Saturday, August 1, 2015 — Wet Kisses

Introduction

The left-hand side of today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon fell into place quite readily. The right-hand side, on the other hand, required a mild mental workout — however, one that was far from strenuous.

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   Unrestrained // sheep breathe heavily (7)

RAM|PANT — RAM ([male] sheep) + PANT (breathe heavily)

5a   Fuel // London district carried by gallon (7)

GA(SOHO)L — SOHO (London district) contained in (carried by) GAL (gallon; abbrev.)

Soho^[7] is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable transformation. It now is predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues.

9a   Crosby and Hope’s last // spree (5)

BING|E — BING (Crosby) + E (Hope's last; final letter of HopE)

Bing Crosby^[7] (1903–1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation. Bob Hope^[7] (1903–2003) was an English-born American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, athlete, and author. With a career spanning nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in over 70 films and shorts, including a series of "Road" movies co-starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

10a   Oscar crew recast // friend of Dorothy (9)

SCARECROW* — anagram (recast) of OSCAR CREW

The Scarecrow^[7] is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow. In Baum's classic 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the scarecrow encounters Dorothy Gale in a field in the Munchkin Country while she is on her way to the Emerald City. The "mindless" Scarecrow joins Dorothy in the hope that The Wizard will give him a brain. They are later joined by the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion.

11a   Scattered seed from // liberated states (8)

FREEDOMS* — anagram (scattered) of SEED FROM

12a   World Heritage Site group // featured in iTunes collection (6)

_UNESCO_ — hidden in (featured in) iTUNES COllection

A World Heritage Site^[7] is a place (such as a building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain) that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as being of special cultural or physical significance.

14a   See // spinning toys turning around (4)

SPOT< — reversal (turning around) of TOPS (spinning toys)

15a   Guess // I’m in Eastern terminal (10)

E|ST(IM)ATION — IM (I'm) contained in (in) {E (Eastern) + STATION (terminal)}

18a   AFL-CIO’s led riots /in/ mining areas (10)

COALFIELDS — anagram (riots) of AFL CIO LED

Scratching the Surface
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations[7] (AFL–CIO) is a national trade union center and the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of fifty-six national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.

19a   Beef /and/ fish (4)

CARP — double definition

22a   Metal // cut Spanish article (6)

NICK|EL — NICK (cut) + EL (Spanish article)

"Spanish article" = EL (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

hide explanation

24a   Last part in legal document // given item by item (8)

DE(TAIL)ED — TAIL (last part) contained in (in) DEED (legal document)

26a   Played // Mister Rogers, receiving hug and doggy kiss (9)

FR(O|LICK)ED — FRED (Mister Rogers) containing (receiving) {O (love; nil score in tennis) O (hug; the letters O and X being a common representation of a hug and a kiss respectively) + (and) LICK (doggy kiss)}

Fred Rogers^[7] (1928–2003) was an American television personality, educator, Presbyterian minister, composer, songwriter, author, and activist. Rogers was most famous for creating, hosting, and composing the theme music for the educational preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001), which featured his gentle, soft-spoken personality and directness to his audiences.

27a   Learn wrongly // about the kidneys (5)

RENAL* — anagram (wrongly) of LEARN

28a   Quits, /or/ agrees to a new contract (7)

RESIGNS — double definition

29a   Scares // starlet badly (7)

RATTLES* — anagram (badly) of STARLET

I did initially try to make the solution be STARTLE — even though it was one "S" short of satisfying the definition.

Down

1d   Spurns // polishes again (7)

REBUFFS — double definition

2d   State next to Ontario // nominates bum (9)

MINNESOTA* — anagram (bum) of NOMINATES

3d   Changes // guys in commercials (6)

A(MEN)DS — MEN (guys) contained in (in) ADS (commercials)

4d   Butcher makes tarts /for/ a tough boss (10)

TASKMASTER* — anagram (butcher) of MAKES TARTS

5d   Run toward // farm animal (4)

GO|AT — GO (run) + AT (toward)

6d   Yes, Twain altered // name for a grand (8)

STEINWAY* — anagram (altered) of YES TWAIN

A Steinway^[5] (trademark) is a piano manufactured by the German piano-builder Henry Engelhard Steinway (1797–1871), or by the firm which he founded in New York in 1853.

Scratching the Surface
Mark Twain[5] (1835–1910) was an American novelist and humorist; pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), give a vivid evocation of Mississippi frontier life.

7d   Employs // high resolution (5)

HI|RES — HI-RES (high resolution)

Hi-res^[5] (or high-res) is a short form for high resolution.

8d   Base info (7)

LOWDOWN — cryptic definition ( alluding to low^[5] meaning unscrupulous or dishonest)

13d   Telepathist // put fear into underground worker (4,6)

MIN(D READ)ER — DREAD (fear) contained in (put ... into) MINER (underground worker)

16d   Tennis player /with/ one victory, one loss, and final loss (4,5)

IVAN LENDL — I ([Roman numeral for] one) + V (victory) + AN (one) + L (loss) + (and) END (final) + L (loss)

"victory" = V (show explanation )

V^[10] is the symbol for victory - the victory-freedom sign^[7] is commonly associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II.

hide explanation

Ivan Lendl^[5] is a Czech-born American tennis player. He won many singles titles in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the US, Australian, and the French Open championships.

17d   Gift // of iron hoop (8)

OF|FE|RING — OF (†) + FE ([symbol for the chemical element] iron) + RING (hoop)

18d   Talk about one // kind of evergreen tree (7)

CON(I)FER — CONFER (talk) containing (about) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

20d   Sells // bicycles by word of mouth (7)

PEDDLES~ — sounds like (by word of mouth) PEDALS (bicycles; as a verb)

21d   Repeat // average nonsense (6)

PAR|ROT — PAR (average) + ROT (nonsense)

23d   Some of Velcro’s strips // intersect (5)

_CROSS_ — hidden in (some of) VelCROS Strips

25d   Runners // kiss sloppily (4)

SKIS* — anagram (sloppily) of KISS

Epilogue

The title of today's piece is inspired by 26a and 25d.

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

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   Unrestrained // sheep breathe heavily (7)

RAM|PANT — RAM ([male] sheep) + PANT (breathe heavily)

5a   Fuel // London district carried by gallon (7)

GA(SOHO)L — SOHO (London district) contained in (carried by) GAL (gallon; abbrev.)

Soho^[7] is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable transformation. It now is predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues.

9a   Crosby and Hope’s last // spree (5)

BING|E — BING (Crosby) + E (Hope's last; final letter of HopE)

Bing Crosby^[7] (1903–1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation. Bob Hope^[7] (1903–2003) was an English-born American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, athlete, and author. With a career spanning nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in over 70 films and shorts, including a series of "Road" movies co-starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

10a   Oscar crew recast // friend of Dorothy (9)

SCARECROW* — anagram (recast) of OSCAR CREW

The Scarecrow^[7] is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow. In Baum's classic 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the scarecrow encounters Dorothy Gale in a field in the Munchkin Country while she is on her way to the Emerald City. The "mindless" Scarecrow joins Dorothy in the hope that The Wizard will give him a brain. They are later joined by the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion.

11a   Scattered seed from // liberated states (8)

FREEDOMS* — anagram (scattered) of SEED FROM

12a   World Heritage Site group // featured in iTunes collection (6)

_UNESCO_ — hidden in (featured in) iTUNES COllection

A World Heritage Site^[7] is a place (such as a building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain) that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as being of special cultural or physical significance.

14a   See // spinning toys turning around (4)

SPOT< — reversal (turning around) of TOPS (spinning toys)

15a   Guess // I’m in Eastern terminal (10)

E|ST(IM)ATION — IM (I'm) contained in (in) {E (Eastern) + STATION (terminal)}

18a   AFL-CIO’s led riots /in/ mining areas (10)

COALFIELDS — anagram (riots) of AFL CIO LED

Scratching the Surface
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations[7] (AFL–CIO) is a national trade union center and the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of fifty-six national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.

