Wednesday, April 15, 2015 — DT 27629

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27629
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, October 24, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27629]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

Today's puzzle is surprisingly gentle, given that it was set by Giovanni.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (&lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

7a   Bad weather is restricting team playing -- // very unwelcome message (8)

9a   A part of the face beginning to glow, // in pain (6)

If you accept that aching can be a noun (which most dictionaries do not), then the definition could be merely "pain" with the word "in" serving as a link between the wordplay and definition.

The only reference source that I found which considers aching to be a noun is the WordNet Thesaurus. Well, to that short list, I suppose I could add Led Zeppelin who sing of "Going to California with an aching in my heart".

10a   Film actress opposite H. Keel in 1953, // significant time (1-3)

Calamity Jane^[7] is  a 1953 film that explores an alleged romance between Calamity Jane (played by Doris Day) and Wild Bill Hickok (played by Howard Keel).

11a   Violent duo out /to get/ a transfer of power (10)

12a   Still /and/ quiet lake with chemical harmful to it? (6)

14a   Appearing before the photographer again /or/ taking a rest? (8)

A double definition, the first of which is rather whimsical.

15a and 17a   Clue to a padre /being seen here in/ military area (6,6)

I prefer to call this an inverse anagram while Deep Threat uses the term reverse anagram. The solution to this clue could be a clue to the phrase "A PADRE". That is, an anagram (ground) of PARADE would produce the result A PADRE. In a normal clue, the anagram indicator and fodder would be found in the clue with the result appearing in the solution. Here we have the inverse situation, where the anagram indicator and fodder appear in the solution with the result being found in the clue itself.

17a   See 15a

20a   Mother or saint // in a position to honour the dead (4,4)

I arrived at the correct solution despite using a line of reasoning that clearly defies rational explanation (it had to do with MA being half of MAMA). It was definitely not well thought through, in fact no real thought went into it at all — more gut instinct than intellectual exercise.

As Deep Threat explains, MA (mother) is half of MAST (the first half) and ST (abbreviation for saint) is also half of MAST (the second half). Thus, either "mother or saint" could be used to clue HALF MAST.

22a   See shelter inside, // wanting to have a rest (6)

23a   Like many foreign goods, // I can be brought in as hand luggage? (10)

24a   Little son, depressed /and/ not reacting quickly (4)

25a   River /gets/ any number cut off initially (6)

The letter n^[10] is used (especially in mathematics) as a symbol to represent an indefinite number (of) ⇒ there are n objects in a box.

The Severn^[5] is a river of southwestern Britain. Rising in central Wales, it flows north-east then south in a broad curve for some 290 km (180 miles) to its mouth on the Bristol Channel.

26a   Animals // ascend, running over hill, half hidden (8)

The echidna^[5] (also called spiny anteater) is a spiny insectivorous egg-laying mammal with a long snout and claws, native to Australia and New Guinea.

Down

1d   Hot and cold drink /will get/ sign of approval (8)

2d   Lots of people gathering together // drink audibly (4)

Bevvy^[5] is an informal British term for an alcoholic drink ⇒ we popped into the Prince of Wales for a few bevvies.

A bevy^[2,3,4,5,11] is a large group of people or things of a particular kind, especially and originally a group of women or girls ⇒ (i) a bevy of beauties; (ii) he was surrounded by a bevy of beautiful girls. It is interesting that the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary takes a contrarian approach with its usage example ⇒ a bevy of sailors [or, perhaps, they are Wrens^[7]].

In zoology, bevy^[2,3,4,5,11] can denote (1) a flock of birds, especially larks, quails or swans or (2) a group of roedeer.

3d   Stood by after king // attacked (6)

Rex^[5] (abbreviation R^[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

Note the vastly different connotation of the phrase "stood by" in the following sentences ⇒ (i) he stood by and did nothing; (ii) she stood by him through thick and thin.

4d   Girl one with long slow strides? // Much quicker mover (8)

5d   I chew suet, a smashing // addition to ham? (5,5)

White sauce^[5] is a sauce of flour, melted butter, and milk or cream that is apparently a traditional British accompaniment to ham — or, then again maybe not, if one is to judge by some of the comments on Big Dave's blog.

6d   Congenital // pest speaking endlessly in pub (6)

8d and 19d   Building with special horses, // 51, most unlikely to collapse (6,6)

Most^[5] is used as an adverb meaning extremely or very ⇒ (i) it was most kind of you; (ii) that is most probably correct.

