Saturday, August 14, 2010 - Cardinal Points

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon, we find the four cardinal points of the compass.

Today's Glossary

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

Used in Solutions:

East River - in reality, not a river at all, but a tidal strait located in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island (including the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn) from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the mainland.

Theodore Dreiser (1871 – 1945) - an American novelist and journalist.

North Star - a member of the Minnesota North Stars, a professional hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993.

Orson Welles (1915 – 1985) - an American filmmaker, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio.

Schroeder - a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. He is distinguished by his precocious skill at playing the toy piano, as well as by his love of classical music and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in particular.

South Park - an American animated sitcom intended for mature audiences, which has become infamous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics.

widgeon - [American Heritage Dictionary] noun Either of two wild, freshwater ducks (Anas americana of North America or Anas penelope of Europe) having a grayish or brownish back and a white belly and wing coverts. The European widgeon has a reddish-brown head and creamy crown, and the American widgeon has a shiny white crown.

Vancouver - a coastal city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada.

Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941) - an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century, whose works include the novel Mrs Dalloway.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

23d Dead relative's cow (5)

In the surface reading, the 's is interpreted as a possessive ending. However, in the cryptic analysis, the 's is a contraction for is and serves as a link word joining the wordplay (dead relative) to the definition (cow). That is, the clue is to be read "Dead relative /is\ cow".
25d Plain going back above everything (5)

My first impression was that "going" = ON with "back" serving as the reversal indicator. However, there was no way to make that combination produce the correct solution. Finally, I realized that the wordplay is "above" = ON with "going back" being the reversal indicator.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a _TALISM|AN_ - hidden in (displays) capiTALISM ANomalously

5a SWEETS - sounds like (in audition) SUITES (pieces for a musician)

9a {NORTH STAR}* - anagram (playing) of START HORN

11a OR|SON - OR + SON (descendant)

12a LASS|O - LASS (gal) + (with) O (loop)

13a COME (FIRS)T - COMET (one of Santa's reindeer) containing (around) FIRS (some Christmas trees)

14a WIDGEON* - anagram (transformed) of WINE GOD

16a M|OVER - M (em) + OVER (running across)

18a POSER - double definition

19a DREISER* - anagram (stirred) of REDS IRE

21a ARCH|I|BALD - ARCH (waggish) + (with) I (one) + BALD (hairless)

24a A|LLOT< - A + reversal (regressive) of TOLL (tax) 26a TO(AD)Y - AD (notice) contained in TOY (play) [Note: clue utilises an inverted sentence structure]

27a {SOUTH PARK}* - anagram (swimming) of UP TO SHARK

28a RAT|TLE* - RAT (vermin) + (and) anagram (loose) of LET

29a STUD|IOUS - STUD (poker) + IOUS (debts; IOUs)

Down

1d T|ANGLE - T (tail of wet; i.e., last letter of the word "wet") + ANGLE (fish)

2d LYRES - sounds like (heard) LIARS (fabulists)

3d SCHROEDER* - anagram (arranged) of RECORD HES

4d AN|TIC - AN (one) + TIC (mannerism)

6d WOOL|F - WOOL (material) + F (failing; as a grade at school)

7d EA|ST RIVER - EA (each) + STRIVER (trying one; i.e., one who tries); [Note: in the definition, current is used to mean a flow of water]

8d SANITARY* - anagram (recycled) of NASTY AIR

10d _ROM|ANCE_ - hidden in (in the interior) fROM ANCEstors

14d {WEST COAST}* - anagram (reconfigured) of TWO CASTES

15d ENDE(A)RS - A (one) contained in (among) ENDERS (finishers)

16d MUST|ACHE - MUST (has to) + ACHE (hurt)

17d S|PLATTER - S (small) + PLATTER (serving dish)

20d S|TAKES - S (front of store; i.e., first letter of the word "store") + TAKES (requires)

22d IDYLL~ - sounds like (for the audience) IDLE (not doing anything)

23d D|AUNT - D (dead) + AUNT (relative)

25d {LLA|NO}< - reversal (going back) of {ON (above) + ALL (everything)}

Signing off for today - Falcon