Saturday, September 17, 2011 - Opera at the Savoy

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon, we are presented with a number of works from another famous pair of collaborators - W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. In fact, the puzzle contains six of the thirteen Savoy Operas that the pair wrote for Richard D'Oyly Carte.

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

12a   Wrapping a present, hurt great racehorse (3,1,3)

The definition is "great racehorse" for which the solution is MAN O WAR. The order of the wordplay is inverted, as the phrase "wrapping a present, hurt" would be more straight-forwardly expressed as "hurt wrapping a present". In this case, the inversion is fairly easy to spot as the surface reading supports (in fact, requires) the inclusion of a comma in the clue. However, it is often the case (in this type of inverted wordplay clue), that the surface reading does not require a comma and thus none is included. In such clues, in order to correctly interpret the clue, the solver must mentally insert the implied comma.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   PATIENCE* - anagram (tangled up) of A NICE PET

Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride (1881) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan

5a   TRI(B)AL - B (good grade) contained in (in) TRIAL (test)

10a   N(IX)ED< - reversal (from the east) of {DEN (study) containing (involving) XI ([Roman numeral for] eleven)}

11a   THE M|I|K|A|DO - THEM (those guys) + I ([Roman numeral for] one) + K (thousand) + (at) A (explicit in the clue) + DO (party)

The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu (1885) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan

12a   MAN O WAR - MAR (hurt) containing (wrapping) {A (explicit in the clue) + NOW (present)}

Man o' War - (1917 – 1947), considered to be one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time. During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses.

13a   TUN(IS|I)A - {IS (explicit in the clue) + I (island)} contained in (surrounded by) TUNA (fish)

14a   PIN(A|FOR)E - {A + FOR} (explicit in the clue) contained in (wearing) PINE (long; meaning 'yearn')

H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass that Loved a Sailor (1878) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan

16a   B(R)AD - BAD (wrong) containing (about) R (right)

19a   EAR|N - EAR (attention; as in 'have one's ear') + N (name)

20a   IOLANTHE* - anagram (cast) of IN A HOTEL

Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri (1882) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan

23a   SO|MALI|A - SO (true; as in 'It is so') + MALI (site of Timbuktu) + A (explicit in the clue)

24a   PAN|THE|R - PAN (face) + THE (explicit in the clue) + R (Rex; 'king')

26a   RUD(DIG|OR)E - {DIG (mine) + OR (gold; 'heraldic tincture')} contained in (in) RUDE (uncouth)

Ruddigore, or The Witch's Curse (1887) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan

27a   EIGHT~ - sounds like (auditor's; meaning, in the cryptic reading, 'to an auditor [listener]') ATE

Note: This clue works with certain foods - such as celery.

28a   DACRON* - anagram (revised) of CONRAD

Dacron (trademark) - a synthetic polyester fabric or the fiber from which it is made [known in the U.K. as Terylene (trademark)]

29a   PENZANCE - Z (last letter) contained in (in) PENANCE (punishment)

The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty (1880) - an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan

Down
1d   PA(NA)MA - {PA (father) + (and) MA (mother)} containing (going around) NA (North American)

2d   T(OX)IN - TIN (container) containing (filled with) OX (bovine)

3d   END|OWING - END (quit) + OWING (being in debt)

4d   CATER* - anagram (in a mess) of CRATE

6d   REIGNS - sounds like (recited) RAINS (showers)

7d   BRASS|ERIE - BRASS (important officials) + (in front of) ERIE (Great Lake)

8d   L(EON)ARD|O - EON (long time) contained in (taken by) {LARD (fat) + O (old)}

Leonardo da Vinci - (1452 – 1519, Old Style), an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. He has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination".He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.

9d   RE{ST AREA}* - RE (regarding} + an anagram (fixed) of RATE AS

rest area - North American term for what would be called a lay-by in Britain.

14d   PARAMEDIC* - anagram (misrepresented) of EPIC DRAMA

15d   {FROM A TO Z}* - anagram (wrong) of OF MOZART

17d   MEA(SURE)D - SURE (confident) contained in (in) MEAD (honey product)

18d   {S(TAN G)ETZ}* - anagram (unusual) of ZEST containing (acquiring) TANG (spicy taste)

Stan Getz - (1927 – 1991), American jazz saxophone player known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone. While having performed a number of musical styles, he is perhaps best known for popularizing bossa nova, as in the worldwide hit single "The Girl from Ipanema" (1964).

21d   _AL|BINO_ - hidden in (seen through) digitAL BINOculars

22d   WRIT|HE - WRIT (court document) + (in front of) HE (the guy)

24d   PIECE~ - sounds like (voiced) PEACE (harmony)

25d   HOG|AN - HOG (monopolize) + AN (one)

Ben Hogan - (1912 – 1997) was an American golfer, and is generally considered one of the greatest golfers in the history of the game.

Signing off for today - Falcon