Saturday, February 9, 2013

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

2 comments:

  1. Another inventive and entertaining puzzle from Cox and Rathvon. Enjoyed rediscovering the seabirds, but my favourite clues were the two chickens and the latino corner store.

    Only one * for difficulty. It barely lasted through breakfast

    Megaculpa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Megaculpa,

      Yes, it certainly didn't push the needle on the difficulty meter very high. If memory serves me correctly, it may have just edged out the puzzle from the previous week on that score.

      Delete

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