Saturday, April 13, 2013 — Dwelling or Shopping List?

Introduction

Having returned from my travels, I have finally found a few moments to compose a review for Saturday's puzzle.

I'm guessing that the theme of today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon is styles of housing — but perhaps it could be a grocery list for a couple of missing salad ingredients.

When North Americans solve British puzzles, we frequently encounter terms that are unfamiliar to us. What we may not realize is that when the Brits take a crack at American puzzles, they may have a similar experience with North American terminology. In today's review, I have noted several instances where this may be the case.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   D(ECO)RUM — ECO (Italian author; Umberto Eco^[7]) contained in (wearing) DRUM (barrel)

5a   HO(TSP)OT — HOOT (laugh hard) containing (about) TSP (spoon; abbreviation for teaspoon)

9a   RA(B)ID — B (bee) contained in (involved in) RAID (attack)

10a   RU(DIME)NTS — {RUNT (shrimp) + S ('s)} containing (receiving) DIME ([North American ten-cent] coin)

11a   S(AND)LOT — AND (also) contained in (covered by) SLOT (channel)

Sandlot ^[5] is a North American term for a piece of unoccupied land used by children for games.

12a   S(OAK)AGE — SAGE (wise) containing (obtaining) OAK (wood)

13a   {RANCH DRESSING}* — anagram (awfully) grand richness

Ranch dressing^[5] is a thick white North American salad dressing made with sour cream.

17a   {COTTAGE (C)HEESE}* — anagram (arranged) of TO TEACH GEESE containing (about) C (cold)

21a   TOUS|LED — {TO US (in our opinion)} + LED (went first)

23a   DE(BUT)ED — DEED (act) containing (interrupted by) BUT (word of objection)

25a   F(IN)ANCIER — FANCIER (lover) containing (taking) IN (†)

26a   _T|OR|CH_ — hidden in (carried by) adulT OR CHild

27a   EPSILON* — anagram (misspelled) of PINESOL

Pine-Sol^[7] is a registered trade name of Clorox for a line of household cleaning products.

28a   PIT S|TOP — PITS (stones) + TOP (covering)

Down

1d   DER(I|SO)RY_ — DERRY (Ulster district) containing (keeps) {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + SO (quite)}

2d   CUB|AN — CUB (youngster) + AN (article)

3d   RUDOLPH — R (right) + (before) anagram (botched) of HOLDUP

Rudolph Valentino^[5] (1895 – 1926) was an Italian-born American actor; born Rodolfo Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguolla. He played the romantic hero in silent films such as The Sheikh (1921).

4d   M(ORATOR)IA — ORATOR (speaker) containing MIA (Woody's ex)

American actress Mia Farrow^[7] is a former romantic partner of American filmmaker Woody Allen^[7].

5d   HIDES — double definition; "conceals" & "trapper's bounty"

6d   TYMPANI* — anagram (moving) of PITY MAN

7d   PEN|TANGLE — PEN (prison) + TANGLE (altercation)

Penitentiary^[5] (abbreviation pen^[5]) is a North American term for a prison for people convicted of serious crimes.

8d   {TAS|TES}< — reversal (returning) of {SET (group) + SAT (met)}

14d   NOCTURNES* — anagram (playing) of TUNE SCORN

15d   {S(PEED) TRAP}< — reversal (going the other way) of {DEEP (way down) contained in (in) PARTS (sections)}

16d   HE|AD S|HOP — HE (the guy) + ADS (notices) + HOP (spring)

Head shop^[5] is a North American term for a store that sells drug-related paraphernalia.

18d   {T|YLENOL}< — reversal (put back) of {LONELY (solitary) + T (leader [first letter] of Tories}

19d   H(A|BIT)AT — {A BIT (somewhat)} contained in (taken in by) HAT (boater)

A boater^[5] is a flat-topped hardened straw hat with a brim, so named because it was originally worn while boating.

20d   STIFLE* — anagram (knotted) of ITSELF

22d   DEIGN~ — sounds like (pronounced) DANE (Scandinavian)

24d   T(A)ROT — TROT (run) containing (carrying) A (†)

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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon