Saturday, February 13, 2010 - Misdirections

Introduction

Misdirection is certainly one of the main goals (if not the main goal) for setters of cryptic crossword puzzles. In today's puzzle, Cox and Rathvon, give us not one - but two - bum steers.

I must say that, after solving this puzzle, I will never look at baked beans the same way again.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"CD" Cryptic Definition; "DD" Double Definition
	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

9a PAT C(AS)H - AS (playing; e.g., Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz) contained in (with ... outside) PATCH (eye covering); Pat Cash - retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.

10a PI(AN|IS)T - {AN (article) IS} contained in (in) PIT

11a NO_H - NOAH (ark captain) minus (forgoes) A; Noh - noun traditional Japanese masked drama with dance and song.

12a {CENTRE STAGE}* - anagram (bum) of STEER CAN GET

13a FAR(C)E - FARE (price) containing (is about) C (Roman numeral for 100)

14a IMBALANCE* - anagram (breaking) of MAIN CABLE

16a R(ASP)ING - ASP (snake) contained in (in) RING (loop)

18a KESTREL* - anagram (after exercising) of ELK REST

20a CUR|TS|EYED - CUR (dog) TS (Eliot) EYED (watched); T. S. Eliot - American-born English poet, playwright, and literary critic

22a RUG|B|Y - RUG (wig) plus (with) B (blue) plus (and) Y (yellow)

24a {SECRET AGENT}* - anagram (bum) of STEER CAN GET

26a ROW - double definition; "seating assignment" and "quarrel"

28a LINE(MA)N - MA (Mom) contained in (dressed in) LINEN (sheets)

29a NIGH|TIE - NIGH (near) TIE (neckwear)

Down

1d SPIN_ - SPINE (part of a book's cover) minus E (most of the way; i.e., use only the first four letters of the word "spine")

2d ET(C)HER - ETHER (gas) containing C (chemical symbol for carbon) /\ ETCHER (impressing one; i.e., one who impresses designs into a material)

3d TANCREDI* - anagram (odd) of DIRECT AN; Tancredi - an opera by Gioachino Rossini

4d THIN|KINGLY - THIN (slender) plus (and) KINGLY (regal)

5d SPAR< - reversal (returning) of RAPS (blows) 6d DAMS|EL - DAMS (blocks) EL (train in Chicago); EL - elevated rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago

7d LI(L AB)NER - LAB (laboratory) contained in (aboard) LINER (ship); Li'l Abner - satirical American comic strip, written and drawn by Al Capp, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky.

8d ET|HE|REALLY - ET (E.T.) in front of (precedes) HE (the boy) REALLY (very); E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - 1982 American science fiction film

13d FORECAST|LE_ - FORECAST (predict) LE (pair of LEaks; i.e., first two letters of the word "leaks")

15d {BAKED BEANS}* - anagram (disturbed) of NAKED BABES

17d SA(RACE)NS - RACE (hurry) contained in (inside) SANS (without); Saracen - a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to people who inhabited the deserts near the Roman province of Syria and who were distinct from Arabs. The term was later applied to Arab peoples and by the time of European chroniclers during the time of the Crusades came to be synonymous for Muslim.

19d STRA(TEG<)Y - TEG {reversal (back) of GET} contained in (in) STRAY (errant)

21d STEAMY* - anagram (awfully) of MY TEAS

23d G(Y)RATE - Y (fork; as a fork in the road) contained in (in) GRATE (lattice)

25d _ARNO_ - hidden in (essential to) bARN Owls

27d W|HEN - W (white) HEN (chicken)

Signing off for today - Falcon