Saturday, September 27, 2014 — Frontage in Southern Florida

Introduction

As a reader has commented, today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon seems to be a bit more difficult than their usual fare. I needed help from my electronic assistants to complete this one. I had never heard of the Indian rug, so the need for help there is not surprising. As for 12a, I fell into the trap set by the creators of the puzzle.

The solution is making an appearance a tad late as I had more than a full plate of activities to attend to this weekend. With mid-July weather at the end of September, it would have been a sin not to take advantage of it. There was certainly no need to travel to southern Florida to bask in the sunshine.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

New Feature in Today's Post

Reader's who do not follow my weekday posts will see a new feature in the blog today. In addition to underlining the definition (primary indication), I have also marked the boundary between the definition and wordplay (subsidiary indication).

Where the definition and wordplay are joined by a link word or phrase (which I refer to as an explicit link), the link word or phrase is shown between a pair of forward slashes. For instance, in 25a the word "in" is used to link the wordplay and the definition. In the clue, I have shown it as "/in/" to indicate that it is a link word.

Where there is no link word or phrase in the clue (which I refer to as an implicit link), a double slash ("//") is placed between the wordplay and definition.

Link words and phrase may denote:

• equivalence — such as "is", "being", "equals", or "and" (indicating that the wordplay and definition both lead to the same solution);
• consequence — such as "in" (as a consequence of), "creates", "produces" or "is created by", "results from" or "is produced by";
• composition — such as "with" (possessing or having ⇒ a man with honesty and integrity), "of" (indicating the material or substance constituting something ⇒ walls of stone); "from" (indicating the raw material out of which something is manufactured ⇒ a paint (made) from a natural resin)

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. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Threatened // players sailed through (7)

MEN|ACED — MEN (players) + ACED (sailed through)

5a   Renovated sad café // fronts (7)

FACADES* — anagram (renovated) of SAD CAFE

9a   Distinguishing // one little pest in positive response (9)

S(I|GNAT)URE — {I ([Roman numeral for] one) + GNAT (little pest)} contained in (in) SURE (positive response)

Here SIGNATURE is an adjective.

10a   Someone from Tuscany // is captured by moving camera shot (5)

P(IS)AN — IS (†) contained in (captured by) PAN (moving camera shot)

11a   Small bed accommodating a // West Indian native (5)

C(A)RIB — CRIB (small bed) containing (accommodating) A (†)

Note to British readers: crib is the North American name for a cot (baby's bed).

12a   Means of controlling giant // put back in place (9)

REINS|TALL — REINS (means of controlling) + TALL (giant; as an adjective)

Never having heard of 4d and misspelling 5d played havoc with my efforts here. I also fell into the trap of trying to parse the clue as:

• Means of controlling // giant put back in place (9)

where I was looking for a synonym for "giant" contained in and reversed (put back in) a synonym for "place" producing a word denoting "means of controlling".

13a   Drink // honey concoction in story (7)

LI(MEAD)E — MEAD (honey concoction) contained in (in) LIE (story)

15a   Somewhat caught up in millinery sale // environment (7)

H(A|BIT)AT — A BIT (somewhat; "I was a bit miffed by her attitude") contained in (in) HAT (millinery sale; an article of merchandise sold by a milliner ⇒ the only sale all day was the hat purchased by Mrs. Jones).

17a   Jar // tag penned by wit (7)

HUM(ID)OR — ID (tag) contained in (penned by) HUMOR (wit)

Humor is the US spelling of humour.

19a   Heard seals /and/ swans (7)

CYGNETS~ — sounds like (heard) SIGNETS (seals; of the sort used to authenticate an official document)

21a   Italian sculptor/'s/ present: fifty-pound hoop (9)

DONATE|L|L|O — DONATE (present; as a verb) + L ([Roman numeral for] fifty) + L (pound; British currency) + O ([letter that looks like a] hoop)

Before being reincarnated as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Donatello^[5] (1386–1466) was an Italian sculptor; born Donato di Betto Bardi. He was one of the pioneers of scientific perspective, and is especially famous for his lifelike sculptures, including the bronze David (circa 1430–60).

In the surface reading, the 's serves to form the possessive of the noun "sculptor". However, in the cryptic analysis, it changes hats to become a contraction for "is" and, as such, fulfills the role of a link word.

23a   Metal ring or // drum (5)

TAB|OR — TAB (metal ring; as on a beer can) + OR (†)

25a   Mantra preceding sound of enlightenment /in/ Nebraska city (5)

OM|AHA — OM (mantra) preceding (†) AHA (sound of enlightenment)

Omaha^[5] is a city in eastern Nebraska, on the Missouri River; population 438,646 (est. 2008).

26a   Guns // poorly loaded into vessel (9)

ART(ILL)ERY — ILL (poorly; an adverb or adjective in the UK, but only an adverb in North America) contained in (loaded into) ARTERY ([blood] vessel)

27a   Garden spot established around yard // someplace in Florida (3,4)

KE(Y) W|EST — {KEW (garden spot) + EST (established)} containing (around) Y (yard)

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens^[5], is a major botanical institution located at Kew, in London, England.

28a   TV rater /and/ poet Anais assuming otherwise (7)

NI(ELSE)N — NIN (poet Anais) containing (assuming) ELSE (otherwise)

It would seem that Anaïs Nin was a prolific writer, but I found no evidence that her body of work includes poetry. Anaïs Nin^[5] (1903–1977) was an American writer, born in France. She published her first novel House of Incest in 1936 and went on to produce collections of short stories, essays, diaries, and erotica.

Nielsen ratings^[7] are the audience measurement systems developed by the Nielsen Company, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States.

Down

1d   Show // baseball Hall-of-Famer Stan around College (7)

MUSI(C)AL — MUSIAL (baseball Hall-of-Famer Stan) containing (around) C (College)

Stan Musial^[5] (1920–2013) was a US baseball player, known as Stan the Man. A first baseman and an outfielder, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals 1941–63 and led the National League in batting seven times. Baseball Hall of Fame (1969).

The Chambers Dictionary informs us that c^[1] (or c.) is the abbreviation for college.

The show is one that might play on Broadway, an example being the 1955 production Damn Yankees^[7].

2d   African nation/'s/ turbulent reign (5)

NIGER* — anagram (turbulent) of REIGN

The 's reprises its role change from 21a.

3d   Portable desktop behind piece of cedar // siding (9)

C|LAPBOARD — LAPBOARD (portable desktop) following (behind) C (piece [first letter] of Cedar)

4d   Throw rug /in/ load hurriedly (7)

_DHURRIE_ — hidden in (in) loaD HURRIEdly

A dhurrie^[5] (also durrie) is a heavy cotton rug of Indian origin ⇒ we were sitting on dhurries by the pond.

5d   Tissue wrapping note // from somewhere in Belgium (7)

FLE(MI)SH — FLESH ([animal] tissue) containing (wrapping) MI ([musical] note)

Flemish^[5] is an adjective meaning relating to Flanders, its people, or their language. Flanders^[5] is a region in the south-western part of the Low Countries, now divided between Belgium (where it forms the provinces of East and West Flanders), France, and the Netherlands. It was a powerful medieval principality and the scene of prolonged fighting during the First World War.

In music, mi^[3] (in Britain, also spelled me) is the third note of the major scale in sol-fa notation.

6d   100 primates’ // cloaks (5)

C|APES — C ([Roman numeral for] 100) + APES (primates)

7d   "Mad" lets in new // strip (9)

DISMANTLE* — anagram (new) of MAD LETS IN

Strip^[5] is used in the sense of to remove the accessory fittings of or take apart (a machine, motor vehicle, etc.) to inspect or adjust it ⇒ the tank was stripped down piece by piece.

Mad^[7] is an American humor magazine founded in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the cultural landscape of the 20th century, reaching a readership of more than two million during its 1970s circulation peak.

8d   Opening housing along with // play area (7)

S(AND)LOT — SLOT (opening) containing (housing) AND (along with)

Sandlot^[5] is a North American term for a piece of unoccupied land used by children for games.

14d   Passing // old lady, one in gate (9)

MOM|ENT(A)RY — MOM (old lady) + {A (one) contained in (in) ENTRY (gate)}

16d   Trifle /with/ pretty woman packing a pistol (9)

B(A|GAT)ELLE — BELLE (pretty woman) containing (packing) {A (†) + GAT (pistol)}

Gat^[5] is a mainly US slang term for a pistol or revolver.

As a link word, I would say that with^[5] is used in the sense of possessing or having.

17d   Fish // had to come to shore (7)

HAD|DOCK — HAD (†) + DOCK (to come to shore)

18d   Harangue about Yale graduate /being/ dependent (7)

R(ELI)ANT — RANT (harangue) containing (about) ELI (Yale graduate)

Eli^[7] is a nickname for a Yale University student or graduate, after Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

19d   Prisoner taking skunk // a little piece of toast (7)

C(ROUT)ON — CON (prisoner) containing (taking) ROUT (skunk; overwhelmingly defeat — in a game of cribbage, for example)

20d   Writer /from/ South America spinning yarn about love (7)

SAROYAN — S (south) + A (America) + an anagram (spinning) of YARN containing (about) O (love; nil score in tennis)

William Saroyan^[5] (1908–1981) was a US writer. His plays include The Time of Your Life (1939) and Razzle Dazzle (1942). He also wrote novels such as The Human Comedy (1943) and The Laughing Matter (1953). Some of his memoirs are recounted in Places Where I've Done Time (1972).

22d   Rush coming after Tony's first // sketch (5)

T|RACE — RACE (rush) following (coming after) T (Tony's first [letter])

24d   Frosty ones // hurt on the tongue (5)

BREWS~  — sounds like (on the tongue) BRUISE (hurt)

Epilogue

The title of today's blog is inspired by 5a and 27a.

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