Saturday, March 14, 2015 — Sporting the Green

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon should not cause you to work up much of a sweat nor keep you from getting an early start on your Saint Patrick's Day celebrations. Unfortunately, there is no green beer to be had — only blue liqueur — and although our coffee is kept warm, it is artificially sweetened. Should we so desire, we could take in either a hockey or baseball game featuring teams from New York City. In the latter case, we would need to travel to Tampa to see them at this time of year. Fortuitously, that would also  afford us the opportunity to also play a round of golf. Before the game, some might like to attend Mass at either of two places of worship. Then, following the game, we can grab a bite at an Italian eatery before catching some German opera.

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

Across

1a   Titanic sparks rioting /in/ Montreal basilica (5,8)

{SAINT PATRICKS}* — anagram (rioting) of TITANIC SPARKS

Saint Patrick's Basilica^[7] is a Roman Catholic minor basilica on René-Lévesque Boulevard in Downtown Montreal. The church, on which construction started in 1843 and was completed in 1847, is known for its historic links to the Irish Canadian community.

Scratching the Surface
The word "Titanic" being written in italics suggests that it is a reference to the film and not the ship.

9a   Blow up // Al Green mistakenly (7)

ENLARGE* — anagram (mistakenly) of AL GREEN

Al Green^[7] (born Albert Greene), often known as The Reverend Al Green, is an American singer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness" and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together".

10a   Blue liqueur /and/ chocolate bean found around ziggurat site (7)

C(UR)ACAO — CACAO (chocolate bean) containing (found around) UR (ziggurat site)

In ancient Mesopotamia, a ziggurat^[5] was a rectangular stepped tower, sometimes surmounted by a temple. Ziggurats are first attested in the late 3rd millennium BC and probably inspired the biblical story of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9).

Ziggurat of Ur

The Ziggurat of Ur^[7] (sometimes called the "Great Ziggurat of Ur") is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat in what was the city of Ur near Nasiriyah, in present-day Dhi Qar Province, Iraq. The structure was built during the Early Bronze Age (21st century BC), but had crumbled to ruins by the 6th century BC of the Neo-Babylonian period when it was restored by King Nabonidus.

Curaçao^[7] is a liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, grown on the Caribbean island of Curaçao.

Delving Deeper

A non-native plant similar to an orange, the laraha developed from the sweet Valencia orange transplanted by Spanish explorers. The nutrient-poor soil and arid climate of Curaçao proved unsuitable to Valencia cultivation, resulting in small, bitter fruit. Although the bitter flesh of the laraha is all but inedible, the peels are aromatic and flavorful, maintaining much of the essence of the Valencia orange. Curaçao liqueur was first developed and marketed by the Senior family in the 19th century. To create the liqueur the laraha peel is dried, bringing out the sweetly fragranced oils. After soaking in a still with alcohol and water for several days, the peel is removed and other spices are added. The liqueur has an orange-like flavor with varying degrees of bitterness. It is naturally colorless, but is often given artificial coloring, most commonly blue or orange, which confers an exotic appearance to cocktails and other mixed drinks. Blue color is achieved by adding of food colorant, most often E133 Brilliant Blue.

11a   Fury about northern // cowboy’s home (5)

RA(N)GE — RAGE (fury) containing (about) N (northern)

"Home on the Range"^[7] is a classic western song, sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. The lyrics were originally written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley of Smith County, Kansas in a poem entitled "My Western Home" in the early 1870s. In 1947 it became the state song of the American state of Kansas. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

12a   Holders of drinks /for/ the right prophet (9)

THE|R|MOSES — THE (†) + R (right) + MOSES ([Hebrew] prophet)

Moses^[5] ( Fl. circa 14th-13th centuries BC) was a Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, brother of Aaron. According to the biblical account, he was born in Egypt and led the Israelites away from servitude there, across the desert towards the Promised Land. During the journey he was inspired by God on Mount Sinai to write down the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone (Exod. 20).

13a   Big woofer // playing Teagarden (5,4)

{GREAT DANE}* — anagram (playing) of TEAGARDEN

Scratching the Surface
A woofer[3] is a loudspeaker designed to reproduce bass frequencies. Jack Teagarden[7] (1905–1964), known as "Big T" and "The Swingin' Gate", was an American jazz trombonist, bandleader, composer, and vocalist, regarded as the "Father of Jazz Trombone". His sister, Norma Teagarden[7] (1911-1996), was also a jazz trombonist and his brother, Charlie Teagarden[7] (1913-1984), was a jazz trumpeter.

15a   Listened to acting group /for/ class (5)

CASTE~ — sounds like (listened to) CAST (acting group)

17a   Itemizes // tips at sea (5)

LISTS — double definition

In the second definition, list^[5] is used in a nautical sense meaning (of a ship) to lean over to one side, typically because of a leak or unbalanced cargo ⇒ the ship was listing badly.

