Saturday, December 5, 2009 - Putting the E in Soul

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon is a fairly easy - though soulful - effort.

Today's Glossary

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

Montreal Expos - a former Major League Baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; following the 2004 season, the team moved to Washington, D.C., U.S.A. and became the Washington Nationals

smack³ - noun 1. Eastern U.S. a fishing vessel, esp. one having a well for keeping the catch alive. 2. British any of various small, fully decked, fore-and-aft-rigged vessels used for trawling or coastal trading.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

6a EC(H)O - H (bit of history) contained in (penned by) ECO (Italian author Umberto Eco)

7a {SOUL SISTER}* - anagram of (prepared) SUITOR LESS; American singer, songwriter and pianist Aretha Franklin, known as the "Queen of Soul"

10a S(ASH)AYS - SAYS (speaks) containing (about) ASH (tree)

11a V(AN)ILLA - VILLA (country house) containing (possessing) AN

12a _G|REBE_ - hidden word in (involved in) quellinG REBEllion

13a CONES|TOGA - CONES (tepee shapes) TOGA (wrap)

15a {FILET OF SOLE}* - anagram of (strangely) OFF TO LESLIE

19a {MERGANSER}* - anagram of (ground) RAMS GREEN

21a TI(B)ER - TIER (row) containing (around) B (blue)

23a CAKE BOX - spoonerism of BAKE (cook) COCKS (roosters)

25a ORG(AND)Y - AND (also) contained in (found in) ORGY (wild party)

26a {SEOUL KOREA}* - anagram of (changing) A LOOK REUSE

27a LIED - DD

Down

1d TH(IS|B)E - IS B (second-rate) contained in (in) THE (article); Greek legend of Pyramus and Thisbe

2d {HOUSE CAT}* - anagram of (spilled) HOT SAUCE

3d C(L)OVEN - L (head of lettuce) contained in (in) COVEN (witches' group)

4d DI(O)N - DIN (racket) containing (about) O (love); Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion or American doo-wop, pop, rock and R&B singer Dion (DiMucci).

5d STALL|ONE - STALL (delay) ONE (single); American actor Sylvester Stallone

6d _ENS|IGN_ - hidden word in (some) maidENS IGNore

8d REAGAN* - anagram of (nuts) ANGER A; former U.S. President Ronald Reagan

9d CAMELLIA* - an anagram of (mistakenly ordered) ME A LILAC

14d SHOR(TAG)E - TAG (children's game) contained in (in) SHORE (beach area)

15d FOR(E)K|NOW - E (piece of eclair) contained in (held by) FORK (utensil) NOW (at present)

16d FUR|RO(WE)D - FUR (hide) ROD (pole) containing (around) WE (our bunch)

17d SMACKS - DD; see Today's Glossary

18d B(RAY)ED - RAY (short for Raymond) contained in (in) BED

20d S(EXPO)T - EXPO (Montreal pro) contained in (in) ST (street); see Today's Glossary

22d BAND|I|T - BAND (group) with I (one) T (time)

24d BILL - DD; Microsoft co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, December 4, 2009 (DT 26005)

This puzzle was originally published Wednesday, August 12, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

It was not a very difficult puzzle today, and I did not find the clues to be particularly noteworthy. I also found some of the surface readings to be a bit strained.

Today's Glossary

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

L² - abbreviation 2 learner driver (by extension, trainee)

neat² - noun archaic or dialect an ox, bull or cow, etc.

pi² - Brit slang adjective a short form of pious. noun a pious, religious or sanctimonious person or talk.

RD - abbreviation 2 Rural Dean noun in the Church of England: a clergyman with responsibility over a group of parishes

The Scarlet Pimpernel - a classic play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the "disguised superhero" tales such as Zorro or Batman.

thane - Originally meaning a Military Companion to the King, a thane was a man holding administrative office

Margaret Thatcher - former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

vert - noun green, as a conventional heraldic colour

Today's Links

Big Dave's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 26005].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

5a Father, leases, with mother as well (7)

On initial reading, this clue seemed to have a rather unorthodox structure, with the wordplay being "PA (father) RENTS (leases)" and the definition being "PARENTS (father with mother as well)" in which one is required to ignore the word "'leases". After some consideration, I came to the conclusion that the correct interpretation is likely that the definition part is formally just "with mother as well" with the solver needing to infer father from the overall clue.

