Saturday, February 9, 2013 — Seabirds & Shorebirds

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon takes us on a birdwatching excursion to the seashore.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   SAGA|CITY — CITY (town) following (after) SAGA (long story)

5a   G|RACES — G (good) + RACES (competitions)

9a   GUIL(LEMO*)T — {anagram (shot) of ELMO} contained in (in) GUILT (bad conscience)

11a   A(PRO)N — PRO (expert) contained in (donning) AN (†)

12a   _RO|GER_ — hidden in (exhibits) AfRO-GERman

In radio communications, roger^[5] is a code word signifying that a message has been received (read) ⇒ ‘Roger; we’ll be with you in about ten minutes.’

13a   A|L(BAT|R)OSS — {BAT (flutter; as eyelashes) + R (right)} contained in {A (†) + LOSS (passing; death)}

14a   PO(TAB)LE — TAB (check) contained in (into) POLE (terminal; of a battery)

16a   D|RAIN — D ([Roman numeral for] 500) + RAIN (drops)

18a   HEAT|H — HEAT (raise the temperature of) + H (hot)

20a   DOUB(L|E)T — {L (left) + E (empty)} contained in (in) DOUBT (disbelief)

23a   {PT(A)RMIGAN}* — anagram (aimlessly) of TRAMPING containing (around) A (†)

25a   LOCKS — double definition; "fastens" & "hair"

27a   A|FOUL~ — A (†) + sounds like (vocalized) FOWL (chicken)

28a   S|AND|P|I|PER — S (salt) + AND (†) + P (pepper) + I ([Roman numeral for] one) + PER (for each)

29a   KNEADS~ — sounds like (said) NEEDS (must have)

30a   STU(DE)NTS — DE (of French; French word meaning 'of') contained in (involved in) STUNTS (daring feats)

Down

1d   SU<|GARY — reversal (backed) of US (Yankee) + GARY (Player of the PGA; South African professional golfer Gary Player^[7])

2d   GO(I)NG — GONG (bell) containing (interrupted by) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

3d   CULPRIT* — anagram (breaking up) of CULT RIP

4d   TAMP|A — TAMP (pack) + A (†)

6d   ROASTED* — anagram (bananas) of DATES OR

7d   {CO(RM)ORANT}* — {anagram (crazily) of COOT RAN} containing RM (room)

8d   S|INGSONG* — S (soprano) + anagram (cracked) of NOGGINS

10d   TAB(LEA)U — LEA (field) contained in (in) TABU (forbidden)

14d   PHALAROPE* — anagram (possibly) of HEAR A PLOP

15d   BODEGAS — BODE (promise) + GAS (fuel)

17d   S(HOP) TALK — HOP (jump) contained in (into) STALK (hunt)

19d   HUM|BLED — HUM (buzz) + BLED (ran)

21d   LIL|Y (PA)D — {LIL (little) + YD (yard)} containing (†) PA (father)

22d   {A|STROS}< — reversal (returning) of {SORTS (classifies) + A (†)}

The Houston Astros^[7] are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. After spending the entirety of their franchise history as a member of the National League, they will join the American League West Division beginning with the 2013 season.

24d   NO|NET — NO (not at all) + NET (clear)

26d   CAP|ON — CAP (head covering) + ON (worn by)

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