the cresta club : definition of the cresta club and synonyms of the cresta club (English) Jump to: navigation , search This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) Start at Cresta Run The Cresta Run is a natural ice 1,212.5 m (3,978 ft, over three-quarter mile) long skeleton racing sled run or track, originally based on a river which is now a track in the Swiss winter sports town of St. Moritz , and one of the few runs dedicated primarily to skeleton. It was built in 1884 by Major Bulpetts eventual founder of the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club (SMTC), and the people of St Moritz near the hamlet of nearby Cresta in the municipality of Celerina/Schlarigna . It has continued as a partnership to this day between the SMTC, founded in 1887 and the people of St. Moritz.

The sport of intermural sled racing originated there around the nascent winter resort activities at the Kulm hotel during the early winters of the 1870s, and eventually the head first style became for a time known as 'Cresta' racing, and the members still congregate in the evening at the Kulm in the 'Sunny Bar'. In the early days of competitive sledding however, the predominant style was luge style racing lying on one's back, but the invention of the flexible runner sled (Flexible flyer) in 1887 known colloquially as 'the American' led to Mr. Cornish using the head first style in the 1887 Grand National. He finished fourteenth due some erratic rides but established a trend and by the 1890 Grand National all competitors were riding head first. 3 Contents 6 External links The sport and its history Cresta run and the SMTC was founded by devotees of sledding (tobogganing in British parlance) derivative 'head first' sledding down an icy run as opposed to the feet-first supine somewhat faster Luge race which enables higher speeds.

Either method is quite a rush as the walls rush by at nearly 39 m/s (127 ft/s ). Both evolving sports were natural extensions of the invention of steerable sleds during the early 1870s by British guests of the Kulm hotel. These initial crude sleds were developed almost accidentally—as bored well-to-do gentlemen naturally took to intermural competition in the streets and byways of twisty mountainous downtown St Moritz hazarding each other and pedestrians alike. This gave impetus to a desire to steer the sleds, and soon runners and a clumsy mechanism evolved to allow just that along the longer curvaceous streets of the 1870s, which alas, also allowed higher speeds on the longer runs. Local sentiments varied, but eventually complaints grew vociferous over several years and Kulm hotel owner Caspar Badrutt eventually built the first natural ice run for his guests, as he'd worked hard to popularize wintering in the mountain resort, and didn't want to lose any customers to ennui, nor his work force to injury from errant sleds on the streets.

On such a track, which is mainly a u-shaped half-tube of ice, if the driver does not 'work the turns' properly, he is likely to leave the track and be thrown 'over the curb' some distance away; such accidents often generate serious injuries. The top speed in luge is around 140 km/h (88 mph ) and the less efficient aerodynamics of head first skeletons keep their speeds down to a top of 130 km/h . Both have their appeal, the awkwardness of lying on one's back being somewhat compensated by the higher attainable speeds in the Luge. The run and club The run has its head end (top) located under a geological formation known as the 'Leaning Tower'. Overall total drop is 514 ft and the gradient varies from 2.8 to 1 to 8.7 to 1 (length to drop). The Cresta track is not shared with Bobsled unlike the first half-pipe sledding track built by hotelman Caspar Badrutt for his guests.

Most of it is located within the contour of a steep ravine and it is created anew each winter using the rocky ravine and banks of earth as a butressing bulwark for wooden framework and iced packed snow. It is owned and operated by an all male club created in 1885 by British military officers with the official name of the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club (SMTC), but is generally just as often referred to as 'The Cresta Club'. The exclusion of females from the course is a change dating from the late 1920s due to injuries to female racers. This exclusion is still enforced and took official effect in 1929, though women were banned from competitive events several years earlier. The course has two entrances known in typical British understatement as 'top' and 'junction' respectively; and two parts known as 'upper' and 'lower' or equivalently, 'bottom'. The entrance at junction is adjacent to the SMTC clubhouse and is about a third of the way down from 'top' as the sled slides. Similarly, the exit is simply called finish, and given a typical average speed of over fifty mph, the rider will exit the course at over 80 mph.

The upper part ends (merges) into the 'lower' at 'junction' and beginners are prohibited from upper until certified. There are ten named turns and one safety area known by the name of its nearest vicious turn Shuttlecock, the most famous (and infamous) left corner on the Run. According to the club literature, " 'Fallers' at Shuttlecock automatically become members of the Shuttlecock Club and are entitled to wear a Shuttlecock tie. 1 " At this point, if a rider is out of control, he will involuntarily leave the track in some airborne manner. Hence the grounds beyond are regularly refreshed with soft snow and straw in hopes of minimizing injuries. One of the social highlights of the club is the annual shuttlecock dinner. It is every year organised by a yearly-appointed shuttlecock president usually a very well known and prominent rider. Past Presidents were: Prinz Tino Liechtenstein, Gianni Agnelli, Gunter Sachs, Sir Dudly Cunliffe-Owen, Jean-Noel Prade, Rolf Sachs, Lord Dalmeny, Marcel Melcher, Count Luca Marenzi, Marc M.K. Fischer, Lord Wrottesley, Sven Ley.

The primary purpose of the 1300 member club founded in 1887 is "…the conduct of races and practice on the Cresta Run and the encouragement of tobogganing generally…" 2 While not snobbish, the Cresta Club gathers well-to-do gentlemen and is totally amateur. There are many more Luge and Bobsled runs world wide, but only one Cresta devoted to head first sledding promotion. The club asserts that most of the other sledding sports are dominated by professionals and it is one of the last bastions of the true amateur in sports. Like many social clubs, members are elected from a list of qualifiers called the Supplementary List. The course is open to anyone that meets the three criteria for making that list, and need not be English. It has a lot of clubbish rites such as the "Firework", the "Shuttlecock Club" and a dedicated drink, the "Bullshot". It has even a secret society similar to the US "Skull and Bones". The historic Cresta run was used as an Winter Olympics course twice— both times during which the winter games were hosted in St.

Moritz (1928 and 1948), such doubling being itself a rarity. The club sponsors over thirty races a season which generally runs from just before Christmas to late February. The track is opened as soon as it is seasonally possible to do so, and kept open in the same weather dependent manner like all natural ice and snow attractions. Notable rider-members Some notably good riders from the membership of the past were Nino Bibbia Italy, Jack Heaton and Billy Fiske USA, (the first American pilot killed in World War II as a volunteer in the "Millionaire Squadron"). Among the best riders in recent years: 8 times Grand National Winner and Swiss Franco Gansser, Lord Clifton Wrottesley , finished fourth at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and Marcel Melcher, youngest ever Winner (age 19) of the Grand National, Women and the Cresta Although current rules [1] forbid women-riders, it was not always so [2] .

For example, T A Cook records that in 1895, various experiments were made by women on the Cresta testing different riding positions on different styles of toboggan; although at that time women-riders were encouraged to use only the lower half of the course. Footnotes ↑ Notes on Tobogganing at St Moritz, Second Edition, Chapter IX, by T A Cook, 1896 External links National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum: January 2011 National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum A forum for solvers of cryptic crossword puzzles published in the National Post Monday, January 31, 2011 Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, October 28, 2010 Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Introduction In his review, Big Dave comments "I found this to be one of [Ray T's] easier puzzles and came close to incurring the wrath of some by giving it two stars for difficulty." I'm afraid that I found it a trifle more challenging - with my Tool Chest getting the call to action relatively early today. I experienced the most difficulty on the left hand side of the puzzle.

I observed that there are no illustrations on Big Dave's blog today. I do wonder whether Gazza, had he been on duty, could not have resisted classic Ray T provocations such as 1d and 21a. Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Clues: manor - noun 2 [1st entry] British informal the district covered by a police station Appearing in Solutions: DI - abbreviation [2nd entry] (in the UK) Detective Inspector Within the British police, inspector is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, but junior to that of chief inspector. Plain-clothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix 'detective' identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID). duck 5 - noun Cricket a batsman's score of nought: he was out for a duck Diocese of Ely - a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely.

patch - noun 3 [2nd entry] British informal an area for which someone is responsible or in which they operate: we didn't want any secret organizations on our patch Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above. 9a Lie, possibly, with fantastic 'Castle in the Air'? (9) In effect, this clue has not one, not two, but three anagram indicators. The definition is "in the air" with the solution being CELESTIAL. The wordplay is an anagram (possibly) of LIE and an anagram (fantastic) of CASTLE, from all of which yet another anagram (as indicated by "with") must be formed. My reaction closely parallels that of Big Dave, who writes "merging two anagrams like this only works for me if they are juxtaposed, not intermingled". The use of "with" as an anagram indicator, I suppose, is analogous to an expression such as 'coffee with cream' which implies that the two are mixed together.

However, it seems that in this case, the recipe is stir the cream, stir the coffee, add the cream to the coffee, and stir once more. 12a Top detective's manor (8) This is a cryptic definition [or maybe not - see comment from Gazza] with a distinctly British flavour. In Britain, the "top detective" would be a detective inspector (DI for short) and "manor" is an informal term signifying "the district covered by a police station". 'Patch' has a similar (although more general) meaning in the U.K., "an area for which someone is responsible or in which they operate". Thus a "top detective's manor" would be a "DI's patch" (DISPATCH). 5d 'Motley Crue' with mild treatment for instrument (8) Time for another coffee break. Apply the same recipe as in 9a. Stir (motley) CRUE, stir (treatment) MILD, combine the results and stir (with) to get DULCIMER (a musical instrument).

Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by 1a COPING| SAW - COPING (contending with difficulty) + SAW (spotted) 6a FINER - double definition; "better" & "person applying a punishment" 9a V(AN)ILLA - VILLA (Italian house) containing (importing) AN 10a RARE|BIT - RARE (uncommon) + BIT (morsel) 11a _R|A|HS - R (for, ultimately; i.e., final letter of "for") + A + HS (high school) 12a RO(MAN A CLE)F< - MANACLE (bond) contained in (goes in) a reversal (backing) of FOR 14a PIN(KING) S|HEARS - {KING (monarch) contained in (wearing) PINS (brooches)} + HEARS (notes the sound of) 17a S(LEDGE) HAMMERS - SHAMMERS (people acting deceitful) containing (about) LEDGE (shelf) 21a BREADBOARD* - anagram (oddly) of BARBED ROD

