Saturday, March 20, 2010 - Architecture for Dummies

Introduction

Today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon presented me with somewhat of a conundrum - as I was not able to discern any particular theme in the puzzle, I had difficulty in selecting a title for today's blog. Also, in a bit of a rum twist, these American setters dish up a couple of British expressions, as well as a word that surely only an architect, an archaeologist, or perhaps a classical scholar could be expected to know.

Today's Glossary

Some possibly unfamiliar abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

caryatid - noun Architecture a supporting pillar in the form of a draped female figure

lough - noun Anglo-Irish spelling of loch (either a lake or a long, narrow arm of the sea)

rum - adjective Brit. informal, dated odd; peculiar

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

25a The guy inside embraces Howard, the aviator (6)

Howard Hughes died a billionaire - but he may well have had Humble beginnings. Although the records are apparently contradictory, his place of birth may have been Humble, Texas.

Hughes, Chairman of Hughes Aircraft Company and the one-time owner of Trans World Airlines (TWA), was "an American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer, film director, philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people in the world".

28a Potato, perhaps one sliding down a snowy slope? (5)

I am not sure if readers from overseas will be familiar with the sport of tubing. It involves sliding down a snow covered hill on a large rubber tube. It probably began by using old inner tubes from truck tires (or tyres for British readers) but there are now purpose-made tubes for the sport. No doubt, it is not necessary to point out that the gentleman demonstrating the sport here is hardly attired in the the typical fashion for the sport.

4d Murmur in the ear, and stroke (4)

I initially wrote in COMB based on the questionable wordplay M (murmur) contained in (in) COB (the ear, as an ear of corn). While I couldn't justify the use of M for "murmur" and "the ear" (rather than just "ear") looked a little suspect, I had temporarily set those issues aside to look at later. It was only when I was unable to solve 1oa that I was forced to go back and revisit this clue.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a D|IPS|TICK - D (500, Roman numeral) IPS (inches per second) TICK (mark)

5a SP|RANG - RANG (called) after (following) SP (Spanish)

9a {SIT-UP}* - anagram (off) of IS PUT

10a UNCLE|A|RED - UNCLE (family member) A RED (communist)

12a RO(BUS)T - BUS (vehicle) contained in (surrounded by) ROT (decay)

13a B|RACE|LET - B (second rate) RACE (competition) LET (allowed)

15a ICEBREAKER* - anagram (out of control) of BIKE CAREER

16a SCAT - double definition; "make tracks" (flee) and "singing without words" (à la Ella Fitzgerald)

19a G|APE - G (go halfway; i.e., half of the word "go") APE

21a {F(I)RE ENGINE}* - I (one) contained in an anagram (convertible) of FINE GREEN

24a FUR|LOUGH - FUR (warm coat) + (next to) LOUGH (Irish lake)

25a HUG(HE)S - HE (the guy) contained in (inside) HUGS (embraces); Howard Hughes: American aviator (among other things)

27a CO(NUN)D|RUM - {COD (something fishy) + (and) RUM (odd)} containing (about) NUN (sister) [Note: in the cryptic reading, the 's (contraction for "is") is used as a linkword]

28a TUBER - double definition; "potato" and "one sliding down a snowy slope"

29a TIP-TOP< - reversal (returned) of {POT (vessel) + (with) PIT (hole)} 30a CARY|A(T)ID - CARY (actor Cary Grant) AID (help) containing (comprehending) T (Time's featured; i.e., the most prominent - or capitalized - letter of the word "Time")

Down

1d DISARMING* - anagram (cryptically) of MAID GRINS

2d PO(TAB)LE - TAB (Coca Cola brand) contained in (carried by) POLE (Eastern European)

3d TAPES|TRY - TRY (attempt) following (going after) RECORDS (tapes, as a verb)

4d COUP~ - sounds like (in the ear) COO

6d PR|EACH - PR (promotion; short for "public relations") EACH (for everyone)

7d A|CRY|LIC - LIC (licensed) following (after) A CRY (call)

8d GO(DO)T - GOT (understood) containing (about) DO (act); Godot: a character from Waiting for Godot, a play by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett

11d CAR(PET)ED - CARED (was concerned) containing (about) PET (dog or cat)

14d MA|LINGER - MA (mother) + (and) LINGER (hang around)

17d TREA(SURE)D - SURE (showing confidence) contained in (in) TREAD (manner of walking)

18d INDUSTRY* - anagram (crackpot) of RUNS TIDY

20d PAR|SNIP - PAR (norm) SNIP (cut)

22d I|NH|A|BIT - NH (New Hampshire) {A BIT} (slightly) following (after) I (one)

23d BORNE|O - BORNE (tolerated) O (nothing)

24d F(ACE)T - FT (fort) containing (breached by) ACE (hole in one; a score of 1 on a hole in golf)

26d EMMA - hidden in (seen in) requiEM MAss; Emma: heroine in novel of same name by English novelist Jane Austen

Signing off for today - Falcon