Saturday, November 5, 2011 - Let's Get Together

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon, the setters present us with a number of assemblages for our enjoyment, including groups of ships, animals, flowers, soldiers, lines of verse, cyclists, musicians, and heroes.







Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   FLO|TILL|A - FLO ([nickname for] Florence) + TILL (before the time of) + A (†)

5a   GREASE - sounds like (by the sound) GREECE (country)

9a   CAN|A|L - CAN (preserve) + A (†) + L (lake)

10a   MEN|AG|ERIE - MEN (humans) + (at) AG ([chemical symbol for] silver) + ERIE (lake)

12a   BOU(QUE)T - BOUT (fight) containing (about) QUE (that French; i.e., French conjunction meaning 'that')

13a   SO(L)AR - SOAR (fly) containing (around) L (left)

15a   NO-SH|OW - NOSH (bite) + OW (that hurts; i.e., exclamation from someone experiencing pain, "That hurts!")

16a   REGIMENT* - anagram (blown up) of GET MINER

19a   QUA|TRAIN - QUA (as) + TRAIN ([railway] cars in a line)

21a   AP|E-MAN< - reversal (reflectively) of {NAME (call) + PA (dad)}

24a   {IN-TWO}* - anagram (sadly) of I WONT

26a   PE(LOT)ON - PEON (poor farmer) containing (keeps) LOT (parking place)

28a   _OR|CHEST|RA_ - hidden (in) fOR CHEST RAdiation

29a   EL_|AND - EL {couple of elk; i.e., the first two letters of EL(k)} + AND (plus)

30a   S(ASH)AY - SAY (for example) containing (around) ASH (tree)

31a   PAN|THE|ON - PAN (boo) + (at) THE (†) + ON (performing; e.g., on stage or on air)

Down

1d   F|ACE - F (failing; as a mark given on a test or assignment at school) + ACE (war pilot)

2d   OMNIBUS* - anagram (wrong) of BUM IS ON

Omnibus is a less common word for bus.

3d   ILL| HUM|OUR - ILL (my plan is to; i.e., I'll [contraction for 'I will']) + HUM (buzz) + OUR (†)

4d   _LAMOUR - (g)LAMOUR (fashion mag) with its first letter deleted (intially cropped)

Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it now has local editions in numerous countries around the world. Dorothy Lamour (1914 – 1996) was an American film actress, best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

6d   RAG|AS - RAG (tabloid) + AS (like)

In Indian music, a raga is any of several conventional patterns of melody and rhythm that form the basis for freely interpreted compositions. Each pattern is associated with different aspects of religious devotion.

7d   {AURA LEE}~ -sounds like (heard, perhaps) ORALLY (by way of mouth)

"Aura Lea" (also known as "Aura Lee") is an American Civil War song about a maiden.

8d   EXEC|RATING - EXEC (company VIP) + RATING (deserving)

11d   NET|HER - NET (bring home; 'take-home pay' as in 'net wages' or 'net earnings') + HER (that lady)

14d   IN|I|QUITO|US - IN (†) + I ([Roman numeral for] one) + QUITO (Ecuadorian city) + US (our group)

17d   IMPATIENT* - anagram (off) of TIP INMATE

18d   LIMP|ET - LIMP (droopy) + ET (alien)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film that tells the story of Elliott, a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth, and whom Elliott and his siblings help to return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

20d   AT|TACKS - AT (by) + TACKS (veering paths [in sailing])

22d   MAN|DATE - MAN (grown-up boy) + DATE (to go out socially)

23d   A|L(PAC<)A - {reversal (back) of CAP (headwear)} contained in (aboard) A LA (in the style of)

25d   O|PER|A - O (love; a score of 0 in tennis, with the figure '0' looking like the letter 'O') + PER (according to) + A (†)

27d   O|DIN - O (round; as a noun, something that looks like the letter 'O') + DIN (racket)

In Norse mythology, Odin is the supreme god and creator, god of victory and the dead.

Signing off for today - Falcon