Saturday, August 4, 2012 - A Day at the Beach

Introduction

Today the mercury hit the mid-30s (°C) in eastern Ontario. It was precisely the sort of day to spend at a beach or a lake enjoying today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon between frequent dips in the cool, refreshing waters. However, I do hope that most of you avoided a 26a.

Note: When I tried to access the puzzle online early this morning, I ran into problems which I thought originated with the National Post web site. Consequently, I was unable to post the puzzle at that time. However, after returning home from a day at the lake, I discovered that the problems were actually with my own computer.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   SE(A|SHE)LLS - {A (†) + SHE (woman)} contained in SELLS (peddles)

6a   CO|BRA - BRA (bikini top) following (behind) CO ([formula for the chemical compound] carbon monoxide)

9a   ESTUARY* - anagram (upset) of RUE STAY

While I will leave it up to the geographers among you to make the final call, I personally — having grown up on the shores of the Bay of Fundy^[7] — would not think it is an example of an estuary. The Bay of Fundy is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean situated between the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. At least 17 rivers in those provinces empty into this body of water. The Bay of Fundy is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as having the highest tides in the world.

High Tide (Alma, New Brunswick)

Low Tide (Alma, New Brunswick)

10a   {ICED TEA}* - anagram (tossed) of DICE EAT

11a   C(ACT)I - ACT (do) contained in CI ([Roman numeral for] 101)

12a   P(APE|RB)ACK - PACK (stuff) containing (about) {APE (copycat) + R + (&) B}

13a   LIFEG(U)ARD* - U ([looks like] horseshoe) contained in (seen in) an anagram (funny) of GARFIELD

16a   DEIGN~ - sounds like (heard) DANE (northern European)

17a   MEANS - double definition; "signifies" & "wealth"

19a   SA(N)DBANKS* - an anagram (swimming) of DAN BASKS containing around N (northern)

This beach is actually located in eastern Ontario rather than northern Ontario — but, of course, "northern" contributes to the wordplay, and is not part of the definition. Sandbanks Provincial Park^[7] is located on Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County near Picton, Ontario, Canada. Noted for its picturesque sand dunes and beaches, it has the world's largest fresh water sand bar and dune system.

Sandbanks Provincial Park (near Picton, Ontario)

22a   {SURF|BOARD}~ - sounds like (by the sound) {SERF (labourer) + BORED (drilled)}

24a   LA(T)KE - LAKE (Champlain, e.g.) containing (eating) T (true)

Lake Champlain^[7], named for French explorer Samuel de Champlain, is situated mainly within the American states of Vermont and New York but the northern end of the lake extends into the Canadian province of Québec.

Lake Champlain near Burlington, Vermont during sunset

26a   SU(N)B|URN - N ([symbol for the chemical element] nitrogen) contained in SUB (sandwich) + URN (container)

The idea of a "sub urn" being a "sandwich container" does seem rather amusing, doesn't it?

27a   B(LANK)ET - LANK (thin) contained in (with ... about) BET (hazard; as in the expression 'to hazard a guess')

28a   D|READ - D (Democrat; US politician) + READ (understood; to a radio operator)

29a   DR|IF|TWO|OD - DR (doctor) + IF (provided) + TWO (pair) + OD (take too much; overdose)

Down

1d   STENCIL* - anagram (new) of CLIENTS

2d   AN|TIC - AN (article) + (by) TIC (jerk)

3d   HE|A|RING - HE (guy) + (with) A (†) + RING (band)

4d   L|A|Y UP - L (hulL's ending [letter]) + A (†) + YUP (sure; slangly substitutes for 'yes')

"A sure, easy shot" might describe a basketball shot by this name, but it is probably even more appropriate for the similarly-named golf shot.

5d   {SLIPPED ON}* - an anagram (sliding around) of IN SLED POP

6d   C|LE(ARE)D - C (convicts initially; the initial letter of Convicts) + {LED (taken) contained in (outside) ARE (†)}

7d   BAT|TAL(I)ON - I (†) contained in (piercing) {BAT (vampire, for example; a vampire bat being but one of many types of bat) + (with) TALON (nail)}

8d   AL(ASK)AN - ALAN (Thicke; Canadian actor Alan Thicke^[7] ) containing (taking) ASK (question)

14d   F(RAG)RANCE - RAG (scrap) contained in (in) FRANCE (part of Europe)

15d   ABSTAINED* - anagram (radical) of SAT IN A BED

17d   M(IS)USED - MUSED (daydreamed) containing (about) IS (act; as in 'the child is mischievous')

18d   SUB<|DUE|D - reversal (returning) of BUS + DUE (directly; as in 'due north') + D (daughter)

20d   BALL|A|ST - BALL (dance) + (with) A (†) + ST (saint)

21d   S(WE)ATED - WE (you and I) contained in (in) SATED (full)

The setters have inverted the structure of the clue for cryptic effect.

23d   {DUB|A|I}< - reversal (turning over) of {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + A (acre) + BUD (begin to develop)}

25d   TO(KY)O - TOO (also) containing (including) KY (Kentucky)

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