Saturday, March 24, 2012 - Philosophically Speaking

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon will certainly require - if not a bit of deep thinking - at least some deep thinkers.












Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   THOUGH|T - THOUGH (for all that) + T (time)

5a   BE|DROLL - BE (act) + DROLL (comical)

9a   S|IDE A - S (second) + IDEA (concept)

10a   LUCRETIUS* - anagram (new) of CULTURE IS

Lucretius^[5] (circa 94-circa 55 bc) was a Roman poet and philosopher; full name Titus Lucretius Carus. His didactic hexametric poem On the Nature of Things is an exposition of the materialist atomist physics of Epicurus, which aims to give peace of mind by showing that fear of the gods and of death is without foundation.

11a   PAR|MEN|IDES - PAR (average) + MEN (guys) + (at) IDES (mid-March)

Parmenides^[5] (fl. 5th century bc) was a Greek philosopher. Born in Elea in SW Italy, he founded the Eleatic school of philosophers. In his work On Nature, written in hexameter verse, he maintained that the apparent motion and changing forms of the universe are in fact manifestations of an unchanging and indivisible reality.

13a   RED|O - RED (ruby) + O (ring)

15a   TAT|TOO - TAT (make lace) + TOO (as well)

16a   SO|CRATES - SO (in truth) + CRATES (boxes)

Socrates^[5] (469–399 bc) was a Greek philosopher. As represented in the writings of his disciple Plato, he engaged in dialogue with others in an attempt to define ethical concepts by exposing and dispelling error (the Socratic method). Charged with introducing strange gods and corrupting the young, Socrates was sentenced to death and died by drinking hemlock.

18a   DIOGENES* - anagram (bothered) of IS ON EDGE

Diogenes^[5] (circa 400-circa 325 bc) was a Greek philosopher. The most famous of the Cynics, he lived ascetically in Athens (according to legend, he lived in a tub) and was accordingly nicknamed Kuōn (‘the dog’), from which the Cynics derived their name. He emphasized self-sufficiency and the need for natural, uninhibited behaviour, regardless of social conventions.

19a   AVAILS~ - sounds like (you might say) OF (†) ALES (some beers)

22a   F|RAY - F (failing; academic assessment) + RAY (bit of light)

23a   HERACLITUS* - anagram (cryptic) of CLUE A SHIRT

Heraclitus^[5] (circa 500 bc) was a Greek philosopher. He believed that fire is the origin of all things and that permanence is an illusion, everything being in a (harmonious) process of constant change.

25a   ARIS(TOT|L)E - {TOT (kid) + L (left)} contained in (in) ARISE (spring; as a verb)

Aristotle^[5] (384–322 bc) was a Greek philosopher and scientist. A pupil of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great, he founded a school (the Lyceum) outside Athens. He is one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Western thought and his work was central to Islamic and Christian medieval philosophy. His surviving works cover a vast range of subjects, including logic, ethics, metaphysics, politics, natural science, and physics.

 26a   GA(B)LE - B (second-rate) contained in (in) GALE (storm)

28a   _S|AT|CHEL_ - hidden in (found on board) trainS AT CHELsea

29a   THE BES|T - THEBES (Greek city) + T (terminal's opening; first - or opening - letter of Terminal)

Down

1d   {TOS|SPOT}< - reversal (from behind) of {TOPS (beats) + SOT (drunk)}

The first occurrence of "drunk" in the clue is the definition; the second occurrence is part of the charade fodder.

2d   _O_D_D - the even-numbered letters of fOlDeD (folded evenly)

3d   _G|RACE| NOT|ES_ - hidden in (showing) doG RACE NOT ESpecially

4d   TIL|SIT* - TIL (before the time that) + an anagram (changed) of ITS

5d   BACH|ELOR< - BACH (composer; German composer Johann Sebastian Bach^[5]) + a reversal (returned) of ROLE (part)

The question mark indicates the unconventional and playful nature of the solution.

6d   DUE|T - DUE (scheduled) + (at) T (the end [letter] of August)

7d   OLIVER TWIST - anagram (redesigned) of LOW TRIVETS I

Oliver Twist^[7], also known as The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published in 1838.

8d   LES(SON)S - SON (boy) contained in (in) LESS (fewer)

12d   RATION|A|LIST - RATION (share) + A (†) + LIST (roster)

14d   T(RAVEL)OGUE - TOGUE (lake trout) containing (skirting) RAVEL (tangle)

Togue^[3] is one of the various names applied to the lake trout, a freshwater food and game fish (Salvelinus namaycush) of the Great Lakes.

17d   PEDESTAL* - anagram (cuckoo) of DALES PET

18d   DEF|EATS - DEF (fab) + EATS (chow)

20d   S(US|P)ECT - {US () + P (president's inaugural [letter])} contained in (held by) SECT (religious group)

21d   PA|RENT - PA (dad) + RENT (charge for housing)

24d   _ITCH - [H]ITCH (marry) with the first letter deleted (after the first)

27d   BYE - BY (at) + E (eight on the nose; meaning the first letter [nose] of 'Eight')

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Friday, March 23, 2012 - DT 26757

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26757
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, January 9, 2012
Setter Rufus
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26757]
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 █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26756 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, January 7, 2012

Introduction

Libellule thought this puzzle was "a bit trickier than usual". I certainly have no hesitation in backing that judgement. I definitely needed lots of assistance from my electronic friends today.

Meet the Setter

Here is what Crossword Who's Who has to say about today's setter:

Roger Squires in 2005

Roger Squires (born 22 February 1932, in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, England) is best known for being the world's most prolific crossword compiler.

In 1981 he joined The Guardian, the Times Educational Supplement and Financial Times and became the Birmingham Post crossword editor for 22 years. In 1986 he joined The Daily Telegraph and The Independent. He compiled for The Sun (1992-1998), The Times (1993-2005) and the Times Educational Supplement (1981-2006). He has set crosswords for virtually every British newspaper, under pseudonyms including Rufus, Dante, Icarus, Hodge and Bower.

Wikipedia carries a much more in depth article on Roger Squires^[7].

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

9a   At risk when making a call (2,3,4)

I mistakenly entered ON THE HOOK even though it should have been blatantly obvious that one could not be "making a call" while in that state.

21a   Raised voice in row on river (8)

The River Fal^[7] flows through Cornwall, United Kingdom, rising on the Goss Moor and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth. The River Fal separates the Roseland peninsula from the rest of Cornwall. Like most of its kind on the south coast of Cornwall and Devon, the Fal estuary is a classic ria, or drowned river valley.

23a   Housework to the French is fair game (4-2)

In Britain, hoop-la^[2] or hoopla^[4,5] is a fairground game in which rings are thrown from behind a line in an attempt to encircle [and thereby winning] one of several prizes. In North America, hoopla means unnecessary fuss surrounding something • I really didn’t know what the hoopla was all about.

8d   Know-all may appear to be perceptive over the port (8)

In Britain, a a person who behaves as if they know everything would be called a know-all^[5] • (i) you’re a bumptious little know-all at times; (ii) [as modifier] a know-all panellist. I am only familiar with this term as know-it-all^[5].

14d   Is it similar to a hurricane light? (8)

In Britain, a blowtorch is known as a blowlamp^[7]. In North America, the usual name for the oil lamp is 'hurricane lamp' which - as best as I could determine - is also the case in Britain. I would imagine that the setter may have changed this to 'hurricane light' merely to avoid having the word 'lamp' appear in both the clue and the solution. 

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Thursday, March 22, 2012 - DT 26755

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26755
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, January 6, 2012
Setter Giovanni
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26755]
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 █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Today's offering from Giovanni is a bit more challenging than most of the fare provided so far this week.

Meet the Setter

Here is what Crossword Who's Who and Wikipedia have to say about today's setter:

Don Manley (born 2 June 1945), a physics graduate from Bristol, now lives in Oxford where he worked as an editor for OUP [Oxford University Press].

Don has been setting crosswords since 1963. He has supplied puzzles for the Radio Times, The Spectator, The Independent, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and the Financial Times among others. He is crossword editor of Church Times.

His various pseudonyms - Duck, Pasquale, Quixote, Bradman, and Giovanni - are all punningly connected with the name Don or Donald.

He has also written what is widely regarded as the standard book on setting and solving crosswords: Chambers Crossword Manual (1986, 4th edition October 2006).

He has appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel game, Puzzle Panel, and anchored the BBC4 documentary "How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword".

Don Manley was brought up in Cullompton, Devon, attending local state schools and Blundell's School, Tiverton as a Foundation Scholar. He read [studied] physics at Bristol University. After a short spell in a telecommunications laboratory he worked in academic and educational publishing at The Institute of Physics, Stanley Thornes, Basil Blackwell, and Oxford University Press, which he left in 2002, when crosswords took over as his sole paid occupation. He is married to Dr Susan Manley, a clinical biochemist. They have two married children and two grandsons.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

9a   Country singer gets about, with woman and son providing backing (6)

The setter may have intended this clue to refer to American country singer Del Reeves^[7] (1932 – 2007) but it is far more likely that he was thinking of "Gentleman Jim" Reeves^[7] (1923 – 1964) who died in the crash of of a private plane at age 40.

11a   Female writer to head for Gretna Green? (8)

Gretna Green^[7], a village in the south of Scotland famous for runaway weddings, is one of the world's most popular wedding destinations, hosting over 5000 weddings each year in the area, and one of every six Scottish weddings.

Gretna's famous "runaway marriages" began in 1753 when Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act was passed in England; it stated that if both parties to a marriage were not at least 21 years old, then parents had to consent to the marriage. The Act did not apply in Scotland, where it was possible for boys to marry at 14 and girls at 12 years old with or without parental consent. Many elopers fled England, and the first Scottish village they encountered was Gretna Green.

The local blacksmith and his anvil have become the lasting symbols of Gretna Green weddings. Scottish law allowed for "irregular marriages", meaning that if a declaration was made before two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to conduct the marriage ceremony. The blacksmiths in Gretna became known as "anvil priests".

Today there are several wedding venues in and around Gretna Green, from former churches to purpose-built chapels. The services at all the venues are always performed over an iconic blacksmith's anvil. Gretna Green endures as one of the world's most popular wedding venues, and thousands of couples come from around the world to be married 'over the anvil' at Gretna Green.

15a   Defect in fine Scottish footballer of yesteryear (4)

Denis Law^[7] is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s.

17a   European Society repeatedly restricting organisation for women? (5)

The Women's Institute (WI)^[5] is an organization of women, especially in rural areas, who meet regularly and participate in crafts, cultural activities, and social work. Now worldwide, it was first set up in Ontario, Canada, in 1897, and in Britain in 1915. Interestingly, Oxford  Dictionaries shows the abbreviation for this organization with Canadian origins as being "British".

1d   German city where b-bigwig turns up (4)

Nob is chiefly British slang for a person of wealth or social standing^[3] or a person of social distinction^[4]. It also turns up in the name of Nob Hill^[7], a neighbourhood in San Francisco, California which - prior to the earthquake of 1906 - was an exclusive enclave of the rich and famous who built large mansions in the neighborhood. The neighborhood was largely destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire. While the neighborhood was able to maintain its affluence following the quake, every mansion owner moved or rebuilt elsewhere.Today, Nob Hill is an affluent district, home to many of the city's upper class families as well as a large young urban professional population, and a growing Chinese immigrant population from a slowly encroaching Chinatown to the east.

3d   Omit to provide something for the rubbish? (4)

In Britain, a large transportable open-topped container for building and other refuse is known as a skip^[5] [called a dumpster^[5] in North America] : I’ve salvaged a carpet from a skip.

8d   Mythological male trapped in forest escapes (7)

In Greek mythology, Orestes^[5] was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. He killed his mother and her lover Aegisthus to avenge his father’s murder.

13d   New UK dealer that is to be found in a capital city (4,6)

Auld Reekie^[5] is a nickname for Edinburgh, Scotland. It literally means 'old smoky' from reek^[5], which in the Scottish dialect means smoke.

16d   Huge site for newspapers from what we hear (8)

Wapping^[7] (English pronunciation: WOP-ing) is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. As the London Docklands declined after the Second World War, the area became run down, with the great warehouses left empty. The area's fortunes were transformed during the 1980s when the warehouses started to be converted into luxury flats. Rupert Murdoch moved his News International printing and publishing works into Wapping in 1986, resulting in a trade union dispute that became known as the "Battle of Wapping".

24d   Cleric idle, vain, regularly absent (4)

A dean^[10] may be the head of a chapter of canons and administrator of a cathedral or collegiate church (Church of England) or the cardinal bishop senior by consecration and head of the college of cardinals (Roman Catholic Church).

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - DT 26754

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26754
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, January 5, 2012
Setter Ray T
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26754]
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 █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Although Ray T delivers a fairly easy puzzle today, an error at 5d handicapped me on 22a - compounding the fact that this was my first encounter with a certain promiscuous British woman.

Meet the Setter

The entry in Crossword Who's Who for today's setter, Ray Terrell, is both brief and out of date (unless the situation has changed yet again).

Ray Terrell lives in Paris, where he teaches English to French journalists and broadcasters. He sets Tuesday crosswords for The Daily Telegraph and - as Beam - Toughie crosswords in the same newspaper.

At one time, Ray T - the screen name he uses when visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog - did set puzzles for the Tuesday edition of The Daily Telegraph but for some time now his puzzles have been published on Thursdays (appearing roughly every second week).

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

20a   Lav and toilet endlessly turned explosive (8)

In Britain, lav^[10] is an informal short form for lavatory.

22a   Slapper clutching ends of grotesque butt (6)

Slapper^[5] is an informal, derogatory British term for a promiscuous or vulgar woman. The error at 5d held me up in getting a grip on this one.

5d   Lighting up? (10)

I had all the checking letters save the last, but did myself no favours by entering THUNDERING which I convinced myself might somehow be related to "lighting up". This quite messed me up on 22a.

19d   English pound up under Iron Lady (6)

The symbol for the chemical element iron is Fe^[5].

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 - DT 26753

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26753
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Setter Jay
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26753]
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 █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

For the second time this week, we are presented with a fairly easy challenge. I nearly threw in the towel with one clue remaining unsolved, but at the last moment I finally saw the plant hiding in 2d.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

1a   What a snooker coach does for a transport enthusiast (12)

In Britain, a trainspotter^[5] is a person who collects train or locomotive numbers as a hobby. It is also often used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who obsessively studies the minutiae of any minority interest or specialized hobby • the idea is to make the music really really collectable so the trainspotters will buy it in their pathetic thousands.

9a   People pushing for diamonds and flowers? (7)

In the cryptic reading, diamonds refers to the suit of cards and flowers means rivers (according to cryptic crossword logic, rivers being things that flow).

11a   Discard players out of form (4,3)

I like Pommers explanation much better than my initial analysis. I had somewhat lazily supposed that the second word might be hidden (indicated by "out") in OF Form. In retrospect, this idea strikes me as even less plausible than it appeared at the time.

12a   Raise a source of tension in most of team (7)

The key here is to choose a sport that works. Cricket, association football (soccer) or American football are all good. Unfortunately, Canadian football - having twelve players per team - is not.

16a   Bent receiver has nothing to make a home (9)

In Britain, bent^[5] is an informal term meaning dishonest or corrupt • a bent cop. In North America, we would say crooked rather than bent.

24a   Leak from diocesan attendant? (7)

A see^[5] is the place in which a cathedral church stands, identified as the seat of authority of a bishop or archbishop.

25a   Popular and hard unionist chap getting brutal (7)

H^[5] is the abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead • a 2H pencil. U^[2] is the abbreviation for unionist^[2] which might refer to (1) an advocate or supporter of unionism, especially as a system of social or political organization; (2) (Unionist) a supporter of the federal union of the United States, especially at the time of the American Civil War; (3) (sometimes Unionist) before 1920, a supporter of the Union of all Ireland and Great Britain or, since 1920, a supporter of the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; (4) a supporter of the continued political union between Scotland, England and Wales; or (5) an advocate or supporter of trade unions, a trade-unionist.

19d   Charlie hates being without a number of things to wear (7)

Charlie^[5] is a code word representing the letter C, used in radio communication.

22d   Appears to need time for European checks (5)

Jay typically includes at least one of these substitution style clues in his puzzles. Start with SEEMS (appears) and substitute (to need ... for) T (time) in place of E (European) to get STEMS (checks; meaning stops). Of course, we are left to determine which of the two Europeans to replace - but that is not very difficult to figure out.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Monday, March 19, 2012 - DT 26752

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26752
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26752]
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 █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

A not too taxing exercise to start the week. The bird at 20a was new to me and the boy's name at 1d did not come readily to mind.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

10a   Woke up before a period ended (4,2,1,4,4)

The punctuation mark that North Americans refer to as a period would be called a full stop^[5] in Britain.

11a   Devious slash (7)

While we are on the topic of punctuation marks, the British might also refer to a slash as an oblique^[5].

12a   Generous artist included in defamatory publication (7)

RA^[5] is the abbreviation for Royal Academician, a member of the Royal Academy of Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain.

18a   Comic strip character, duck, backing America (5)

In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought • he was out for a duck.

20a   Ornate thing by grate, a nocturnal bird (8)

My first thought here was NIGHTOWL. Fortunately, the solution to 16d quickly showed me the errors of my ways. A nightjar^[5] is a nocturnal insectivorous bird with grey-brown camouflaged plumage, large eyes and gape, and a distinctive call. [Family Caprimulgidae (the nightjar family): several genera, especially Caprimulgus, and many species, including the European nightjar (C. europaeus), which has a chirring call. The nightjar family also includes the nighthawks, pauraques, poorwills, whippoorwills, and chuck-will’s-widow.]

In Britain, bird^[5] is an informal term for a young woman or a man’s girlfriend - thus Gazza's reference to a nightjar being a bird "of the feathered kind".

25a   Medical complaint, chronic fatigue syndrome, affected sales (7)

Chronic fatigue syndrome is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or myalgic encephalopathy (abbreviation ME)^[5].

27a   Handle party at last in negotiation (6)

I hardly think that a treaty^[5] (a formally concluded and ratified agreement between states) is the same thing as a negotiation^[5] (discussion aimed at reaching an agreement).

22d   In the existing circumstances, arsenic may be used on Italian island (2,2,2)

In the UK, it^[5] is an informal, dated term for Italian vermouth • he poured a gin and it [a cocktail containing gin and Italian vermouth].

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon

Saturday, March 17, 2012 - Accommodations

Introduction

We are given a choice among various types of accommodation in today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon.













Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   GAL|ORE - GAL (lass) + (with) ORE (valuable material)

4a   S(HOP) TALK - STALK (track; as a verb) containing (filled with) HOP (dance)

9a   SI|ZED - SI (yes, in Rome; Italian word for 'yes') + ZED (the end of a series; the last letter of the alphabet - in Canada)

10a   DO|RM|I|TORY - {RM (room) + (with) I ([Roman numeral for] one) + TORY (conservative)} following (behind) DO (party)

11a   RUN (AL|ON)G - {AL (Pacino; American actor) + ON (performing)} contained in (in) RUNG (step)

12a   BAR(TO)K - BARK (sound of a dog) containing (captivating) TO (†)

14a   PIE(D-A-TE)RRE - PIERRE (Trudeau; former Canadian Prime Minister) containing (keeps) DATE (engagement)

15a   BE|AM - BE (take place) + AM (in the morning)

18a   DO(S)E - DOE (deer) containing (eating) S (small)

20a   MA(IS|ONE)TTE - MATTE (flat) containing (outside) {IS (†) + ONE (single)}

23a   D|URBAN - D (just passing; a poor academic grade) + URBAN (built-up)

24a   AB(ALONE)S - ALONE (uniquely) containing (eaten by) ABS (sailors; AB being the abbreviation for able seaman)

26a   P|ENTH(O)USE - P (parking) + ENTHUSE (gush) containing (about) O (central [letter of] TorOnto)

27a   VI|PER - VI ([Roman numeral for] six) + PER (for every)

28a   TRY|STING - TRY (sample) + STING (bite)

29a   P(RO TE)M - PM (prime minister) containing (maintaining) ROTE (routine)

Down

1d   GASTROPOD* - anagram (cooked) of GOOD PARTS

2d   LO(ZEN)GE - LOGE (theatre box) containing (occupied by) ZEN (Buddhist)

3d   {RED ALGAE}* - anagram (chopped) of EAGER LAD

5d   HU(R)T - R (back [letter] of dooR) contained in (in) HUT (shack)

6d   P(RIM)AL - PAL (friend) containing (holds) RIM (edge)

7d   A(POST)LE - POST (mail) containing (covered with) ALE (beer)

8d   K(A)YAK - {K (kindergarten) + YAK (chatter)} containing (about) A (†)

10d   {DUNCE CAP}* - anagram (sloshing) of CUP DANCE

13d   ERA|SABLE - ERA (group of periods) + SABLE (black)

16d   MAELSTROM* - anagram (renovated) of MARS MOTEL

17d   IN C|LOVER - INC {sINCe dumping first and last [letters]} + LOVER (partner)

19d   SP(RING)Y - RING (band) contained in (picked up by) SPY (agent)

21d   {TEN-SPOT}< - reversal (returned) of {TOPS (exceeds) + NET (profit)}

22d   CACHE|T - CACHE (hiding place) + (and) T (time)

23d   DEP(O)T - O (nothing) contained in (in) DEPT (department)

25d   B|URN - B (second-rate) + URN (coffee maker)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day - Falcon