Saturday, October 15, 2011 - French Canadian Cinema

Introduction

Today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon may prove a bit taxing for those not familiar with French Canadian cinema. We are presented with examples of the work of two well-known Québécois directors.

Note of Thanks

I wish to extend a special thank you to Matt Mitchell for stepping in to provide solutions during my absence.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   ME(MO P)AD - MOP (clean) contained in (inside of) MEAD

Mead® is a brand name used by the American company MeadWestvaco Corporation for a variety of products including calendars, planners, notebooks, folders, etc.

5a   FOR|AGED - FOR (explicit in the clue) + AGED (senior)

9a   JES(US| DE MON)T|REAL - {US (Yankee) + DEMON (devil)} contained in (in) JEST (fun) + REAL (authentic)

Jésus de Montréal (in English, Jesus of Montreal) is a 1989 Canadian film directed by Denys Arcand.

10a   SECTORS* - anagram (burst) of CORSETS

11a   RAP|IDLY - RAP (knock) + IDLY (lazily)

12a   Y_U|LE T|IDES - YU (heartless YOU; i.e., YOU with its middle letter deleted) + LET (allow) + IDES (mid-month)

In the ancient Roman calendar, ides was a day falling roughly in the middle of each month (the 15th day of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th of other months) from which other dates were calculated.

14a   D|OPED - OP ED (newspaper page) following (after) D ([Roman numeral for] 500)

In North American newspapers, the op-ed page is found opposite the editorial page, and is typically devoted to personal comment, feature articles, etc.

16a   BASIL - double definition; "Sherlock portrayer" & "pesto ingredient"

Sir Basil Rathbone (1892 – 1967) was a South-African born English actor whose most famous role was that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series.

18a   SU(STAIN)ED - SUED (brought suit) containing (about) STAIN (blemish)

21a   H(I|BACH)I - {I (Island) + BACH (composer)} contained in (in) HI (Hawaii)

23a   CAT S|CAN - CATS (felines) + CAN (are able to)

24a   M(ON| ON|C|LE ANTO)INE - {ON (running) + ON (about) + C (cold) + LEAN-TO (shed)} contained in (in) MINE (pit)

Mon oncle Antoine (in English, My Uncle Antoine) is a 1971 National Film Board of Canada (Office national du film du Canada) French language drama film. Québécois director Claude Jutra co-wrote the screenplay with Clément Perron and directed what is one of the most acclaimed works in Canadian film history.

25a   SO|LACED - SO (thus) + LACED (fortified; like a punch with a bit of extra punch)

26a   HE(X|AGO)N - HEN (layer [of eggs]) containing (around) {X ([Roman numeral for] ten) + AGO (past)}

Down

1d   MAJESTY* - anagram (after changing) of MET JAYS

The Toronto Blue Jays (often referred to simply as the Jays) are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

2d   MU(SIC|A)LES - {SIC ([command to] attack) + A (article)} contained in (carried by) MULES (beasts of burden)

Musicale is a North American term for a musical gathering or concert.

3d   P(A|SS) OUT - POUT (sulk) containing (about) {A (explicit in the clue) + SS (shortstop)}

In baseball, a shortstop is a fielder positioned between second and third base.

4d   DEEPS< - reversal (returning) of SPEED (expedition)

This is a formal and - in my experience - infrequently seen meaning of expedition (promptness or speed in doing something).

5d   FO(OT<)RESTS - {reversal (put back) of TO} contained in (in) FORESTS (woods)

6d   RE(TAP)ED - TAP (faucet) contained in (in) REED (grass)

7d   GREED* - anagram (broken) of EDGER

Greed, being one of the seven deadly sins, is a major character flaw.

8d   DE(LAY)ED - DEED (act) containing (taking) LAY (place)

13d   DI(STILL)ED - DIED (faded) containing (outside) STILL (yet)

15d   PA|NICKING - PA (Dad) + NICKING (slightly cutting with a razor)

16d   BA(HAM)AS - BAAS (bleats) containing (about) HAM (meat)

17d   LA(CON)IC - CON (prisoner) contained in (involved with) LAIC (secular)

19d   ANTITAX - anagram (in a way) of TAN TAXI

20d   DUNG|EON - DUNG (manure) + EON (forever and a day)

Although the most common meaning for dungeon is "a strong underground prison cell, especially in a castle", here it is an archaic term for donjon, "the great tower or innermost keep of a castle".

22d   BAN|AL - BAN (forbid) + AL ([chemical symbol for] aluminum)

Aluminum is the North American name for what would be known in the UK as aluminium.

23d   C|LASH - C ([Roman numeral for] 100) + (with) LASH (whip)

Signing off for today - Falcon