Saturday, July 21, 2012 - All Present and Accounted For

Introduction

Today we get to enjoy the rare pleasure of a double-header from Cox and Rathvon. First we make up the puzzle that was pushed aside by the British interloper last week. The second half of the double-header is the regularly scheduled puzzle.

The theme of the July 14 Cox and Rathvon puzzle is summed up concisely in the first clue. In addition, with the 2012 London Olympics getting underway within the next week, we get a couple of clues related to that event.

The solution to the July 14 puzzle is found below. The solution to the July 21 puzzle may be found here.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   PANG|RAM - PANG (stab) + RAM (stuff)

5a   AMERIND* - anagram (wandering) of IN DREAM

9a   QUODLIBET* - anagram (when transposed) of QUITE BOLD

Quodlibet^[5] is an archaic term meaning a topic for or exercise in philosophical or theological discussion • an author of theological lectures and quodlibets.

10a   _AN|NIE_ - hidden in (in) GermAN NIEtzche

Annie^[7] is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie. The original Broadway production, which opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

11a   A|VERY - A (one) + VERY (exceedingly)

12a   TAN|DOOR|IS - TAN (sun-baked) + DOOR (opening) + IS

Tandoori^[5] is a style of Indian cooking based on the use of a tandoor • the tavern serves tandoori and other traditional dishes. A tandoor^[5] is a clay oven of a type used originally in northern India and Pakistan.

Note: The reading of the clue is enhanced somewhat by considering the first two elements of the charade as a single unit. Thus a "sun-baked opening" is a "tan door".

13a   {TWO PAIR}~ - sounds like (out loud) {TO (†) + PARE (take a knife to)}

Note: Similar to the previous clue, it helps to consider the two elements of the homophone as a single unit. Thus "two pair" sounds like "to pare".

15a   MI(RAMA)X - RAMA (Hindu hero) contained in (in) MIX (medley)

Rama^[5] is the hero of the Ramayana, husband of Sita. He is the Hindu model of the ideal man, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, and is widely venerated, by some sects as the supreme god.

Miramax Films^[7] is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein. In 1993, the company was acquired by The Walt Disney Company.

17a   {JAY LENO}* - anagram (cracking up) of ENJOY LA

Jay Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host who is currently the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. 

19a   F(LOSS)ED - FED (G-man) containing (keeps) LOSS (defeat)

21a   UPPERCASE* - anagram (pitching) of SECURE APP

23a   ROBIN_ - ROBIN[G] (dressing; as a verb) with the final letter deleted (most of)

25a   N|EARS - last [letter] of teN + EARS (servings of corn)

26a   A|P|P(END)AGE - A (†) + P (piano; musical direction) + {PAGE (sheet) containing (includes) END (final)}

27a   YE(SHIV)A - YEA (pro vote) containing (about) SHIV (switchblade)

A yeshiva^[5] is an Orthodox Jewish college or seminary.

28a   THESE|US - THESE (†) + US (United States)

In Greek mythology, Theseus^[5] is the legendary hero of Athens, son of Poseidon (or, in another account, of Aegeus, king of Athens) and husband of Phaedra. He slew the Cretan Minotaur with the help of Ariadne.

Down

1d   PI(QUA)NT - QUA (as) contained in (in) PINT (drink of ale)

2d   N(O)OSE or NO(O)SE - O ([looks like a] ring) contained in (in) NOSE (schnozz)

3d   {RELAY RACE}* - anagram (lost) of ACE RARELY

4d   MOBSTER* - anagram (when changing) of ROBS MET

The Met may refer to either the Metropolitan Opera^[7] or the Metropolitan Museum of Art^[7] in Manhattan, New York. However, for British readers, the first image to come to mind might well be the Metropolitan Police Service^[7] of London (perhaps better known in North America as Scotland Yard).

5d   ANTONY|M - M (male) following (behind) ANTONY (Cleo's lover)

Mark Antony^[7] (83 BC – 30 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, Antony formed an official political alliance (the Second Triumvirate) with Octavian (the future Augustus) and Lepidus. Shortly after being defeated by Octavian in the civil war which led to the demise of the Roman Republic (to be superseded by the Roman Empire), Antony and his lover Cleopatra committed suicide.

6d   ERA|TO - ERA (period of time) + TO (intended for)

7d   _IGN _OR_AMUS - [S]IGN [F]OR [C]AMUS with the first letter deleted from each word (missing every initial)

8d   {DEEP-S<}IX - reversal (back) of SPEED (hurry) + (before) IX {[Roman numeral for] nine}

14d   OLYMPIADS* - anagram (ruined) of ADO SIMPLY

16d   {RIO GRANDE}* - anagram (stranger) of ORDERING A

Note: According to cryptic crossword convention, "flower" is interpreted to be 'something which flows' and thus denote a river.

17d   JO(URN)EY - JOEY (young bouncer; baby kangaroo) containing (catching) URN (vessel)

18d   O C(AN)ADA - AN (article) contained in (in) an anagram (changed) of A CODA

19d   F(LEAP)IT - FIT (tantrum) containing (about) LEAP (vault)

20d   DON|KEYS - DON (put on) + KEYS (islands)

22d   _ROS|SI_ - hidden in PedROS SIster

Martini & Rossi^[7] is an Italian multinational alcoholic beverage company primarily associated with the Martini brand of vermouth. 

24d   BLAZE~ - sounds like (said) BLAISE (Pascal)

Blaise Pascal^[5] (1623–62) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. He founded the theory of probabilities and developed a forerunner of integral calculus, but is best known for deriving the principle that the pressure of a fluid at rest is transmitted equally in all directions.

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)

Signing off for today – Falcon