) taking (containing) RN (Registered Nurse)

3d TOM(A)HAWK - TOM (male) + HAWK (warmonger) carrying (containing) A

4d D|ANTE - D (drive) + ANTE (stake)

5d WATERFOWL* - bats (anagram indicator) {FLEW TO WAR}

6d NERUDA* - deconstructed (anagram indicator) UNREAD; Chilean poet Pablo Neruda

7d S|TOOL - S (small) + TOOL (item for an artisan)

8d RESIDED - DD with one being cryptic ("showed a new allegiance", i.e., changed sides)

14d NA(P|OLEO)NS - NANS (breads from India; alternative spelling of Naans) stuffed with (containing) {P (pepper) + OLEO (margarine)}

16d IN|UNDATED - IN + UNDATED (missing information regarding provenance)

17d A|BRIDGE|D - A + BRIDGE (card game) + D (daughter)

18d FEA(THE)R - FEAR (be anxious) about (containing) THE

20d DR(E)S|DEN - DRS (doctor's) + DEN (study) covering (containing) E (east)

21d DAPHNE* - {HAD PEN} modified (anagram indicator)

23d RAT| (O)N* - O (nothing) in (contained by) wild (anagram indicator) RANT

24d ASK|EW< - ASK (question) + EW {WE backed (reversed)}

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, October 16, 2009

Friday, October 16, 2009 (DT 25944)

This puzzle was originally published Tuesday, June 2, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I spent a brisk autumn day doing yard work preparing for the rapidly approaching winter - and envying Gazza "sitting in the garden with a long cool drink on a hot Summer’s day".

Although overall I found today's puzzle to be about average in terms of difficulty, I was forced to rely on Gazza for the solution to one clue. Interestingly, the comments on Big Dave's Blog indicate that many of the Brits found this puzzle to be rather difficult.

For some reason, the National Post has skipped over Puzzle DT 25943.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

clerihew - a particular style of short comic verse; named after Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956), the English writer who invented it

clock - (verb, defn. 3) Brit. see (therefore, notice) or watch

gen - Brit. information

greatcoat - Brit. a heavy overcoat

pedalo - a small pedal-operated pleasure boat

River Lee - a river in Ireland, flowing through Cork

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25944].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

1a Italian artist enters picture that's dull (7)

The Italian artist is ROSA, but is it Francesco Rosa or Salvator Rosa? Judging by their respective Wikipedia entries, Salvator would appear to be the better known of the two.

15d Bentley's characterful lines (9)

This is the clue that I was not able to crack. However, in hindsight, it is clear that it should have been solvable as a search for words matching the checking letters returns only three or four candidates.

23d Handy shot for scorer - one who's celebrated this week? (5)

In this case a "scorer" is someone who writes scores; in other words, a composer. The composer of interest is Joseph Haydn who died on May 31, 1809. This puzzle would have appeared in the Daily Telegraph during the week marking the 200th Anniversary of his death.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thursday, October 15, 2009 (DT 25942)

This puzzle was originally published Saturday, May 30, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I found this puzzle to be quite difficult (apparently unlike the Brits). I finally completed the NW quadrant after a great deal of effort. I eventually gave up on the SE quadrant with one clue (25a) remaining unsolved - only to discover from Big Dave's hints that I had entered an incorrect solution for 23d which was preventing me from finding the solution to 25a.

A Note on British and North American Usage

In the Today's Glossary feature, I include items that I think would be well-known in the UK but might not be so familiar to many North Americans, as well as any other words or expressions that I think may be especially obscure (of course, there may be instances where I deem an item to be obscure merely due to my own personal ignorance).

With regard to usage in Canada, one tends to encounter a mixture of British and American usage. Canada has always had strong links to Britain and parts of the country were largely populated by immigrants from the UK and in these areas British usage is common. This is especially true of the Atlantic Provinces where I grew up. Other parts of the country had large waves of immigration from other parts of the world, such as Eastern Europe, and the British influence may be somewhat less there. Being situated so close to the United States, and inundated daily by US media, Canadians have adopted American (US) usage to a large degree. There is, no doubt, an ongoing and accelerating shift away from British styles to US styles.

