Saturday, May 4, 2013 — Eclectic Sextet

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, the setters have assembled a diverse collection of musical instruments which should produce some rather interesting musical performances.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   _PS|ALTER|Y_ — hidden in (some) griPS ALTER Your

5a   PROFIT~ — sounds like (vocal) PROPHET (oracle)

10a   T|OO LONG — T (time) + (with) OOLONG (tea)

11a   REFRAIN — double definition; "hold back" & "chorus"

12a    SHIV|A — SHIV (knife) + A (†)

13a   {SNARE DRUM}* — anagram (awful) of UNDERARMS

14a   THERE|MIN — THERE (yonder) + MIN (minute)

16a   SP(A)IN — SPIN (ride) containing (around) A (†)

19a   H(AD)ES — AD (spot) contained in (kept by) HES (males)

In Greek mythology, Hades^[5] is the underworld; the land of the spirits of the dead.

21a   RE(C)ORDER — REORDER (make a new arrangement) containing (including) C ([musical] key)

24a   CAST|AN|ET|S — CAST (players) + (with) AN (†) + ET (alien) + S ('s)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial^[7] (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

27a   CO(A)ST — COST (price) containing (covering) A (†)

Cruise^[5] is used in the sense of to achieve an objective with ease, especially in sport ⇒ Millwall cruised to a 2-0 win over Leicester.

28a   LA(GAS)SE* — anagram (broken) of SEAL containing (around) GAS (cooking fuel)

Emeril Lagasse^[7] is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author.

29a   P|AT|RIOT — P (Party's leader; first letter [leader] of Party) + AT (†) + RIOT (melee)

30a   DO(TIN)G — DOG (pooch) containing (eats) TIN (can)

31a   TRIANGLE* — anagram (what may produce; implied anagram) of REAL TING

This is an & lit. (all-in-one) clue. The entire clue, when read one way, provides the definition of a small percussion instrument. Read in a second manner, the clue is an implied anagram.

Down

1d   POTASH* — anagram (tossed) of AT SHOP

2d   A|BOL(IS|HE)D — {IS (†) + HE (†)} contained in (caught by) {A (†) + BOLD (forward)}

Note: for effect, the setters have utilized an inverted sentence structure.

3d   {TWO PAIR}~ — sounds like (you might say) TO PARE (to whittle down)

4d   RAGAS — RAG (scrap) + AS (like)

In Indian classical music, raga^[5] refers to (1) each of the six basic musical modes which express different moods in certain characteristic progressions, with more emphasis placed on some notes than others or (2) a piece using a particular raga.

6d   R|AFTER|S — R (right) + AFTER (behind) + S (small)

7d   F(L)AIR — FAIR (exhibition) containing (captivates) L ([Roman numeral for] 50)

8d   TENE(MEN)T — MEN (guys) contained in (in) TENET (principle)

9d   ARMAGNA|C — anagram (cracked) of ANAGRAM + (on) C (Canada's first [letter])

Armagnac^[5] is a type of brandy traditionally made in Aquitaine in SW France.

15d   ME|R|CEDES — {R (right) following (behind) ME (†)} + CEDES (yields)

17d   AVE|RAGING — AVE (hail; exclamation expressing greeting or acclaim) + RAGING (storming)

18d   SHACK|LED — SHACK (humble home) + LED (was first)

20d   SWAN|SON_ — {SWAN SON[G]} (final performance) with the final letter deleted (cut short)

Gloria Swanson^[7] (1899 – 1983) was an American actress, singer and producer, who is best known for her role as Norma Desmond, a faded silent film star, in the critically acclaimed film Sunset Boulevard (1950).

One of the most prominent stars during the silent film era, she made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the Best Actress category. She had also produced her own films such as Sadie Thompson and The Love of Sunya. In 1929, Swanson transitioned to talkies with The Trespasser. However, personal problems and changing tastes saw her popularity wane during the 1930s when she moved into theater and television.

22d   RI(COT)TA — COT (bed) contained in (eaten by) RITA (†)

23d   STA|TUE — STA (station) + TUE (Tuesday)

25d   SIGHT~ — sounds like (vocally) CITE (allude to)

26d   SUPER* — anagram (plastic) of PURSE

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