Introduction
Did you spot the clues contributing to the title of today's blog? For an explanation, see the Epilogue.
Please leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.
Solution to Today's Puzzle
Falcon's Experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
███████████████████████████████████
└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
Legend:
█ - solved without assistance
█ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
█ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
█ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools
█ - solved but without fully parsing the clue
█ - yet to be solved
|
Legend: | "*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed |
"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue | |
Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. |
Across
1a Insignia of honour for travelling
bridge team (5,5)
{MERIT BADGE}* — anagram (travelling) of BRIDGE TEAM
6a Trim part of microprocessor (4)
_CROP_ — hidden in (part of) miCROProcessor
9a People in an apartment a
decade with bugs (7)
TEN|ANTS — TEN (a decade) + (with) ANTS (bugs)
10a "Butt call" in storm (7)
RAM|PAGE — RAM (butt) + PAGE (call)
12a State, "Bugs on my wig" (7)
WYOMING* — anagram (bugs) of ON MY WIG
This is not the first time that Cox & Rathvon have used "bugs" as an anagram indicator. On August 24, 2013 the following clue appeared:
- 14a Bugs Bunny dialog aplenty (11)
The anagram indicator, bugs[11], appears as though it might be 1920s-era American slang for crazy or insane.
13a Boy inventor's bird (5)
SWIFT — double definition
Tom Swift[7] (in the 2nd series named Tom Swift, Jr.) is the central character in five series of books, first appearing in 1910, totaling more than 100 volumes, of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention and technology. Most of the various series focus on Tom's inventions, a number of which anticipated actual inventions, including the taser. "TASER" is an acronym for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle."
15a Makes holes in puzzles (7)
RIDDLES — double definition
17a Guide swallows American clam
(7)
STE(AM)ER — STEER (guide) containing (swallows) AM (American)
18a Holding edge, eats mistakes
(4-3)
S(LIP)-UPS — SUPS (eats) containing (holding) LIP (edge)
For effect, the setters have inverted the structure of the wordplay — which I have straightened out in the explanation.
21a Funny company doctor (7)
CO|MEDIC — CO (company) + MEDIC (doctor)
23a Comment about large globe
(5)
WOR(L)D — WORD (comment) containing (about) L (large)
24a Los Angeles kids who
misbehave with test subjects
(3,4)
LA|B RATS — LA (Los Angeles) + BRATS (kids who misbehave)
27a Strange to me, her proposition
(7)
THEOREM* — anagram (strange) of TO ME HER
28a Evidence of wrong time period,
certainly (7)
ERA|SURE — ERA (time period) + SURE (certainly)
29a Greet some cold, stormy
weather (4)
HAIL — double definition
30a Vine, albeit tangled, that can't
be avoided (10)
INEVITABLE* — anagram (tangled) of VINE ALBEIT
The solution is used as a noun with the definition being interpreted as "that [which] can't be avoided".
Down
1d Check returned for New York
baseball team (4)
METS< — reversal (returned) of STEM (check; stop ⇒
stem the flow of blood)
The New York Mets[7] are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City. They play in Major League Baseball's National League East Division.
2d Rejuvenated, Descartes got
married (7)
RENE|WED — RENE ([French philosopher René] Descartes) + WED (got married)
René Descartes[7] (1596–1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day. In particular, his Meditations on First Philosophy continues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments. Descartes' influence in mathematics is equally apparent; the Cartesian coordinate system — allowing reference to a point in space as a set of numbers, and allowing algebraic equations to be expressed as geometric shapes in a two-dimensional coordinate system (and conversely, shapes to be described as equations) — was named after him. He is credited as the father of analytical geometry, the bridge between algebra and geometry, crucial to the discovery of infinitesimal calculus and analysis. Descartes was also one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution and has been described as an example of genius.
3d Kemo Sabe's sidekick in fight
on tower (5)
_T|ON|TO_ — hidden in figT ON TOwer
Tonto[7] is a fictional character, the the intrepid and ever-faithful Native American companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and television series and other presentations of the characters' adventures righting wrongs in 19th century western America.
Kemo sabe (also spelled kemosabe) is an alternative spelling of ke-mo sah-bee[7], the term of endearment and catchphrase used by Tonto in the radio and television program.
In Spanish, "tonto" translates as "moron" or "fool". So in the Spanish dubbed version, the character is called "Toro" (bull).