Today, I included the word "mum" in the glossary. This British spelling is quite familiar to me and what I would likely use. However, I note that I more frequently see it written "mom".

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

bloomer - Brit. colloq. an idiotic and embarrassing mistake; North American equivalent blooper

Mull - the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland

mum - Brit. one's mother

bottle - (noun, defn. 4) Brit. nerve

packet - (noun, defn. 4) a large sum of money

packet (boat) - (noun, defn. 3) a mailboat that also carries cargo and passengers, and plies a fixed route

sauce - (noun, defn. 3) colloq. impertinent language or behaviour; cheek (in other words, nerve)

Today's Links

It being a Saturday prize puzzle in the UK, Big Dave's day-of-publication hints may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25942]-hints and Peter Biddlecombe's post-submission-date review at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25942]-review.

Note: There is a fairly obvious typo in Peter's solution for 17a, which should read BITS AND PIECES.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4a Bit of a bloomer from station workers (6)

I am sure that the surface reading would be lost on most North Americans; "bloomer" is the British equivalent of "blooper" (which I discovered only upon reading Peter's review).

25a Old coat I replaced with articles from abroad (7)

Once I discovered (from Big Dave's hints) my error at 23d, I had little trouble finding the correct solution to this clue.

3d Tried drove, say (5)

In his review, Peter Biddlecombe lists "drove" (meaning "herd") as a verb. However, "drove" (meaning "herd") can also be a noun (and would probably be more commonly encountered as such). Oxford shows it as both a noun and a verb but characterizes the usage as a verb as "historical". Chambers shows it only as a noun.

23d She cried, "New one on order!" (5)

I originally had an incorrect solution for this clue, which I discovered from reading Big Dave's hints.

Sometimes after one has pondered over a puzzle for far too long, one's mind can start playing tricks - which happened to me on this clue. I came up with NONNE (seemingly as an anagram of ONE ON). Only when I began composing my blog did I realize that NONNE has three Ns and one O, while ONE ON has two Ns and two Os. In any event, I was not terribly confident in it as a solution, since it did not seem to utilize all of the elements of the wordplay (and the missing pieces seemed to be too prominent to be merely surface padding - although Peter did point out that there is a fair amount of that in this puzzle). By the way, "nonne" means (or perhaps is an alternative spelling for) "nun", and I believe nuns (or nonnes) may be associated with an order. Also either "new" or "order" (or perhaps "new order") could be an anagram indicator; but ONE ON is obviously the wrong fodder to produce NONNE!

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 (DT 25941)

This puzzle was originally published Friday, May 29, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Today we have a puzzle that is not overly difficult, but one with lots of clever wordplay.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

bun - (noun, defn. 1b) Brit. a small round cake

Billy Bunter - seemingly well-known character in British fiction

Old Sarum - the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, England

rum - Brit. odd, peculiar

Jack Straw - British Labour Politician, holds the offices of Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25941].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

19d Cake time at school unending for him! (6)

Not being familiar with the character, Billy Bunter, much of the wordplay in this rather clever clue initially went right over my head. This is a charade type clue where "cake" is BUN (in Britain, a bun can be either a cake or a roll; in North America, I am only familiar with it as a roll) and "time at school unending" is "TER" (TERM without its final letter). Billy BUNTER is a fictional character who has seemingly been a student at Greyfriars School (in novels, comic strips, stage plays, and on television) since his creation in 1908. Thus, it would seem, time at school is truly unending for him.