17a Vegetable tea brewed by Rural Dean (5)

Solution:

CHARD (vegetable) /\CHA (tea) brewed by RD (Rural Dean)

I was expecting "brewed" to be an anagram indicator. However, I discovered that it appears to be merely padding to aid the surface reading. Big Dave suggests that CHA is "tea brewed", and I suppose one could take that charitable view. However, since cha itself means tea, the word "brewed" does seem rather superfluous to the definition.

23a Article about a knight who was the King's companion (5)

The solution:

THE (article) containing (about) A N (knight: modern chess notation) /\ THANE (who was the King's companion)

All the dictionaries that I consulted defined thane similarly to Oxford: "noun 1 (in Anglo-Saxon England) a man granted land by the king or a nobleman, ranking between a freeman and a hereditary noble. 2 (in Scotland) a man who held land from a Scottish king and ranked with an earl’s son. " From this definition, one would be hard-pressed to identify thane as being a King's companion. Wikipedia is more helpful, saying "The term thegn (or thane in Shakespearean English), from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly employed by historians to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves. It is also the term for an early medieval Scandinavian class of retainers." A retainer is a servant or attendant (i.e., companion in one sense), generally one who has provided long-standing service.

7d Tell Satan to muck out the cowshed! (4-5)

The solution NEAT-STALL is an anagram (to muck out) of TELL SATAN. Neat (the same spelling whether singular or plural) is an archaic term for cattle, so a neat-stall would be a cattle-stall (or, by extension, a cowshed). Despite the fact that I was not able to find the word in any dictionary that I consulted (although I probably should have looked in one that predated the advent of the Internet), I seriously doubt that it is a neologism.

15d A sanctimonious group of timeless artists keep bees (9)

For the surface reading to be grammatically correct should not the verb be in the third person singular (i.e., a group keeps)?

22d Raise the spirits of the Earl recently (5)

This clue caused me to wonder a bit. I was confident that "recently" could mean lately or of late, but can it also mean late? Well, the answer is yes, as in the phrase, "As late as yesterday she was fine."

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, December 3, 2009 (DT 26004)

This puzzle was originally published Tuesday, August 11, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

As I suspected, the Brits (for the most part, at least) found today's puzzle to be relatively easy. There were, however, a number of British terms that made it somewhat more challenging for those of us on this side of the pond - but, on the whole, it was not unduly difficult. I actually managed to decipher a number of previously unknown Briticisms from the wordplay alone. With a bit of perseverance, I completed the puzzle - including figuring out all of the wordplay (but just barely).

Today's Glossary

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

AGA - noun trademark a type of large British cooking stove (from the Swedish acronym of the company that originally manufactured them)

bent - adjective 2 informal, chiefly Brit. dishonest; corrupt

blackleg - noun Brit. derogatory a person who continues working when fellow workers are on strike

Colonel Blimp - British cartoon character

Nellie Dean - popular UK pub song

primero - n. A gambling card game, popular in Elizabethan England

Salad Days - a 1954 British Musical

sophister - n 1. (Social Science/Education) (esp formerly) a second-year undergraduate at certain British universities

stoppage - noun 4 (stoppages) Brit. deductions from wages by an employer for the payment of tax, National Insurance, etc.

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 26004].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4d Another identical cooking range at home (4,5)

While not the last clue to be solved, the wordplay did remain a mystery until the bitter end (which made me question whether I did, in fact, have the right solution). I was fairly sure that the definition was "another", but I did not rule out the possibility that it might be "another identical". The wordplay "cooking range" led me to look for an anagram of "range" (or possibly "range at", in the event that IN were to be given by "home" rather than "at home"). I was nearly ready to throw in the towel when a search on AGA revealed that it is the trademark of a British (formerly Swedish) cooking stove.

