Saturday, July 7, 2012 - ¡Felicidades!, Espagne

Introduction

To mark the victory of Spain in the recently completed Euro 2012 tournament, today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon has a soccer theme.











Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   {SHIN GUARDS}* - anagram (ruined) of DANISH RUGS

6a   WIN|G - WIN (earn) + G ($1,000)

9a   RU(BB|I)SH - {BB (shot) + I (†)} contained in (in) RUSH (haste)

Note: The clue is presented with an inverted sentence structure.

10a   _RI|COTTA_ - hidden in (something native to) CapRI COTTAge

12a   W(A)IT - WIT (intelligence) containing (about) A (†)

13a   {YELLOW CARD}* - anagram (upset) of CRY ALLOWED

15a   REFEREES* - anagram (playing) of SEE FREER

16a   PRESTO - PRO (expert) containing (obtaining) EST (estimate)

18a   DO(PIN)G - PIN (sharp object) contained in (in) DOG (shadow; follow)

Note: The clue is presented with an inverted sentence structure.

20a   GO(AL L|I)NE - GONE (passed; deceased) containing (around) {ALL (the whole nine yards) + I ([Roman numeral for] one)}

23a   {ROUND ROBIN}* - anagram (the wrong way) of RUB DONOR + IN (†)

24a   A|V|IS - IS (†) following (behind) {A (†) + V (victory)}

Note: Thrifty^[7] and Avis^[7] are competing American car rental companiies.

27a   R(A|MAD)AN - {A (†) + MAD (lunatic)} contained in RAN (raced)

Note: Ramadan^[5] is the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from dawn to sunset.

28a   KIND|RED - KIND (nice) + RED (obviously embarrassed)

29a   PATE - double definition; "bean" (human head) & "liver hors d'oeuvre" (paté)

30a   T(OUR|NAME)NT - {OUR NAME (my side's reputation)} contained in (in) TNT (explosive)

Down

1d   STRAW< - reversal (from behind) of WARTS (faults)

2d   (IN BRIEF}* - anagram (broken) of RIB FINE

3d   GAIT~ - sounds like (for an audience) GATE (exit)

4d   ATHLETES* - anagram (wayward) of THE LEAST

5d   DI<|RELY - reversal (reversed) of ID (I had [or, in other words, I'd]) + RELY (count)

7d   IN TEARS - INTERS (lays to rest) containing (hugging) A (one)

8d   GRANDIOSE* - anagram (strange) of DOINGS ARE

11d   COWARDLY - RD (road) contained in (crossed by) {COW (†) + an anagram (free) of LAY}
14d   TRI(NID<)AD - {reversal (back) of DIN (racket)} contained in (held ... by) TRIAD (threesome)

15d   RAD|AR T|RAP - RAD (awesome) + ART (display of skill) + (with) RAP (hip-hop)

17d   MO|NICKER - MO (way of operating; modus operandi) + NICKER (sound from a horse)

19d   PLUM|MET - PLUM (fruit) + MET (encountered)

21d   IN|VERSE -IN VERSE (the way poets write)

22d   BORNE|O - BORNE (stood) + (next to) O (nothing; the letter O looks like the cardinal number 0)

25d   SAD|AT - SAD (down) + AT (toward)

26d   IN|CA - IN (†) + CA (California)

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