Problems | getting | loaders | to be orderly (7)
[ORDEALS] [=] [LOADERS] [anagram]
Get low down | right | in | upholstered bench (6)
[CROUCH] = [Right] [inside] [COUCH]
Barmaids | suffered vowel play | from | cranes (7)
[WENCHES] ["vowel play"] [=] [WINCHES]
The "vowel play", switching I and E, wasn't specified but was fairly simple.
Book crane | and | start | interrogation, 'cause he's already been over details (7)
[ICHABOD {Crane, from Sleepy Hollow}] [=] [first letters of] [Interrogation, 'Cause He's Already Been Over Details]
Jury | has controls for investigation (5)
[PANEL] = [{instrument/control} PANEL]
Double definition.
 LAT |  Seattle Times 7/14/14 sNYT |
Today's Cryptic clues include anagram, charade, container, pun. And a touch of equine mathematics. Be aware, sometimes a single letter can come from an unexpected place!
Three from LAT:
I will wait in Scottish hillside, by tiny hills that say it all (7)
Wrong tea to serve with rice/corn blend (9)
Is a pastel pachyderm a beast of bourbon? (4,8)
Two from Seattle Times:
Boat's circle (5)
In Anglican ritual, under ten hands over a head (5)
Owen – An elegant set today. I am only stuck with the last one, although I think I have the answer.
ReplyDeleteLAT1: I will wait in Scottish hillside, by tiny hills that say it all (7)
“By yon bonnie banks, and by yon bonnie….” I shall never forget the word for “Scottish hillside”. Otherwise, this one would have been tough, with a great cryptic- definition link.
Wrong tea to serve with rice/corn blend (9)
LAT2: I have often thought of using tea to indicate T, but thought it might mislead. Seems I was in error!
Is a pastel pachyderm a beast of bourbon? (4,8).
I’ve been known to have the occasional super-tipple, but never spotted the beast in question. Super clue, even if “pastel pachyderm” is a bit of a give-away, “beast of bourbon” is a splendid definition, calling out to that Rolling Stones classic:
Beast of Burden
sNYT1: Boat's circle (5)
A very nice compact self-contained clue, with punctuation misdirect. Call-out to the Beach Boys this time, but a link would give the answer.
sNYT2: In Anglican ritual, under ten hands over a head (5)
This is the toughest. A think the answer is MITRE. I think “Anglican” has a double use in pointing to British spelling and hinting at the answer. “Over a head” is sufficient in this context to define MITRE. “Ritual” could point to RITE, the last 4 letters of MITRE. But how does “ten hands” define M? CAN ANYONE OUT THERE HELP ME OUT?
NC: the intro gave two special hints to three answers. You found two of them. Nudge, nudge.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I learned those "tiny hills" a few years ago when it looked like my wife was going to need them. She had a medical miracle though, and so I haven't used that knowledge in years beyond marveling at how often signage gets it wrong.
Here is my collection:
ReplyDeleteInvite literary beau to espouse ancient city (7).
Calcium deposit has direction but lacks symmetry (7).
Searches for licensed massage parlor, perhaps (5).
The first and only upset is in the wind section (4).
Putrefaction backs call to save mutilated art (6).
Fornication begins to subsume old Government House. What a blast! (7).
NC
Owen
ReplyDeleteYes, should have read the intro. Roughly 0.63 inches, then, between me and total success. Interesting that that you placed the cryptic in the middle of the clue; i.e., flanked on two side by the definition. And I don't see a hint for "sounds like".
I love miracles, hate signage, too.
NC
Rituals are mostly spoken, so "in ... ritual" is the homophone indicator. The direct is all at the end. Anglican was just a bonus clue to the British spelling, and also a hint that the British Imperial System (of measurements) was involved.
ReplyDeletePretty sure I got all of yours today, but a couple I'm less sure I got the wordplay right.
Invite literary beau to espouse ancient city (7).
[GESTURE]=[{beau} GEST^E][+][UR]
Calcium deposit has direction but lacks symmetry (7).
[SCALE][NE]
Searches for licensed massage parlor, perhaps (5).
[GRUBS]=[G?][RUB][S?] but I don't see how you get [G] from "licensed" nor [S] from "parlor perhaps"
The first and only upset is in the wind section (4).
[A][BUT][reversed]=[TUBA]
"The first" had me looking for something that started or ended with [T] instead of [A]. Don't think "and only" is really good for [BUT] though, but I guess it worked.
Putrefaction backs call to save mutilated art (6).
[ROT][reversed][S.O.S.]=[TORSOS]
Fornication begins to subsume old Government House. What a blast! (7).
[F^ORN][O.G.H.]=[FOGHORN]
Needed something the indicate just the initials of "Old Government House" were used.
Owen
DeleteI am still bemused when I see "British Thermal Units" on U.S. appliances. I can barely remember their use in Britain (I'm going back to the 60s). I am afraid Britland has been largely Napoleonized - revenge for Waterloo, I suppose. Beer is still served in Imperial pints (20 fl. oz.) and distances and speeds are posted in miles (per hour), but that's about it. So the U.S. is really the last holdout of the British Imperial measurement system. Ah, what historical irony.
Glad you did not miss UR (of the Chaldees) - it's almost a hackneyed Brit clue, but I have not seen it over here. Two letter words aren't used in standard American crosswords, of course.
GRUBS - this was a playful suggestion for the name of a Government-run massage parlor: G-RUBS, as in G-MEN. I tried to indicate that with "perhaps". Maybe an exclamation mark would have helped. Government, rather than licensed, seemed too obvious.
ABUT: "The first" is A, as you said. But "and" is only a linker. Only "only" clues "but", as in "He is but a shadow of his former self".
FOGHORN - I felt that the capitalization of Government House was sufficient to indicate initials. I should have capitalized "Old" as well.
NC