By the way, I originally thought "bunter" must be either a baseball or cricket reference. I was unable to find any source mentioning bunting in cricket, and I was not at all confident that one would find a baseball reference in a DT puzzle. Libellule's review set me on the correct path to understanding the wordplay.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 (DT 25940)

This puzzle was originally published Thursday, May 28, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

A fairly easy puzzle with some nice wordplay to get me back into my usual routine after a long weekend away.

The National Post, which did not publish yesterday, it being Thanksgiving Day in Canada, has skipped the puzzle that normally would have appeared in yesterday's edition.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

contraflow - Brit. a temporary arrangement by which the lanes of a dual carriageway or motorway (i.e., divided highway) normally carrying traffic in one direction become two-directional

dust - (noun, defn. 7) Brit. rubbish readied for disposal

nick - (noun, defn. 2) Brit. slang a prison or police station

nick - (verb, defn. 2) Brit. slang to arrest (a criminal)

OR - abbrev. (defn. 3) military other ranks (therefore, soldiers)

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25940].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

11a Philosophy that's central to budget hospitals (5)

Not only is the answer hidden, as Gazza points out in his review, but if one closely examines the phrase "to budget hospitals", one will find the answer located in the central position, with six letters preceding it and six letters following it.

22a Displayed route maps without old contraflow (8)

The surface reading of this clue would likely be lost on most North Americans. In Britain, contraflow refers to the temporary rerouting of traffic on a divided highway so that both directions of traffic use lanes normally used for a single direction (usually necessitated by highway maintenance activities or an accident). The cryptic reading is "contra flow" (or against the flow) as in a river.

16d Particularly high wind? (4,5)

In Britain, "dust" can mean garbage or trash - a "dustbin" being a garbage can and a "dustman" a garbage collector - the later immortalized in song by Lonnie Donegan and Herman's Hermits (although I could find only a snippet of a performance by Peter Noone - tacked on to the end of a performance of East West). Interestingly enough, I did not find dust defined in this sense in either Chambers or Oxford, although both defined dustbin and dustman.

In this cryptic definition, I believe that "particularly high" probably refers to the characteristic odour emanating from a dustbin - although I did also consider the possibility that "dust" might be a reference to an illicit drug such as cocaine or Angel Dust.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Thanksgiving Break

Introduction

As I am taking a bit of a break over the Thanksgiving Day long weekend, there will be no blog for the next few days. I am, nevertheless, providing links to the solutions on Big Dave's site for the Daily Telegraph puzzle published today (Thursday) as well as for the one that I expect may be published tomorrow (Friday). However, since the National Post skipped a puzzle today, it's difficult to predict what they might publish tomorrow. Of course, there is no Daily Telegraph puzzle in the National Post on Saturday (when the Post provides a puzzle by Cox and Rathvon) and the Post will likely not publish on Monday, it being a holiday in Canada. I hope to be back on Tuesday with my regular blog.

Daily Links

Thursday, October 8, 2009 (DT 25937)

This puzzle was originally published Monday, May 25, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

The National Post has skipped DT 25936, which was published Saturday, May 23, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph.

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25937].
Update: Tilsit says, "I presume this is a cryptic definition ... It seems a bit weak to me." Although this is not necessarily a truly great clue, I think his assessment may be a bit harsh. The surface reading is intended to suggest a movement that is distracting. Since one meaning of disperse (defn. 5) is "[in] physics said of particles: to become evenly distributed th[r]oughout a liquid or gas" (which is the opposite of being concentrated), in a cryptic sense "disperse" could be interpreted as "move to break concentration". A similar interpretation could also be applied to the situation where law enforcement officials disperse a crowd (a concentrated gathering of people).
Friday, October 9, 2009 (DT 25938)

This is my expectation of the puzzle to be published; however, since the Post broke with its normal pattern today (Thursday), I could well be wrong in my call.

Update: My crystal ball performed admirably and my forecast proved to be accurate.

This puzzle was originally published Tuesday, May 26, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25938].

