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

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

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 (pigeon 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 (I³) 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