Saturday, November 12, 2011 - Portmanteaux

Introduction

In today's puzzle, Cox and Rathvon deliver a half-dozen portmanteau words associated with film and television.














Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   CINEP(L)EX* - {anagram (rum) of FILM EXEC} containing (with) L (a slice of lime; i.e., the first letter of 'lime')

Rum is a dated British informal term meaning odd or peculiar.

5a   CLAS(P)S - P (piano; a musical direction meaning soft or quiet) contained in (into) CLASS (part of a curriculum)

9a   M(IS)ER< - IS (†) contained in (in) a reversal (going back) of REM (rapid eye movement; a stage of sleep)

10a   BOLLY(WOO)D* - anagram (rocky) of BOLDLY containing (holding) WOO (court)

12a   L(ANY)ARD - ANY (whatever) contained in (is covered in) LARD (fat)

13a   RO(PE T|O)W - ROW (line) containing (around) {PET (favourite) + O (old)}

14a   IN|FO(MERCI)AL - {IN FOAL (soon to be a dam)} containing (winning) MERCI (thanks for francophones; i.e., French word meaning 'thank you')

19a   EDUTAINMENT* - anagram (new) of TEN MEN AUDIT

22a   PETUNIA* - anagram (developed) of IN TAUPE

24a   {WOLF|RAM}< - reversal of (reversing) {MAR (impair) + FLOW (current)}

Wolfram is another name for tungsten.

25a   CA|MC|ORDER - CA (California) + MC (host) + ORDER (put in a request for)

26a   A(RNA)Z - RNA (inherited stuff) contained in (in) {A (†) + Z (Greek film)}

The definition, "Ricardo actually", refers to the character Ricky Ricardo, husband of the title character Lucy Ricardo, from the 1950s television comedy series I Love Lucy. The part was played by Desi Arnaz, the real-life husband of comedienne Lucille Ball who played the part of Lucy.

Z is a 1969 French language political thriller directed by Costa Gavras, with a screenplay by Gavras and Jorge Semprún, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Vassilis Vassilikos. The film presents a thinly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963. With its satirical view of Greek politics, its dark sense of humor, and its downbeat ending, the film captures the outrage about the military dictatorship that ruled Greece at the time of its making.

27a   IS|RAEL< - IS (†) + (standing by) a reversal (from the East) of LEAR (tragic king)

28a   TE(L)ETH|ON - {L ([Roman numeral for] fifty) contained in (aboard) TEETH (choppers)} + ON (airing)

Down

1d   CO(MEL)Y - COY (flirtatious) containing (captivating) [American-born Australian actor] MEL (Gibson)

2d   NO|SING - NO (refusenik's answer) + SING (to fink)

3d   PE(R CA)PITA - PEPITA (pumpkin seed) containing (imprinted with) RCA (DVD brand)

Pepita is the name by which pumpkin seeds are known in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

4d   E(MBE)D - MBE (title for Spielberg) contained in ED (†)

Our setters mistakenly downgrade the level of the honour bestowed on Steven Spielberg by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001. He was honoured as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). This is the second most senior of the five classes of honour in the order, whereas MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) is the least senior. Not being a citizen of Britain or a Commonwealth Realm, he is permitted to use the honour as a post-nominal but not as a title before his name (i.e., he is Steven Spielberg KBE but is not entitled to be called Sir Steven Spielberg).

"Ed" may refer to the 1996 cinematic stinker starring Matt Leblanc or a television series that ran on NBC from 2000-2004.

6d   L|A|Y-UP - L (left) + A (†) + YUP (sure; slang expression meaning 'yes')

7d   SMOOTHIE* - anagram (mistakenly) of HIT MOOSE

8d   SI(DEW|A)LK - {DEW (moisture) + A (one)} contained in (in) SILK (thread from a spider)

11d   L(A|RAM)IE - LIE (story) containing (about) {A (†) + RAM (sheep)}

15d   FIN(L)AND - {FIN (flipper) + AND (also)} containing (going around) L (lake)

16d   RETAL<|I|ATE - reversal (returning) of LATER (subsequently) + I ([Roman numeral for] one) + ATE (consumed)

17d   {_VE|SPUCCI_}< - hidden (holding) and reversed (back) in hICCUPS EVidently

18d   CUSTOM_ER* - anagram (poor) of TOM CRU_SE {TOM CRUISE losing I ([Roman numeral for] one}

20d   B(R)UNCH - BUNCH (group) containing (packing) R (mid-afteRnoon; i.e., the middle letter of 'afteRnoon')

21d   A|MAZ_|ON - A (†) + MAZ_ {MAZE (labyrinth) without its final letter (almost)} + ON (along)

23d   NOON|E - E (awake ultimately; i.e., the ultimate letter of 'awakE') following (after) NOON (twelve)

24d   WORSE* - anagram (otherwise) of SWORE

Signing off for today - Falcon