Saturday, April 2, 2011 - Heavenly Light Show

Introduction

In today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon, the setters treat us to a natural spectacle that will be familiar to residents of northern latitudes.












Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   M{AVER}ICK - AVER (state) contained in (acquired by) MICK (Jagger)

Mick Jagger - member of the English rock band The Rolling Stones

5a   AR{A|RA}T - ART (painting) (containing) {A + RA (sun god)}

Ra - Egyptian sun god

9a   SE{LF}SAME - SESAME (type of seed) containing (planted around) LF (left field)

left field - noun 1. Baseball a. The third of the outfield that is to the left, looking from home plate. b. The position played by the left fielder.

10a   SCOPES - double definition; "instruments for viewing" & "defendant in a famous court case"

Scopes Trial (formally known as The State of Tennessee v. Scopes and informally as the Scopes Monkey Trial) - an American legal case in 1925 in which a high school biology teacher John Scopes was accused of violating the state's Butler Act that made it unlawful to teach evolution.

11a   PET|A|L - PET (lightly stroke) + A + L (large)

12a   T|I|MET|ABLE - T (tenor) + I + MET (satisfied) + ABLE (having the wherewithal)

14a   {AURORA BOREALIS}* - anagram (rudely) of BOO SURREAL ARIA

18a   NO|R{THE|RN| L}IGHTS - NO + RIGHTS (title) containing (absorbing) {THE + RN ([registered] nurse) + L (last [letter] of (al)L}

22a   PE(RIME)TER - RIME (frost) contained in (seen inside) PETER (czar; perhaps Peter I)

Peter I - (1672–1725), tsar of Russia 1682–1725; known as Peter the Great. Peter modernized his armed forces before waging the Great Northern War (1700–21) and expanding his territory in the Baltic. His extensive administrative reforms were instrumental in transforming Russia into a significant European power. In 1703 he made the new city of St Petersburg his capital.

24a   H(OS)ER - OS (doughnuts; i.e., O's) contained in (consumed by) HER (the female)

hoser - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun Canadian slang A clumsy, boorish person, especially an uncouth, beer-drinking man. [Collins English Dictionary] noun 2. Canadian slang an unsophisticated, especially rural, person

26a   N{I|NET}Y - {I ([Roman numeral for] one} + NET (piece of tennis equipment)} contained in (in) NY (New York)

27a   TRI{BUN}AL - BUN (roll) contained in (taken in) TRIAL (experimental)

28a   THE{OR}Y - OR (otherwise) contained in (held by) THEY (those people)

29a   F{LATTE}RY - LATTE (coffee drink) contained in (interrupting) FRY (cook)

Down

1d   MISS|PEAK - MISS (fail to see) + PEAK (point)

2d   V{ALE}T - ALE (drink) contained in (in) VT (Vermont)

3d   RU{ST}LER - ST (saint) contained in (embraced by) RULER (monarch)

4d   CO{ME}T - ME contained in (in) COT (bed)

6d   RICOTTA* - anagram (misread) of RIOT ACT

7d   RE{PUB}LISH - PUB (bar) contained in (getting into) RELISH (condiment)

8d   TA{S}TER - S (salt) contained in (added to) TATER (spud)

13d   MORON~ - sounds like (heard) MORE ON (additional stuff about; as a radio announcer saying "More on that after this word from our sponsor")

15d   {RIO GRANDE}* - anagram (new) of ORDERING A

Rio Grande (known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte, or simply Río Bravo) - a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border.

16d   _BLE|AT_ - hidden in (in) trouBLE ATtorneys

17d   A|ST|RALLY - A + ST (street) + RALLY (car race)

19d   TEMP{T}ER - TEMPER (frame of mind) containing (about) T (true)

20d   IN|{H}A|BIT - H {front [letter] of H(ouse)} contained in (entering) IN A BIT (shortly)

21d   S{PIN}ET - PIN ([slang term for] leg) contained in (put in) SET (place)

23d   R|URAL - R (red) + URAL (Russian river)

Ural - a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan, arising in the southern Ural Mountains and ending at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi (2,428 km) making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube. Along with the Volga, the Ural River is one of the major rivers feeding the Caspian Sea. The river forms part of the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia.

25d   SINGE_ - SINGER {SINGER with the final letter deleted (lacking finish)}

Signing off for today - Falcon