 A 23a _SKY|E - {hidden in (somewhat) duSKY} + E (English) 25a RE|GENTS - RE (regarding) + GENTS (males) 26a CHI|ANTI - CHI (Greek character) + ANTI (not in favour of) 27a NORSE* - anagram (dotty) of ROSEN 28a PITCH|FOR|K - PITCH (sales spiel) + FOR + K ($1000) Down 1d C(OVER) UPS - CUPS (trophies) containing (about) OVER (finished) 2d PEN|CHANTS - PEN (to write) + CHANTS (Gregorian music) 3d NILE - NIL (scratch) + E (eastern) 4d SEA SON|G - SEASON (lend flavour to) + G (musical note) 5d WARPATH* - anagram (stirred up) of WHAT RAP 6d FI(RE AL|A)RMS - {REAL (concrete) + A (article)} contained in (in) FIRMS (companies) 7d

 NO(B)EL - NOEL (carol) containing (receives) B (second rate) 8d RAT|IF|Y - RAT (rodent) + IF + Y (yellow) 13d RIVERDANCE* - anagram (mad) of RACE DRIVEN 15d {SNEAK INTO}* - anagram (wrongly) of ONES TANK I 16d AS(TERIS)K - ASK (inquire) containing (about) TERIS (Ms.

Garr's) Note: the reference is to American actress Teri Garr 18d GRO(WS) UP - WS (William Shakespeare) contained in (surrounded by) GROUP (set) Note: the clue utilizes an inverted sentence structure 19d HA(RICO)T - HAT containing (accommodates) RICO 20d OBERON* - anagram (funny) of ROBE ON 22d _EDGER_ - hidden in (used in) hEDGERows 24d HIGH~ - sounds like (pronounced) HI (greeting) Note: "sharp" is used in the sense of a musical note Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Introduction Today Jay demonstrates that a puzzle doesn't need to be difficult to be enjoyable. And, while my Tool Chest enjoyed the day off, a few of the clues did demand some intense concentration in order to decipher the wordplay. Birthday Greetings Today Big Dave's Crossword Blog celebrates its second anniversary of existence. I would like to extend congratulations to Big Dave on reaching this milestone for what is truly an awesome site.

Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Clues: flog - verb 2 British informal sell or offer for sale: he made a fortune flogging beads to hippies While I don't believe that the use of the term flog in this sense is unheard of in Canada, it is more apt to be used in the sense of "to sell an idea" or "to publicize aggressively" (e.g., an author making the rounds of the talk shows to flog a book). international - noun 1 British a game or contest between teams representing different countries in a sport. a player who has taken part in an international game or contest. Appearing in Solutions: cor - exclamation British informal expressing surprise, excitement, admiration, or alarm: Cor! That‘s a beautiful black eye you’ve got! Leeds - 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.

rubicon - noun a point of no return: on the way to political union we are now crossing the Rubicon The Rubicon is a stream in NE Italy which marked the ancient boundary between Italy and Cisalpine Gaul. Julius Caesar led his army across it into Italy in 49 bc , breaking the law forbidding a general to lead an army out of his province, and so committing himself to war against the Senate and Pompey. The ensuing civil war resulted in victory for Caesar after three years.

stoppages - 3 British deductions from one's wages by an employer for the payment of tax, National Insurance, and other costs: £6.40 an hour before stoppages Test 1 - noun 2 short for Test match , an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries: the Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies ulster - noun a man's long, loose overcoat of rough cloth, typically with a belt at the back; Origin: (late 19th century) from Ulster , where it was originally sold Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above. 4a Student turfed out of Boston, for example, being a foreigner (8) The wordplay is a reference to the Boston Strangler and uses L as standard cryptic shorthand for student (which derives from the symbol that British student drivers must display on their vehicles). If L is removed from (turfed out of) STRANGLER (Boston, for example, being), the remainder is STRANGER (a foreigner).

I had originally parsed the clue differently, thinking that "Boston, for example" stood for STRANGLER and "being a foreigner" represented STRANGER. Of course, the problem with this is that Boston is not an example of a strangler. I even considered that the removal indicator might be merely "turfed" and that "out of Boston, for example" might stand for STRANGLER. However, that would lead to a clue reading 'Student turfed strangler' which does not work, either. It was only as I was writing (and rewriting) this entry for the blog that I realized what seems to be the correct (though somewhat stilted) explanation. It is "Boston, for example, being" (meaning a being - i.e., a personage - from Boston, for example) that stands for STRANGLER. 15d Popular hand-out leads to new contract and exceptional inactivity (9) This clue may be a charade, but "leads to" is not appearing as a charade indicator. Rather, its role is to indicate that we are to take the first (leading) letters of "N(ew), C(ontract) and E(xceptional)".

One might suppose that we could obtain the letters N, C and E as abbreviations. However, while N is an accepted abbreviation for "new", I am not aware that the other two are recognized abbreviations. The definition is "inactivity" having the solution INDOLENCE. The wordplay is IN (popular) + DOLE (hand-out) + N + C + E. 20d Grounds for execution in America (6) While not truly the last clue to be solved, this was the last entry to actually be written into the grid. I correctly suspected that the solution might be STATES, and even recognized the connection between 'estates' and "grounds". However, I continued to resist filling in the grid, not seeing how one might get from 'estates' to 'states'. Finally, the penny dropped, as I remembered that one of the fundamental laws of Cryptic Crosswordland is that "executions are almost invariably accomplished through beheading". Thus "grounds for execution" signifies 'estates beheaded' (i.e., with the leading letter deleted).

Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Introduction I solved virtually the entire puzzle outside the northwest quadrant unaided - but needed lots of assistance from my Tool Chest in that sector. I did play around with LINGERIE at 9a, until I discovered that, while I was in the right department, I needed to narrow my choice in ladies' garments. Distracted by all these women's underwear and night clothes, I failed to notice that the puzzle is a pangram. Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Clues: Romeo - noun 3 communications in the NATO alphabet: the word used to denote the letter 'R' Appearing in Solutions: rabbit - British informal noun 2 a conversation: we had quite a heated rabbit about it verb 2 talk at length, especially about trivial matters:stop rabbiting on, will you, and go to bed! The expression derives from rabbit and pork, rhyming slang for ‘talk’. Yes, apparently the Brits (or some of them, at least) do pronounce 'talk' to rhyme with 'pork'.

You can judge for yourself from the pronunciation examples to be found here: pork , talk . RE - abbreviation religious education (as a school subject) River Taff - a large river in Wales, arising as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan (Little Taff) and the Taf Fawr (Big Taff) — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil semi - noun informal 1 British a semi-detached house: a three-bedroomed semi [Note: this expression is also frequently encountered in Canada] Sierra - noun 2 communications in the NATO alphabet: the word used to denote the letter 'S' spiv - noun British informal a man, typically a flashy dresser, who makes a living by disreputable dealings Appearing at Big Dave's Crossword Blog tip 2 - noun 1 British a place where rubbish is left [Note: In Canada, rubbish would more likely be called garbage and a tip would definitely be a dump. However, the dump might charge a tipping fee to deposit garbage there.] Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

27a Youngster really submitting name for college (6) The definition is "youngster" with the solution being INFANT. The wordplay is IN FACT (really) with N replacing C - submitting N(ame) for C(ollege). 29a Old man's mention of hot spring (6) This is a homophone clue that (unlike the one at 14a) does not transport well outside Britain - and maybe not even within Britain. The definition is "old man", who happens to be a GEEZER, which (to a Brit) sounds like (mention of) GEYSER (hot spring). You can judge the similarity in pronunciation of these words (and contrast them with the North American pronunciations) by listening to the pronunciation examples to be found here: geezer , geyser . Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26379 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, October 23, 2010 Introduction I found it difficult to find a starting point in today's puzzle.

However, once I did, I managed to complete it without any electronic assistance - which made me feel pretty good. I felt even better, when I saw that Libellule had awarded three stars for difficulty. The opinions of the Brits were very polarized regarding this puzzle - some thinking it to be relatively easy, but the majority seemingly finding it on the more difficult side. Libellule, who had initially awarded it only two stars for difficulty, later increased that to three stars based on the feedback received from readers of the blog (thus explaining the reference to "two stars" found in many of the earlier comments.

Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Solutions: estate - noun 1 [1st subentry] British an area of land and modern buildings developed for residential, industrial, or commercial purposes ghost train - noun British a miniature train at a funfair designed to scare its passengers with eerie sights and sounds Reader - noun 4 British a university lecturer of the highest grade below professor Reynard - noun literary a name for a fox tick 1 - noun 2 [2nd entry] British informal a moment: I shan't be a tick; I'll be with you in a tick Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above. 12a Gathers and puts the sheep to bed? (7) The full meaning of this clue does not appear to come through clearly in Libellule's hint.

In this double definition type clue, the first definition is "gathers" which happens to be a sewing term: gather - verb 7 [with object] draw and hold together (fabric or a part of a garment) by running thread through it [note: thus creating folds]: the front is gathered at the waist The solution is ENFOLDS, which means: enfold - verb 3. to form with or as with folds The second definition is cryptic, and is a play on the word fold (an enclosure for sheep). If the shepherd puts the sheep in the fold for the night, he might be said to 'enfold' them! Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Introduction The relatively small number of Briticisms in today's puzzle did not impede me significantly as I was able to guess a couple of those that I hadn't seen before from the wordplay. I should have gotten the third, but was mistakenly looking for a barrier that had been knocked down, rather than a sheep that had taken a tumble.

Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Clues: grass - noun 4 British informal a police informer Appearing in Solutions: lady's finger - [Oxford Dictionaries Online] noun British 1 another term for kidney vetch , a yellow-or orange-flowered grassland plant of the pea family. Native to Europe and the Mediterranean, it is sometimes grown as a fodder crop (Anthyllis vulneraria, family Leguminosae) lady's finger -[Search Chambers] noun 1 okra 2 the popular name for the wild flower, kidney vetch Margate - a seaside town in East Kent, England pressie - noun British informal a present snout - noun 3 British informal a police informer up - adverb 4 [2nd entry] British at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge: they were up at Cambridge about the same time Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

4d Maybe something in the garden the woman had got rid of (4) If one can't get the solution from two definitions, how about three. Here we have a triple definition: "maybe (i.e., an example of) something in the garden", "the woman had (i.e., she'd)" and "got rid of". 8d Index woman uses maybe to find plant (5,6) An "index lady uses" would be a 'lady's finger' which is also the name of a plant - in fact, the name of more than one plant. Oxford Dictionaries Online points us to kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria) while Search Chambers directs us also to okra (Abelmoschus esculentus). Gazza's hint would appear to miss the point that these are two different plants - with okra being used primarily for food and kidney vetch a medicinal plant and fodder crop. Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Introduction My performance today correlates well with Big Dave's difficulty rating for the puzzle. There were a few British references in the puzzle.

However, for the most part they didn't seriously impede me as I had either seen them before or was able to guess them.

Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Clues: squash 1 - noun 2 British a concentrated liquid made from fruit juice and sugar, which is diluted to make a drink: orange squash Appearing in Solutions: annexe - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun Chiefly British variant of annex d - abbreviation British penny or pence (of pre-decimal currency): £20 10s 6d [from Latin denarius 'penny'] ice - noun 2 chiefly British an ice cream, ice lolly (also iced lolly, noun British a piece of flavoured ice or ice cream on a stick), or portion of water ice (noun a dessert consisting of frozen fruit juice or flavoured water and sugar) kip 3 - informal British noun 1 a sleep or nap: I might have a little kip; he was trying to get some kip verb sleep: he can kip on her sofa Leicester 2 - noun 1 (also Red Leicester) a kind of mild, firm orange cheese originally made in Leicestershire prep 1 - noun informal British (in an independent school) schoolwork that is set to be done outside normal

 school hours [Note: an independent school is one that has traditionally been known in Britain as a public school, but would be called a private school in North America] River Ouse - any of several rivers in the United Kingdom.

According to Big Dave, the 'best-known' of them is the one in Yokshire: the River Ouse , a river in North Yorkshire, England the River Great Ouse , a river in the east of England that, at 143 miles (230 km) long, is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom the River Little Ouse , a river in the east of England, and a tributary of the River Great Ouse which, for much of its length, defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk the River Ouse , a river in the counties of West and East Sussex in England sheila - noun Australian /NZ informal a girl or woman whip - verb 4 British informal steal (something): the escaper had whipped his overcoat Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above. 26a Very good! Very good! Not as good! (2-2) In the surface reading we can envision an observer commenting upon the performance of someone who, in attempting a series of athletic maneuvers, performs the first couple quite well and then flubs the third.

The definition is "not as good" for which the solution is SO-SO. The wordplay is SO (very good) repeated. We have seen "very good" being used as a synonym for 'so' as recently as last Thursday, where the clue was: [ DT 26375 ] 7d Assistant in kitchen, very good American, leading one astray (4-4) Here so is used as: conjunction 4 [2nd entry] introducing a question following on from what was said previously: so what did he do about it? In such a situation, one might also say 'Very good, what did he do about it' which might express the idea that what has been said so far is fine, and encourages the speaker to provide further information. It might even, depending on the tone of voice, convey the message that the speaker should quickly get to the point. 9d That youngster, a thief with a camera maybe? (14) Whip is British slang meaning 'to steal', so a whipper would be a "thief". A camera might be called a snapper (something used to snap photos). When one puts these together, the result is whippersnapper, a "youngster".

15d Early form of transport, a.k.a. 'Feroan'? (4,5) I could find no evidence that such a word as 'Feroan' actually exists, so it may be a construction of the setter's imagination. However, if one were to deconstruct it, one would obtain IRON (Fe, the chemical symbol for the element iron) + HORSE (roan). 16d Drinks squashes (8) The surface reading of this clue, which no doubt seems bizarre to most North Americans, would make sense to a Brit who would think of squashes as drinks made by adding water to a mixture of concentrated fruit juice and sugar. 17d Copper runs to workers for fruit (8) In the cryptic reading, the setter likely intended "runs" to refer to a cricket term. However, the clue works equally well if one is into baseball rather than cricket. 19d He is involved with penniless boy and girl (6) This is the clue where I needed to seek help from my electronic aids. A search for candidate solutions matching the checking letters produced only a single plausible result, SHEILA.

Once I had that, the wordplay was pretty straightforward to decipher - an anagram (involved) of HE IS + LA(d) {penniless (with a 'D') LAD (boy)} where 'd' is the abbreviation for penny in the old (pre-decimal) British currency system. Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by Saturday, January 22, 2011 - Father of Modern Theatre Introduction Today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon is a tribute to a man who has been called the 'father of modern theatre' and features a trio of his most notable works. Commentary on Today's Puzzle 7a Pass old Dynasty shed (4,3) The definition is "pass" with the solution being HAND OFF. Here, hand off is likely intended in the general sense of "to pass control of something to another party" rather than as a play in American or Canadian football, where to hand off the ball means "to hand the ball to a teammate during play".

While handing off the ball could conceivably be considered to pass the ball from one player to another in the general sense of the word 'pass', it would not be considered a pass in football, as a pass involves throwing the ball to another player, whereas a hand off consists of placing the ball in the other player's hands. In other words, a hand off is considered to be a running play, not a passing play. For British readers, the reference is definitely not to the Rugby term hand off , to ward off (an opponent) using a hand-off (the act of warding off an opposing player with the open hand). The capitalization on Dynasty in the surface reading may be intended to make us think of the Dynasty , an automobile manufactured in the late 80's and early 90's by Chrysler (marketed in the U.S. as a Dodge and in Canada as a Chrysler). Alternatively, it may be a reference to the 1980's American prime time television soap opera Dynasty . 16d One wearing special suit hit grand slam? (7) I would say that the question mark in this clue is an indication that a grand slam is an example of the solution, rather than a precise definition.

