Saturday, May 29, 2010 - Star Gazing

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon presents us with an octet of constellations. So, in addition to your pencil and dictionary, a star chart may come in handy.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Clues:

dive - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun 2b A run-down residence

Used in Solutions:

rattrap - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun 2. Informal A dilapidated or unsanitary dwelling

Saint Columba - [American Heritage Dictionary] Irish missionary who established a monastery on the island of Iona and subsequently Christianized northern Scotland

Constellations appearing today:

Andromeda - a constellation in the northern sky named after Andromeda, the princess in the Greek legend of Perseus who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus

Aquarius - a constellation of the zodiac, whose name is Latin for "water-bearer" or "cup-bearer"

Capricorn - common name for Capricornus, a constellation of the zodiac, whose name is Latin for "horned male goat" or "goat horn", and is commonly represented in the form of a sea-goat: a mythical creature that is half goat, half fish

Centaurus - a bright constellation in the southern sky, traditionally identified as a centaur, a mythological creature, half man, half horse

Columba - a small, faint constellation, located just south of Canis Major and Lepus, whose name is Latin for dove

Eridanus - a constellation that is represented as a river, its name being the Ancient Greek name for the Po River

Pegasus - a constellation in the northern sky, named after the winged horse Pegasus in Greek mythology

Ursa Minor - a constellation in the northern sky, often called the Little Dipper, whose name is Latin for "little bear"

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

21a Leave sailor doing a flip and dive (7)

The term dive in North America can be applied to either "a disreputable or run-down bar or nightclub" or "a run-down residence". The definition of dive in Oxford ("a disreputable nightclub or bar") might lead one to conclude that only the former usage is found in the U.K., although Chambers defines dive as "any dirty or disreputable place, especially a bar or club".

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a AQ(U)ARIUS* - AQARIUS {an anagram (mistaken) of IRAQ USA} containing (about) U (uranium); Aquarius: a constellation and sign of the zodiac [Note: you are free to choose which letter "U" stands for uranium]

5a SCALES - double definition; "climbs" and "balanced pans" (as on a balance scale)

9a BASIL - double definition; "portrayer of Sherlock" is a reference to Sir BASIL Rathbone, a South African-born British actor who portrayed Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films

10a AND|ROME|DA - AND (along with) + ROME (Eternal City) + DA (father); Andromeda: a constellation named for a princess in Greek mythology [Note: although I have shown the wordplay as a charade, I think "along with Eternal City" (meaning AND ROME) works better as a phrase than as a charade]

12a RAM|PAGE - RAM (hit) + PAGE (sheet on one side)

13a PEG|AS(U)S - PEG (pin) + {ASS (donkey) containing (with) U (tail of caribou; i.e., last letter of the word "caribou")}; Pegasus: constellation representing a winged horse from Greek mythology

14a NOTICES* - an anagram (rough) of SECTION

16a DECAL< - a reversal (from behind) of LACED (spiked, as in "spiked the drinks") 19a THREW~ - sounds like (in audition) THROUGH (over)

21a RAT|TRAP< - a reversal (doing a flip) of {PART (leave) + TAR (sailor)} 24a COLUMBA* - an anagram (off) of BUM COLA

26a MES(SI|A)H - {SI (Sports Illustrated) + A (article)} contained in (covered by) MESH (network); Sports Illustrated: an American sports magazine published by Time Warner

27a CENTAURUS* - an anagram (flying) of SAUCER NUT; Centaurus: a constellation representing a mythological creature that is half man, half horse

28a MOORS - double definition; "ties up" and "conquerors of Spain"; Moors: people from North Africa who conquered and occupied the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years

29a _REL|IS|H_ - hidden in (in) doggeREL IS Human

30a ERIDANUS* - an anagram (deviating) of USE DRAIN; Eridanus: a constellation that is represented as a river

Down

1d AU|B|URN - AU (chemical symbol for gold) + B (blue) + URN (vase)

2d URS|A MINO|R - URS (ancient city's; i.e., Ur's) + AMINO (acid) + R (rain initially; i.e., first letter of the word "rain")

3d R(ELI)ANT - RANT (rave) containing (about) ELI (biblical priest)

4d US|AGE - US (American) + AGE (era)

6d C|LOGGED - C (Conservative) + LOGGED (noted for the record)

7d L(O)ESS - O (chemical symbol for oxygen) contained in (added to) LESS (not so)

8d S(PARSE)LY - SLY (cunning) contains (bears) PARSE (analyze grammar)

11d DEPOSIT* - an anagram (crackpot) of TOPSIDE

15d C(OR)S|AIR - {CS (Captain's) + AIR (tune)} containing (about) OR (alternative)

17d CAP|RI|CORN - CAP (top) + RI (Rhode Island) + CORN (grain); Capricorn: a constellation representing a goat

18d S(TOCK) CAR - cryptic definition, as signalled by the question mark; SCAR (wound) containing (around) TOCK (second announcement); tock: "second" sound made by a clock (tick-tock, tick-tock) announcing the seconds as they tick by [Note: being a cryptic definition, one should not necessarily expect the clue to parse rigorously]

20d WOMB(AT)S - {A (one) + T (time)} contained in (found in) WOMBS (gestational places)

22d RE(SUM)ED - REED (grass) containing (keeping) SUM (amount)

23d THE|S|IS - THE + S (symbol of Superman) + IS

25d LEND|L - LEND (advance) + L (loss); Ivan Lendl: Czechoslovakian-born professional tennis player

26d MIS_ER - MISTER (Mr.) timeless (i.e., without the letter "T")

Signing off for today - Falcon