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 (DT 25935)

This puzzle was originally published Friday, May 22, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

It was a rather schizophrenic puzzle today. I got off to a quick start with a number of short entries having easy clues. However, I soon ran into increasingly more difficult clues that took considerable effort to solve. For the first time in ages, I was unable to complete the puzzle without looking at the hints on Big Dave's site.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

monkey - (noun, defn. 2) a mischievous child

RE - abbrev. Royal Engineers: The Corps of Royal Engineers, one of the corps of the British Army

S - (entry 2, defn. 2) abbrev. Saint

tin - (noun, defn. 6) Brit. slang money

Toc H - Talbot House, British charity founded after World War I, "whose initials, in army telephone jargon, give Toc H its distinctive name"

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25935].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

21a Excellent President not getting in the way of post-war charity (3-5)

While I got the correct solution, I did not comprehend the wordplay. No wonder, "Toc H" (a British charity founded after World War I with a name based on British army telephone jargon) has to be - by far - the most obscure reference that I have ever encountered in a puzzle!!!

22a Mistake admitted by holy English fellow in France? (6)

Before finding the solution to 19d, I suspected that the solution might be MISCUE. However, once I had the solution to 19d (thereby giving me all the checking letters for this clue), the true solution became obvious. The answer is a French man's given name - one that might be said to be rock solid.

2d Darkness descends with the last bit of the puzzle (6)

I solved this clue with the help of Libellule's hint. WordNavigator Crossword Solver failed me by not including EREBUS in its list of words matching the checking letters. I might have solved the clue had I used Chambers Word Wizard, as it does include EREBUS in its results.

19d Monkey in old city - possibly a prominent feature (6)

Despite suspecting that the "old city" might be UR and even considering URCHIN as a possible solution, I (foolishly, as it turns out) rejected it as I was unable to decipher the wordplay. It did not occur to me that monkey could mean "mischievous child".

20d Have a wager on man, 26 (6)

After two consecutive days with false cross-references, we have a real one. In this clue, "26" is a cross-reference to clue 26a. The wordplay is BET (wager) plus RAY (man) and the definition is BETRAY (sell, the solution to 26a).

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 (DT 25934)

This puzzle was originally published Thursday, May 21, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Although I enjoyed today's puzzle, I found it to be quite challenging. I did complete the puzzle, but it took longer than I would have thought necessary. In hindsight, some of the clues that gave me trouble should really not have been that difficult - but, as Big Dave often says, it seems that I was just not on the same wavelength as the setter of today's puzzle.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

ticket tout - Brit. a person who buys up tickets for an event to resell them at a profit (or, in North American lingo, a scalper)

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25934].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

11a Break provided in case of riot (4)

I recognized that "case of riot" refers to the first and last letters of riot, or RT. However, my initial stab at a solution was REST. Thereafter, I made little headway in the north-east quadrant until I discovered my mistake.

18a Understanding sailing course includes temporary accommodation (7)

In this clue, "sailing course" refers to a three-character compass bearing - not the location of a sailing race. But which of the eight possibilities should one choose?

25a Start soundly, saving some salary? (10)

This is one of those clues where I feel certain that I have overlooked some nuance. The clue is obviously an example of alliteration, but beyond that I could see no significance to most of the wordplay (i.e., "starting some salary"). However, as Gazza explains, that is exactly what the wordplay is intended to be - an example of alliteration.

