Saturday, October 24, 2015 — A Little Bit of Kinkiness

Introduction

As others have already commented, today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon is fairly straightforward. Might we consider the surface reading of 17a to be an acknowledgement of the state in which fans of the Blue Jays find themselves today?

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   Photographer/’s/ spot taken by travelling salesman (5,5)

{ANSEL (AD)AMS}* — AD (spot) contained in (taken by) anagram (travelling) of SALESMAN

Ansel Adams^[5] (1902–1984) was an American photographer, noted for his black-and-white photographs of American landscapes.

6a   Incite // through cross purposes (4)

_S|PUR_ — hidden in (through) crosS PURposes

9a   North American dock // tycoon (5)

NA|BOB — N (North) + A (American) + BOB (dock; cut off)

I have not shown NA to be the abbreviation for North American as my dictionaries list NA^[2,3,4,5,10] (or N.A.^[11]) as a definition for North America but not for North American. However, two editions of Collins English Dictionary list A^[4,10] as being an abbreviation for both America and American.

A Note on Dictionaries

For an abbreviation to be used in a cryptic crossword puzzle, it must appear in a recognized dictionary — and, in the case of some puzzles, even in a particular dictionary. The " bible" for puzzles published in The Daily Telegraph (the source of the Cryptic Crossword which appears in the National Post from Monday through Friday) is The Chambers Dictionary. I have observed that setters of puzzles published in The Sunday Times (which at one time were also carried by the Ottawa Citizen) tend to lean toward Collins English Dictionary. I do not know if Cox and Rathvon rely on any dictionary in particular. I primarily use four online sites which provide access to six dictionaries. These are: Search Chambers (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary) Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English) Collins English Dictionary (Collins English Dictionary, 2015 Edition) The Free Dictionary American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition (2011) Collins English Dictionary (2003 Edition) Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary (2010)

As a noun, dock^[10] denotes:

1. the bony part of the tail of an animal, especially a dog or sheep; or
2. the part of an animal's tail left after the major part of it has been cut off.

and, as a verb, dock means to remove (the tail or part of the tail) of (an animal) by cutting through the bone ⇒ (i) to dock a tail; (ii) to dock a horse.

10a   Mass movement // tiring Mao terribly (9)

MIGRATION — anagram (terribly) of TIRING MAO

Scratching the Surface

In the surface reading, Mao Zedong[5] (also Mao Tse-tung and commonly referred to as simply Mao) (1893–1976) was a Chinese statesman; chairman of the Communist Party of the Chinese People’s Republic 1949–76; head of state 1949–59. A cofounder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 and its effective leader from the time of the Long March (1934–35), he eventually defeated both the occupying Japanese and rival Kuomintang nationalist forces to create the People’s Republic of China in 1949, becoming its first head of state.

12a   Pipes // down and showers (6)

D|RAINS — D (down; directional indication in a crossword puzzle, perhaps) + RAINS (showers)

13a   Boxer’s combination // was successful also when landing on the ear? (3-3)

{ONE-TWO}~  — sounds like (when landing on the ear) {WON (was successful) + TOO (also)}

One-two^[5] denotes a pair of punches delivered in quick succession with alternate hands.

16a   That guy’s catching first of three // strikes (4)

HI(T)S — HIS (that guy's; possessive) containing (catching) T (first [letter] of Three)

17a   Disturbed fans forgot // beef dish (10)

STROGANOFF* — anagram (disturbed) of FANS FORGOT

20a   Rocky cries tears /for/ workaholics (10)

CAREERISTS* — anagram (rocky) of CRIES TEARS

21a   Celebrity/’s/ beginning but not ending (4)

STAR_ — STAR[T] (beginning) with its final letter docked (but not ending)

23a   Groups of thirteen // cold and hot spots (6)

C|OVENS — C (cold) + (and) OVENS (hot spots)

A coven^[11] is an assembly of witches, especially a group of thirteen.

25a   Native American // quickly grabbing horse’s head (6)

APAC(H)E — APACE (quickly) containing (grabbing) H (horse's head; head [initial letter] of Horse)

The Apache^[5] are an American Indian people living chiefly in New Mexico and Arizona. Under the leadership of Geronimo, the Apache were the last American Indian people to be conquered by the European settlers.

28a   Sorcerer doctored about 500 // tapers (9)

RECOR(D)ERS — anagram (doctored) of SORCERER containing (about) D ([Roman numeral for] 500)

How many wasted time searching for candles?

29a   Young lady with old // rope (5)

LASS|O — LASS (young lady) + (with) O (old)

30a   Live around back of rustic // parcel of land (4)

A(C)RE — ARE (live) containing (around) C (back [final letter] of rustiC)

31a   A lacrosse team in 3-D // was menacing (10)

THRE(A|TEN)ED — {A (†) + TEN (lacrosse team)} contained in THREE (3) + D (†)

In the solution, the number "ten" is used as a metonym for a lacrosse team, just as "nine" might be for a baseball team or "eleven" for a soccer team.

Lacrosse^[5] is a team game, originally played by North American Indians, in which the ball is thrown, carried, and caught with a long-handled stick having a curved L-shaped or triangular frame at one end with a piece of shallow netting in the angle. In men's field lacrosse, there are ten players on each team (box lacrosse teams are comprised of six players, while women's field lacrosse teams have 12 players).

Down

1d   Family member // mixed up tuna (4)

AUNT* — anagram (mixed up) of TUNA

2d   Journal staffer/’s/ beau getting the sack (9)

SU(BED)ITOR — SUITOR (beau) containing (getting) BED (the sack)

3d   Some fall birthday celebrants // playing “Brasil” (6)

LIBRAS* — anagram (playing) of BRASIL

In astrology, Libra^[10] (also called the Scales or the Balance) is the seventh sign of the zodiac, symbol ♎, having a cardinal air classification and ruled by the planet Venus. The sun is in this sign between about Sept 23 and Oct 22.

Scratching the Surface
Brasil[8] is the Portuguese spelling of Brazil. The surface reading possibly alludes to Brasil[7], The Manhattan Transfer's tenth album which was released in 1987 on Atlantic records. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.

4d   Adroit minx confused // woman on a power trip? (10)

DOMINATRIX* — anagram (confused) of ADROIT MINX

A dominatrix^[5] is a dominating woman, especially one who takes the sadistic role in sadomasochistic sexual activities.

5d   Holds up // coffee cups (4)

MUGS — double definition

7d   Patricia keeps wearing // house coat (5)

PA(IN)T — PAT ([diminutive for] Patricia) containing (keeps) IN (wearing; woman in red)

The solution is something used to coat a house.

8d   Seismic zone // in for grief, sadly (4,2,4)

{RING OF FIRE}* — anagram (sadly) of IN FOR GRIEF

The Ring of Fire^[5] is the zone of volcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean.

11d   Temper // article by author Stephenson (6)

AN|NEAL — AN ([indefinite] article) + (by) NEAL (author [Neal] Stephenson)

Neal Stephenson^[7] is an award-winning American writer and game designer known for his works of speculative fiction.

14d   Smart Asian country admitting Canada’s foremost // jazz pianist (5,5)

CHIC|K (C)OREA — CHIC (smart) + KOREA (Asian country) containing (admitting) C (Canada's foremost; initial [foremost] letter of Canada)

Chick Corea^[7] is an American jazz and fusion pianist, keyboardist, and composer.

15d   Hot teapots mistakenly // brush stuff? (10)

TOOTHPASTE* — anagram (mistakenly) of HOT TEAPOTS

18d   Weird, while performing // best in logic (9)

OUTRE|AS|ON — OUTRE (weird) + AS (while) + ON (performing)

Best^[5] is used as a verb meaning to outwit or get the better of (someone) ⇒ she refused to allow herself to be bested.

19d   Skimpier // tipper (6)

LEANER — double definition

22d   Cat, // Leo, straying in October (6)

OC(ELO*)T — anagram (straying) of LEO contained in (in) OCT (October; abbrev.)

24d   Cleric // employed by Civic Arena (5)

_VIC|AR_ — hidden in (employed by) CiVIC ARena

A vicar^[5] is a member of the clergy, although the meaning of the term varies among religious denominations. The term may mean:

• in the the Church of England, an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman;
• in other Anglican Churches, a member of the clergy deputizing for another;
• in the Roman Catholic Church, a representative or deputy of a bishop;
• in the US Episcopal Church, a clergyman in charge of a chapel;
• a cleric or choir member appointed to sing certain parts of a cathedral service.

26d   Engage // me with silence, please (4)

ME|SH — ME (†) + (with) SH (silence, please)

27d   Frame of mind /is/ low with onset of depression (4)

MOO|D — MOO (low; make a noise like a cow) + (with) D (onset [initial letter] of Depression)

Epilogue

The title of today's review was inspired by 4d.

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