Saturday, October 29, 2011 - Trick or Treat?

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon has a suitable Halloween theme.


Errata for Today's Puzzle

23d   Talk about land in African (5)

I would guess that there may be a small typo in this clue and that it was intended to read:

• 23d   Talk about land in Africa (5)

Commentary on Today's Puzzle

2d   Take the lead in Kismet with skill lately practiced (4,3)

To my way of thinking, the clue would be more apt had it read:

• 2d   Take the lead in Kismet with skill not lately practiced (4,3)

as I think that a "skill not lately practiced" would serve as a better definition here.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   {WILL-O'-THE-WISP}* - anagram (confused) of WHITE PILLOWS

Will-o'-the-wisp (also ignis fatuus) is a phosphorescent light that hovers or flits over swampy ground at night, possibly caused by spontaneous combustion of gases emitted by rotting organic matter. Also called friar's lantern, jack-o'-lantern,  wisp.

9a   {TEST RUN}* - anagram (off) of TURN SET

10a   MA(CAB)RE - CAB (hack) contained in (carried by) MARE (horse)

11a   HEAT|H - HEAT (raise the temperature of) + H (high)

12a   S(CARE|CR)OW - {CARE (concern) + CR (credit)} contained in (in) SOW (broadcast [seeds])

The Scarecrow is a character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum which was originally published in 1900. It has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of both the 1902 stage play and the 1939 film version.

13a   CAT|A|COMB - CAT (dude) + (with) A (†) + COMB (barber's implement)

15a   SCON(C)E - SCONE (tea biscuit) containing (accommodating) C (cup)

17a   RIDING - double definition; "travelling" & "electoral district"

A riding is an electoral district in Canada. Used in this sense, the term seems to be unique to Canada.

19a   STEW(A|RD)S - STEWS (frets) containing (about) {A (†) + RD (road)}

22a   HOB(GO)BLIN_ - HOBBLIN(g) {HOBBLING (limping) endlessly; i.e., "hobbling" without its last letter} containing (receiving) GO (stab; meaning 'attempt')

23a   GUST|O - O ([looks like] bagel) following (after) GUST (blast [of wind])

25a   STILT|ON - STILT (pole for walking) + ON (†)

26a   H(A|BIT)AT - A BIT (somewhat) contained in (clad in) HAT (head covering)

27a   JACK-O'-LANTERN - anagram (lost) of ON JANET CLARK

Janet Clark would appear to be merely a convenient name that has been contrived by the setters.

Down

1d   W|ITCH - W (with) + ITCH (craving)

2d   LO(ST AR)T - STAR (take the lead) contained in (in) LOT (kismet; meaning 'fate')

Kismet is a play written in 1911 by Edward Knoblock. The title means Fate or Destiny in Turkish and Urdu. The play ran for an extraordinary two years in London. The play was subsequently revived, and the story was later made into the popular 1953 musical.

3d   OPRAH< - reversal (returned) of HARPO (silent actor [Harpo Marx])

Oprah Winfrey - among many other things - is an American talk show host.

4d   H(AND|S)OME - {AND (too) + S (small)} contained in (inside) HOME (residence)

5d   WOM_|BAT - WOM (60% of women; i.e., the first 3 of the 5 letters in WOM(en)} + BAT (try to hit)

A wombat is a burrowing plant-eating Australian marsupial which resembles a small bear with short legs.

6d   S(A|C|RED) COW - SCOW (boat) containing (carrying) {A (†) + C (Conservative) + RED (Bolshevik)}

7d   OBERON* - anagram (wild) of BORNEO

Oberon (also spelled Auberon) is a fairy king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which he is Consort to Titania, Queen of the Fairies.

8d   SE(AWE)EDS - SEEDS (sources) containing (filled with) AWE (wonder)

13d   C(AR CH)ASE - ARCH (principal; think of 'arch enemy') containing (wearing) CASE (suit; in the sense of lawsuit)

14d   C(ON|SORT)IA - {ON (scheduled) + SORT (class)} contained in (held by) CIA (spy agency)

16d   STENDHAL* - anagram (novel) of SHETLAND

Marie-Henri Beyle (1783 – 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer.

18d   DEBRIS* - anagram (new) of BRIDES

20d   RO(SET)TE - ROTE (one way to learn) containing (about) SET (established)

21d   PLAN|CK - PLAN (design) + CH (check)

Max Planck (1858 – 1947) was a German physicist who is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.

23d   GAB|ON - GAB (talk) + ON (about)

24d   OF|TEN - OF (connected with) + TEN (decade)

Signing off for today - Falcon