13d   Plant // some powdery stuff in 5, as one might say? (10)

The numeral "5" is a cross reference indicator directing the solver to insert the solution to clue 5d in its place to complete the clue. The directional indicator is often omitted in situations such as this where only a single clue starts in the square that is being referenced.

Cornflour^[5] (known in North America as cornstarch^[5]) is a British term for finely ground maize [corn] flour, used for thickening sauces.

The word "corn" has quite a different meaning in Britain than it does in North America — although, strangely, the term cornflour would seem to allign more with North American usage. The plant known in North America (as well as Australia and New Zealand) as corn^[5], is called maize^[5] in the UK. In Britain, corn refers to the chief cereal crop of a district, especially (in England) wheat or (in Scotland) oats.

16d   Designing // buoyant structure with sound cladding (8)

What did he say?
In his review, Deep Threat describes a raft as a floating structure, such as Kon Tiki. Kon-Tiki[5] is the name of the raft made of balsa logs in which Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl sailed from the western coast of Peru to the islands of Polynesia in 1947.

18d   I'd set up plan to engage the old woman -- /I'm/ a tactful type (8)

Deep Threat and I came to slightly different interpretations of this clue. I would not say that one is right and one is wrong — or even that one is more correct than the other. They are merely different.

Deep Threat indicates that the definition is "I'm a tactful type" — an interpretation which is analogous to 21d.

On the other hand, I saw the word "I'm" as playing the role of a link word. It effectively denotes 'the solution is'. The nounal phrase "a tactful type" could well describe a diplomat. In fact, the clue could have read:

• I'd set up plan to engage the old woman -- // a tactful type (8)

where the diplomat becomes the old woman rather than the speaker, but the wordplay and the solution remain the same.

19d   See 8d

21d   Stars, about a thousand -- // they may be fighting each other (6)

While the structure of this clue is superficially similar to that of 18d, there is an important difference. We cannot assign the role of link phrase to "they may be" as the phrase "fighting each other" does not stand on its own as a definition of ARMIES.

However, were we to rephrase the clue along the lines of:

• Stars, about a thousand -- /they may be/ groups fighting each other (6)

we could then consider the definition to be "groups fighting each other" with the phrase "they may be" acting as a link.

In astronomy, Aries^[5] is a small constellation (the Ram), said to represent the ram in Greek mythology whose Golden Fleece was sought by Jason and the Argonauts.

22d   What NE river is rising, /revealing/ froth? (6)

Canadian solvers will certainly be familiar with the interjection required here, although likely in a somewhat different context. In Canada, eh^[3] is primarily used to to ascertain or reinforce a listener's interest or agreement rather than in asking a question or in seeking repetition or confirmation of a statement.

The Tees^[5] is a river of northeastern England which rises in Cumbria and flows 128 km (80 miles) generally south-eastwards to the North Sea at Middlesbrough.

24d   Buried under piece of grass is a // chemical (4)

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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Tuesday, April 14, 2015 — DT 27628

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27628
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, October 23, 2014
Setter Petitjean (John Pidgeon)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27628]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Kath
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

Kath reports in her review that she "found this [puzzle] pretty tricky" and bestowed four stars for difficulty on it. There is definitely some tricky wordplay in the puzzle — not surprising given that it was set by Petitjean. However, I don't believe that I would put it in four star territory.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (&lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

1a   Sham // trial (5)

Dummy run^[5,10] is a British term for a practice, rehearsal or trial run.

4a   Frank // reveals personal facts about writer without permission (9)

What did she say?
In her review, Kath writes you need a three letter word for a writer, maybe a biro. In Britain, a biro[5] is a kind of ballpoint pen. Although it is a British trademark, the name is used generically (in the same way that kleenex has become a generic term for facial tissue). It is named after László József Bíró (1899–1985), the Hungarian inventor of the ballpoint pen.

9a   Beastly creatures // emerge in a cast (9)

10a   Unusual time Lawrence's initially spent /making/ bouquet (5)

The wordplay is OD[D H]OUR (unusual time) with DH (Lawrence ... initially) removed (is ... spent). Note how the final two elements of the wordplay are intertwined in the clue.