19a   For each boy, Albert’s // classified ads (9)

PER|SON|AL|S — PER (for each) + SON (boy) + AL ([diminutive of] Albert) + S ('s)

21a   Unscathed, Ralph holds // place for Mass (9)

_CATHED|RAL_ — hidden in (holds) unsCATHED RALph

24a   The guy in a music album // was sore (5)

A|C(HE)D — HE (the guy) contained in (in) {A (†) + CD (music album)}

26a   Some cheese // Moreno set on either side of bed (7)

RI(COT)TA — RITA (Moreno) containing (set on either side of) COT (bed)

Rita Moreno^[7] is a Puerto Rican actress and singer. Her first notable role was that of Anita in the 1961 film adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Broadway musical, West Side Story, which had been played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. Moreno won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for that role. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers to have won all four major annual American entertainment awards, which include an Oscar (1962), a Grammy (1972), a Tony (1975), and an Emmy (1977).

Ricotta^[2] is a soft white unsalted Italian curd cheese made from sheep's or cow's milk and often used in sauces for ravioli, lasagne, etc.

27a   Wrong start in // part for a Wagnerian tenor (7)

TRISTAN* — anagram (wrong) of START IN

Tristan and Isolde^[7] is an opera by German composer Richard Wagner. The work, based on a story from Arthurian legend, was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich in 1865.

Tristan^[7], also known as Tristram, is the male hero of the Arthurian Tristan and Iseult story. He was a Cornish knight of the Round Table. He is the son of Blancheflor and Rivalen (in later versions Isabelle and Meliodas), and the nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, sent to fetch Iseult back from Ireland to wed the king. However, he and Iseult accidentally consume a love potion while en route and fall helplessly in love. The pair undergo numerous trials that test their secret affair.

28a   Oddly animated, key U.S. // ballpark (6,7)

{YANKEE STADIUM}* — anagram (oddly) of ANIMATED KEY US

Yankee Stadium^[7] is a stadium located in the Bronx, in New York City. It is the home ballpark for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball and the home of New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opening in 2009, it replaced the original Yankee Stadium which opened in 1923. Located one block north of the original, it incorporates replicas of some design elements from the old Yankee Stadium. Built at a cost of $2.3 billion, including $1.2 billion in public subsidies, it is the most expensive stadium ever built.

Down

1d   Cut // second permit to speak (5)

S|HEAR — S (second) + HEAR (permit to speak)

2d   New York hockey team // is split by malicious gossip (9)

I(SLANDER)S — IS (†) containing (split by) SLANDER (malicious gossip)

The New York Islanders^[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Since their inception in 1972, the team has played their home games in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. After years of failed attempts to rebuild or replace Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders announced in October 2012 that they will be moving to the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, beginning with the 2015–16 NHL season.

3d   Harry/’s/ chess pieces captured by illegal action (7)

TOR(MEN)T — MEN (chess pieces) contained in (captured by) TORT (illegal action)

4d   A fellow // spy (5)

A|GENT — A (†) + GENT (fellow)

5d   Gangland crook, /or/ tennis pro? (9)

RACKETEER — double definition (the second whimsical)

6d   Juno actor with karaoke prop // made of clay (7)

CERA|MIC — CERA (Juno actor [Michael Cera]) + (with) MIC (karaoke prop)

Juno^[7] is a 2007 Canadian-American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, and J. K. Simmons also star. Juno won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and earned three other Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Page.

7d   Belts /and/ footwear (5)

SOCKS — double definition

8d   People raising their glasses // to some late bloomers (8)

TO|ASTERS — TO (†) + ASTERS (some late bloomers; fall flowers)

13d   Crude log craft /is/ conveyance on a course (4,4)

{GOLF CART}* — anagram (crude) of LOG CRAFT

14d   A box with mild // sugar substitute (9)

A|SPAR|TAME — A (†) + SPAR (box) + (with) TAME (mild)

16d   Past eight, ordered // Italian dish (9)

SPAGHETTI* — anagram (ordered) of PAST EIGHT

18d   In a way, enhance small, small X (7)

S|WEE|TEN — S (small) + WEE (small) + TEN ([number represented by the Roman numeral] X)

20d   Love something in a jam and in a // sweet potato (7)

O|CAR|IN|A — O (love; nil score in tennis) + CAR (something in a [traffic] jam) + (and) IN (†) + A (†)

Sweet potato^[3,11] is an informal US term for an ocarina^[3,4,11], an elongated egg-shaped terra-cotta or plastic wind instrument with a protruding mouthpiece and six to eight finger holes, producing an almost pure tone.

22d   Lacking taste — // like a nail? (5)

TACKY — double definition (with the second listing toward whimsical)

23d   Multitude in front of us, /in/ yoga position (5)

LOT|US — LOT (multitude) + (in front of) US (†)

The Lotus Position^[7] is a cross-legged sitting asana [yoga posture] originating in meditative practices of ancient India, in which the feet are placed on the opposing thighs.

Lotus Position
Half Lotus Position	Full Lotus Position	Bound Lotus Position

25d   Material for jeans // dug up from the rear (5)

DENIM< — reversal (from the rear) of MINED (dug up)

Epilogue

The inspiration for the theme of today's post comes from 1a, 2d, 28a and 13d.

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