Three from LAT:
U.S. Information Agency got mixed up in a Tra-la from down under (9)
Scale model of a Mideastern dead one found in the Bible (5)
Rioted In Chaos headlined in the press (6)
Two from ST:
Caused happiness for related hearts (5)
Lingerie accessory is part of cougar territory (6)
 LAT |  Seattle Times 8/21/14 NYT |
Here are the solutions to yesterday's clues:
Corpse's place | in | recombinant | labs (4)
[SLAB] [=] [anagram] [LABS]
A piece | thematically arranged | to hum like a well-tuned car (4)
[PER] [homophone] = [PURR]
Young adults | are divided about | altitude | in | Crimean location (5)
[Y.^A.] [contain] [ALT.] [=] [YALTA]
Swami should | harbor | anachronists (5)
[swAMI SHould] [hidden] = [AMISH]
To keep the apartment longer | or | let it go? (7)
[RE-LEASE] [=] [RELEASE]
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LAT1: U.S. Information Agency got mixed up in a Tra-la from down under (9)
ReplyDeleteElaborate charade; but Tra-la, really - inspired by 3D I suppose. This time you were able to keep the CIA out of it. You probably don’t need “from” as that points to the adjectival form, not the noun.
LAT2: Scale model of a Mideastern dead one found in the Bible (5)
A fine if somewhat sinister charade. But you are showing (y)our age. Do kids still make scale models any more? I was always wary of HO vs OO. Sometimes, the scale would be labeled HO/OO, but I can remember bitter disappointment when my train was just a tad too big (or small) for the track; HO super-humans met OO regular guys; or aircraft met tanks. 1:72 vs. 1:76, I seem to recall.
LAT3: Rioted In Chaos headlined in the press (6)
Hard to hide that big anagram pointer, but nice misdirection for the definition. Not in the Chinese press, one notes.
ST1: Caused happiness for related hearts (5)
Nice link between the cryptic and the definition. But there are tense and (lesser) numerical issues here. The answer is present tense , while the definition is past tense. And I suppose you can get away with plural hearts , although it is really a singular heart - no Dr. Who here - and the singular would not make much sense.
ST2: Lingerie accessory is part of cougar territory (6)
Symmetrically hidden clue. Men used to wear garters too of course, to hold their socks up. Now I guess it’s strictly a woman thing.
NC
Thanks for your input
ReplyDeleteLAT: The kind of person to make ones nuts ache? (8)
Your comment: Anagram, the direct is rather vague, or irrelevant to the cryptic if you were trying for an &Lit!.
Response: Yes it’s a vulgar slang &Lit!; so I should have ended with a ! rather than ?, according to your rules. Nuts (vulgar slang) = Testicles. So, the direct might well overwork them to the point of pain.
ST3: Does this State have an elegant south-west?
Airy is elegant? Okay, if you say so. You left off (5).
Airy : giving an impression of light gracefulness and elegance: her airy presence filled the house.
State=SYRIA = AIRY-South = AIRYS (west) => SYRIA. What did I leave off?
ST4: Expect two calls (7)
Your comment: Not sure why the second one is a 'call', simple enough charade.
Response: One call (in poker or brag) is “see” = equal the bet of (an opponent).
ST5: Take a hard wood and something an Englishman might grasp; remove the head to yield an indispensable English gadget (3,6).
Your comment: Don't understand why a nettle is specifically something an Englishman might grasp, but otherwise a serviceable charade/dismemberment.
Response: I do try to carefully vet U.S. versus Brit phrases. My MacDic lists the phrase “grasp the nettle” in the Brit section but not the U.S. section, so I figured the phrase was not used (much) here. Nettles are rather rare here, and you read a lot of Brit Lit. And of course I could not ignore TEA KETTLE.
ST3: Bohemian, perhaps, arranged Oprah’s dynamic start (8)
Comment: Another charade/anagram, and used the head instead of throwing it away.
Response: I was concerned that your oft-claimed lack of musical knowledge might extend to the late, great, Freddie; I was even tempted to throw in a Queen or Mercury, but resisted.
P.S. I made sure we sang it last night at the graduate student retreat, along with that other rock-operatic great, American Pie.
Just one SAT
ReplyDeleteWhere to find a digger? Have trouble with creative activity and a posh article returned (9)
Re: ST1, I cut that d, but guess I didn't save the update correctly, as I see it's still there. Hearts plural is just a subtle bonus indicator that several letters are involved.
ReplyDeleteYour ST3: what you left off was the numeration, the (5) that should have followed the clue.
ST4: Ahh, I see your call!
ST5: You're correct, I've never heard the phrase grasp the nettle. An drawn-out aphorism about grasping a thistle (grab it loosely, it stings, but grab it tight and the stickers collapse without harm), but not a simple phrase.
New LAT: Where to find a digger? Have trouble with creative activity and a posh article returned (9)
There's only one 9-letter word in the puzzle, and I think digger is a slang term for something down there, tho not sure what. So that covers the direct, but can't see how the cryptic works at all.