Today's Glossary
Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle.
[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the Ottawa Citizen Cryptic Crossword Forum.]
[An asterisk beside an entry merely indicates that it has been taken it from a Cumulative Glossary of entries which have previously appeared, in either this blog or its companion blog, the Ottawa Citizen Cryptic Crossword Forum.]
Appearing in Solutions:
lallygag, lollygag - [Collins English Dictionary] verb US to loiter aimlessly
Solution to Today's Puzzle
| Legend: | "*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed |
| "( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted |
Across
1a SING(L)ES - SINGES (burns) containing (about) L ([Roman numeral for] 50)
Note: The setters would appear to be a bit behind the times. While the United States may still have a one dollar bill (bank note), this denomination was withdrawn from circulation in Canada in 1989.5a W(ORS)HIP - WHIP (switch) containing (outside) ORS (operating rooms [ORs])
9a W(IM|BLED)ON - WON (was first) containing (and ... inside) {IM (I'm) + BLED (drained)}
10a P(IS)AN - IS contained in (into) PAN (trash; as give a bad review)
Is Pisa, located in western Tuscany, really considered to be part of Northern Italy?11a ANODYNE* - anagram (punk) of ANNOYED
12a SER|VICE - VICE (fault) following (after) SER (Serena stopped halfway; i.e., the first half of SER
13a {ANDRE AGASSI}* - anagram (redesigned) of A DRESS AGAIN
18a {PETE SAMPRAS}* - anagram (upset) of SPAT SPARE ME
21a {TOPS|PIN}< - reversal of (brought back) {NIP (small drink) + SPOT (small drink)}
23a B(ARK)EEP - ARK (vessel) contained in (involved in) BEEP (toot)
24a RU(N)-IN - N (north) contained in (in) RUIN (wreck)
25a CHA(M)P|IONS -{CHAP (fellow) + IONS (charged items)}containing (including) M (piece of music; i..e., first letter of M
26a S(US)TAIN - STAIN (mark) containing (gaining) US (U.S.)
27a DE(D)UCES - D ([Roman numeral for] 500) contained in (in) DEUCES (twos)
Down
1d {SO WHAT}* - anagram (when travelling) of TO WASH
2d {NI|MROD}< - reversal (back) of {DORM (student lodging) + IN}
3d L(ALLY)GAGS - {L (Liberal) + GAGS (jokes)} containing ALLY (friend)
4d S|EDGE - S (small) + EDGE (blade)
5d WIND S|HEAR - WINDS (snakes; as a verb) + HEAR (heed)
6d {RO|PER}< - reversal (westbound) of {REP (agent) + OR}
Note: This is either very sloppy clue-setting or (in combination with 15d) a very clever flourish on the theme. The clue is structured as an 'across' clue (where "westbound" would indicate a reversal) rather than a 'down' clue (which demands "northbound" as a reversal indicator).7d HUSKIES|T - HUSKIES (sled dogs) + (at) T (front of team; i.e., first letter of T
8d PAN(DEM)IC - PANIC (unreasonable fear) containing (about) DEM (Democrat)
14d DOMINICAN* - anagram (wandering) of IN NOMADIC
15d {GAS|TROP|OD}< - reversal (toward the left) of {DO (make) + PORT (left side) + SAG (droop)}
Note: Once again the setters serve a clue structured as an 'across' clue (where "toward the left" would indicate a reversal) rather than a 'down' clue (which demands "toward the top" as a reversal indicator).16d UPSTARTS* - anagram (out of whack) of PUT STARS
17d S(TIP)ENDS - SENDS (dispatches) containing TIP (gratuity)
19d HEROIC* - anagram (turned) of COHEIR
20d SPA(S)MS - SPAMS (spreads junk e-mail) containing (about) S (southern)
22d PINT|A - PINT (amount of ale) + (accompanying) A
23d B(O)ARD - O ([letter that looks like a] bagel) contained in (eaten by) BARD (poet)
Signing off for today - Falcon
Hi Falcon,
ReplyDeleteI need help understanding 21a. What does topspin have to do with "some English"? Somehow I missed the double meaning.
With respect to the north/south vs east/west directionality, I find that Cox and Rathvon have always used the east/west standard in their clues. So, why change now?
Regards,
MG
Hi MG,
ReplyDeleteWith respect to "topspin" and "english", I would say that they are somewhat analogous concepts but I hardly think that they could be considered to be synonymous.
"Topspin" is a term used in sports, primarily tennis, to describe a forward rotation of the ball. This is compared with backspin - which is a backwards rotation of the ball.
On the other hand, 'english' is a North American term for the spin given to a propelled ball by striking it on one side or releasing it with a sharp twist. The term seems to be most often encountered in billiards where it specifically means the spin imparted to a ball by striking it off-centre with the cue. By the way, the British refer to this as 'side' - not 'english'.
Thus, I would conclude that topspin and english are both terms that describe a type of spin imparted to balls in sport. However, it would seem that topspin is a spin about the horizontal axis of a tennis ball, while english is a spin about a vertical axis of a billiard ball.
As I was working through the puzzle, I did wonder a bit about this point. However, I merely presumed that the term 'english' might also be used in tennis and lazily left it at that. However, having conducted a search prompted by your query, I can find no evidence to support that idea.
As for your second point, you may have more experience with Cox and Rathvon's style than I do and you may well be correct that they always use the "east/west" standard. However, I am sure that this would never pass muster in a British puzzle. The rationale for using east/west in across clues and north/south in down clues is that this corresponds to the direction that the letters of the solution are entered into the grid.
This is not the only instance in which the direction of the clue determines what wording may be acceptable in the clue. A similar rationale applies to the use of "on" in clues. In down clues, "A on B" may imply AB since the clue can be interpreted as A is written on top of B when entered in the grid. This device clearly does not apply in an across clue, in which "A on B" (by a fairly consistently observed convention) must imply BA (with the rationale being that "A on B" is interpreted as A added to or appended to B and A can only be added to B if B has been written first). There is disagreement about whether this latter style of clue can appear in both across and down clues, or solely in across clues. However, it is pretty well accepted that the former can appear only in down clues.
Cheers,
Falcon
Wow! Learned a few new things today!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the explanation of "English" - guess I don't watch enough billiards on the telly ;)
British puzzles sound a bit intimidating. Think I'll stick with Cox and Rathvon, although after over 10 years, their puzzles are not as challenging as they once were.
Cheers,
MG