19a   Beef /and/ fish (4)

CARP — double definition

22a   Metal // cut Spanish article (6)

NICK|EL — NICK (cut) + EL (Spanish article)

"Spanish article" = EL (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

hide explanation

24a   Last part in legal document // given item by item (8)

DE(TAIL)ED — TAIL (last part) contained in (in) DEED (legal document)

26a   Played // Mister Rogers, receiving hug and doggy kiss (9)

FR(O|LICK)ED — FRED (Mister Rogers) containing (receiving) {O (love; nil score in tennis) + (and) LICK (doggy kiss)}

Fred Rogers^[7] (1928–2003) was an American television personality, educator, Presbyterian minister, composer, songwriter, author, and activist. Rogers was most famous for creating, hosting, and composing the theme music for the educational preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001), which featured his gentle, soft-spoken personality and directness to his audiences.

27a   Learn wrongly // about the kidneys (5)

RENAL* — anagram (wrongly) of LEARN

28a   Quits, /or/ agrees to a new contract (7)

RESIGNS — double definition

29a   Scares // starlet badly (7)

RATTLES* — anagram (badly) of STARLET

I did initially try to make the solution be STARTLE — even though it was one "S" short of satisfying the definition.

Down

1d   Spurns // polishes again (7)

REBUFFS — double definition

2d   State next to Ontario // nominates bum (9)

MINNESOTA* — anagram (bum) of NOMINATES

3d   Changes // guys in commercials (6)

A(MEN)DS — MEN (guys) contained in (in) ADS (commercials)

4d   Butcher makes tarts /for/ a tough boss (10)

TASKMASTER* — anagram (butcher) of MAKES TARTS

5d   Run toward // farm animal (4)

GO|AT — GO (run) + AT (toward)

6d   Yes, Twain altered // name for a grand (8)

STEINWAY* — anagram (altered) of YES TWAIN

A Steinway^[5] (trademark) is a piano manufactured by the German piano-builder Henry Engelhard Steinway (1797–1871), or by the firm which he founded in New York in 1853.

Scratching the Surface
Mark Twain[5] (1835–1910) was an American novelist and humorist; pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), give a vivid evocation of Mississippi frontier life.

7d   Employs // high resolution (5)

HI|RES — HI-RES (high resolution)

Hi-res^[5] (or high-res) is a short form for high resolution.

8d   Base info (7)

LOWDOWN — cryptic definition ( alluding to low^[5] meaning unscrupulous or dishonest)

13d   Telepathist // put fear into underground worker (4,6)

MIN(D READ)ER — DREAD (fear) contained in (put ... into) MINER (underground worker)

16d   Tennis player /with/ one victory, one loss, and final loss (4,5)

IVAN LENDL — I ([Roman numeral for] one) + V (victory) + AN (one) + L (loss) + (and) END (final) + L (loss)

"victory" = V (show explanation )

V^[10] is the symbol for victory - the victory-freedom sign^[7] is commonly associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II.

hide explanation

Ivan Lendl^[5] is a Czech-born American tennis player. He won many singles titles in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the US, Australian, and the French Open championships.

17d   Gift // of iron hoop (8)

OF|FE|RING — OF (†) + FE ([symbol for the chemical element] iron) + RING (hoop)

18d   Talk about one // kind of evergreen tree (7)

CON(I)FER — CONFER (talk) containing (about) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

20d   Sells // bicycles by word of mouth (7)

PEDDLES~ — sounds like (by word of mouth) PEDALS (bicycles; as a verb)

21d   Repeat // average nonsense (6)

PAR|ROT — PAR (average) + ROT (nonsense)

23d   Some of Velcro’s strips // intersect (5)

_CROSS_ — hidden in (some of) VelCROS Strips

25d   Runners // kiss sloppily (4)

SKIS* — anagram (sloppily) of KISS

Epilogue

The title of today's piece is inspired by 26a and 25d.

