Saturday, October 2, 2010 - The Roaring Game

Introduction

The theme of today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon is curling, a game that originated in Scotland and a pastime that is especially popular in Canada. There is a lot of curling terminology (as well as words that could relate to curling) hidden in the solutions. In this game, played by teams called rinks on sheets of ice (which may also be called rinks) in buildings that are (guess what) called rinks, players are required to throw stones (also called rocks) from the hacks (located at one end of the ice surface) in the direction of the house (located at the other end). To deliver a stone, a curler will push off from the hack and slide along the ice holding the stone by its handle. The thrower must release the stone before crossing the near hog line. A substantial amount of work is required from the other members of the team who are expected to sweep the ice in front of the stone (which affects both the speed and direction of the stone). A player wears a slider on one shoe while sweeping to allow him or her to slide along the ice ahead of the stone. A division of play is called an end. A team will score points for stones remaining in the house at the completion of an end - provided those stones are closer to the button (centre of the house) than any stone belonging to the opposing team. Following the match, it is traditional for the players to get together in the bar where the winners buy the losers a drink - which might arrive (borne by a cupbearer?) in a glass containing an ice cube or two. And Canadians do take extra pleasure from games in which they trounce the Yankees from south of the border.

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions used in today's puzzle

Used in Clues:

American League - (abbreviation AL) one of two leagues (the other being the National League) that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada

Anne Heche - an American actress, director, and screenwriter

Dell Inc. - a multinational information technology corporation based in Texas that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services

NBA - abbreviation National Basketball Association, the major men's basketball league in the United States and Canada

Used in Solutions:

Choctaw - a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States, the majority of whose members were forced, under a U.S. government policy of deracination (forced migration) that has become known as the Trail of Tears, to move to Oklahoma

Trivia: In Bobbie Gentry's ballad Ode to Billie Joe, Choctaw Ridge was presumably both the home of Billie Joe MacAllister and the location of the Tallahatchie Bridge

cupbearer (or sometimes cup-bearer) - an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty it was to serve the drinks at the royal table

On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues, a person must be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold this position. He must guard against poison in the king's cup, and was sometimes required to swallow some of the wine before serving it.

I - abbreviation interest [Note: although I could find no listing for this abbreviation in several American and British dictionaries, it may possibly be justified based on its appearance in formulas used in performing financial calculations]

Ice Cube - stage name of O'Shea Jackson,  an American rapper, actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer

Iroquois - an association of several tribes of indigenous people of eastern North America (both Canada and the United States) composed of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora nations

Shoshone - a Native American tribe of the western United States

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

13a Grind and eat chops (5,2)

The definition seems to be "chops" with the wordplay being HACK (grind) + SUP (eat) producing the solution HACKS UP. A fairly extensive search failed to find any dictionary listing hack as a synonym for grind. However, one can at least envision the connection, as one definition for hack is "one who works hard at boring tasks" while a grind can be "a laborious task, routine, or study" or "a student who works or studies excessively".

15a Wax new counter (7)

I fail to understand this clue. For wordplay, we appear to have an anagram (new) of COUNTER producing the solution TROUNCE. However, I could not find any meaning for "wax" that relates to trounce. Perhaps it was meant to be a homophone (sounds like) clue, where "wax" sounds like 'whacks' which then might somehow lead to trounce. Even that seems pretty far-fetched. If any perceptive readers have discerned something that I have overlooked, please leave a comment.

17d Anne Heche, dropping the last guy, changed for the better (7)

Apparently "he" (the last guy) is former husband Coley Laffoon, whom she left for Men in Trees co-star James Tupper. Ms. Heche is probably best known as the former same-sex partner of comedienne Ellen DeGeneres (whom she dumped for Mr. Laffoon).

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a {CURLING IRON}* - anagram (trained) of UNICORN GIRL

7a PAST(IM)E - IM (I'm) contained in (into) PASTE (stick)

8a {YAN|KEES}< - reversal of (on the way back) {SEEK (look for) NAY (no)}

10a {SL(I)DE RULE}* - anagram (upset) of DELL USER containing (about) I (one)

11a SOL(V)E - V (volume) contained in (inserted in) SOLE (only)

12a BAN|D|AGE - BAN (proscription) + D (500; i.e., Roman numeral for 500) + AGE (years old)

13a HACK|S UP - HACK (grind) + (and) SUP (eat)

15a TROUNCE* - anagram (new) of COUNTER

18a COP(Y|CA)T - COPT (Egyptian) containing (keeping) {Y (yellow) CA (California)}

20a ONE|AL - ONE + AL (American League)

22a HOU(SEW|O)R|K - {[SEW (stitch) + O (hoop)] contained in HOUR (60 minutes)} + (then) K (first of kitchen; i.e., first letter of the word "kitchen")

23a {SI|DEMAN}< - reversal (backing) of NAMED (chosen) + IS

24a PI(RAT)ES - RAT (snitch) contained in (splitting) PIES (desserts)

25a S(TO|NES T)H|ROW - {TO + NEST (home)} contained in (in) {SH (quiet) + ROW (street)}

Down

1d C(ASP|I)AN {ASP (snake) + I (interest)} contained in (in) CAN (vessel)

2d {RAISE CAIN}* - anagram (disturbed) of CANARIES I

3d {ICE CUBE}* - anagram (pitches) of CRUD BEER

4d _G|WY(N)ETH - {G (ultimately, painting; i.e., the final letter of the word "painting") + (by) WYETH} containing (acquires) N (new)

5d R|INKS - R (red) + INKS (pen colours)

6d NEEDLES_ - all but final letter (almost) of NEEDLESS (without point)

7d {PUSH BUTTONS}* - anagram (flipping) of SPOT BUSH NUT

9d S|WEEPS|TAKES - S (soprano) + WEEPS (cries) + TAKES (wins)

14d {CUPBEARER}* - anagram (prepared) of CRAB PUREE

16d _ONE|ID|AS_ - hidden in (found among) ShoshONE ID ASsume

17d ENHANCE* - anagram (changed) of {ANNE HEC[he] with the final HE deleted (dropping the last guy)} [Note: this is the "last guy" in two senses, being not only the last two letters of her name but also the second appearance of this combination of letters in her name]

18d C|RUM|PET - C (cold) + RUM (booze) + (and) PET (favourite)

19d CHOCTAW* - anagram (moving) of COW CHAT

21d LIMBO - double definition

Signing off for today - Falcon