Saturday, July 28, 2012 - Cheese Tasting

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon we get to sample a few varieties of cheese.The puzzle is not overly difficult but the American setters do throw in a couple of British terms.









Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   GRAND(E DAM)E* - EDAM (cheese) contained in (in) an anagram (terrible) of DANGER

6a   SCAM_ - SCAM[P] (rascal) with the last letter deleted (curtailed)

9a   ANNE|X - ANNE (English Queen; Queen Anne^[7]) + X (kiss)

10a   SYCOPHANT* - anagram (when confused) of ACTS PHONY

12a   P(OTHER)B - OTHER (else) contained in (stuck in) PB ([symbol for the chemical element] lead)

13a   DR|OUGHT - DR (doctor) + OUGHT (should)

14a   SO|T - SO (very) + T (true)

15a   CON|AN O'(BRIE)N - CON (sting) + ANON (soon) containing (eating) BRIE (cheese)

18a   S(CREAM)INGLY - SINGLY (one at a time) containing (eating) CREAM (kind of cheese)

21a   FIR_ - FIR[E] (shoot) with the last letter deleted (cut short)

22a   PLECTRA* - anagram (apart) of CPR TALE

24a   AND|ANTE - AND (†) + ANTE (start for a card game)

26a   QUID|DITCH - QUID (British pound) + DITCH (trench)

This clue will appeal to fans of Harry Potter — but may be lost on anyone else.

27a   BL|IN|I - BL (pair [i.e., first two letters] of BLueberries) + IN (†) + I ([Roman numeral for] one)

28a   _EATS - [H]EATS (warms up) with the first letter deleted (except for the first bit)

29a   SWI(SHINE)SS - SWISS (kind of cheese) containing (possessing) SHINE (gloss)

Down

1d   GRAMP(USE)S - GRAMPS (Dad's dad) containing (has) USE (†)

2d   AN|NOT|AT|OR - AN (one) + NOT (†) + AT (near) + OR (operating room)

3d   D(IX)IE - DIE (stop working) containing (around) IX (nine)

4d   DUST(B)IN - DUSTIN (Hoffman; American actor Dustin Hoffman^[7]) containing (acquires) B (second-rate)

Dustbin^[4] is the British term for a garbage can or trash can.

5d   MACE|DON - MACE (club) + DON (fellow at Oxford)

At Oxford and Cambridge universities, a fellow^[10] is a member of the governing body of a college who is usually a member of the teaching staff. A don^[10] is a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, especially at Oxford or Cambridge.

Macedon^[10] (also known as Macedonia) is a region of the Southern Balkans, now divided among Greece, Bulgaria, and modern-day Macedonia (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). As a kingdom in the ancient world it achieved prominence under Philip II (359–336 bc) and his son Alexander the Great.

7d   CLAN|G - CLAN (family) + G ($1000)

8d   MOTE|T - MOTE (spot) + T (Trombone's opening [letter])

11d   P|LOWBOY - P (piano; musical direction) + (and) LOWBOY (chest of drawers

15d   CHA(RTE)D - RTE (route) contained in (in) CHAD (African country)

16d   INF(ANT)ILE - ANT (insect) contained in (entering) {IN (†) + FILE (column)}

17d   NURSERIES* - anagram (fixed up) of REINSURES

19d   {IN A STEW}* - anagram (tangled) of AS TWINE

20d   G(N)ASHES - N (last [letter] of corN) contained in (in) GASHES (wide swaths)

22d   PIQUE~ - sounds like (heard) PEAK (climax)

23d   EXIST* - anagram (playing) of TEX IS

25d   DUB|A|I - DUB (name) + A ([indefinite] article) + I (island)

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