In this case, we are mixing baseball and bridge terms. In either game, a "grand slam" is a TRIUMPH. In baseball, it is a home run with the bases loaded - thus scoring four runs. In bridge, it is taking all the tricks during the play of a hand. "Suit" refers both to a baseball uniform (in the surface reading) or to one of the four suits in a deck of cards (in the cryptic reading). For foreign readers, hit (or base hit ) is a baseball term meaning "a hit that enables the batter to reach a base safely without causing an error, a force play, or a fielder's choice". A hit (abbreviation H) may be a single (one where the batter reaches first base), a double (the batter reaches second base), a triple (the batter reaches third), or a home run (the batter makes a complete circuit of the bases, returning to home plate).

Solution to Today's Puzzle 1a {THE WILD DUCK}* - {anagram (dotty) of CUDDLE WITH} + K (kay) The Wild Duck - an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen 7a HAN|D OFF - HAN (old [Chinese] dynasty) + DOFF (shed) 8a CECILI*|A - anagram (disturbed) of ICICLE + A Saint Cecilia - the patron saint of musicians and Church music 10a DISC|E|RN|ED - DISC (record) + E (last piece of advicE) + (by) RN ([Registered] Nurse) + ED 11a ERA|TO - ERA (period of time) + TO (intended for; e.g., as a Christmas present) Erato - in Greek mythology, the Muse of lyric poetry, especially love and erotic poetry 12a AN(ARCH)Y - ARCH (bridge) contained in (in) ANY (some) 14a DU(RRE)LL - reversal (back) of ERR (wander) contained in (corralled by) DULL (boring) Lawrence

 George Durrell (1912 – 1990) - expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer 15a ANTIOCH* - anagram (moved) of TO CHINA Antioch - an ancient Syrian city on the eastern side of the Orontes River, near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey 18a {GO DUTCH}* - anagram (treated) of THUG DOC 20a LO(I)RE - LORE (legend) containing (about) I (one) Loire - the longest river in France 21a T|ROUSSEAU - T (front of The) + ROUSSEAU (French painter, any of several) Henri Rousseau (1844 – 1910) - French Post-Impressionist painter [or, should you prefer other genres, Jacques Rousseau , Jeanne Rij-Rousseau or Théodore Rousseau ] 23a _RO|MANIC_ - hidden in (found in) CaiRO MANICotti 24a CO(LET)TE - LET (allowed) contained in (inside) COTE (p

igeon coop) Colette - pen name of French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873 – 1954) 25a HEN{RIK IBSEN}* - {anagram (cast) of BIKERS IN} following (going after) HEN (chicken) Henrik Ibsen (1828 – 1906) - a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet who is often referred to as "the father" of modern theatre Down 1d TUNISIA - {IS + I (one)} contained in (surrounded by) TUNA (fish) 2d EV(OK)E - EVE (the night ahead) + OK (sanction) 3d IN|FANCY - IN + FANCY (imagination) 4d DE(CID)ED - CID (Spanish hero) contained in DEED (action) El Cid - Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c.

1043 – 1099), known as El Cid Campeador, was a Castilian nobleman, a military leader and diplomat who, after being exiled, conquered and governed the city of Valencia, Spain.

5d UNCLE|A|RED - UNCLE (relative) + A + RED (radical leftist) 6d KIL_|DARE - KIL_ {nearly (all but last letter of) KILL (eliminate) } + DARE (risk) County Kildare - a county in the province of Leinster, Republic of Ireland 7d {HEDDA GABLER}* - anagram (remade) of HAD LARGE BED Hedda Gabler - an 1890 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen 9d {A DOLLS HOUSE}* - anagram (new) of OLD LOUSE HAS A Doll's House - an 1879 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen 13d {CLOSE IN ON}* - anagram (snarled) of ONCE LIONS 16d TR(I)UMP|H - {I (one) contained in (wearing) TRUMP (special suit)} + H (hit) hit (abbreviation H) - noun baseball base hit , a hit that enables the batter to reach a base safely without causing an error, a force play, or a fielder's choice 17d HIT(A

)CH|I - {HITCH (marry) containing (outside of) A} + I (Italian) Hitachi Ltd.

- a Japanese multinational corporation specializing in high-technology and services I is the International Vehicle Registration code for Italy ( I 3) but I did not find any source to substantiate it as a recognized abbreviation for 'Italian' 18d G(NOCCH*)I - GI (soldier) containing (eating) an anagram (stewed) of CONCH 19d T(R)ENT|ON - {R (run) contained in (into) TENT (simple shelter)} + ON (alongside; as in 'a cabin on a lake') Trenton - a community in and the major population centre of the Southern Ontario municipality of Quinte West. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the location of.Canadian Forces Base Trenton, an important facility for Canadian Forces Air Command's transport and search and rescue operations.

run - noun 32 baseball a score in baseball made by traveling around all the bases to home plate 22d SOLES - double definition; "varieties of flat fish" & "under surfaces; as in 'soles of the feet'" Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Introduction It seems that I could not get my brain out of first gear this morning. As a result, my Tool Chest was called into action early and often. On top of that, I needed to look at Crypticsue's review to understand the wordplay in a couple of clues - only to find that it was quite trivial. Isn't it amazing how much clearer everything appears in the rear view mirror. Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Clues: Kent - a county in southeast England, widely known as "The Garden of England" because of its abundance of orchards and hop gardens. paddy 2 - noun [in singular] British informal a fit of temper: John drove off in a paddy Appearing in Solutions: Financial Times (FT) - a British international business newspaper.

hunter - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 5 a watch with a hinged metal lid or case (hunting case) to protect the crystal Also called hunting watch. See also half-hunter. oast - (or oast house) a farm building for drying hops Offa's Dyke - a massive linear earthwork, roughly following some of the current border between England and Wales, which, in the 8th century, formed some kind of delineation between the Anglian kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys. strop 2 - noun [usually in singular] British informal a bad mood; a temper: Nathalie gets in a strop and makes to leave Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above. 8d A way team's deal is reported (4,6) This is a partial homophone (sounds like) clue, having the definition "a way", which gives us SIDE STREET as a solution, and the wordplay is SIDES (team's) + TREET, which sounds like (is reported) TREAT.

Supposedly, "deal" is a synonym for 'treat'. However, to the best of my knowledge, 'deal' on its own does not have this meaning, but only when it occurs in the phrase ' deal with '. 24a Reported bids finally ended, with key changes, for ancient fortification (5,4) This is another partial homophone clue - that depends on the soft British 'r' for effect. As pronounced by a Brit (or, likely more accurately, by some Brits) offers would sound like Offa's. Thus we have OFFAS {which sounds like (reported) OFFERS (bids)} + D {finally (ende)D} + YKE {an anagram (changes) of KEY). This all produces OFFAS DYKE (Offa's Dyke), an "ancient fortification". I had encountered this ancient fortification in at least one previous puzzle which partially helped me and partially hindered me. I did recall the first part (Offa's).

However, in a previous clue the word 'dyke' in the solution had been clued by "ditch" (in Britain, strangely, a dyke can be either an embankment or a ditch) and that somehow left 'Offa's Ditch' registered in my memory banks, rather than 'Offa's Dyke'. Try as I might, I could not get past this obstacle until I googled for help. 25a Newspaper robbery? (5) I failed to see the wordplay in this clue, which is a reference to the British newspaper The Financial Times (or FT). The clue could probably be considered a double definition where one definition is "newspaper" (THE FT) and the second is "robbery" (THEFT). 27a Drink given to judge meets requirements (8,2) The definition is " meets requirements" for which the solution is MEASURES UP. I got that easily enough. However, it took forever for the wordplay to dawn on me. I was thinking that a " drink" could be a measure (as in this example given by Oxford Dictionaries Online, "heavy drinking may be five measures of spirits per day").

Eventually, the penny dropped, and I saw that the wordplay is MEASURE (judge) + SUP (drink). 22d Something from the herb garden for your setter (5) This is another case where the wordplay eluded me. The definition is " something from the herb garden" or THYME. That much I got. The wordplay is simply THY (your) + ME (setter). Doh! Do I feel stupid. Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Introduction Today, I gave my Tool Chest a day off. While I was able to complete the puzzle unaided, I did finish with unanswered questions concerning the wordplay in a couple of clues - as it turns out, both relating to rhymes. I got 1a solely from the wordplay and checking letters, not being familiar with this work of Coleridge. As well, the wordplay in 9d totally eluded me despite having identified the two composers. I was to learn from Gazza that the solution is Cockney rhyming slang.

Sliding on Snow and Ice Some research pertaining to today's clue dealing with the Cresta Run sent me off on a time consuming tangent - but did clear up some long standing confusion for me. As Gazza does today, I have noticed on a couple of occasions in the past that British reviewers use the word toboggan where I would have said sled. It turns out that sled is a "North American term for sledge" [Ref: Oxford Dictionaries Online]. According to the same source, a sledge is either "a vehicle on runners for conveying loads or passengers over snow or ice, often pulled by draught animals" or "a toboggan". However, a toboggan to the Brits clearly is not the same thing as it is to a Canadian. Oxford defines toboggan as "a long, light, narrow vehicle, typically on runners, used for sliding downhill over snow or ice". Well, this definition is fine as far as being long, light and narrow, but a Canadian toboggan is typically not on runners. As Wikipedia states, "A toboggan differs from most sleds or sleighs in that it has no runners or skis (or only low ones) on the underside.

The bottom of a toboggan rides directly on the snow." Wikipedia is a bit contradictory with regard to skeleton and cresta racing. In one article, it states "The Cresta Run is a natural ice 1,212.5 m (3,978 ft, over three-quarter mile) long skeleton racing sled track in the Swiss winter sports town of St. Moritz, and one of the few runs dedicated primarily to skeleton." However, in another article, it says: Skeleton sled Skeleton is a fast winter sliding sport in which an individual person rides a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down, during which athletes experience forces up to 5g. It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding. While skeleton "sliders" use equipment similar to that of cresta "riders", the two sports are different: while skeleton is run on the same track used by bobsleds and luge, cresta is run on cresta-specific sledding tracks only.

Neither the skeleton sled or Cresta toboggan have a steering or braking mechanism although the cresta riders use rakes on their boots in addition to shifting body weight to help steer and brake. Cresta toboggan The Cresta Run was originally built by the owner of the Kulm hotel in St Moritz to cater to "devotees of sledding (tobogganing in British parlance)" in order to alleviate the peril posed by "British gentlemen [who] had long enjoyed racing one another down the busy, winding streets of the town, causing an uproar among citizens because of the danger to pedestrians and visiting tourists." In particular, note the reference in this quote to the term 'tobogganing' being "British parlance" for 'sledding'. Traditional toboggan It is clear from the pictures in the Wikipedia articles that a Cresta 'toboggan' very closely resembles a skeleton sled (and bears no similarity to a traditional Canadian toboggan). The word toboggan derives from the language of the Mi'kmaq (a native people of Atlantic Canada), and it is difficult to imagine that they used anything resembling a Cresta sled.