16d Student nun organized hop inside (9)

Here the solution is a Briticism that seems to be obscure even to the Brits. However, for me, it was no more obscure than terms like blackleg and stoppage - or, especially, AGA.

20d Take away produce (6)

I presume this is a double definition, although one of the definitions seems a bit iffy to me. The first definition of "take away" meaning REMOVE is fine, but "produce" meaning REMOVE? Perhaps the setter has in mind that if one is asked, for example, to produce a driver's licence they may have to remove it from their wallet. It is interesting to note that the Brit's also appeared confused by this clue. However, Gazza does eventually arrive at a somewhat similar conclusion to mine - with probably an even better example. And a visitor to Big Dave's blog leaves a comment containing a similar example as well.

26d Speaks about a son and daughter making a musical (5,4)

Between the wordplay and the checking letters, I was able to decipher the name of this show - despite never having heard of this production. Prior to Oliver!, Salad Days was the longest-running show in British musical theatre history. Although it had a fairly successful run in Canada in 1958, it flopped badly when taken to Broadway in 1959. It seems that the Yanks just didn't "get it" then - and many North Americans may still not have gotten it today.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 (DT 26003)

This puzzle was originally published Monday, August 10, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

The National Post has skipped DT 26002, published Saturday, August 8, 2009 in the Daily Telegraph.

I was able to solve almost the entire puzzle without the aid of my Tool Chest. However, I was not able to solve the final couple of clues (18a and 12d) without some help from Tilsit's hints. My difficulty stemmed in part from an unrecognized (but not unknown) British spelling at 18a, but - more significantly - from a wrong answer at 14a.

Today's Glossary

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

tyre - tire (US and Canada)

Today's Links

Tilsit's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 26003].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

14a Gets off or puts on the line (5,2)

Failing to initially detect that the implied reading of the clue is "Gets off (the line) or puts on the line" made this clue more difficult to solve. At first, I saw it merely as "Gets off" or "puts on the line"and came up with WINDING UP as a solution, as you wind up work at the close of the business day or, in other words, you get off work (after which you may wind down at the bar). You can also wind up (fishing) line on a reel. This error stymied me on 12d. However, once I had found the answer to 12d (with help from Tilsit), I took another crack at this clue and succeeded in finding the correct solution.

18a Old town subject to inflation (4)

This is another case where I sought some help from Tilsit. Maybe I was handicapped by the British spelling of tyre. Although this spelling is not new to me, it is not something that is top of mind.

12d Tied sort of worker? (5-6)

The error at 14a caused me lots of trouble here. I figured that the second part was COLLAR, but was looking for a first part with the pattern ?W???. The only thing that seemed like even a remote fit was TWINE-COLLAR as I found a lot of references on the web to twine dog collars. It did seem like it might have a very slim semblance of possibility as twine is used to tie things and dogs are often tied up. Could twine-collar workers be junkyard dogs? Apparently not!!! As mentioned above, I needed help from Tilsit to find the real solution to this clue.

26d Fruit for two, we hear (4)

For a brief moment, I thought "fruit for two" might be DATE. However, the trailing "we hear" pretty much eliminated that possibility.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 (DT 26001)

This puzzle was originally published Friday, August 7, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

We are back to a fairly standard level of difficulty today after the very taxing effort yesterday. I'm sure that today's puzzle was a bit more challenging for me than it was for the Brits due to a few Briticisms that took some time to track down.

Today's Glossary

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

advert - noun Brit. informal an advertisement [Note: in North American usage, one would almost certainly say "ad" rather than "advert"]

Anfield - a football (soccer) stadium in Liverpool, England, home to the Liverpool F.C. football club

local - noun 2 Brit. informal a pub convenient to a person’s home

pit - noun 9 (the pit) literary hell

scruff - noun Brit. informal a scruffy person

slate - verb 2 Brit. informal criticize severely

snib - chiefly Scottish & Irish noun 2 a small catch on a lock which holds the bolt in or out

Mark Thompson - Director-General (DG) of the British Broadcasting Corporation ("BBC boss")

Today's Links

Libellule's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 26001].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

7a Fuel Norm needs to get a couple of females home (8)

I'm afraid that I was a bit sloppy in solving this clue. I got it into my head that the wordplay was PARA, which sounds like "pair of" (couple of), FF (females) IN (home). Having got that far, I was at a loss to explain how the remainder of the wordplay constituted a homophone (sounds like) indicator. Perhaps if I had exercised the discipline to rigourously parse out the clue, I would have discovered the proper wordplay. However, sometimes (as with this clue) I just seem to find the solution through intuition - with less than stellar results in this case.

6d I con lass so wickedly in a holy letter (10)

Before arriving in the New Testament, I test drove a number of possibilities for "holy letter"including encyclical, bull, and epistle.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, November 30, 2009 (DT 26000)

This puzzle was originally published Thursday, August 6, 2009 in The Daily Telegraph

Introduction

Readers should take careful note of the milestone number of today's puzzle as it figures prominently in the puzzle itself. This puzzle also boasts an unusual feature described in 16a and 1a.

I quite enjoyed the challenge posed by this difficult puzzle. I failed to solve one clue, and some of the wordplay left me scratching my head.

Marking a Milestone

Today's puzzle is number 26000 for the Daily Telegraph. Although there is a very long litany of comments on Big Dave's site in response to this puzzle, it was well worthwhile plowing through to the end where the setter himself dropped by to explain the puzzle. I reproduce here his remarks for the benefit of those who may not have the stamina to follow the thread to its conclusion.

As the setter of the puzzle, may I thank everyone for the input. To mark a number like 26,000, my idea was to do something a little out of the ordinary, but to give plenty of other clues in the quick crossword that accompanied it.

Yes it was harder than usual, but it wasn’t intended to be, given that there were various hints. I guess you had to notice the number of the puzzle.

For everyone, here are the compiling steps:

Grid (the Telegraph has a finite set) was selected because THOUSAND went in at answer 26.

Then LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET (a group of 26).

Then DOUBLE at 13ac. (2×13, no-one’s mentioned that).

Then, all the letters of the alphabet.

Then realised TWENTY could fit, and then, after email with editor, the clue for PRAXIS was written to incorporate SIX.

It’s great to have the feedback, for which I thank you all.

Elgar on Friday is far, far easier, and I never went on “holiday” to avoid you!

Best,

John

By the way, I suspect that the "the quick crossword" referred to in John's remarks might be a parallel set of non-cryptic clues to the puzzle. If I am correct, then readers of the Telegraph would have the option of solving the same puzzle using either the cryptic or non-cryptic clues (or "cheating" by using the non-cryptic clues as additional hints). However, as that would hardly seem to be cricket, especially for the "Saturday" prize puzzles, I may well be mistaken.

Today's Glossary

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

foursome - a Scottish reel for four dancers

shriek - an exclamation mark

Today's Links

Gazza's review of today's puzzle may be found at Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog [DT 26000].

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

13a Like word with two meanings, and big clue to anagrams? (6-6)

The wordplay here is hiding in plain sight - with the anagram being so obvious that I completely missed it. Luckily, I was able to solve the clue based on the definition alone.

24a This sound pierces! (6)

I have to admit that I was unable to solve this clue. I thought the solution might be SCREAM or SCRAPE (e.g., the shrill sound of fingernails on a blackboard or a scrape that pierces the skin), or even SIRENS (although the wording of the clue seemed to rule out a plural).

As it turns out, the punctuation is important to this clue. A SHRIEK is a term used by computer programmers (and perhaps also by typesetters and printers) for an exclamation point. As described by Wikipedia, "Several computer languages use '!' for various meanings, most importantly for logical negation; e.g. A != B means 'A is not equal to B', and !A means 'the logical negation of A' (also called 'not A'). In this context, the exclamation is named the bang character; other programmers call it a shriek or screech. Invented in the US, it is claimed that bang is from Unix and shriek from Stanford or MIT; however, shriek is found in the Oxford English Dictionary dating from the 1860s. Also, bang was used in typesetting or printing and therefore when spelling text out orally the exclamation mark could be called, 'a screamer or a bang.'"