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

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   Unrestrained // sheep breathe heavily (7)

RAM|PANT — RAM ([male] sheep) + PANT (breathe heavily)

5a   Fuel // London district carried by gallon (7)

GA(SOHO)L — SOHO (London district) contained in (carried by) GAL (gallon; abbrev.)

Soho^[7] is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable transformation. It now is predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues.

9a   Crosby and Hope’s last // spree (5)

BING|E — BING (Crosby) + E (Hope's last; final letter of HopE)

Bing Crosby^[7] (1903–1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation. Bob Hope^[7] (1903–2003) was an English-born American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, athlete, and author. With a career spanning nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in over 70 films and shorts, including a series of "Road" movies co-starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

10a   Oscar crew recast // friend of Dorothy (9)

SCARECROW* — anagram (recast) of OSCAR CREW

The Scarecrow^[7] is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow. In Baum's classic 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the scarecrow encounters Dorothy Gale in a field in the Munchkin Country while she is on her way to the Emerald City. The "mindless" Scarecrow joins Dorothy in the hope that The Wizard will give him a brain. They are later joined by the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion.

11a   Scattered seed from // liberated states (8)

FREEDOMS* — anagram (scattered) of SEED FROM

12a   World Heritage Site group // featured in iTunes collection (6)

_UNESCO_ — hidden in (featured in) iTUNES COllection

A World Heritage Site^[7] is a place (such as a building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain) that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as being of special cultural or physical significance.

14a   See // spinning toys turning around (4)

SPOT< — reversal (turning around) of TOPS (spinning toys)

15a   Guess // I’m in Eastern terminal (10)

E|ST(IM)ATION — IM (I'm) contained in (in) {E (Eastern) + STATION (terminal)}

18a   AFL-CIO’s led riots /in/ mining areas (10)

COALFIELDS — anagram (riots) of AFL CIO LED

Scratching the Surface
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations[7] (AFL–CIO) is a national trade union center and the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of fifty-six national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.

19a   Beef /and/ fish (4)

CARP — double definition

22a   Metal // cut Spanish article (6)

NICK|EL — NICK (cut) + EL (Spanish article)

"Spanish article" = EL (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

hide explanation

24a   Last part in legal document // given item by item (8)

DE(TAIL)ED — TAIL (last part) contained in (in) DEED (legal document)

26a   Played // Mister Rogers, receiving hug and doggy kiss (9)

FR(O|LICK)ED — FRED (Mister Rogers) containing (receiving) {O (love; nil score in tennis) + (and) LICK (doggy kiss)}

Fred Rogers^[7] (1928–2003) was an American television personality, educator, Presbyterian minister, composer, songwriter, author, and activist. Rogers was most famous for creating, hosting, and composing the theme music for the educational preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001), which featured his gentle, soft-spoken personality and directness to his audiences.

27a   Learn wrongly // about the kidneys (5)

RENAL* — anagram (wrongly) of LEARN

28a   Quits, /or/ agrees to a new contract (7)

RESIGNS — double definition

29a   Scares // starlet badly (7)

RATTLES* — anagram (badly) of STARLET

I did initially try to make the solution be STARTLE — even though it was one "S" short of satisfying the definition.

Down

1d   Spurns // polishes again (7)

REBUFFS — double definition

2d   State next to Ontario // nominates bum (9)

MINNESOTA* — anagram (bum) of NOMINATES

3d   Changes // guys in commercials (6)

A(MEN)DS — MEN (guys) contained in (in) ADS (commercials)

4d   Butcher makes tarts /for/ a tough boss (10)

TASKMASTER* — anagram (butcher) of MAKES TARTS

5d   Run toward // farm animal (4)

GO|AT — GO (run) + AT (toward)

6d   Yes, Twain altered // name for a grand (8)

STEINWAY* — anagram (altered) of YES TWAIN

A Steinway^[5] (trademark) is a piano manufactured by the German piano-builder Henry Engelhard Steinway (1797–1871), or by the firm which he founded in New York in 1853.

Scratching the Surface
Mark Twain[5] (1835–1910) was an American novelist and humorist; pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), give a vivid evocation of Mississippi frontier life.

7d   Employs // high resolution (5)

HI|RES — HI-RES (high resolution)

Hi-res^[5] (or high-res) is a short form for high resolution.

8d   Base info (7)

LOWDOWN — cryptic definition ( alluding to low^[5] meaning unscrupulous or dishonest)

13d   Telepathist // put fear into underground worker (4,6)

MIN(D READ)ER — DREAD (fear) contained in (put ... into) MINER (underground worker)

16d   Tennis player /with/ one victory, one loss, and final loss (4,5)

IVAN LENDL — I ([Roman numeral for] one) + V (victory) + AN (one) + L (loss) + (and) END (final) + L (loss)

"victory" = V (show explanation )

V^[10] is the symbol for victory - the victory-freedom sign^[7] is commonly associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II.

hide explanation

Ivan Lendl^[5] is a Czech-born American tennis player. He won many singles titles in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the US, Australian, and the French Open championships.

17d   Gift // of iron hoop (8)

OF|FE|RING — OF (†) + FE ([symbol for the chemical element] iron) + RING (hoop)

18d   Talk about one // kind of evergreen tree (7)

CON(I)FER — CONFER (talk) containing (about) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

20d   Sells // bicycles by word of mouth (7)

PEDDLES~ — sounds like (by word of mouth) PEDALS (bicycles; as a verb)

21d   Repeat // average nonsense (6)

PAR|ROT — PAR (average) + ROT (nonsense)

23d   Some of Velcro’s strips // intersect (5)

_CROSS_ — hidden in (some of) VelCROS Strips

25d   Runners // kiss sloppily (4)

SKIS* — anagram (sloppily) of KISS

Epilogue

The title of today's piece is inspired by 26a and 25d.

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

I will return later with the solution.

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   Unrestrained // sheep breathe heavily (7)

RAM|PANT — RAM ([male] sheep) + PANT (breathe heavily)

5a   Fuel // London district carried by gallon (7)

GA(SOHO)L — SOHO (London district) contained in (carried by) GAL (gallon; abbrev.)

Soho^[7] is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable transformation. It now is predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues.

9a   Crosby and Hope’s last // spree (5)

BING|E — BING (Crosby) + E (Hope's last; final letter of HopE)

Bing Crosby^[7] (1903–1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation. Bob Hope^[7] (1903–2003) was an English-born American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, athlete, and author. With a career spanning nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in over 70 films and shorts, including a series of "Road" movies co-starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

10a   Oscar crew recast // friend of Dorothy (9)

SCARECROW* — anagram (recast) of OSCAR CREW

The Scarecrow^[7] is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow. In Baum's classic 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the scarecrow encounters Dorothy Gale in a field in the Munchkin Country while she is on her way to the Emerald City. The "mindless" Scarecrow joins Dorothy in the hope that The Wizard will give him a brain. They are later joined by the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion.

11a   Scattered seed from // liberated states (8)

FREEDOMS* — anagram (scattered) of SEED FROM

12a   World Heritage Site group // featured in iTunes collection (6)

_UNESCO_ — hidden in (featured in) iTUNES COllection

A World Heritage Site^[7] is a place (such as a building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain) that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as being of special cultural or physical significance.

14a   See // spinning toys turning around (4)

SPOT< — reversal (turning around) of TOPS (spinning toys)

15a   Guess // I’m in Eastern terminal (10)

E|ST(IM)ATION — IM (I'm) contained in (in) {E (Eastern) + STATION (terminal)}

18a   AFL-CIO’s led riots /in/ mining areas (10)

COALFIELDS — anagram (riots) of AFL CIO LED

Scratching the Surface
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations[7] (AFL–CIO) is a national trade union center and the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of fifty-six national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.

19a   Beef /and/ fish (4)

CARP — double definition

22a   Metal // cut Spanish article (6)

NICK|EL — NICK (cut) + EL (Spanish article)

"Spanish article" = EL (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

hide explanation

24a   Last part in legal document // given item by item (8)

DE(TAIL)ED — TAIL (last part) contained in (in) DEED (legal document)

26a   Played // Mister Rogers, receiving hug and doggy kiss (9)

FR(O|LICK)ED — FRED (Mister Rogers) containing (receiving) {O (love; nil score in tennis) + (and) LICK (doggy kiss)}

Fred Rogers^[7] (1928–2003) was an American television personality, educator, Presbyterian minister, composer, songwriter, author, and activist. Rogers was most famous for creating, hosting, and composing the theme music for the educational preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001), which featured his gentle, soft-spoken personality and directness to his audiences.

27a   Learn wrongly // about the kidneys (5)

RENAL* — anagram (wrongly) of LEARN

28a   Quits, /or/ agrees to a new contract (7)

RESIGNS — double definition

29a   Scares // starlet badly (7)

RATTLES* — anagram (badly) of STARLET

I did initially try to make the solution be STARTLE — even though it was one "S" short of satisfying the definition.

Down

1d   Spurns // polishes again (7)

REBUFFS — double definition

2d   State next to Ontario // nominates bum (9)

MINNESOTA* — anagram (bum) of NOMINATES

3d   Changes // guys in commercials (6)

A(MEN)DS — MEN (guys) contained in (in) ADS (commercials)

4d   Butcher makes tarts /for/ a tough boss (10)

TASKMASTER* — anagram (butcher) of MAKES TARTS

5d   Run toward // farm animal (4)

GO|AT — GO (run) + AT (toward)

6d   Yes, Twain altered // name for a grand (8)

STEINWAY* — anagram (altered) of YES TWAIN

A Steinway^[5] (trademark) is a piano manufactured by the German piano-builder Henry Engelhard Steinway (1797–1871), or by the firm which he founded in New York in 1853.

Scratching the Surface
Mark Twain[5] (1835–1910) was an American novelist and humorist; pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), give a vivid evocation of Mississippi frontier life.

7d   Employs // high resolution (5)

HI|RES — HI-RES (high resolution)

Hi-res^[5] (or high-res) is a short form for high resolution.

8d   Base info (7)

LOWDOWN — cryptic definition ( alluding to low^[5] meaning unscrupulous or dishonest)

13d   Telepathist // put fear into underground worker (4,6)

MIN(D READ)ER — DREAD (fear) contained in (put ... into) MINER (underground worker)

16d   Tennis player /with/ one victory, one loss, and final loss (4,5)

IVAN LENDL — I ([Roman numeral for] one) + V (victory) + AN (one) + L (loss) + (and) END (final) + L (loss)

"victory" = V (show explanation )

V^[10] is the symbol for victory - the victory-freedom sign^[7] is commonly associated with British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in World War II.

hide explanation

Ivan Lendl^[5] is a Czech-born American tennis player. He won many singles titles in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the US, Australian, and the French Open championships.

17d   Gift // of iron hoop (8)

OF|FE|RING — OF (†) + FE ([symbol for the chemical element] iron) + RING (hoop)

18d   Talk about one // kind of evergreen tree (7)

CON(I)FER — CONFER (talk) containing (about) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

20d   Sells // bicycles by word of mouth (7)

PEDDLES~ — sounds like (by word of mouth) PEDALS (bicycles; as a verb)

21d   Repeat // average nonsense (6)

PAR|ROT — PAR (average) + ROT (nonsense)

23d   Some of Velcro’s strips // intersect (5)

_CROSS_ — hidden in (some of) VelCROS Strips

25d   Runners // kiss sloppily (4)

SKIS* — anagram (sloppily) of KISS

Epilogue

The title of today's piece is inspired by 26a and 25d.

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