Saturday, July 30, 2011 - Going Through the Paces

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon, the setters put a horse through its paces - four of which you will find hidden in the solutions. Clues 1a and 30a are also hints to the theme.

The blog posting is a bit late as I was away from home most of the day and was confronted with computer issues upon my return.


Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   GAIT~ - sounds like (announced) GATE (opening)

3a   STAGE COACH - double definition (one cryptic); "vehicle" & "drama instructor"

9a   I|PA(NE)MA - {I (myself) + PA (dad) + MA (mom)} containing (around) NE (northeastern)

11a   SOMEWAY~ - sounds like (aloud) {SUM (total) + WEIGH (measures on a scale)}

12a   {DIE WALKURE}* - anagram (new) of EUREKA WILD

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) - the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner.

13a   _ETNA_ - hidden in (part) Vietnamese

15a   _EAGLE - BEAGLE (dog) with the first letter deleted (the wordplay actually tells us to use only the portion of the word following the leader, or first letter)

17a   DECANTERS* - anagram (strange) of AND SECRET

18a   BET|ROTH|ED - BET (wager) + ROTH (Philip of literature; i.e., American novelist Philip Roth) + ED (education; as in Phys Ed or Sex Ed)

21a   RODE|O - RODE (travelled) + (on) O (loop)

23a   DO|RM - DO (decorate; as in 'do the bedroom in pink') + RM (room)

24a   GALLOPHILE - anagram (recklessly) of ILL GO HELP A

27a   C(O)URSER - CURSER (one swearing) containing (about) O (old)

courser¹ - [Collins English Dictionary] noun 2. a hound or dog trained for coursing [noun 1. hunting with hounds or dogs that follow their quarry by sight.]

28a   MAD|ON|NA - MAD (crazy) + ON (about) + NA (North America)

29a   {SCHOOL YEAR}* - anagram (changing) of REAL CHOOSY

30a   ARNO - anagram (horses around) of ROAN

Arno - a river in the Tuscany region of Italy.

Down

1d   G|RIDDLE - G (good) + RIDDLE (puzzle)

2d   I|MAGE - I (island) + MAGE (wizard)

4d   T(HANK)ED - TED (Theodore) containing (while hugging) HANK (Henry)

5d   GAS|TRIC_ - GAS (hot air) + TRIC_ (trick mostly; i.e., "trick" with the last letter deleted)

6d   COMB_ - COMBO (jazz group) with the last letter deleted (all but one member of)

7d   A|T WIT|S END - A + TWIT (bonehead) + SEND (dispatch)

8d   HEYDAYS~ - sounds like (pronounced) {HAY (grass) + DAZE (stupor)}

10d   {EVA PERON}* - anagram (agitated) of OVER A PEN

 María Eva Duarte de Perón - (1919 – 1952), the second wife of Argentinian President Juan Perón (1895–1974) and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.

14d   INTREPID* - anagram (out) of PRINT DIE

16d   GO TH|ROUGH - GOTH (rock [music] style that's dark) + (and) ROUGH (crude)

18d   BO|DICES - BO (Ms. Derek; American actress Bo Derek) + DICES (gambles)

19d   HE(A)T RAY - {HE (male) + TRAY (server)} containing (carrying) A

20d   DIL<|EMMA - reversal (flipped) of LID + EMMA (Madame Bovary)

Madame Bovary (1856) is Gustave Flaubert's first published novel and is considered his masterpiece. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life.

22d   O(REGAN)O - REGAN ([King] Lear's kid) contained in (gets into) OO (doughnuts; i.e., letters shaped like doughnuts)

Regan is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's tragic play, King Lear. She is the second of his three daughters.

25d   _INNER - DINNER (meal) with the first letter deleted (starting late)

26d   OSLO - the first letters (leaders) of O(cean) S(tudy) L(ook) O(ver)

Signing off for today - Falcon