D. H. Lawrence^[5] (1885–1930) was an English novelist, poet, and essayist; full name David Herbert Lawrence. His work is characterized by its condemnation of industrial society and by its frank exploration of sexual relationships, as in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, originally published in Italy in 1928, but not available in England in unexpurgated form until 1960. Other notable works: Sons and Lovers (1913) and Women in Love (1921).

What did he say?
In Comment #16 on Big Dave's blog, Steve_the_Beard writes writes I’d forgotten all about Mellors. Oliver Mellors is the name of the gamekeeper in Lady Chatterley's Lover[7] with whom Lady Chatterley has her affair.

11a   A centre for Libyans in poor housing, /offering/ places of refuge (7)

12a   Particular // keys jamming lever (7)

13a   'Narcotic // composition,' I scoffed (6)

In music, Op.^[5] (also op.) is an abbreviation meaning opus (work). It is used before a number given to each work [composition] of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication.

15a   Bouncer, perhaps, // quick to stand by dance (4,4)

No, this bouncer^[5] is not the big guy controlling admission to a nightclub.

In cricket, a bouncer^[5] is a ball bowled fast and short so as to rise high after pitching.

18a   Trout // teem by fronts of boats (8)

The rainbow trout^[10] is a freshwater trout of North American origin, Salmo gairdneri, having a body marked with many black spots and two longitudinal red stripes.

20a   Stall interminable craving /for/ needle (6)

23a   Breaks apart /and/ becomes weepy (5,2)

24a   Note learner blocking ski slope /gets/ the message (7)

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

26a   Forgot lines /and/ flopped getting to grips with Romeo (5)

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

Dry^[5] is [British?] theatrical slang meaning to forget one’s lines ⇒ a colleague of mine once dried in the middle of a scene. The Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary (an American dictionary) defines dry up^[11] as meaning, in acting, to forget one's lines or part.

27a   Nude photographs? (9)

I am afraid that I must take issue with Kath's classification of this clue as a double definition. I would label it a cryptic definition. The word "photographs" is a definition. However, the singular noun "nude" cannot be a definition for the plural noun "exposures". Rather, "nude" is an adjective that cryptically augments the definition.

"Photographs" are exposures in the technical sense; "nude photographs" are exposures in quite another sense.

Had the clue read:

• Nude photograph? (8)

one might make a case for a double definition.

28a   Getting on, // sent scene with alternative endings (9)

29a   Bloodthirsty Sonny, boxing // champion once (5)

Once again, I will diverge slightly from Kath's explanation. Technically, the definition is "champion once" as the word "boxing" is part of the wordplay (being the hidden word indicator).

Mike Tyson^[5] is an American boxer. He became undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1987, winning the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles. He was imprisoned in 1992 for rape; after his release in 1995 he reclaimed the WBC and WBA titles in the following year. His 1997 fight with Evander Holyfield ended when Tyson was disqualified for dining on Holyfield's ear.^[7]

Scratching the Surface
Sonny Liston[5] (1932–1970) was an American boxer; born Charles Liston. In 1962 he became world heavyweight champion but in 1964 lost his title to Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay).

Down

1d   English intend to put on austere // air (9)

The wordplay parses as {E (English) + MEAN (intend)} contained in (to put on; as you would a coat or jacket) DOUR (austere).

2d   One checking one's // finances (5)

3d   Hog roast held in tent /is/ a cultural production (7)

4d   Adjusted hours to secure new // career (6)

5d   Articles about singular sanctimonious // luvvie (8)

Grammatically speaking, s^[5] is the abbreviation for singular.

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious. 

Luvvie^[5] (also luvvy) is an informal British term (often derogatory) for an actor or actress, especially one who is particularly effusive or affected ⇒ everyone is singing his praises—from the luvvies at Cannes to various political figures in the US.

6d   Take care of // deterioration in muscle temperature (7)

7d   Clever clogs // will endlessly talk on, sadly (4-2-3)

Clever Dick^[5] (also clever clogs) is an informal British term for a person who is irritatingly and ostentatiously knowledgeable or intelligent ⇒ she’s such a clever Dick—you can’t tell her anything.

8d   Sauce // bottle (5)

Sauce^[5] is an informal, chiefly British term for impertinence or cheek ⇒ ‘None of your sauce,’ said Aunt Edie — which, in North America, would be called sass^[5].

Bottle^[5] is an informal British term denoting the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous ⇒ I lost my bottle completely and ran.

