Saturday, January 28, 2012 - Exploration & Adventure

Introduction

We meet a trio of explorers and adventurers in today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon.














Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

8a   {MERIWETHER LEWIS}* - anagram (wild) of WHERE LIMITS WERE

Route followed by the Lewis & Clark Expedition

Meriwether Lewis^[7] (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark. Their mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, establish trade and sovereignty over the natives near the Missouri River, and claim the Pacific Northwest and Oregon territory for the United States before European nations. They also collected scientific data, and information on indigenous nations. President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Governor of Upper Louisiana in 1806.

10a   S(TERN)UM - TERN (sea bird) contained in (in) SUM (addition)

11a   FOR|MICA - FOR (†) + MICA (volcanic form of rock)

Formica^[7] is a brand of composite materials manufactured by the Formica Corporation. In common use, the term refers to the company's classic product, a heat-resistant, wipe-clean, plastic laminate of paper or fabric with melamine resin. When it was developed, the mineral mica was commonly used for electrical insulation. Because the new product acted as a substitute “for mica”, the inventors coined the name “Formica” This was in fact a preexisting word, the Latin for a genus of ant insects, but that meaning did not dilute its use as a trademark.

12a   {SKI PATROL}* - anagram (prepared) of SALT PORK I

14a   LAS|ED - LAS (the Spanish; i.e., Spanish word for 'the') + ED (editor)

15a   {MARTIN FROBISHER}* - anagram (straying) ON BRITISH FARMER

Frobisher's Route

Sir Martin Frobisher^[7] (c. 1535 or 1539 – 1594) was an English seaman who made three voyages to the New World to look for the Northwest Passage. Thinking he had found gold ore, he mined and carted hundreds of tons of it back to England where, after years of smelting, it was realized that it was merely worthless iron pyrite. As an English privateer/pirate, he collected riches from French ships. He was later knighted for his service in repelling the Spanish Armada in 1588.

18a   RO(AS)T - AS (while) contained in (dividing) ROT (baloney)

20a   _ASSIST__ANT_ - [b]ASSIST + [c]ANT with the first letters of each word deleted (without leads)

23a   LE(BAN)ON - BAN (curse) contained in (picked up by) LEON (author [Leon] Uris^[7])

Curse (in the sense of an invocation of harm or punishment) is an archaic meaning of ban^[5] • the land might be smitten by the ban which once fell upon the Canaanites.

24a   ALL|IS|ON - ALL (everything) + IS (†) + ON (working)

Mose Allison^[7] is an American jazz blues pianist and singer.

25a   {SIR FRANCIS DRAKE}* - anagram (at sea) of FAIR SKIN SCARRED

Circumnavigation route followed by Sir Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake^[7], Vice Admiral (1540 – 1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the second circumnavigation of the world, from 1577 to 1580.

Down

1d   A|MUSES - A (†) + MUSES (guiding spirit's)

2d   CREE|PIER - CREE (first nation) + PIER (structure on a lake)

3d   R(WAND)A - RA (sun god) containing (holding) WAND (baton)

4d   STEM< - reversal (on the way back) of METS (N.L. [National League] team)

The New York Mets^[7] are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division.

5d   B(ED|FELL)OWS - {ED (Edward) + FELL (took a spill)} contained in (in) BOWS (boats' prows)

6d   A|WAITS - A (†) + WAITS (singer named Tom [Waits]^[7])

7d   I|SLANDER - I (†) + SLANDER (throw mud on)

Baffin Island^[7] in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. It is the site of Frobisher Bay, the destination of Sir Martin Frobisher's three voyages of discovery to the New World.

9d   LORE|LEI - LORE (folk tales) + (with) LEI (garland)

Lorelei^[7] is a rock in the Rhine River, a serious hazard for shipping and subject of many legends, poems, and songs. The name Lorelei or Loreley comes from a Germanic legend about a beautiful maiden named Lorelei who waited for her lover on a rock at the narrowest and shallowest point of the Rhine River. He never returned, so she jumped off the rock to her death. The legend is that her spirit remains at the rock, seeking revenge against her unfaithful lover. She sits on the rock, now named for her, combing her long hair and singing softly. Sailors are so enchanted by her beauty that they crash their ships into the rock or run aground in the shallow water.

13d   REF|RAINING - REF (football official; referee) + (before) RAINING (showering)

15d   M(URAL)IST - MIST (fog) containing (put ... around) URAL (mountain range)

The Ural Mountains^[7], or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia.

16d   IN(TO)NER - INNER (secret) containing (about) TO (Toronto)

TO^[7] is a common Canadian nickname for Toronto. It may come from the initials Toronto, Ontario or from the first two letters of Toronto.

17d   HE|AT( SEA)L - HE (man) + {AT (†) + L ([Roman numeral for] fifty)} containing SEA (ocean)

19d   AU|BURN - AU ([symbol for the chemical element] gold) + BURN (torch)

21d   SO|LIDS - SO (very) + LIDS (tops)

22d   T|ENDER - T (time) + ENDER (stopper)

Here, I would say that nice is used in the sense of "requiring careful consideration" (a nice point) and tender in the sense of "requiring tact or careful handling" (the issue of conscription was a particularly tender one).

24d   A|RID - A (†) + RID (free)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1] - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2] - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3] - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5] - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6] - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7] - Wikipedia
^[8] - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9] - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon