Saturday, April 17, 2010 - In and Out of the Cocoon

Introduction

Get your nets ready. In today's puzzle, Cox and Rathvon take us through some stages in the life cycle of members of the order lepidoptera. While being, as usual, an interesting puzzle, I did think that it posed a bit more of a challenge than usual. It should prove to be an especially enjoyable treat for those who like charades.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

3d Fat Albert ending in disaster (5)

Perhaps this clue should have read "Fat Albert beginning in disaster". I initially thought that this was a hidden word clue where the solution FATAL is hidden in "FAT ALbert". However, this approach itself turned into a bit of a disaster. Would the definition be "ending in disaster" or merely "disaster"? I had to think that it would be the former, as the definition of fatal should be disastrous, not disaster. However, if the definition were "ending in disaster" then there would seem to be no hidden word indicator unless the word(s) "ending" and/or "in" is/are doing double duty as part of the definition and part of the wordplay. I also examined briefly whether the clue might have been intended to be a cryptic definition.

I eventually threw out most of the above analysis, having decided that the clue is actually a charade (Surprise! Surprise!) of FAT + AL (short for Albert) with the definition being "ending in disaster".

6d Some type of snake, in fairness, rattled (4,5)

I have to conclude that S must be used here as an abbreviation for "snake" although I have not found any source which shows this as being a recognized abbreviation. Perhaps it comes from road signs which indicate a crooked road ahead with a symbol that looks like an S with an arrowhead on one end. Such signs are sometimes said to mark a "snake in the road". I also considered (and rejected) the notion that the S might be indicated by the phrase "some type of snake" [i.e., the first letter ("some type" as in typesetting) of the word "snake"], meaning that the words "some type" would need to serve both as the definition and as part of the wordplay - highly atypical for Cox and Rathvon, I think. As always, I welcome your comments should you see something that I may have missed.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a LUCIFER* - anagram (funny) of CRUEL IF

5a HAS|HIS|H - charade of HAS (enjoys) + HIS (the guy's) + H (heroin)

9a MA|MET - charade of MA (mother) + MET (was introduced to); David Mamet: American playwright

10a STRANG(L)ER - L (left) contained in (wearing) STRANGER (unidentified person)

11a RU(ST)LER - RULER (monarch) containing (imprisoning) ST (saint)

12a MA(SO)NIC - MANIC (very excited) containing (about) SO (true; as in "I swear it is so"); Masonic Temple: the premises of a Masonic Lodge, the basic organizational unit within the Freemasonry fraternal order

13a CATER|PILLAR - charade of CATER (supply provisions) + PILLAR (supporting upright); Caterpillar Inc.: manufacturer of construction, mining and industrial equipment

18a B|UTTER|F|LIES - charade of B (starting with beginner's initial; i.e., the charade starts with the initial letter of the word "beginner") + UTTER (tell) + F (false) + LIES (stories)

21a _ALM|AN|AC_ - hidden in (in) psALM AN ACknowledged

23a A(TT)ACHE - {T + T} (two tons) contained in (kept in) {A + ACHE (pine)} [Note: a charade within a charade]

25a BETROTHAL* - anagram (put off) of LATER BOTH

26a PEST|O - charade of PEST (annoying person) + O (orange)

27a DUNE|DIN = charade of DIN (loud noise) following (east of; i.e., to the right of) DUNE (coastal hill)

28a W(I|ZEN)ED - WED (marry) containing (embracing) {I (one) + ZEN (form of Buddhism)} [Note: a container holding a charade]

Down

1d LIME|RICK - charade of RICK (Moranis) following (getting behind) LIME (green); Rick Moranis: Canadian comedian

2d C(A|MPS)ITE - CITE (quote) containing (about) {A + MPS (politician's)} [Note: a container holding a charade]
3d FAT|AL_ - charade of FAT + AL (short for Albert); see Commentary on Today's Puzzle

4d RES(TRAIN)T - TRAIN (entourage) contained in (among) REST (others)

5d HARE|M - charade of HARE (hopper) + M (male)

6d {SANS (S)ERIF}* - S (snake) contained in (in) an anagram (rattled) of FAIRNESS; see Commentary on Today's Puzzle

7d IS|L|AND - charade of IS + L (large) + AND (also)

8d HORACE* - anagram (muffed) of A CHORE; Horace: Roman poet

14d ROB|IN HOOD - charade of ROB (steal from) + IN (popular) + HOOD (gangster)

15d LIE F|ALLOW - charade of LIEF (willingly) + ALLOW (let)

16d DIOCESAN* - anagram (playing) of DEACON IS

17d A|STEROID - charade of A + STEROID (muscle-enhancing drug)

19d BAR|BED - charade of BAR (rail) + (in front of) BED (cot)

20d A(MY |T)AN - {A + AN} (two articles) containing (about) {MY + T (time)}; Amy Tan: American writer [Note: a charade within a charade]

22d CO|HEN - double definition with the second being cryptic; Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and "co-hen", a playful definition of "fellow chicken" (extrapolated from such usages as co-author, co-pilot, etc.)

24d TO|PAZ - charade of TO (in honour of, as might be said in proposing a toast) + PAZ; Octavio Paz: Mexican poet

Signing off for today - Falcon