14d   Mock // shortcoming Labour's leader's overlooked (9)

Scratching the Surface
The Labour Party[5] (abbreviation Lab.[5]) in Britain is a left-of-centre political party formed to represent the interests of ordinary working people that since the Second World War has been in power 1945–51, 1964–70, 1974-9, and 1997–2010. Arising from the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century, it replaced the Liberals as the country’s second party after the First World War.

16d   Pay attention -- stray // bugs! (7,2)

17d   Suit or suite? // We cope with it somehow (3-5)

Suite^[5] is used in the sense of a set of coordinating furniture ⇒ there is plenty of space for a dining table and a three-piece suite. [The setter of today's puzzle was obviously thinking in terms of a more restricted living space.]

19d   Departs coming from where hospital visits take place // too (7)

21d   Fool assuming North, South and East /may make/ co-ordinates (7)

I would guess from the dictionary entries that the word "twit" may have a slightly different connotation in the UK than it does in North America.

British dictionaries define twit as an informal term meaning variously (1) a fool or idiot^[2]; (2) a foolish or stupid person, an idiot^[10]; and (3) a silly or foolish person^[5]. Both Oxford Dictionaries Online and Collins English Dictionary characterize the term as being chiefly British.

American dictionaries, on the other hand, define twit as an informal term for (1) a foolishly annoying person^[3]; or (2) an insignificant or bothersome person^[11]. Thus the emphasis in North America seems to focus more on the fact that the person is a pest — as opposed to the intellectual capacity of the person.

Jumpers - Here and There

If you look up the word twinset[5] in a British dictionary, you will find it defined as a chiefly British term for a woman’s matching cardigan and jumper. In Britain, a jumper[5] is a knitted garment typically with long sleeves, worn over the upper body (in North American terms, a sweater — and, it would seem, in particular, a pullover). What we call a jumper, the Brits would call a pinafore[5] (a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or [British] jumper [i.e., North American sweater]). Thus, if a British lass were to wear a pinafore over her jumper and a North American gal were to wear a jumper over her sweater, they would be dressed identically. The terms sweater and pullover would also appear to be in common use in the UK.

22d   This is spouted // to tape garbled (6)

23d   Also charged with marking on snooker table and small // disturbances (2-3)

The D^[5] is a semicircle marked on a billiard table in the baulk area, with its diameter part of the baulk line, within which a player must place the cue ball when breaking off or restarting from hand. The baulk line (US balk line^[5]) is a line parallel to one end of a billiard table, from behind which opening shots with the cue ball are made.

The Yankees are coming!
Oxford Dictionaries Online, having spelled baulk line in the British manner in the entry cited above, then uses the American spelling in its main entry for this term, balk line[5].

25d   Thug raps occasionally with singular // spirit (5)

Singular reprises its role from 5d.

Here, "occasionally" indicates that we are to select the odd letters — but this construct could equally well signify the even letters. A similar — and more precise — construct that we sometimes see is "off and on" or "on and off".

Turps^[3,4] is short for turpentine. Although Collins English Dictionary characterizes it as a British term, it is also found in the American Heritage Dictionary. In Australia and New Zealand, turps^[4] is any alcoholic drink, especially beer (especially in the phrase on the turps).

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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Monday, April 13, 2015 — DT 27627

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27627
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27627]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

It seems that I was not mentally alert when I solved this puzzle. I came up with an incorrect solution to one clue and spent an inordinate amount of time trying to justify it.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (&lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

1a   Agent in pursuit of man /is/ a criminal (10)

6a   A touch /of/ style (4)

10a   Business tycoon/'s/ doctor glumly sacking regulars (5)

The setter uses the phrase "regulars" to indicate that a regular sequence of letters is required. This virtually always denotes every second letter, although I do seem to recall having seen — on at least one occasion — the required sequence be every third letter. Furthermore, as is customarily the case, the setter does not specify whether we need the odd sequence or the even sequence — which we must figure out by trial and error.

I have observed that some bloggers (today's bloggers not necessarily included) seem to believe that "regular" means the even sequence and "irregular" means the odd sequence. However, both the even sequence and the odd sequence are regular in that the letters are evenly spaced and setters do use the term "regular" to indicate both sequences.

This misconception likely arises because setters also use the term "irregular" to denote an odd sequence of letters, based on irregular meaning 'peculiar' or 'odd'.

