Saturday, June 30, 2012 - Canada Day

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon, the setters mark Canada's National Holiday which will  be celebrated tomorrow.












Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   DO|MINI|ON - DO (haircut) + MINI (very short) + ON (atop)

Dominion of Canada $1 bill, 1923, showing King George V

5a   ST(R)EAM - R (right) contained in (into) STEAM (mist)

9a   SERAC< - reversal (flip) of CARES (has a concern)

10a   F(IREW*)ORKS - FORKS (kitchenware) containing (†) an anagram (tangled) of WIRE

12a   _LAN|GUID_ - hidden in (somewhat) MiLAN GUIDes

13a   F(ADD)ISH - ADD (total) contained in (in) FISH (seafood)

14a   MO|UNTIES - MO (modus operandi) + UNTIES (frees)

16a   _ROGUE - BROGUE (Irish accent) with the first letter deleted (losing face)

18a   NICKS~ - sounds like (said) NIX (no)

The Chambers 21st Century Dictionary lists nix^[2] as an exclamation meaning no in North America, while the American Heritage Dictionary classifies nix^[3] as an adverb meaning not so or no.

20a   PAR(AD)ERS - AD (notice) contained in (among) PARERS (cheese utensils)

The Governor General's Foot Guards on Parade

23a   {LON(G AG)O}* - anagram (cracked up) of LOON containing (about) GAG (joke)

25a   R|E(CO)VER - R (head [letter] of Russia) + EVER (always) containing CO (company)

26a   {MAPLE LEAF}* - anagram (altered) of FEMALE PAL

Canada's Maple Leaf Flag

27a   H|OOPS - H (hard; as a grade of pencil lead) + (and) OOPS (I'm so clumsy)

28a   {DE SOTO}* - anagram (moving) of ODES TO

Hernando de Soto (c.1496/1497–1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River.

29a   MEMORIAL* - anagram (improving) of MORALE IM

Canada's National War Memorial in Ottawa

Down

1d   {DESILU}* - anagram (arranged) of DUEL IS

Desilu Productions^[7], co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, was best known for its hit productions such as I Love Lucy, Star Trek, The Untouchables and The Jack Benny Program. The couple jointly owned Desilu Productions from its inception in 1950 until their divorce in 1960, after which Ball bought Arnaz out and ran the company by herself for several years. She eventually sold the company in 1967 to Gulf+Western; after the sale, company officials renamed it Paramount Television.

2d   MARENGO* - anagram (wild) of RAM GONE

Marengo^[7] (c. 1793–1831) was the famous war mount of Napoleon I of France. The horse was named after the Battle of Marengo, through which he carried his rider safely.

3d   {NOC|TURNES}~ - sounds like (from the audience) {KNOCK (fault) + TURNS (changes)}

4d   OFFED~ - sounds like (in conversation) OFT (frequently)

6d   TOWED~ - sounds like (from the sound) TOAD (amphibian)

7d   E(A)RRING - ERRING (being wrong) containing (about) A (†)

8d   M|IS|CHIEF - M (007's boss) + IS (†) + CHIEF (arch)

M^[7] is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond (Agent 007) series; the character is the Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service—also known as MI6.

11d   REFUSER - double definition; "naysayer" & "someone bonding again" [with the latter being whimsical: fuse meaning to bond]
15d   IMP|LORE - double definition; "beg" & "stories about devils" [once again, the latter definition is whimsical: "IMP LORE" being LORE (stories) concerning (about) IMPS (devils)]

16d   RAD(ICCH*)IO or RADI(CCHI*)O - anagram (surprisingly) of CHIC contained in (in) RADIO (broadcast medium)

17d   INFLAMED* - anagram (improperly) of FIND MEAL

19d   CAN(APE)S - CANS (tins) containing APE (crazy; as in to go ape over something)

21d   _R|A|VIOLI_ - hidden (in part) in foR A VIOLInist

22d   BRAS|I|L - BRAS (underwear) + I (†) + L (left)

Brasil^[4] is the spelling of Brazil in Portuguese, the national language of Brazil. Pelé^[7] is the nickname of retired Brazilian football (soccer) player Edson Arantes do Nascimento who is widely regarded as the best football player of all time.

24d   A|DEPT - A (one) + DEPT (department)

25d   RI(F)LE - F (failing [grade at school]) contained in (amid) RILE (stir)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Happy Canada Day – Falcon