5d Staying away from sailor since 10 got lost (10)

Again, as was the case in yesterday's puzzle, "10" is not a cross-reference to another clue, but merely "ten". Interestingly, if Gazza has transcribed the clue correctly in his review, the clue appeared in the Daily Telegraph with "ten" spelled out, rather than being written in numerals. Having seen this, I was prompted to go back and check 22d in yesterday's puzzle, and I see that (according to Big Dave's review) the word "ten" was also spelled out in the Daily Telegraph rather than being written in numerals.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, October 5, 2009

Monday, October 5, 2009 (DT 25933)

This puzzle was originally published Wednesday, May 20, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Today's puzzle started off rather easily, and I initially made fairly rapid progress. However, the last few clues did pose somewhat more of a challenge. As I have come to expect, Big Dave seems to have quite a different opinion of this puzzle; though, I do agree that there are more than a few questionable aspects to the clues in today's puzzle.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

egency - need

Note: I figure that if the only source for a word is "The Phrontistery - A Dictionary of Obscure Words", then it easily qualifies for inclusion on this list.

grig - Brit. a small or young eel

lag - Brit. a habitual convict

pall - (noun, defn. 7) Archaic a garment, esp. a robe, cloak, or the like

Scotland Yard - headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for law enforcement in Greater London, excluding the City of London

U - in the UK, upper class (therefore, acceptable) in reference to English usage (ironically, in the United States, U designates an unsatisfactory grade in some educational institutions)

Today's Links

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25933].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

22a Study of wood by three unknown characters about to behold a plank (8)

The three unknown characters (from algebra) are XYY which are put around (about) LO (behold) and LOG (plank), to form XYLOLOGY - the study of wood. This clue contains one of my pet peeves, the redundant article "a" before plank.

25a Careless work of hit and run merchant (8)

Okay, I see where SLAP (hit) and DASH (run) come from; however, what is the purpose of "work" and "merchant" in the clue. If you ask me, the whole clue seems to be a rather slapdash affair; but, maybe that is the intent - perhaps it's intended to be an &lit clue ;-)

5d Joins Confederates (6)

This is another of my pet peeves, double definitions where the two definitions given in the clue are synonyms. To my way of thinking, the solution should be a synonym to each definition without the definitions themselves being synonyms. I admit that this instance is not as objectionable as some that I have seen, as the verb "confederates" is posing as a noun in the surface reading.

6d Mercifully discharged (3,3)

I puzzled over this solution (LET OFF) for quite some time. I think the idea is that the expression "let off" suggests that mercy has been shown and the perpetrator has not been held to account for their transgression.

10d Took off cloak in disgusted condition (8)

Supposedly, "took off" is APED. However, I searched in vain through a number of dictionaries and was only able to find "take off" listed as a noun, not a verb. I also had to conduct a fairly rigorous search to discover that "pall" has an archaic meaning of "cloak".

22d Short celebration for those with 10 degrees (4)

Is "10" a cross-reference to clue number 10d? No, in this case, "10" is just plain old (Roman) ten.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Saturday, October 3, 2009 - Cartoon Characters

Introduction

Today's puzzle, a fairly typical Cox and Rathvon creation, takes us to the cinema - where we are treated to a couple of animated features.










Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend: "CD" Cryptic Definition; "DD" Double Definition

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

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

1a H(A|BIT)AT - somewhat (A BIT) framed by (insertion) cap (HAT)

5a CLAMMER~ - sounds like (heard) CLAMOUR (ruckus)

9a ROD|IN - bar (ROD) + popular (IN)

10a M(ORATOR|I)A - speaker (ORATOR) and I involved in (insertion) Massachusetts (MA)

11a FI(N)ANCE - husband-to-be (FIANCE) about (around) name (N)

12a DAM<|AGED - returned (reversal) angry (MAD), old (AGED)

13a {ROGER RABBIT}* - corrected {BIG TAB ERROR}

18a {THE LION KING}* - {LIKE NOTHING} else

21a P(O|THE)AD - love (O) article (THE) found in (insertion) apartment (PAD)

23a HE|A|VE TO - the guy (HE) with (plus) a rejection (A VETO)

25a CLOUD OVER - screen (COVER) outside (around) gaudy (LOUD)

26a L|HAS|A - Liberal (L) owns (HAS) A

27a DREA(ME)D - myself (ME) in (insertion) apprehension (DREAD)

28a DOWN PAT - fluff (DOWN) by (plus) Patrick (PAT)

Down

1d HEREFORD - present (HERE) FOR drive (D)

2d BAD(IN|A)GE - what an officer wears (BADGE) engaging (surrounding) IN A

3d TEN|ON - decade (TEN) running (ON)

4d TEMPERATE* - {MET PETER A} radical

5d CORED - sounds like (heard) CHORD (group of notes)

6d A|U(TOMATO)N - salad ingredient (TOMATO) picked up by (surrounded by) A UN

7d MIR(AG)E - silver (AG) in (insertion) swampy ground (MIRE)

8d RWANDA* - {WAR AND} changes

14d ROTTER|DAM - cad (ROTTER) going in front of (before) mother (DAM)

15d B(RIGHT) RED - raised (BRED) around (surrounding) conservative (RIGHT)

16d {TIME (W)ARP}* - work (W) grasped by (surrounded by) strange (anagram) PRIMATE

17d _IGNORANT_ - in (hidden word) desIGN OR ANTiques

19d S|PACED - head of (first letter of) state (S) walked back and forth (PACED)

20d ST(R)OVE - piece of (first letter of) roast (R) in (insertion) cooker (STOVE)

22d D|AVID - poor [grade] (D) with (plus) eager (AVID) following (at the end)

24d ALLOW - everything (ALL) that hurts (OW) [exclamation of pain]

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, October 2, 2009

Friday, October 2, 2009 (DT 25932)

This puzzle was originally published Tuesday, May 19, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Like the Brits, I had the most difficulty with the lower right-hand corner. After completing the other three quadrants unaided, I needed to make extensive use of the solving aids in my Tool Chest to finish the puzzle.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

Desperate Dan - a character in the British comic strip The Dandy

fag - Brit. a cigarette (a term that at one time was also common in Canada but seems to have fallen into disuse - supplanted by another meaning)

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25932].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

13a Grand tipping back beer (5)

It is clear that the wordplay contains a reversal, but the trick is to decide which is the definition ("grand" or "beer"). One could interpret the clue as:

13a Grand (REGAL) /\ tipping back beer (LAGER) (5)

or

13a Grand (REGAL) tipping back /\ beer (LAGER) (5)

14a Turn over - it's not working (4)

Before reading Gazza's review, I was puzzled by the wordplay in this clue, having missed the automotive allusion in "turn over".

21d More thoughtless gossip (7)

I originally tried BLATHER as a solution, but this proved to be erroneous.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Thursday, October 1, 2009 (DT 25931)

This puzzle was originally published Monday, May 18, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I found this puzzle to be moderately challenging, which provides a nice sense of satisfaction on completing it. It has a fair amount of clever wordplay - and a couple of pretty convoluted clues.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

Number 10 - 10 Downing Street: address of the office and residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Today's Links

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 25931].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4d An arm put round pretty girl in a game (9)

I found this clue to have a rather convoluted construction - but one that seems to crop up fairly often in crossword clues. It would initially appear (at least to me) that the meaning of the wordplay is "An arm; put it round pretty girl" (i.e., take a phrase meaning 'an arm' and put it around a word meaning 'pretty girl'). However, one must actually interpret the clue as "An arm; put round it pretty girl" (i.e., take a phrase meaning 'an arm' and put around it a word meaning 'pretty girl'). Notice that merely changing the position of the pronoun "it" (which is implicit in the clue itself) produces a totally opposite result.

22d It is in fact a point of view (5)

Another clue with a seemingly convoluted construction. Here, "it" represents the solution, so the meaning of the wordplay is "The solution is in fact a point" or, in other words, put a (cardinal) point (E for East) inside "fact" to get FACET (a view). Perhaps the construction only seems convoluted because one is misled by the surface reading. I doubt that few would consider the following sentence to be convoluted "Put in the bowl a cup of flour and a teaspoon of salt" which I believe has a construction similar to that of this clue.

Signing off for today - Falcon