Saturday, September 29, 2012 - At the Garage

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon, we visit an auto service shop where the setters give the mechanical systems of our car a thorough going over and offer us a choice of fuels. However, after 28a, our next stop may be the body shop.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   SUSPENSION* — anagram (engineer) of USES PINS ON

6a   S|TOP — S (south) + TOP (peak)

9a   {TEL AVIV}~ — sounds like (vocally) TELL OF (describe) EVE (the first lady)

To fully appreciate the homophone, one must read the solution as a phrase in which "tell of eve" sounds like "Tel Aviv".

10a   TEA SE|TS — TEASE (harry) + TS (Eliot; American-born British poet T. S. Eliot^[7])

12a   NICK — double definition; "Santa" & "shaving mishap"

13a   D(RIVE T)RAIN — RIVET (bolt) contained in DRAIN (exhaust)

15a   GASOLINE* — anagram (in a mixture) of {GAIN + (and) LOSE}

16a   A|BLEST — A (one) + BLEST (charmed)

18a   THROWN~ — sounds like (in the sound) THRONE (big chair)

20a   METHANOL* — anagram (adjusted) of HOTEL MAN

23a   COMBUSTION* — anagram (arranged) of SO CUT MOB IN

Combustion is the function performed by (or job) of the engine.

24a   S|TUB — S (small) + TUB (tank)

27a   ALL|IS|ON — ALL (everybody) + IS (†) + ON (performing)

Mose Allison^[7] is an American jazz blues pianist and singer.

28a   IMP|ACTS — IMP (rascally; used as an adjective) + ACTS (deeds)

As with 9a, one must read the solution as a phrase to fully appreciate the homophone, "imp acts" being "rascally deeds".

29a   _H|OR|N_ — hidden in (part of) PlymoutH OR Nissan

30a   ELECT(RODE)S — RODE (were carried) contained in (among) ELECTS (picks)

Down

1d   SATIN_ — SATIN[G] (filling) with the final letter deleted (almost)

2d   SO|LACES — SO (true; "It was seen to be so") + LACES (ties)

3d   E|NVY — E (English) + N[A]VY with the letter A deleted {lacking A (†)}

4d   S(EVER)ING — SING (confess) containing EVER (always)

5d   OCTAVE — O (circle; letter shaped like a circle) + CT (court) + (and) AVE (avenue)

7d   _T|HE S|AME_ — hidden in (in) facT HES AMErican

8d   POST(NAT)AL — POSTAL (crazy) containing (about) NAT (Nathaniel)

Go postal^[5] is US slang for go mad, especially from stress [with reference to cases in which postal employees ran amok and shot colleagues].

11d   AUTOBAHN* — anagram (plays) of TUBA NOAH

An autobahn^[3] is an expressway in Germany and German-speaking countries.

14d   B(LOW)OUTS — BOUTS (fights) containing (about) LOW (†)

15d   {GATE-CRASH}* — anagram (manoeuvres) of CARTHAGES

17d   DEMONIAC* — anagram (funny) of COMEDIAN

19d   _R|AMBLER — R {final letter (in the end) of MisteR} + AMBLER (walker)

21d   NOT|ICED — NOT (†) + ICED (frozen)

22d   ATONAL* — anagram (badly) of AN ALTO

25d   B|USES — B (initial letter of (head of) Bureau) + USES (takes; "takes a taxi (or bus)")

26d   SPAR< — reversal of (returning) RAPS (blows)

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

Signing off for the moment — Falcon