4d Attacks like ships,
metaphorically (7)
AS|SAILS — AS (like) + SAILS (ships, metaphorically)
5d Georgia throws a temper
tantrum in parking places (7)
GA|RAGES — GA ([US Postal Service abbreviation for the state of] Georgia) + RAGES (throws a temper tantrum)
7d True-to-life depiction is in
"Kingdom" (7)
REAL(IS)M — IS (†) contained in (in) REALM (kingdom)
8d Island new to croupier (6,4)
{PUERTO RICO}* — anagram (new) of TO CROUPIER
Puerto Rico[5] is an island of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean; population 3,966,200 (est. 2009); official languages, Spanish and English; capital, San Juan. One of the earliest Spanish settlements in the New World, it was ceded to the US in 1898 after the Spanish-American War, and in 1952 it became a commonwealth in voluntary association with the US, with full powers of local government.
11d Wrongly name Mr. Moto's
origin (7)
MISTER|M — MISTER (Mr.) + M (Moto's origin; initial letter (origin) of Moto)
At various times and in various media, Mr. Moto's origins have been portrayed in different ways.
Mr. Moto[7] is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the Saturday Evening Post, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death of Charlie Chan's creator Earl Derr Biggers.
In various other media, Mr. Moto has been portrayed as an international law enforcement agent. These include eight motion pictures starring Peter Lorre between 1937 and 1939, 23 radio shows starring James Monks broadcast in 1951, a 1965 film starring Henry Silva, and a 2003 comic book produced by Moonstone Books. The graphic novel Welcome Back, Mr. Moto by Rafael Nieves and Tim Hamilton published by Moonstone Books in 2008 (originally published in 2003 as a 3-issue comic book miniseries) portrays Mr. Moto as an American of Japanese descent helping Japanese-American citizens after World War II.
14d Bizarre witch's wart, something
seen on an arm (10)
WRISTWATCH* — anagram (bizarre) of WITCH S WART
16d French article submerged in
wash (7)
LA|UNDER — LA (French article; in French, the feminine singular form of the definite article) + UNDER (submerged)
19d Middle Easterner playing
Salieri (7)
ISRAELI — anagram (playing) of SALIERI
Through a strange coincidence, the solution to this clue also appeared in the forementioned August 24, 2013 puzzle, where the clue was:
- 13a Salieri transposed Middle Eastern figure (7)
20d Biblical judge alone on Monday
(7)
SOLO|MON — SOLO (alone) + (on) MON (Monday)
Solomon[5] was the Son of David, king of ancient Israel circa 970-circa 930 BC. In the Bible, Solomon is traditionally associated with the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs, while his wisdom is illustrated by the Judgement of Solomon. Discontent with his rule, however, led to the secession of the northern tribes in the reign of his son Rehoboam.
In the Bible, the Judgement of Solomon[5] is the arbitration of King Solomon over a baby claimed by two women (1 Kings 3:16-28). He proposed cutting the baby in half, and then gave it to the woman who showed concern for its life.
21d Taxi allowed Vancouver's
foremost entertainment option
(5,2)
CAB|LE T|V — CAB (taxi) + LET (allowed) + V (Vancouver's foremost; initial (foremost) letter of Vancouver)
22d Upset, I'd burst out (7)
DISTURB* — anagram (out) of I D BURST
25d Alter advertisement on
apartment (5)
AD|APT — AD (advertisement) + (on) APT (apartment)
26d Mr. Wilder through making
enemies (4)
_G|ENE_ — hidden in (through) makinG ENEmies
Jerome Silberman, known professionally as Gene Wilder[7], is an American stage and screen comic actor, director, screenwriter, author, and activist.
Epilogue
Key to Reference Sources:Signing off for today — Falcon
[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)
Hi Falcon,
ReplyDeleteI would say it was a fairly simple puzzle this week; also noticed that 5d was a repeat from June 14 and July 19.
Hope you are having a good summer!
Cheers,
MG
Hi MG,
DeleteGood to hear from you. I thought 5d seemed familiar -- but I didn't realize how familiar!
On June 14 the clue was:
13a Georgia has a temper tantrum in parking places (7)
and on July 19:
23a Georgia gets furious in parking spots (7)
All I can say is, try to avoid parking near her!