Therefore, solvers must be aware that "irregular" always denotes an odd sequence but "regular" can denote either an even sequence or an odd sequence. 

11a   Wild dog rose at // the rear entrance (5,4)

12a   Strange fancy /from/ member of academy on strike (7)

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is 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.

What did they say?
In their review, the 2Kiwis describe CHIME as "What Big Ben might do on the hour". Big Ben[5] is a name given to the great clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London and its bell.

In Greek mythology, a chimera^[5] is a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail.

13a   Notable // source of wealth in hospital department (7)

In the Crosswordland Hospital, patients rarely — if ever — find themselves anywhere but in the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[2]) department.

14a   Clearing one's mind? (12)

18a   Succeeded /and/ gathered nuts after brewing mead (4,3,5)

21a   How a lady might contain her shock? (7)

Behind the Picture

Ena Sharples[7] is one of the original characters from the British soap opera Coronation Street, appearing in the series for 20 years between 1960 and 1980. She was the caretaker of the mission hall, and spent much of her time criticising the activities of the street's other inhabitants. One of the main characters during the 1960s, she was featured less regularly in the 1970s due to the declining health of actress Violet Carson who played the part, and was written out in 1980.

23a   Look in after shifting // flexible worker (7)

Lo^[5] is an archaic exclamation used to draw attention to an interesting or amazing event ⇒ and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them.

Floater^[5] is a North American term for a worker who is required to do a variety of tasks as the need for each arises. The Chambers Dictionary is slightly less definitive, characterising the term as "especially North American". [Cue howls of British outrage.]

24a   Wrote off about constituency // car (3-6)

25a   A wash /gets you/ mentally alert (5)

Here "gets you" is equivalent to 'produces for you [the solver]'.

I quickly wrote in AWARE and then seemingly searched for donkey's years^[5] in a fruitless effort to figure out why "wash" and "ware" might be synonyms.

26a   Sap /from/ lettuce hearts (4)

Cos (or cos lettuce)^[5,10] is a [chiefly] British name for a variety of lettuce with a long slender head and crisp leaves (usual US and Canadian name: romaine). Although Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises this as a British term, it is found in both The American Heritage Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary — although it is clearly not the preferred term in North America.

Hearts^[2]) (abbreviation H) is one of the four suits of playing-cards.

Sap^[5] is an informal North American term for a bludgeon or club. [Cue another chorus of British outrage.]

Cosh^[5] is an informal British term for a thick, heavy stick or bar used as a weapon ⇒ the defendants deny having a self-loading pistol and a telescopic cosh. While The American Heritage Dictionary and the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary both agree with Oxford Dictionaries Online that the term is chiefly British, they describe a cosh^[3,11] seemingly quite differently, as a weighted weapon similar to a blackjack [a leather-covered bludgeon with a short, flexible shaft or strap, used as a hand weapon].

27a   Both sides of dispute produce // decline (10)

Down

1d   Operatic heroine's pinching carbon // copies (6)

Mimi is the tragic heroine of the opera La bohème^[7] by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924).

The symbol for the chemical element carbon is C^[5].

2d   Commonly permitted by law to adopt son, /but/ scarpers (4,2)

Scarper^[5] is an informal British term meaning to run away ⇒ they left the stuff where it was and scarpered.

Leg it^[5] is an informal British term meaning to (1) travel by foot or walk ⇒ I am part of a team legging it around London or (2) run away ⇒ he legged it after someone shouted at him.

3d   Feels respect -- an awful // deception (5,9)

4d   Discard // a team supporting actors (4,5)

In North America, the term side^[3] is used in a very general fashion that can denote one of two or more opposing individuals, groups, teams, or sets of opinions. While this same general usage would seem to exist as well in the UK, the term side^[5] is also used there in a much more specific sense to mean a sports team ⇒ (i) Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.; (ii) They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you..

5d   Speak, /though/ angry, having love for Italy (5)

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love^[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Italy is I^[5].

7d   Salon special not protected repeatedly /for/ loss of hair (8)

Alopecia^[5] is a medical term for baldness.

8d   Tradition /of/ Russian museum losing millions (8)

The Hermitage^[5] is a major art museum in St Petersburg, Russia, containing among its collections those begun by Catherine the Great. [Named with reference to the ‘retreat’ in which the empress displayed her treasures to her friends.]

9d   Argumentative type // was up, unhappy with vote about accountant (6,8)

The abbreviation CA^[5] for Chartered Accountant  is used in Scotland — and was formerly employed in Canada. However, as of January 2013, Canadian CA's have adopted the CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) designation. In England and Wales, the designatory letters are ACA or FCA while in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) the acronym CAI is used.^[7]

15d   Go on behalf of church // employees (9)

The wordplay can be broken down further than what the 2Kiwis show. It is WORK (go; I can't get the car to go) + FOR (on behalf of) + CE (church).

The Church of England^[10] (abbreviation CE^[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

16d   Forceful // energy and speed at one hundred (8)

17d   Consultants // notice face-saving devices (8)

19d   Mostly remain to welcome rising skill // levels (6)

20d   Bit of wind /makes for/ an easy task (6)

22d   Forget it! Leeds taking // the championship? (5)

Scratching the Surface

Leeds[5] is an industrial city in West Yorkshire, northern England; population 441,100 (est. 2009). It developed as a wool town in the Middle Ages, becoming a centre of the clothing trade in the Industrial Revolution. Leeds United Football Club[7] is an English football [soccer] club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire that plays in the Championship League (the second tier in the English football league system). I would not be surprised that were Miffypops writing this blog, he would pick a different Leeds sports team to mention. Yorkshire Carnegie[7] is an English rugby union club, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, currently playing in the RFU (Rugby Football Union) Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system.

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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Saturday, April 11, 2015 — A Recipe for the Ages

Introduction

I found today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon to be a bit more of a mental workout than what we have been accustomed to.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - yet to be solved

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue
	Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Alien ate a Star Trek // dish of raw meat (5,7)

{STEAK TARTARE}* — anagram (alien) of ATE A STAR TREK

9a   Somebody resolving // to get rid of apple juice? (7)

DECIDER — double definition; the latter whimsical [and thus the dashed underline]

If deice means to get rid of the ice that has formed on the wings of aircraft, then decider must surely mean to get rid of apple juice.

10a   Insane, Monet frames // a member of the buttercup family (7)

_ANE|MONE_ — hidden in (frames) InsANE MONEt

Scratching the Surface
Claude Monet[5] (1840–1926) was a French painter. A founder member of the impressionists, his fascination with the play of light on objects led him to produce series of paintings of single subjects painted at different times of the day and under different weather conditions, such as the Water-lilies sequence (1899–1906; 1916 onwards).

11a   Kind of tea /for/ a mother in South American land (9)

CH(A|MOM)ILE — {A (†) + MOM (mother)} contained in (in) CHILE (South American land)

12a   Simple // aborigine losing time (5)

NAIVE — NA[T]IVE (aborigine) with T (time) removed (losing)

13a   Fixer catching a // stray (7)

ME(A)NDER — MENDER (fixer) containing (catching) A (†)

15a   Irish county // having nothing more to do with young lady (7)

DONE|GAL — DONE (having nothing more to do) + (with) GAL (young lady)

16a   Tablet // Buddhist sect placed in box (7)

LO(ZEN)GE — ZEN (Buddhist sect) contained in (placed in) LOGE ([theatre] box)

19a   Indian groups maintaining large // fortresses (7)

CAST(L)ES — CASTES (Indian groups) containing (maintaining) L (large)

21a   Ocean area/’s/ fresh air (5)

O|ZONE —  O^[2] (ocean) + ZONE (area)

22a   Buddy receiving echo // before there was any speech? (9)

P(REVERB)AL — PAL (buddy) containing (receiving) REVERB (echo)

24a   Louder /and/ cruder ironies (7)

NOISIER* — anagram (cruder) of IRONIES

25a   Sources of advice // so clear when reinterpreted (7)

ORACLES* — anagram (when reinterpreted) of SO CLEAR

26a   Wilder sound // of peers in time (12)

GENE|RATIONAL — GENE (Wilder; American actor Gene Wilder^[7]) + RATIONAL (sound)

Down

2d   To club’s foremost hipster, a // musical piece (7)

TO|C|CAT|A — TO (†) + C (Club's foremost [initial letter]) + CAT (hipster) + A (†)

A toccata^[5] is a musical composition for a keyboard instrument designed to exhibit the performer’s touch and technique.

3d   Wearing gold ring, Diana // heard part of a broadcast (5)

AU(DI)O — DI ([diminutive for] Diana) contained in (wearing) {AU ([symbol for the chemical element] gold) + O ([letter that looks like a] ring)}

The audio is the "heard part" of the broadcast, as contrasted with the "seen part" or video.

