Saturday, May 21, 2011 - Possessive Fauna

Introduction

In today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon, the setters introduce us to a number of members of the animal kingdom, each of which shows itself to have a possessive trait.

Note: the puzzle appears here just as it does in the National Post (in both the online and print editions) with the right hand edge of the grid having been trimmed off.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   {LION'S SHARE}* - anagram (in disrepair) of LAOS SHRINE

6a   _AMMO_ - hidden in (some) mAMMOths

9a   CA(DAVE)R - CAR (coach; e.g., railway coach) containing (keeps) DAVE ([Canadian comedian and actor Dave] Thomas)

10a   FINA(G)LE - G ($1000) contained in (in) FINALE (conclusion)

12a   S|UN - S (soprano) + UN (a French; i.e., the French word meaning 'a')

13a   {RABBIT'S FOOT}* - anagram (gets changed) of FOR TOTS A BIB

14a   PI(NBA)LL - PILL (sourpuss) containing (takes in) NBA [National Basketball Association]

16a   PAR|ADO|X - PAR (average) + ADO (trouble) + (with) X (times; i.e., multiplication symbol)

18a   T|HE ARTS - T (tailor's first; i.e., first letter of T[ailor]) + HEARTS (suit)

19a   PO(LICE)D - LICE (bugs) contained in (in) POD (spacecraft compartment)

20a   {HORNET'S NEST}* - anagram (awfully) of TENSE NORTHS

24a   DEW~ - sounds like (in audition) DO (produce)

26a   OR(BIT)AL - ORAL (test) containing (involving) BIT

27a   ON(STAG)E - STAG (buck) contained in (accepted by) ONE (a person)

28a   KIND - double definition; "merciful" & "sort"

29a   S(NAIL'S) PACE - NAILS (studs) contained in SPACE

Down

1d   LOCKS - double definition; "some hair" & "fasteners"

2d   ORD(I)NANCE - ORDNANCE (military supplies) containing (split by) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

3d   S|EVER - S (ultimately knives; i.e., the final - or ultimate - letter of [knive]S) + EVER (always)

4d   HA(REBEL)LS - HALS contains (frames) REBEL (revolutionary)

5d   _RAFFI_ - hidden in (stuck in) tRAFFIc

Canadian children's entertainer Raffi (Raffi Cavoukian)

7d   M(A|G)OO - MOO (Elsie's comment; i.e., a comment from Elsie the Cow, mascot of the Borden Company) containing (about) {A + G}

Quincy Magoo (or simply Mr. Magoo) is a cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Quincy Magoo is a wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of sticky situations as a result of his nearsightedness, compounded by his stubborn refusal to admit the problem. However, through uncanny streaks of luck, the situation always seems to work itself out for him, leaving him no worse than before.

8d   OVERT|AXED - OVERT (in public) + AXED (cut)

11d   NOSTRIL* - anagram (fixed) of SLIT RON

14d   PITCH|FOR|K - PITCH (sales spiel) + FOR + K ($1000)

15d   {AIR VENT}* - anagram (renovated) of TAVERN I

16d   PEPPERONI* - anagram (working) of ON PIE PREP

17d   DOC(U)DRAM|A - {DOC (doctor) + DRAM (shot) + A} containing (outside) U (university)

21d   ROBIN_ -  ROBIN[G] (dressing; as a verb) with the last letter deleted (most of)

22d   S(AL)ON - SON (kid) containing (about) AL ([American actor and director Al] Pacino)

23d   T|ASKS - T (tribe's chief; i.e., first - or chief - letter of "tribe") + ASKS (demands)

25d   W(HER)E - WE (our group) containing (accepts) HER

Signing off for today - Falcon