Three from LAT:
I.e., two hit recordings (2,3)
Cheer for the matador's cape, and what might happen to it (5)
Sceptre even keeps people from dying (3)
Two from ST:
Could sleeping REM be caused by water stalactite? (6)
Otter Okinawa's thick skins can rule in North America (6)
 LAT |  Seattle Times 8/9/14 NYT |
Here are the solutions to yesterday's clues:
He messes up | getting | wooden shoe | to | Europe (8)
[SABOTEUR] [=] [SABOT] [+] [EUR.]
A train | with a | name | is | a gloss to floss (6)
[EL] [contains] [NAME] [=] [ENAMEL]
Bright | Scotty uses it to transport Kirk up to the ship? (4,4)
[HIGH BEAM] = [HIGH BEAM]
Beam me up, Scotty! There's no intelligent life down here.
Your | slangy steroid | regulates your metabolism (7)
[THY] ['ROID] = [THYROID]
High-strung guy | taught | acoustics (4)
[TAUT {guy wire}] = [TAUGHT] [homophone]
If you are only reading the main entries on this blog, you're only reading part of it! The comments are often more interesting and informative than the main entries, so check them out even if you don't plan to add one yourself! Please post comments, guesses, questions, partial answers, rationales, alternative clues, or anything even marginally related.
First, my clues from yesterday:
ReplyDeleteLAT1: Full marks.
LAT2: Radio P, it’s your | tree! (6)
Critique: Do you have a typo here? Was P supposed to be something more daddy-ish? Anyway, you're developing a fruity theme.
Response: You get half a point for getting the answer - PAPAYA. But there was no typo: "PAPA" is the codeword for "P" used in radio communication.
LAT3: Supernatural creature with possessive, inverted knee-joint.
Critique: Nope, you got me.
Response: The answer is STIFLE which describes the knee-like joint of animals - admittedly rather an obscure word, but it's in the dictionary.
Cryptic then is pretty obvious : Supernatural creature = ELF; possessive = ITS. Inverted => STI-FLE. Yet another of my charade reversals.
ST1: No thanks to the dance outfit (3)
Critique: Got me again.
Response: The answer is NGO = outfit. Cryptic: Dance = TANGO losing TA =Thanks = NGO. I suppose I might/should have added British for the thanks bit.
ST2: Direction to hang loose in California (7)
Critique: I can see 2 or 3 places that very broadly fit direction + hang loose, but nothing for Calif that would narrow it down.
Response: Answer = SUNBELT. Direction = S + "hang loose" = UNBELT. Admittedly, California is only one part of the Sunbelt, but where better to "hang loose"? I suppose I could/should have added "for example", at the end.
ST3: Encode L for Last (4,3)
Critique: I'd say off rather than out. But I think you left something out again.
Response: The answer is TAIL END. This was an experiment in "inverse charade", which I tried to indicate with "ENCODE". Thus, reading the answer cryptically, "taiL end" => "L". I expect you will say I have stretched the rules too far.
Now on to your clues for today
NC
LAT1: i.e., two hit recordings (2,3)
ReplyDeleteA fairly dodgy homophone, and almost an anagram.
LAT2: Cheer for the matador's cape, and what might happen to it (5)
Nice misdirection to OLE… and what might happen to him too, presumably.
LAT3: Sceptre even keeps people from dying (3)
Aha, those _i_d_n _l_e_ always keep me breathless for a while. But the spelling preferred in the Sceptred Isle focuses ones attention.
ST1? Surely this is LAT4: Could sleeping REM be caused by water stalactite? (6)
Mites go up, tights go down. The answer is clear. Is there a battle of the senses here? I see, I see, LE? I see cull? I cycle? I sickle? Aha! EYE cycle. “Sleeping” seems at first superfluous, so probably points to “sounds like”, since you cannot see when you are sleeping. But you can’t hear either. I still like the clue.
ST2: Surely this is LAT5: Otter Okinawa's thick skins can rule in North America (6)
Assuming this is a certain north American capital, “thick skin” might be better, as you refer to the outside of a single (presumably) fictitious name.
So here are 3 genuine picks from ST.
ReplyDeleteMisses the quiet ways (6)
See and hear intent to kill the mean ones (7)
Gift bearers' directional aids point west but without success (6)
Misses the quiet ways (6)
ReplyDeleteThe charade was closer than the direct.
See and hear intent to kill the mean ones (7)
I get die, Oh cease!, but don't understand how the bullies or midgets fit in.
Gift bearers' directional aids point west but without success (6)
Got the direct okay, but the charade is too convoluted. South ANTENNAS - NorthEast or NotExcellent? SATellite Non-Acceptable Success reverse? South NAVSAT - Victory reverse?