4d   Slowpoke // arrived in ballpark section (7)

T(ARR)IER — ARR (arrived; as seen on a notice board at an airport, train station or bus terminal) contained in (in) TIER (ballpark section)

5d   Read about Stimpy’s pal/’s/ butt (4,3)

REA(R EN)D — READ (†) containing (about) REN (Stimpy's pal)

Ren and Stimpy^[7], created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi, are the titular characters in the American animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show as well as its adults-only spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". Kricfalusi created the characters during his stay at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. Ren is a scrawny, violently psychotic chihuahua, and Stimpy is a fat, stupid cat. They are often at odds with each other on the show, though they do share moments of closeness together.

6d   A writer’s describing nine // mountains of Italy (9)

A|PEN(NINE)S — A (†) + {PEN (writer) + S('s)} containing (describing) NINE (†)

The use of the word "describe" as a containment indicator is a common cryptic crossword convention. This device relies on describe^[3] being used in the sense of to trace the form or outline of ⇒ describe a circle with a compass. Thus, in today's clue, we have PENS containing (describing) NINE with the rationale for the wordplay being that the container (PENS) forms an outline around the contained entity (NINE) in a similar manner to the circumference of a circle forming an outline around the circular area contained within it.

7d   Eating away, // ignored bananas (7)

ERODING* — anagram (bananas) of IGNORED

8d   Singer/’s/ notes about Everly Brothers’ finale (7,5)

B(EVERLY| S)ILLS — BILLS ([bank] notes) containing (about) {EVERLY (†) + S (Brothers' finale; final letter [finale] of Brother[S])}

Beverly Sills^[7] (1929–2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s.

Scratching the Surface
The Everly Brothers[7] were an American country-influenced rock and roll duo comprising brothers Don (born 1937) and Phil (1939–2014) Everly.

9d   Dot // disturbed nice diplomat (7,5)

{DECIMAL POINT}* — anagram (disturbed) of NICE DIPLOMAT

14d   Also entering sandwich shop having a connection with // weed (9)

D(AND)ELI|ON — AND (also) contained in (entering) DELI (sandwich shop) + ON (having a connection with)

17d   Flying // animals kept together by Flash Gordon’s foe (7)

ZOO|MING — ZOO (animals kept together) + (by) MING (Flash Gordon's foe)

Flash Gordon^[7] is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip.

The comic strip follows the adventures of Flash Gordon, a handsome polo player and Yale University graduate, and his companions Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov. The story begins with Earth bombarded by fiery meteors. Dr. Zarkov invents a rocket ship to fly into space to find where the meteors originate. Half mad, he kidnaps Flash and Dale and they travel to the planet Mongo. The meteors are weapons devised by Ming the Merciless^[7], Mongo's evil ruler.

18d   Redistributed more per // ruler (7)

EMPEROR* — anagram (redistributed) of MORE PER

19d   Sandwich in bed, /and/ something to smoke (7)

C(HERO)OT — HERO (sandwich) contained in (in) COT (bed)

20d   Toss Lilly a flower (7)

LOB|ELI|A — LOB (toss) + ELI (Lilly; American industrialist Eli Lilly) + A (†)

Eli Lilly^[7] (1838–1898) was an American soldier, pharmaceutical chemist, industrialist, entrepreneur, and founder of the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation.

23d   Sheraton embraces // Clio’s sister (5)

_ERATO_ — hidden in (embraces) ShERATOn

In Greek and Roman mythology, the Muses^[5] are the nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences. The Muses are generally listed as Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flute playing and lyric poetry), Terpsichore (choral dancing and song), Erato (lyre playing and lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy and light verse), Polyhymnia (hymns, and later mime), and Urania (astronomy).

Scratching the Surface

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts[7] is the largest and second oldest brand (Westin being the oldest) of American hotel and leisure company Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. The origins of the brand date back to 1937 when Ernest Henderson and Robert Moore acquired the Stonehaven Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts. The chain got its name from another early hotel that the pair had acquired, which had a lighted sign on the roof saying "Sheraton Hotel" which was large and heavy and therefore too expensive to change. Instead, they decided to call all their hotels by that name.

Epilogue

The title of today's blog is inspired by 1a and 26a.

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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon