Wednesday, June 29, 2011 (DT 26519)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26519
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26519]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Not a difficult puzzle today, but still a very enjoyable solve. I learned a new bit of British slang today - the term meaning scourge which is the solution to 6d.

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.]

Appearing in Clues:

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

base rate - noun (in the UK) the interest rate set by the Bank of England for lending to other banks, used as the benchmark for interest rates generally.

Appearing in Solutions:

bag - noun 3 (bags) British dated loose-fitting trousers.

blag - verb 2 British informal obtain (something) by clever talk or lying: they blagged two free tickets to France

D¹ - noun [3^rd entry] the fourth-highest category of academic mark.

E¹ - noun [3^rd entry] the fifth-highest class of academic mark.

*L² - abbreviation [5^th entry] British (on a motor vehicle) learner driver.

*R² - abbreviation [13^th entry] Cricket [not to mention baseball] (on scorecards) run(s)

rate¹ - verb 2 [http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/rate?rskey=Gq28Iw&result=2] informal have a high opinion of: Mike certainly rated her, goodness knows why

TT - abbreviation [1^st entry] teetotal. [2^nd entry] teetotaller.

united - [2^nd entry] adjective British used in names of soccer and other sports teams formed by amalgamation: Oxford United

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - DT 26518

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26518
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Setter Shamus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26518]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Through a fortuitous coincidence of timing, clue 3d is highly appropriate with this spot much in the news these days. Might 13a also be timely? Could it not easily be perceived to be a reference to former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner - recently forced to resign after sexting a picture of his "bulge" to a young woman on Twitter.

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.]

Appearing in Solutions:

allotment - noun 1 [1^st entry] British a plot of land rented by an individual for growing vegetables or flowers.

bakewell tart - noun British a baked open pie consisting of a pastry case lined with jam and filled with almond sponge cake [origin: named after the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire].

*c - abbreviation Cricket (on scorecards) caught by: ME Waugh c Lara b Walsh 19

*CE - abbreviation [1^st entry] Church of England

*form - noun 6 chiefly British a class or year in a school, usually given a specifying number: the fifth form.

HE - abbreviation [3^rd entry] His or Her Excellency [form of address used for an ambassador].

I³ - abbreviation 5 IVR [International Vehicle Registration] Italy.

ice - noun 1 [3^rd entry] complete absence of friendliness or warmth in manner or expression: the ice in his voice was only to hide the pain

know-all - noun British informal a person who behaves as if they know everything. [North American know-it-all]

*MB - abbreviation Bachelor of Medicine [from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus], the professional degree held by medical practitioners in Britain [equivalent to a North American MD (Medical Doctor, from Latin Medicinae Doctor)]

Queen's [Club] - a private tennis, rackets and squash club in West Kensington, London, England.

uni - noun informal university.

swell - noun 5 informal, dated a fashionable or stylish person of wealth or high social position: a crowd of city swells

tripper - noun British informal a person who goes on a pleasure trip or excursion.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, June 27, 2011 - DT 26517

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26517
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, April 4, 2011
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26517]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page of the Saturday, June 25, 2011 edition of the National Post The National Post has skipped DT 26516 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, April 2, 2011

Introduction

We have the typical very enjoyable offering today from Rufus - with some deceptively misleading clues. For instance, I was sure that the phrase "In the main ..." at 11a indicated that the clue had a nautical flavour. The diabolical Rufus further ensures that we fall into this trap through his previous clue at 10a.  I had to smile at my folly when I finally got the solution.

Furthermore, at 15d, I made the same error as a number of the Brits by thinking that "popular" was part of the wordplay rather than the definition. This was compounded by failing to understand "batting order" - missing the cricket reference. In baseball, with which I am more familiar, it is more common to refer to the batting team as 'up' rather than 'in'.

National Post Summer Publication Schedule

Again this summer, the National Post will not produce a printed edition on Monday - beginning today and extending through Labour Day. Today's puzzle appears in the Weekend Post section of the Saturday, June 25 edition of the National Post (on page WP13 of the printed edition distributed in Ottawa and on page WP16 of the Digital Edition). Tomorrow we will discover whether there is a Digital Edition produced and, if so, whether the puzzle will be repeated in it.

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.]

Appearing in Clues:

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

banker - cryptic crossword convention river (i.e., something which has banks)

*form - noun 6 chiefly British a class or year in a school, usually given a specifying number: the fifth form.

Appearing in Solutions:

in - adverb 4 [predicative] Cricket batting: which side is in?

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

4d   Damp course laid across another sort of course (5,4)

A "course" may be 'the channel of a river, etc.'. Therefore a "damp course" could refer to a WATER JUMP on a steeplechase course (another sort of course).

13d   In speech, commend senior citizen - of London, say? (4,5)

This clue would almost seem to defy categorization. Then again, who says that every clue must fit neatly into some framework of pigeon holes. We should probably regard the set of categories as a tool developed by observers to organize their observations rather than as a building code for compilers.

In any event, the clue has a homophone element which relies on the soft British R, meaning that 'Lord' is pronounced as 'laud'. Thus the wordplay is LORD {sounds like (in speech) LAUD (commends)} + MAYOR (senior citizen: i.e., the citizen elected to run a town or city). I would think that the definition must be supplied by the phrase "of London, say" (London apparently has a Lord Mayor, rather than a mere Mayor). "Senior citizen" would then seem to be doing double duty, cluing MAYOR in the wordplay and (in combination with "of London, say") providing the definition for LORD MAYOR. But then again, it would not be a surprise to be informed that I have it all wrong!

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, June 25, 2011 - Tennis, Anyone?

Introduction

With Wimbledon underway, we are served an appropriately themed puzzle by Cox and Rathvon. Is the double fault - in which the setters twice serve clues structured as 'across' clues instead of the required 'down' clues - a subtle part of the theme?





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.]

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 SERena)

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 Music)

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 Team)

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

Friday, June 24, 2011 - DT 26515

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26515
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, April 1, 2011
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26515]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Once I had established a beachhead, I was able to proceed fairly quickly through this puzzle. However, my progress was arrested with only 19d left to solve - perhaps having been thrown off-stride by a couple of superfluous words tossed into the clue by the setter. Reluctantly, I turned to my electronic aides for assistance, only to kick myself when I realized what the solution was.

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.]

Appearing in Clues:

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

host² - noun 2 archaic an army.

Appearing in Solutions:

collegiate - adjective 2 British (of a university) composed of different colleges.

habilitation - the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis (often known as a Habilitationsschrift, or Habilitation thesis) based on independent scholarship, reviewed by and defended before an academic committee in a process similar to that for the doctoral dissertation. However, the level of scholarship has to be considerably higher than that required for a research doctoral (PhD) thesis in terms of quality and quantity, and must be accomplished independently, in contrast with a PhD dissertation typically directed or guided by a faculty supervisor.

honeyeater - noun an Australasian songbird with a long brush-like tongue for feeding on nectar. Family Meliphagidae: numerous species and genera

*L² - abbreviation [5^th entry] British (on a motor vehicle) learner driver.

SHE - a British women's magazine published by the National Magazine Company, a London-based wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation.

smilax - noun 1 a widely distributed climbing shrub with hooks and tendrils. Several South American species yield sarsaparilla from their roots, and some are cultivated as ornamentals. Genus Smilax, family Liliaceae 2 a climbing asparagus, the decorative foliage of which is used by florists. Asparagus (or Myrsiphyllum) asparagoides, family Liliaceae

time - literary allusion enemy, as in "The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time." - William Butler Yeats

toilet roll - noun British a roll of toilet paper.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, June 23, 2011 (DT 26514)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26514
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, March 31, 2011
Setter Ray T
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26514]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

A most enjoyable puzzle from Ray T today. There are a few Briticisms in it - but none which I have not previously encountered.

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.]

Appearing in Clues:

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

[Inspector] Morse - a fictional character in the eponymous series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, as well as a 33-episode 1987–2000 television adaptation (in North American terms, a series of 33 two-hour made-for-television movies) of the same name.

Remembrance [of Things Past] (or In Search of Lost Time ; French: À la recherche du temps perdu) - a novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust and his most prominent work. The novel is widely referred to in English as Remembrance of Things Past but the title In Search of Lost Time, a literal rendering of the French, has gained in usage since D. J. Enright adopted it in his 1992 revision of the earlier translation by C. K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin. The complete story contains nearly 1.5 million words and is one of the longest novels in world literature.

stretch - noun 2 [3^rd entry] informal a period of time spent in prison: a four-year stretch for tax fraud

Appearing in Solutions:

[Sir Edward "Ted"] Heath - (1916 – 2005), British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1970–74) and as Leader of the Conservative Party (1965–75). He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1950-2001.

lag³ - noun British informal a person who has been frequently convicted and sent to prison: both old lags were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment

*rum² - adjective British informal, dated odd; peculiar: it's a rum business, certainly

sweet - noun 2 British a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; a pudding or dessert.

vest - noun 1 British an undergarment worn on the upper part of the body, typically having no sleeves. [i.e., an undershirt - noun chiefly North American an undergarment worn under a shirt; a vest.]

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

10a   Novelist's page put out about opening of 'Remembrance ...' (6)

In this very clever clue, we are looking for a French novelist, PROUST. The wordplay is {P (page) + OUST (put out)} containing R (opening of Remembrance; i.e., first letter of 'Remembrance'). The beauty of the clue is that Remembrance of Things Past is undoubtedly this novelist's most prominent work.

27a   Spy, shirtless perhaps, that is holding gun (11)

In the surface reading, "spy" is a noun but, in the cryptic reading, it becomes a verb. The definition is "spy" for which the solution is INVESTIGATE with the wordplay being IN VEST (shirtless perhaps) + {IE (['i.e.', the abbreviation for the Latin expression id est meaning] that is) containing GAT (gun)}. Vest is the British term for undershirt. Thus if one were shirtless, one might be "in vest" (unless you happen to be Clark Gable - who is reputed to have decimated the sales of undershirts when he removed his shirt in the 1934 film It Happened One Night to reveal that he wasn't wearing one. ).

By the way, although Big Dave's statement that 'gat' is "the abbreviation for a machinegun with a cluster of rotating barrels" is technically correct, it may also be misleading. According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, the word gat did originate as an abbreviation of  Gatling gun, a rapid-fire, crank-driven gun with clustered barrels. The first practical machine gun, it was officially adopted by the US army in 1866. However, as I understand the term, gat is actually early 20th century American mobster slang for a revolver or pistol - not a machine gun. Perhaps the name comes from a perceived similarity between the rotating cylinder of a revolver and the multiple rotating barrels of a Gatling gun.

21d   European Commission retreat, sweet for the French! (6)

Having used the phrase "the French" in 19d to mean "the French word for 'the'", the setter changes gears in this clue. Here, "sweet for the French" means a French dessert ('sweet' being a British expression meaning dessert).

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 (DT 26513)

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26513
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26513]
Big Dave's Review Written By Pommers
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

It is a rainy day in Ottawa which provides an opportunity to catch up on some unfinished puzzles and missing blog posts. There were at least two solutions that I worked out solely from the wordplay without having the slightest idea of the word - those dealing with the Cornish expression at 2d and the British Monopoly board at 20d.

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.]

Appearing in Clues:

Meanings listed in this section may reflect how the word is used in the surface reading of the clue. Of course, that meaning may be contributing to the misdirection that the setter is attempting to create.

oligarch - noun 1 a ruler in an oligarchy. 2 (especially in Russia) a very rich businessman with a great deal of political influence.

Word trends: If it‘s true that money is power, then oligarch is the perfect name for the new breed of ultra-rich businessmen. Originally, an oligarch was one of a very small group of leaders of a country. Most of today’s oligarchs gained their fortunes very quickly after the fall of the former Soviet republics, and though they do not have any official political power their massive fortunes can mean they have influence over governments and politicians. Unsurprisingly, the word oligarch has acquired some negative associations, reflected in the examples seen in the Oxford English Corpus — corrupt, exiled, and jailed are all common collocates, as is so-called, a sign of anger at the assumption of political influence the name oligarch implies: millions of citizens revile the so-called oligarchs. See also tsar (Word trends)

Appearing in Solutions:

avast - exclamation Nautical stop; cease: a sailor is expected to keep hauling until the mate hollers‘ Avast!’

emmet - noun 2. Cornish dialect a tourist or holiday-maker.

hen - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 3. Informal a woman regarded as gossipy or foolish

Mayfair - a fashionable and wealthy district in the West End of London that replaces Boardwalk in the British version of the popular board game Monopoly.

pacy (also pacey) - noun moving or progressing quickly: a pacy thriller

poly - noun informal 2 British historical a polytechnic, noun an institution of higher education offering courses at degree level or below , especially in vocational subjects. [In Britain the term polytechnic has largely dropped out of use. In 1989 British polytechnics gained autonomy from local education authorities and in 1992 were able to call themselves universities.]

plutocrat - noun often derogatory a person whose power derives from their wealth.

prat - noun informal 1 British an incompetent or stupid person; an idiot. 2 a person's buttocks.

RU - [3^rd entry] abbreviation rugby union.

S² - symbol [1^st entry] the chemical element sulphur.

Sky - brand name for satellite television providers and channels across the world, owned or partially owned by News Corporation.

sky pilot - noun, slang a clergyman, especially a military chaplain.

tend² - verb intransitive 2 to move slightly, lean or slope in a specified direction.

tout¹ - noun 1 [1^st entry] (also ticket tout) British a person who buys up tickets for an event to resell them at a profit.

Signing off for today - Falcon