Saturday, July 9, 2011 - It's Rodeo Time

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon honours the Calgary Stampede - an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features the world's largest rodeo, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing and First Nations exhibitions.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   WIL({D WES}*)T - WILT (flag) containing (penetrated by) {an anagram (ruined) of DEWS}

5a   ST|ITCH - ST (street) + (and) ITCH (feel thirsty; probably in a figurative sense)

9a   CHUCK|WAG|ON| R|ACES - CHUCK (toss) + WAG (joker) + ON + R (red) + ACES (high cards)

11a   {IN A SNIT}* - anagram (playing) of ANN IS IT

12a   T(ANGEL)O - ANGEL (financial backer) contained in (goes inside) TO (for; as might be used to identify the recipient of a present)

13a   GR|AND - GR (gross) + AND

15a   L(I|VEST)OCK - {I (one) + VEST (part of a suit)} contained in (held by) LOCK (restraint)

16a   F(IRE|W)ORKS - FORKS (points of division) containing (involving) {IRE (anger) + W (with)}

18a   CAFES* - anagram (new) of FACES

20a   AS|PERSE - AS + PERSE (colour for a suit; perse is a dark greyish-blue colour)

21a   FOR|AGED - FOR + AGED (senior)

23a   C(A|L|GARY S|TAMP)EDE - CEDE (give up) containing (carrying) {A + L (piece of luggage; i.e., the first letter of Luggage) + (and) GARYS + TAMP (pack)}

24a   SASHES - double definition; [window] frames & waistbands

25a   BAN(D)ANAS - BANANAS (crazy) containing (about) D (daughter)

Down

1d   W(ICK)ING - ICK (disgusting stuff) contained in (eaten by) WING (fly)

2d   L|AURA - L (left) + AURA (distinctive impression)

3d   W(A|KEN)ED - {A + KEN (comprehension)} contained in (in) WED (mate)

4d   SMART< - reversal (in reverse) of TRAMS (cable cars)

6d   THRONES* - anagram (flying) of HORNETS

7d   TI(CK)E|D OFF - {CK (check) contained in (into) TIE (neckwear)} + (and) DOFF (remove)

8d   HAS|SOCK - HAS (shows evidence of) + SOCK (punch)

10d   O|C(T)AVES - T (time) contained in (in) {O (love) + CAVES (yields)}

14d   A|CROP|OLIS< - A + CROP (dock) + {a reversal (pointing west) of SILO (housing for a missile)}

As MG pointed out a couple of weeks ago, Cox and Rathvon use "pointing west" in a down clue to indicate a reversal. In a British puzzle, convention would surely dictate that "pointing north" be used in this situation.

15d   LAR(C)ENY* - C ($100) contained in (taken in) an anagram (botched) of NEARLY

16d   FRANCIS* - anagram (tangled up) of IN SCARF

17d   WAR|PAGE - WAR (struggle) + (with) PAGE (wedding attendant)

18d   CA(ROME)D - CAD (boor) containing (going around) ROME (European capital)

19d   {_S|A|DNES|S_}< - reversed (back) and hidden (in) MemphiS SEND A Signal

21d   FAT|WA - WA (Washington) follows (gets behind) FAT (weighty)

22d   GLE(A)N - GLEN (valley) containing (taking in) A

Signing off for today - Falcon