Saturday, July 3, 2010 - Fine Feathered Friends

Introduction

Today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon is a veritable aviary, with at least eight birds perched amongst the clues.

Error in Today's Puzzle

Today we experience an exceedingly rare event indeed - an apparent error in a Cox and Rathvon puzzle.

23d Fabulist and a model from the East (5)

It would be my guess that this was originally developed as an across clue and that it later got slotted into a down position without realizing that its wording made it unsuitable for such a role. The definition is "fabulist" with the solution being AESOP. The wordplay is A + a reversal (from the East; i.e., with the letters running from right to left) of POSE (model). For this clue to work in a down position, it would need to read:

• 23d Fabulist and a model from the South (5)

where the phrase "from the South" would imply that the letters run from bottom to top, thus creating a reversal in a down clue.

San Remo or Sanremo

San Remo - a port and resort in NW Italy, in Liguria on the slopes of the Maritime Alps.

Note (ref. Wikipedia): The official spelling of the [name of the] city is Sanremo, a phonetic contraction of San Romolo (Saint Romolo), official saint and protector of the city. In the local dialect of Ligurian, it sounds like Sanrœmu. The spelling San Remo, as two words, was introduced in 1924 by the mayor and used in official documents during Fascism. This form of the name appears still on some road signs and, more rarely, in unofficial tourist information. It has been the most widely used form of the name in English at least since the 19th century.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a CONT(RAVEN)E - CONTE (medieval tale) containing(about) RAVEN (bird)

6a A|SAP - A + SAP (sucker)

9a AN|X|IOUS - AN (one) + (with) X (ten) + IOUS (notes of debt)

10a MAD|IS|ON - MAD (satirical magazine) + IS + ON (covering); Felix Unger and Oscar Madison: the principal characters in The Odd Couple, a play written by Neil Simon, which later became a movie and television series.

12a PINK - double definition; "use shears to cut" & "rose"

13a MEAD|OWL|AND - MEAD (honey drink) + OWL (bird) + AND

15a A(SWAN) DAM - SWAN (bird) contained in (caught by) ADAM (the first man); Aswan Dam: a dam on the Nile River at Aswan, Egypt

17a IGNORE* - anagram (rocky) of REGION

20a NO(R)|WAY - R (run) contained in (in) {NO (not any) + WAY (manner)} [or perhaps the phrase "not any manner" could be interpreted to mean NO WAY]

21a LA(WREN)CE - WREN (bird) contained in (covered) LACE; D. H. Lawrence: English poet and novelist perhaps best known for his racy (for the times, at least) novels Lady Chatterley's Lover and Sons and Lovers.

23a ALL|EGRET|TO - ALL (completely) + EGRET (plumed bird) + TO (before; as in the phrase "the time is ten to two")

24a SCAR_ - SCAR[e] (spook) with the last letter deleted (almost)

27a {SAN REMO}* - anagram (translated) of A SERMON

28a N(EAR)EST - NEST (bird's home) containing (stocking) EAR (some corn)

29a POST - double definition; "this newspaper" (National Post, or Post for short) & "job"

30a PANT|A(LOON)S - PANT (gasp) + {AS (while) containing (keeping) LOON (bird)}

Down

1d CHAMP|LAIN - CHAMP (hero) + LAIN (rested); Samuel de Champlain: French explorer

2d NIX|ON - NIX (nothing) + ON; Richard Nixon: former U.S. President

3d R(I)OT - I (one) contained in (covered with) ROT (garbage)

4d VISCERAL* - anagram (fixed) of CAR ELVIS

5d NOMADS* - anagram (dances) of DO MANS

7d S(ASK|AT)OON - {ASK (inquire) + AT (upon)} contained in (entering) SOON (promptly); Saskatoon: a city in Saskatchewan, Canada known as the "City of Bridges" for its seven river crossings.

8d PANED~ - sounds like (when hitting the ear) PAINED (hurt)

11d DO|WAGERS - DO (make) + WAGERS (stakes)

14d ENT|ANGLE - ENT (tree creature) + ANGLE (fish); Ent: a member of a fictional race of people who closely resemble trees from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth in the trilogy The Lord of the Rings and other writings.

16d WARP|LANES - WARP (distort) + LANES (travel routes)

18d EXEC|RATES - EXEC (administrator) + RATES (ranks)

19d CASTANET* - anagram (funny) of CAN TASTE

22d VERONA* - anagram (gaga) of OVER AN

23d A|ESOP - A + reversal (from the East) of POSE (model); see Error in Today's Puzzle (above)

25d C(RED)O - CO (company) containing (adopting) RED (radical)

26d RAIL - double definition; "bird" & "place to perch on a fence"

Signing off for today - Falcon