Saturday, March 24, 2012 - Philosophically Speaking

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon will certainly require - if not a bit of deep thinking - at least some deep thinkers.












Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   THOUGH|T - THOUGH (for all that) + T (time)

5a   BE|DROLL - BE (act) + DROLL (comical)

9a   S|IDE A - S (second) + IDEA (concept)

10a   LUCRETIUS* - anagram (new) of CULTURE IS

Lucretius^[5] (circa 94-circa 55 bc) was a Roman poet and philosopher; full name Titus Lucretius Carus. His didactic hexametric poem On the Nature of Things is an exposition of the materialist atomist physics of Epicurus, which aims to give peace of mind by showing that fear of the gods and of death is without foundation.

11a   PAR|MEN|IDES - PAR (average) + MEN (guys) + (at) IDES (mid-March)

Parmenides^[5] (fl. 5th century bc) was a Greek philosopher. Born in Elea in SW Italy, he founded the Eleatic school of philosophers. In his work On Nature, written in hexameter verse, he maintained that the apparent motion and changing forms of the universe are in fact manifestations of an unchanging and indivisible reality.

13a   RED|O - RED (ruby) + O (ring)

15a   TAT|TOO - TAT (make lace) + TOO (as well)

16a   SO|CRATES - SO (in truth) + CRATES (boxes)

Socrates^[5] (469–399 bc) was a Greek philosopher. As represented in the writings of his disciple Plato, he engaged in dialogue with others in an attempt to define ethical concepts by exposing and dispelling error (the Socratic method). Charged with introducing strange gods and corrupting the young, Socrates was sentenced to death and died by drinking hemlock.

18a   DIOGENES* - anagram (bothered) of IS ON EDGE

Diogenes^[5] (circa 400-circa 325 bc) was a Greek philosopher. The most famous of the Cynics, he lived ascetically in Athens (according to legend, he lived in a tub) and was accordingly nicknamed Kuōn (‘the dog’), from which the Cynics derived their name. He emphasized self-sufficiency and the need for natural, uninhibited behaviour, regardless of social conventions.

19a   AVAILS~ - sounds like (you might say) OF (†) ALES (some beers)

22a   F|RAY - F (failing; academic assessment) + RAY (bit of light)

23a   HERACLITUS* - anagram (cryptic) of CLUE A SHIRT

Heraclitus^[5] (circa 500 bc) was a Greek philosopher. He believed that fire is the origin of all things and that permanence is an illusion, everything being in a (harmonious) process of constant change.

25a   ARIS(TOT|L)E - {TOT (kid) + L (left)} contained in (in) ARISE (spring; as a verb)

Aristotle^[5] (384–322 bc) was a Greek philosopher and scientist. A pupil of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great, he founded a school (the Lyceum) outside Athens. He is one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Western thought and his work was central to Islamic and Christian medieval philosophy. His surviving works cover a vast range of subjects, including logic, ethics, metaphysics, politics, natural science, and physics.

 26a   GA(B)LE - B (second-rate) contained in (in) GALE (storm)

28a   _S|AT|CHEL_ - hidden in (found on board) trainS AT CHELsea

29a   THE BES|T - THEBES (Greek city) + T (terminal's opening; first - or opening - letter of Terminal)

Down

1d   {TOS|SPOT}< - reversal (from behind) of {TOPS (beats) + SOT (drunk)}

The first occurrence of "drunk" in the clue is the definition; the second occurrence is part of the charade fodder.

2d   _O_D_D - the even-numbered letters of fOlDeD (folded evenly)

3d   _G|RACE| NOT|ES_ - hidden in (showing) doG RACE NOT ESpecially

4d   TIL|SIT* - TIL (before the time that) + an anagram (changed) of ITS

5d   BACH|ELOR< - BACH (composer; German composer Johann Sebastian Bach^[5]) + a reversal (returned) of ROLE (part)

The question mark indicates the unconventional and playful nature of the solution.

6d   DUE|T - DUE (scheduled) + (at) T (the end [letter] of August)

7d   OLIVER TWIST - anagram (redesigned) of LOW TRIVETS I

Oliver Twist^[7], also known as The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published in 1838.

8d   LES(SON)S - SON (boy) contained in (in) LESS (fewer)

12d   RATION|A|LIST - RATION (share) + A (†) + LIST (roster)

14d   T(RAVEL)OGUE - TOGUE (lake trout) containing (skirting) RAVEL (tangle)

Togue^[3] is one of the various names applied to the lake trout, a freshwater food and game fish (Salvelinus namaycush) of the Great Lakes.

17d   PEDESTAL* - anagram (cuckoo) of DALES PET

18d   DEF|EATS - DEF (fab) + EATS (chow)

20d   S(US|P)ECT - {US () + P (president's inaugural [letter])} contained in (held by) SECT (religious group)

21d   PA|RENT - PA (dad) + RENT (charge for housing)

24d   _ITCH - [H]ITCH (marry) with the first letter deleted (after the first)

27d   BYE - BY (at) + E (eight on the nose; meaning the first letter [nose] of 'Eight')

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)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for today - Falcon