Tuesday, April 20, 2010 (DT 26126)

This puzzle, set by Giovanni, was originally published Friday, January 1, 2010 in The Daily Telegraph

The National Post has skipped DT 26124 and DT 26125 which were published in The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 and Thursday, December 31, 2009 respectively

Introduction

The posting is late as I had a lot going on yesterday. I had occasion to spend several hours at a rather isolated location during which there were long stretches of inactivity. I had lots of time to work on the puzzle - but no access to a computer. Even without my Tool Chest, I managed to solve most of the puzzle. Despite my best efforts, the northeast quadrant remained incomplete until I could get online. I also had to do a web search to find the literary work at 21d (not being familiar with this novel although I have read another work, Tom Jones, by the same author). I did give myself a hearty pat on the back for having correctly deciphered the obscure Latin term at 15a - although I was not sure of my answer until I had a chance to check it in the dictionary (and it would seem to appear in very few dictionaries). Finally, I must say that I derived the most satisfaction for having tracked down the solution to 13a which Gazza says "may be a total mystery to anyone who is not into rugby".

Today's Glossary

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

A1 - the longest numbered road in the U.K., connecting London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland.

absit omen - Latin may the presentiment not become real or take place

Amelia - a novel by English writer Henry Fielding

Imagist - a member of Imagism, a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry

jolly - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 3. Brit slang a Royal Marine

strop - noun Brit. informal a temper

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26126].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a A component of this scheme may be A1 (4,3)

Here "scheme" does not mean "a secret or underhand plan or plot" but rather it is used in the sense of "a systematic plan or arrangement for achieving a particular object or effect" - for which another term could be ROAD MAP. The A1 is the longest numbered road in the U.K., connecting London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland.

13a Swinger at England's rugby matches? (7)

Just as fans of the Boston Red Sox sing Neil Diamond's hit Sweet Caroline during every game, fans of the England rugby team sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. This song "has been sung by English rugby players and fans for some decades, but became associated with the English national side, in particular, in 1988." From Gazza's account, somewhat suspect due to his self-admitted position as an ardent supporter of Wales, fans of England do not sing it with anything approaching a Southern Baptist gospel tempo. His description hardly makes it sound to be as stirring an experience as a rendition of Sweet Caroline at Fenway Park.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, April 19, 2010 (DT 26123)

This puzzle, almost certainly set by Shamus, was originally published Tuesday, December 29, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Big Dave seems to have found this puzzle to be easier to solve than I did. However, I did struggle for a long time with a number of terms - such as 3d (a cricket term) and 14d. I note with some satisfaction that not all the Brits had an easy time with it.

Today's Glossary

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

A1 - the longest number road in the United Kingdom, connecting London, England with Edinburgh, Scotland

red-top - (likely Brit.) a tabloid newspaper characterized by sensationalism (from the colour of the masthead on these publications)

sight screen - noun Cricket a large white screen placed near the boundary in line with the wicket to help the batsman see the ball

tyre - British spelling of tire (automobile component)

U² - adjective Brit colloq said especially of language: typical of or acceptable to the upper classes [thus, by extension, posh]

Today's Links

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26123].

I am quite sure that this puzzle can be attributed to Shamus. NathanJ says "I greatly enjoyed this puzzle and agree with you that it looks like a Shamus one" (although I cannot find any evidence that Big Dave actually states that it is by Shamus). However, Shamus does leave a comment on Big Dave's blog - a pretty solid confirmation of his authorship.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

9a Poor area losing hospital getting good number for meeting (3-8)

I must say that I initially failed to detect the old cryptic crossword chestnut sitting in this clue - only noticing it as I reverse engineered the wordplay after having found the solution. Here, "number" is not a numerical value but, rather, something that numbs (an old anesthetic, to be precise).

I had wondered if the Brits would take issue with the word "getting" appearing in the clue when the sequence "get" appears twice in the solution. However, this does not seem to have ruffled any British feathers.

20a Retired Irish singer in part of Venice (6)

I incorrectly assumed that R must be an abbreviation for "retired" (no doubt, one to be found in an unabridged version of Chambers) and I the abbreviation for "Irish". But no, it seems that the abbreviation for Irish is IR and that this is reversed (retired) to get RI. It had escaped my mind that, in cryptic crosswordland, retired means reversed. Since I am retired, does that mean that I am reversed? I would certainly like to believe that I am getting younger every day!

27a Minute prosaic comic faltered without sign of appreciation (11)

Here, "sign of appreciation" indicates the first letter of the word "appreciation" which is similar to the use in 16a of "hints of ..." to signify the first letters of the words which follow. Big Dave ponders "I’m not too sure about this one, do you think it works?". I guess, if hints works, why wouldn't sign?

29a Part of car, exhaust by the sound of it (4)

In North America, since both words are spelled t-i-r-e, the homophone clue loses most of its relevance. In fact, on this side of the Atlantic, we could almost say "Part of car, exhaust by the look of it". Of course, not only would that be a rather odd-sounding clue, but the checking letters require that the solution adopt the British spelling.

14d Tabloid reported in a mess, about to disappear (3-3)

I spent a very long time tracking down the solution for this clue, which I suspect is a British term as I only managed to find it in Collins. Having expended so much energy in the search, it seems that I must have had nothing left with which to decipher the wordplay. In any event, I discovered as I read Big Dave's review that I had forgotten to revisit this clue, as I had originally intended, to analyse the wordplay.

23d Whole property having domestic fixture by yard (5)

I am afraid that my analysis of this clue was somewhat nebulous. I eventually concluded that the definition is "whole property" with the solution being UNITY (the state of being united or forming a whole). The wordplay then would signify a charade of UNIT (domestic fixture) + (by) Y (yard), with the word "having" serving as a linkword between the definition and wordplay.

I was a bit uncertain whether the word "property" belonged in the definition or in the wordplay. That is, I was considering an alternative interpretation which would have had the definition of UNITY being just the word "whole" with UNIT being denoted by "property having domestic fixture".

I suspect from Big Dave's review, which implies that "domestic fixture" = "kitchen UNIT" that the word "unit" may have a usage in Britain in this context that is - if not different - at least one that is less generic and perhaps more commonly used than it is here. I note that Oxford gives, as one definition of unit, "a device, part, or item of furniture with a specified function: a sink unit" which could be a "domestic fixture".

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, April 17, 2010 - In and Out of the Cocoon

Introduction

Get your nets ready. In today's puzzle, Cox and Rathvon take us through some stages in the life cycle of members of the order lepidoptera. While being, as usual, an interesting puzzle, I did think that it posed a bit more of a challenge than usual. It should prove to be an especially enjoyable treat for those who like charades.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

3d Fat Albert ending in disaster (5)

Perhaps this clue should have read "Fat Albert beginning in disaster". I initially thought that this was a hidden word clue where the solution FATAL is hidden in "FAT ALbert". However, this approach itself turned into a bit of a disaster. Would the definition be "ending in disaster" or merely "disaster"? I had to think that it would be the former, as the definition of fatal should be disastrous, not disaster. However, if the definition were "ending in disaster" then there would seem to be no hidden word indicator unless the word(s) "ending" and/or "in" is/are doing double duty as part of the definition and part of the wordplay. I also examined briefly whether the clue might have been intended to be a cryptic definition.

I eventually threw out most of the above analysis, having decided that the clue is actually a charade (Surprise! Surprise!) of FAT + AL (short for Albert) with the definition being "ending in disaster".

6d Some type of snake, in fairness, rattled (4,5)

I have to conclude that S must be used here as an abbreviation for "snake" although I have not found any source which shows this as being a recognized abbreviation. Perhaps it comes from road signs which indicate a crooked road ahead with a symbol that looks like an S with an arrowhead on one end. Such signs are sometimes said to mark a "snake in the road". I also considered (and rejected) the notion that the S might be indicated by the phrase "some type of snake" [i.e., the first letter ("some type" as in typesetting) of the word "snake"], meaning that the words "some type" would need to serve both as the definition and as part of the wordplay - highly atypical for Cox and Rathvon, I think. As always, I welcome your comments should you see something that I may have missed.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"CD" Cryptic Definition; "DD" Double Definition
	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

1a LUCIFER* - anagram (funny) of CRUEL IF

5a HAS|HIS|H - charade of HAS (enjoys) + HIS (the guy's) + H (heroin)

9a MA|MET - charade of MA (mother) + MET (was introduced to); David Mamet: American playwright

10a STRANG(L)ER - L (left) contained in (wearing) STRANGER (unidentified person)

11a RU(ST)LER - RULER (monarch) containing (imprisoning) ST (saint)

12a MA(SO)NIC - MANIC (very excited) containing (about) SO (true; as in "I swear it is so"); Masonic Temple: the premises of a Masonic Lodge, the basic organizational unit within the Freemasonry fraternal order

13a CATER|PILLAR - charade of CATER (supply provisions) + PILLAR (supporting upright); Caterpillar Inc.: manufacturer of construction, mining and industrial equipment

18a B|UTTER|F|LIES - charade of B (starting with beginner's initial; i.e., the charade starts with the initial letter of the word "beginner") + UTTER (tell) + F (false) + LIES (stories)

21a _ALM|AN|AC_ - hidden in (in) psALM AN ACknowledged

23a A(TT)ACHE - {T + T} (two tons) contained in (kept in) {A + ACHE (pine)} [Note: a charade within a charade]

25a BETROTHAL* - anagram (put off) of LATER BOTH

26a PEST|O - charade of PEST (annoying person) + O (orange)

27a DUNE|DIN = charade of DIN (loud noise) following (east of; i.e., to the right of) DUNE (coastal hill)

28a W(I|ZEN)ED - WED (marry) containing (embracing) {I (one) + ZEN (form of Buddhism)} [Note: a container holding a charade]

Down

1d LIME|RICK - charade of RICK (Moranis) following (getting behind) LIME (green); Rick Moranis: Canadian comedian

2d C(A|MPS)ITE - CITE (quote) containing (about) {A + MPS (politician's)} [Note: a container holding a charade]
3d FAT|AL_ - charade of FAT + AL (short for Albert); see Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4d RES(TRAIN)T - TRAIN (entourage) contained in (among) REST (others)

5d HARE|M - charade of HARE (hopper) + M (male)

6d {SANS (S)ERIF}* - S (snake) contained in (in) an anagram (rattled) of FAIRNESS; see Commentary on Today's Puzzle

7d IS|L|AND - charade of IS + L (large) + AND (also)

8d HORACE* - anagram (muffed) of A CHORE; Horace: Roman poet

14d ROB|IN HOOD - charade of ROB (steal from) + IN (popular) + HOOD (gangster)

15d LIE F|ALLOW - charade of LIEF (willingly) + ALLOW (let)

16d DIOCESAN* - anagram (playing) of DEACON IS

17d A|STEROID - charade of A + STEROID (muscle-enhancing drug)

19d BAR|BED - charade of BAR (rail) + (in front of) BED (cot)

20d A(MY |T)AN - {A + AN} (two articles) containing (about) {MY + T (time)}; Amy Tan: American writer [Note: a charade within a charade]

22d CO|HEN - double definition with the second being cryptic; Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and "co-hen", a playful definition of "fellow chicken" (extrapolated from such usages as co-author, co-pilot, etc.)

24d TO|PAZ - charade of TO (in honour of, as might be said in proposing a toast) + PAZ; Octavio Paz: Mexican poet

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, April 16, 2010 (DT 26122)

This puzzle, set by Rufus, was originally published Monday, December 28, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

The National Post has skipped DT 26121 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, December 26, 2009

Introduction

As the Daily Telegraph did not publish on Christmas Day, we jump ahead to the puzzle published on Monday, December 28, 2009. This ends a run of a couple of weeks during which the puzzles were published in the National Post on the same day of the week that they first appeared in the U.K.

This puzzle may have been slightly more difficult than the average Monday puzzle, but it had what I thought to be some rather clever clues (I especially enjoyed 7d and 13d, which each brought a huge smile to my face when I finally got them). I thought that their appeal might be mainly due to their newness to me - and wondered how novel they might be for the Brits and what they might think of them. It was good to see that they were also well received across the Atlantic.

Today's Glossary

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

Association Football - noun more formal term for SOCCER

Eton - Eton College, a public school located in Eton, England [Note: In the U.K., in a bizarre twist (to North Americans, at least), a public school is "a private fee-paying secondary school"].

Today's Links

Rishi's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26122].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

24a Handy aid to warmth (4)

A cryptic definition for something one would use to warm one's hands. From my research, I also discovered that muff has a vulgar slang sense, new to me, but whose usage must be quite widespread since I found it in both British and American dictionaries. This could also serve as a pleasant spot to warm one's hands - for at least one of the parties.

8d Football club? (11)

What much of the rest of the world calls soccer, the Brits call football - or, more formally, Association Football. I did learn one new and interesting fact today. The origin of the word soccer is actually the "shortening of Assoc from ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL" [Note: if you happen to believe that "soccer" is not shorter than "Assoc", please refer you comments to Oxford.].

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, April 15, 2010 (DT 26120)

This puzzle, attributed to Rufus, was originally published Thursday, December 24, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Those who read the "pedigree" data above, will have noted that this puzzle was published in the U.K. on Christmas Eve. Not only does this explain the rather unseasonable theme of the puzzle, it should also assist in solving many of the clues. The puzzle is full of typically British (although not entirely unknown in Canada) Christmas traditions such as pantomimes and Christmas crackers.

I must say that it was definitely not the easiest puzzle that I have ever encountered. However, I did manage to complete it - but not without taking a few excursions down dead end streets.

Today's Glossary

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

champers - noun informal, chiefly Brit. champagne

cracker - noun 1 a paper cylinder which, when pulled apart, makes a sharp noise and releases a small toy or other novelty

crackers - adjective informal, chiefly Brit. insane; crazy

Idle Jack (or sometimes, seemingly, Jack Idle) - Jack, the idle apprentice, a character in the pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat

Festive Board - a part of a meeting of Free Masons devoted to social activities and partaking of refreshments

OS - abbreviation 4 (as a size of clothing) outsize [British term for what in North America would generally be called plus-size (or sometimes big and tall in the case of men's clothing)]

panto - noun Brit. informal a pantomime

pantomime - noun 1 Brit. a theatrical entertainment involving music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy, usually produced around Christmas

Robinson Crusoe - one of the popular themes for British pantomimes

scarper - verb Brit. informal run away

wait - noun 2 (waits) Brit. archaic street singers of Christmas carols

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26120].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4a Where Cinderella goes at end of panto, away on coach (3-5)

Since a "coach" could be a stage (short for stagecoach), it is a bit ironic that Cinderella would go OFF-STAGE "on coach". I did wonder whether this meaning for stage might be specific to North America, but this would not appear to be the case.

9a Lucky things to find in crackers? (6)

Although I can see no real connection to Christmas crackers, might this this be a reference to Lucky Charms breakfast cereal? I'm not sure whether this product is even sold in the U.K.

14a Party includes a number in religious group (4)

While both party and set can denote a group of people, I certainly don't believe the terms are interchangeable. Thus, I experienced some difficulty in getting my mind around the fact that they could be considered synonyms. One thesaurus defines party as "a band of people associated temporarily in some activity" (e.g., "they organized a party to search for food") and set as "an unofficial association of people or groups" (e.g., "the smart set goes there"). I suppose these words might be about as closely related as are the words herd and flock, both of which denote a collection of animals - but one would speak neither of a herd of sheep nor a flock of cattle.

17a Trio with stable bearings (5,4,3)

The THREE WISE MEN clearly had directions (bearings) to the stable. Since an anagram of miens (a word meaning bearings) is found in Three Wise Men, I thought that the answer itself might be an anagram. However, I was unable to find one.

31a Pantomime character off course (6)

As I recall, this pantomime character was shipwrecked when the ship on which he was travelling was blown "off course".

7d Come to life in an all night party (6)

Even after convincing myself that this "all night party" is not a rave, it took a while to get my mind around the wordplay in this clue. The definition is "come to life" for which the solution is AWAKEN. The order of the wordplay is inverted and must be read with an appropriate pause to convey the sense intended by the setter; i.e., "in an, all night party" which instructs us to put WAKE (all night party) in AN. While many may think of a wake as a visitation or "a watch or vigil held beside the body of someone who has died" (occurring prior to a funeral), in Ireland a wake is "a party held after a funeral" - one that presumably may last through the night.

15d Kind of ribbon used for decorations (5)

After wrestling with party and set at 14a, I'm having even more difficulty here with ribbon and medal. Unless I am misreading the clue or missing some nuance, this clue seems to be suggesting that a "ribbon" is a MEDAL. According to Oxford, a medal is "a metal disc with an inscription or design, awarded for achievement or to commemorate an event" and a ribbon is "[a long, narrow strip of fabric] of a special colour or design awarded as a prize or worn to indicate the holding of an honour". A medal is a decoration and a medal may have a ribbon attached to it (in fact, it may have both a ribbon bar and a suspension ribbon). Loosely speaking, the ribbon might be considered to be part of the medal or decoration. The ribbon bar may sometimes be worn without the medal. Oh well, perhaps ribbons and medals are close enough to pass for each other in Crosswordland.

27d Winter coat, perhaps (4)

Perhaps being Canadian, I opted for a thick winter coat, wrongly thinking that the solution might be SNOW. Keep in mind that winters are much milder in Britain, so you will need a much thinner coat.

24a Just an unknown feature on the tree (5)

While a FAIRY is not something that I would particularly associate with Christmas, and certainly not something that I ever recall seeing on a Christmas tree, apparently this is a popular Christmas ornament judging by the number of hits that a search for "Christmas fairy ornament" returns. While I detected no evidence to suggest that this is a particularly British custom, I suppose that the use of fairies in this manner would hardly be surprising based on their general popularity in today's culture.

"Merry Christmas To All, and To All a Good Night" - Falcon

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 (DT 26119)

This puzzle, set by Jay, was originally published Wednesday, December 23, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

I found today's puzzle to be pretty much on a par with the one we saw yesterday. Again I managed to get through most of it unaided, only needing my Tool Chest on the last two or three clues.

Today's Glossary

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

nit - noun informal 2 Brit. a stupid person

OS - abbreviation 3 ordinary seaman

River Severn - the longest river in Great Britain

shop - verb 3 informal, chiefly Brit. inform on

Today's Links

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26119].

Tilsit suggests that the clue for 7d is not "politically correct", although few visitors to Big Dave's blog seemed to agree with him. I can only guess that he must be objecting to the use of the term mincing ("walk in an affected manner with short, quick steps and swinging hips"), a term that may be applied to the affected manner of walking that is characteristic of certain gay men. He also raises an objection to 25a in yesterday's puzzle. I am assuming that he is offended not merely by the appearance of the word bum, but rather by the context in which it was used ("Does her bum look big in this?"). Although the clue would have been rather nonsensical, I wonder if it would raise the same objection if it had read "Does his bum look big in this?" (i.e., if the crinoline had been on the other bum).

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

6d Heartless trio getting birch, for example (4)

"Heartless" is often used as an instruction to delete the middle letter from a word. Thus, upon seeing this clue I absent-mindedly thought delete H from THREE (trio) to get TREE (of which birch is an example) - in the process failing to recognize that H is not the middle letter of the word "three". Tilsit took the same approach but, to his credit, he did observe that H was in the wrong position for this wordplay to work. It was Gazza to the rescue, pointing out that in this case "heart" does not refer to the middle letter in the word but the H in the word (with H as an abbreviation for "heart" coming from the suit in a deck of cards).

By the way, Franny proposes a rather innovative alternative solution - a bit along the lines of some of the unusual solutions that I have been known to dream up from time to time.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 (DT 26118)

This puzzle, set by Ray T, was originally published Tuesday, December 22, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Today's puzzle seems to offer proof of my recent observation that the general pattern of puzzles becoming progressively more difficult through the week doesn't always hold true. I found it to be considerably less difficult than yesterday's puzzle - and only needed to resort to my Tool Chest for help with a couple of clues.

Today's Glossary

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

gaol - [Collins English Dictionary] noun & verb Brit a variant spelling of jail

knock for six - Brit. informal utterly surprise

naff - Brit. informal verb 1 (naff off) go away 2 naffing used to emphasize annoyance; adjective lacking taste or style (ORIGIN the verb is a euphemism for FUCK; the origin of the adjective is unknown)

tiddler - noun Brit. informal 1 a small fish. 2 a young or unusually small person or thing

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26118].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4d Repeat endless rubbish, usually naff initially (5)

It took a while for the penny to drop here. I recognized that the solution is RERUN, but at first I thought that the definition might be "repeat" with "usually naff initially" indicating UN (the initial letters of the words "usually naff"). That would have left the first part (RER) being clued as "endless rubbish". I searched in vain for a four letter word matching the pattern RER? and meaning rubbish. Eventually, it hit me that this is most likely intended to be an &lit. clue in which the entire clue is both the definition and the wordplay. The wordplay instructs us to use the initial letters of "repeat endless rubbish usually naff" producing RERUN. The clue also is a snide comment on the quality of television programming which the setter characterizes as ceaseless repetition of trash, most of which would have been considered tasteless on first showing.

1d Lads' mags? (6)

I thought that there must be more to this clue than what is immediately evident - but apparently not. It seems that it is merely a cryptic suggestion that boys read COMICS. In my research, I did stumble across the fact that an otherwise unidentified early twentieth century American cartoonist signed his work LADS. However, I deemed this to be far too obscure to be relevant.

13d Bowled over and knocked for six (10)

My initial reaction to this clue was rather negative. "Bowled over" means the same thing in Britain as it does in North America, namely ASTONISHED. Furthermore, "knocked for six" is a British term meaning astonished. Clearly, if this were intended to be simply a double definition, it would be a very poor one as both definitions mean exactly the same thing. However, after a bit of deliberation, I concluded that the two parts of the clue are intended to have a cricket connotation - which would no doubt be lost on many North Americans (and perhaps even some Brits!). An over is a period in a cricket match during which six balls are bowled, so I suppose a bowler would be said to have "bowled an over" or, more tersely "bowled over". Furthermore, a ball hit such that it crosses the boundary of the field in the air counts for six runs. Thus, a cricket player might have bowled an over and, when he got his chance as batsman, hit (knocked) the ball for a six-pointer. This would be somewhat analogous to the summary of a baseball game which might state "The player pitched four innings and hit a home run." Does reading the clue in the context of a cricket game make it acceptable? I'll let you be the judge.

Footnote: Since the Brits were nearly unanimous in their condemnation of this clue (due to the two definitions being essentially identical) and none of them raised the cricket connotations, I am left to wonder whether - having been burned so often in the past by cricket related clues - I am beginning to see allusions to cricket where none are intended.

Signing off for today - Falcon