Saturday, October 5, 2013 — Right and Left

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, the setters welcome those from across the political spectrum.

Note: Today's blog posting appeared late as I had to contend with technology gremlins which prevented me from accessing the National Post website. I eventually determined that the problem was on my own computer and was able to resolve it.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   CONSERVATIVE* — anagram (oddly) of NOT VICE VERSA

9a   RAM|AD|AN — RAM (sign [of the zodiac]) + AD (advertising; as a noun) + AN (†)

Ramadan^[5] is the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from dawn to sunset.

10a   BED|EVIL — BED (plot; garden) + EVIL (very bad)

11a   WE|D — WE (the two of us) + D (had; 'd [contraction])

12a   REACTIONARY* — anagram (maverick) of ONCE A RARITY

13a   CA(YEN)NE — CANE (rod) containing (keeps) YEN (hankering)

14a   NAB|IS|CO — NAB (cop; catch) + IS (†) + CO (company)

Nabisco^[7] (originally known as the National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks.

16a   RAG(WE)ED — RAGED (out of control) containing WE (first half of WEek)

19a   FIR(EAR)M — FIRM (company) containing (takes in) EAR (listener)

21a   PR|OGRESS|IVE — PR (public relations) + OGRESS (monster) + IVE (I have; I've)

23a   MAT< — reversal (turned round) of TAM (cap)

25a   CON(I)FER — CONFER (have a meeting) containing (around) I (island)

26a   ESPANOL* — anagram (translated) of ONES PAL

The Spanish word for Spanish is español^[8].

27a   LIBERTARIANS* — anagram (new) of BRITAINS REAL

Down

1d   C(A)REW — CREW (team of rowers) containing (including) A (†)

Thomas Carew^[7] (pronounced as "Carey") (1595 – 1640) was an English poet, among the 'Cavalier' group of Caroline poets.

2d   NAME DAY — anagram (whipped-up) of MADE ANY

Name day^[5] is the feast day of a saint after whom a person is named.

3d   ENDURANCE* — anagram (reformed) of NEAR DUNCE

4d   VAN(TAG)E — TAG (label) contained in (borne by) VANE (rooster; weathervane)

Rooster^[3,4,11] is a chiefly US and Canadian term for a cock, the male of domestic fowl [chicken] and certain game birds.

5d   T(I|BET)AN — {I (†) + BET (wager)} contained in (with coat of) TAN (light brown)

6d   _VIDE|O_ — hidden in (some) proVIDE One's

7d   A|VIA|N|S — A (ascending primarily; first (primary) letter of Ascending) + VIA (by way of) + N ([first] pole) + S ([second] pole)

8d   PLAYROOM* — anagram (rearranged) of MA POORLY

13d   CAR|APACE — CAR (highway traveller) + APACE (in a hurry)

15d   B(ARK)EEPER — ARK (old boat) containing (wearing) BEEPER (pager)

17d   G|ROUND — G (good; as a grade on an academic test or assignment) + ROUND (song)

18d   D|ESERVE — D (poor grade; on an academic test or assignment) + an anagram (misbehaving) of SEVERE

19d   FAIR|EST — FAIR (bazaar) + EST (established)

20d   AR(MEN)IA — MEN (guys) contained in (in) ARIA (song)

22d   {RAF|FI}< — reversal (backward) of {IF (†) + FAR (extremely; perhaps, as in 'far-reaching')}

Raffi Cavoukian^[7], better known by his stage name Raffi, is an Egyptian-born Canadian children's entertainer of Armenian descent.

24d   TOLLS — double definition; "taxes" & "rings"

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)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon