Saturday, April 30, 2011 - Up in the Air

Introduction

Unlike their previous offering, the theme of today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon is easy to spot - even if it is up in the air, as the setters take us for a ride in a variety of airborne vehicles.

By the way, a sharp-eyed reader did spot the theme in last week's puzzle. If you are curious, you can find out what it was by visiting last Saturday's blog.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

1a   TRIP|LANE - TRIP (journey) + (by) LANE (road)

5a   S|C|RUBS - S (second) + C (cup) + (and) RUBS (wipes)

9a   AG|LOW - AG ([chemical symbol for the element] silver) + LOW (base)

10a   S|PACES|HIP - S (small) + PACES (steps) + HIP (wise; as in "Having once been taken in, I'm now hip to her tricks.")

12a   INGRES|S - INGRES (French painter [Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres]) + S ('s)

13a   S(PL)URGE - SURGE (gush) containing (about) PL (place)

14a   HELICOPTER* - anagram (flying) of CHEER PILOT

16a   SPIT - double definition; "order from a dentist" & "sharply pointed rod"

19a   RAYS~ - sounds like (in the sound) RAISE (bring up)

20a   HO(V)ERCRAFT* -V ([Roman numeral for] five) contained in (packed into) {an anagram (convertible) of CAR FOR THE}

23a   {PIT|STOP}< - reversal (to the left) of {POTS (vessels) + TIP (tilt)}

25a   A|BETTOR (or A|BETTER) - A (one) + BETTOR/BETTER (gambler)

26a   TUR(B)OPROP* - anagram (shakily) of POUR PORT containing B (fifth [letter] of bourBon)

27a   TICKS - double definition; "checks" & "bloodsuckers"

28a   WREAKS~ - sounds like (audibly) REEKS (noxious odours)

29a   ZE(PP|ELI)N - {PP (pages) + ELI} contained in ZEN (Buddhist school)

Down

1d   TO|A|DISH - TO + A + DISH (beauty queen)

2d   ILL(EG)ALLY - EG (for example) contained in (with ... outside) {ILL (sick) + ALLY (friend)}

3d   LA(WREN)CE - WREN (architect [Christopher Wren]) contained in (wearing) LACE (fine fabric)

D. H. Lawrence - English writer

4d   NES(T)S - NESS (Scottish loch [Loch Ness]) containing T (first [letter] of The)

6d   C(RE)OLE - COLE (Porter [American composer and songwriter Cole Porter]) containing (carrying) RE (about)

7d   US|HER - HER (that woman) following (behind) US (our group)

8d   SAPIENT* - anagram (changing) of PANTIES

11d   AUSTERE* - anagram (processed) of TEA SURE

15d   PRO(S)PER - PROPER (fitting) containing (around) S (front [letter] of Spar)

17d   P(RACTIC*)AL - PAL (friend) containing (collecting) {an anagram (bats) of ARCTIC}

18d   S|CREW-TOP - S (southern) + CREW (team) + TOP (to pass)

19d   RO(PE T|O)W - {PET (favourite) + O (ring)} contained in (in) ROW (donnybrook)

21d   T{URNS) IN - URNS (vessels) contained in (clad) TIN (metal)

Note: submit is used in the sense of to hand in an assignment

22d   A(T WO)RK - TWO (pair) contained in (aboard) ARK (Noah's boat)

24d   TO(R)TE - TOTE (bag) containing (holding) R (last [letter] of layeR)

25d   A(MP)LE - ALE (beer) containing (split by) MP (legislator; i.e., Member of Parliament)

Signing off for today - Falcon