After all this, I note that today's setter uses the word "sled", rather than toboggan! Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Solutions: Brahms and Liszt - adjective British informal drunk [origin: (1930s) rhyming slang for ‘pissed’] Christabel - a lengthy poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in two parts - the first written in 1797, and the second in 1800. Cresta Run - a hazardously winding, steeply banked channel of ice built each year at the Cresta Valley, St Moritz, Switzerland, as a tobogganing [actually skeleton] course, on which competitors race on light toboggans [British parlance for sleds] in a characteristic head-first position. Such a run was first built in 1884.

private means - plural noun British income from investments, property, or inheritance, as opposed to earned income or state benefit redcap - noun 1 British informal a member of the military police 2 North American a railway porter tally-ho - exclamation [fox hunting] a huntsman's cry to the hounds on sighting a fox Abbreviations & Symbols: Lt - abbreviation [1st entry] Lieutenant MP - abbreviation [2nd and 3rd entries] military police, military policeman R 2 - abbreviation 7 rupee Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above. 7d Assistant in kitchen, very good American, leading one astray (4-4) Initially I couldn't see how "very good" might mean 'so'. It seems I was thinking in terms of an adverb, where 'so' means simply 'very' (she was so polite). However, Gazza points out that we need to look at it as a conjunction, where 'so' or 'very good' would be used to indicate 'that's fine as far as it goes' and be followed by a request for more information.

For instance, a lawyer examing a witness might say "Let's see, you followed the purse snatcher to a bar. Very good, what did you do then?". Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by └────┴────┴────┴────┘ Notes The National Post has skipped DT 26373 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, October 16, 2010 Introduction A less than stellar day today. Despite this puzzle being rated only two stars for difficulty, I had to resort to my Tool Chest fairly early - and even it let me down. I finally threw in the towel with two clues left to solve (10a and 6d). As indicated by the red zone in the performance bar above, I needed help from Libellule's hints to complete the puzzle. Today's Glossary Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle Appearing in Solutions: rating 2 - noun dated an angry reprimand Abbreviations & Symbols: inst.

- abbreviation dated (in business letters) instant , adjective 3 of the current month: we are pleased to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 14 inst it 2 - noun British informal, dated Italian vermouth: he poured a gin and it JP - abbreviation (in the UK) Justice of the Peace The office of Justice of the Peace also exists in many jurisdictions around the world, including Canada and parts of the United States. M 1 - noun 2 the Roman numeral for 1,000 Mini - a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000 and produced by BMW from 2001 onwards.

MP - noun a Member of Parliament: more than 80 MPs have signed the Commons motion post 2 - noun 1 chiefly British the official service or system that delivers letters and parcels: winners will be notified by post; the tickets are in the post letters and parcels delivered: she was opening her post [in singular] a single collection or delivery of mail: entries must be received no later than first post on 14 June post 2 - verb 1 chiefly British send (a letter or parcel) via the postal system: I've just been to post a letter; post off your order form today In Canada, one would not expect to see post used as a noun in this sense. However, it would not be all that unusual to see it used as a verb. s - abbreviation [6th entry] (in genealogies) son(s) St - abbreviation [2nd entry] (usually St.) Street: 10 Downing St WI - abbreviation [3rd entry] British [but hardly entirely British] Women's Institute , 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. Commentary on Today's Puzzle This commentary should be read in conjunction with the review at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above. 4a Supporter seen here and there on the move (8) The wordplay in this clue is an anagram (on the move) of AND THERE which produces the result ADHERENT. The definition is clearly "supporter", but that leaves "seen here" unaccounted for. Sometimes we are required to ignore punctuation in clues, and other times we must insert it. I think the latter is called for here. I suspect that we are intended to read the clue as: Supporter seen here (and there on the move). where "here" refers to the text in parentheses. Or, expressed another way: Supporter seen where? In 'and there on the move'. Thus "seen here" serves as a link word (or phrase) between the definition and wordplay. The sense of the clue seems to be: Supporter seen in 'and there on the move'.

which is analogous to a clue of the form: Supporter produced by 'and there on the move'. (although, granted, the surface reading of this makes little sense). 13a True figure is in this region (5) While one often sees larger Roman numerals (L, C, D, or M) clued as "large number" or "many", the use of "figure" to stand for the Roman numeral M has to rank among the vaguest substitutions that I have ever encountered. 28a Served a diet now in fashion (6,2) The definition is "served" for which the solution is WAITED ON. The wordplay is an anagram (in fashion) of A DIET NOW. Here fashion is used in the sense of "to make into a particular form". As for the word "in", it appears to be a bit of padding to enhance the surface reading. 15d Feeling irritable? (5) Like many of the Brits, I didn't find this clue very cryptic. I felt I must surely have overlooked something in the clue, but that would seem not to be case. 27d Meat for a prodigal son?

(4) This is another clue that I didn't much care for (although I am a bit less averse to it than I am to 15d). According to Libelluel, the solution is just "Another word for the meat of a “fatted calf”". Well, I saw that - but what is so cryptic about it? Signing off for today - Falcon Posted by

Question: What natural ice 1,212.5 metre (3,978 ft) long racing sled run in the Swiss town of St. Moritz, based on a river, was built in 1884?
Answer: Cresta Run