16a & 1a. 26 all in attendance herein for today's 3 6dn (7,2,3,8)

There are lots of cross-references in today's puzzle, but the Arabic numeral "26" is not one of them.

21a Parasite exercising power to spear Burns' hero (8)

Again, I found the solution (TAPEWORM) using only the definition. As for the wordplay, I got no further than mistakenly thinking that "exercising" might be PE (physical education) and "power" might be W (watt).

5d London thoroughfare not entirely blessed by Vera Lynn? (3,4)

A big thank you to Gazza for explaining the connection between THE MALL and Vera Lynn (who sang, "Bless 'em all, bless 'em all").

8d Doctor's aim: get train going west! (8)

"Going west" often appears as a reversal indicator (in a horizontal clue). However, today it plays the role of an anagram indicator - although I'm not sure why it feels it is qualified for the part.

13d Complete trademark at 9, employing computer's ultimate printing method (3,6)

Once again, as at 16a, we find an Arabic numeral (in this case, "9") that is not a cross reference.

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, November 28, 2009 - Legendary Archer

Introduction

Today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon features a legendary Swiss archer who is the subject of an opera by Rossini.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

12a Shoemaker hurt returning baking dish (7)

It was fairly easy to figure out the correct solution (RAMEKIN) from the definition (baking dish). However, the wordplay was somewhat more difficult to fathom as I got hung up on the mistaken notion that RAMEK must be an anagram of MAKER. The correct wordplay is provided below.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a IN|CUB|ATE - IN (at home) CUB (youngster) ATE (consumed)

5a O|TTAW|A< - reversal of (backing) A WATT (power unit) with O (zero)

9a SP|READ OUT - SP (Spanish) READ OUT (data display)

11a _OTHER - bOTHER (trouble) with first letter deleted (after the debut)

12a RAM|EKIN< - reversal of (returning) NIKE (shoemaker) MAR (hurt)

13a RE(GAL)ED - GAL (lass) contained in (in) REED (straw)

14a WILL|I|AM TELL - WILL (desire) I (one) AM (morning) TELL (to give an account of)

19a BO(W AND| A)RROW - BORROW (plagiarize) containing (about) {WAND (wizard's aid) A}

22a R|UDOLPH* - anagram of (roaming) {HOLD UP} after R (mid-March; i.e., middle letter of March)

24a SLIT|HER - SLIT (cut) HER (that lady)

25a AT|LAS_ - AT LASt (finally) with last letter deleted (abridged)

26a R(YE WH*)ISKY - RISKY (dangerous) containing (imbibing) an anagram of (doctored) WHEY

27a TO (DA)TE - TOTE (carry) containing (around) D (Roman numeral for five hundred) and A (one)

28a {STAYED ON}* - anagram of (changed) {SO AND YET}

Down

1d IN(S)ERT - INERT (still) containing (eating) S (piece of steak; i.e., first letter of steak)

2d CH|ROME - CH (church) next to ROME (Vatican site)

3d B|LACK S|WAN - B (bishop; chess piece) LACKS (is missing) WAN (pale)

4d T|HORN - T (tenor) HORN (brass instrument)

6d _THON|G_ - hidden word in (among) maraTHON Gear

7d ACH(ILL)ES - ACHES (is sore) containing (getting) ILL (sick)

8d AIRED|ALE - AIRED (exposed) ALE (beer)

10d T(ER)RIER - ER (hesitation) contained in (in) TRIER (one who tests)

15d LEA(THE)R - THE (article) contained in (received by) LEAR (king)

16d MAWKISHLY* - anagram of (turned) {WASH MILKY}

17d A(BERRA)NT - ANT (insect) containing (circling) BERRA (Yogi Berra: former Major League Baseball player and manager)

18d S|WADDLED - S (son) WADDLED (walked like a duck)

20d CHASED~ - sounds like (in audition) CHASTE (virgin)

21d CR(A)Y|ON - CRY ON (weep continuously) containing (about) A

23d LISZT~ - sounds like (heard) LIST (catalogue); Franz Liszt: Hungarian composer

24d SMELT - DD

Signing off for today - Falcon