Introduction
One might have been well-advised to brush up on the periodic table of the elements before tackling today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon.Having returned home from the lake for a few days, I am slowly getting caught up on a backlog of reviews. I solved this puzzle in my tent. Not having access to a printer, I hand drew the grid before solving the puzzle.
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 Console debtors, strangely // calm and rational (5,4,5)
{STONE COLD SOBER}* — anagram (strangely) of CONSOLE DEBTORS
10a Wrong answer I // prepare for questioning (5,2)
{SWEAR IN}* — anagram (wrong) of ANSWER I
11a Solve the mystery /of/ Shakespearean king aboard vessel (5,2)
C(LEAR) UP — LEAR (Shakespearean king) contained in (aboard) CUP ([drinking] vessel)
12a Actor with a small part // in next race (5)
_EXT|RA_ — hidden in (in) nEXT RAce
13a Academy Awards ceremony // chose star incorrectly (3,6)
{THE OSCARS}* — anagram (incorrectly) of CHOSE STAR
14a Saying // the name of a dog in lead (7)
P(ROVER)B — ROVER (the name of a dog) contained in (in) PB ([symbol for the chemical element] lead)
16a Made a hit // sound with the voice, and was first (7)
SING|LED — SING (sound with the voice) + (and) LED (was first)
In baseball, to single[5] is to get a hit which allows the batter to proceed safely to first base.
17a Friendly // Air Force story with a moral (7)
AF|FABLE — AF (Air Force) + FABLE (story with a moral)
19a Parts of summer // gold rushes (7)
AU|GUSTS — AU ([symbol for the chemical element] gold) + GUSTS (rushes)
22a Collaring // others in a gang (9)
A|R(REST)ING — REST (others) contained in (in) {A (†) + RING (gang)}
24a Get to // run for every one (5)
R|EACH — R (run; abbreviation used in baseball and cricket) + EACH (for every one)
26a Smelliest // tankers drifting (7)
RANKEST* — anagram (drifting) of TANKERS
27a Shed item worn by revolutionary // instructor (7)
TEACHER — TEAR (shed item; drop of water shed from the eye) containing (worn by) CHE (revolutionary [Che Guevara])
28a Officer // meets a stranger dancing (6,8)
{MASTER SERGEANT}* — anagram (dancing) of MEETS A STRANGER
Down
2d Three of the Italians close to // something special (5)
TRE|AT — TRE (three of the Italians; Italian word meaning 'three') + AT (close to)
3d Nation’s leader arrived and finished off // recount (7)
NARRATE — N (nation's leader; initial letter of Nation) + ARR (arrived; abbreviation seen at an airport or train station) + (and) ATE (finished off [a quantity of food])
4d Law officer // takes in chart (9)
CONS|TABLE — CONS (takes in; swindles) + TABLE (chart)
5d Philosopher // enthralled by glockenspiel (5)
_LOCKE_ — hidden in (enthralled by) gLOCKEnspiel
John Locke[5] (1632–1704) was an English philosopher, a founder of empiricism and political liberalism. His Two Treatises of Government (1690) argues that the authority of rulers has a human origin and is limited. In An Essay concerning Human Understanding (1690) he argued that all knowledge is based on experience derived from the senses.
6d Family member // walks over (7)
STEPS|ON — STEPS (walks) + ON (over)
7d Strips about salt // sea creatures (9)
BAR(NACL)ES — BARES (strips)containing (about) NACL (salt; symbol for the chemical compound sodium chloride or table salt)
8d Lay // sponge back in grass (7)
RE(POS<)ED — reversal (back) of SOP (sponge) contained in (in) REED (grass)
9d Snoozing, // takes off clothing article the wrong way (6)
{A|SLEEP}< — reversal (the wrong way) of {PEELS (takes off clothing) + A ([indefinite] article)}
15d Gifts // of iron hoops (9)
OF|FE|RINGS — OF (†) + FE ([symbol for the chemical element] iron) + RINGS (hoops)
16d Small response to slapstick // cream (9)
S|LAUGHTER — S (small; abbrev.) + LAUGHTER (response to slapstick)
17d Mix up the characters of // a horse and sheep (7)
A|NAG|RAM — A (†) + NAG (horse) + (and) RAM (sheep)
18d Swarming bees, e. g., I // trap in a way (7)
BESIEGE* — anagram (swarming) of BEES EG I
20d Junk // clothes get older (7)
GARB|AGE — GARB (clothes) + AGE (get older)
21d A cheer when returning // a big chunk of Africa (6)
{SA|HAR|A}< — reversal (returning) of {A (†) + RAH (cheer) + AS (when)}
23d Shreds // first of Irish wild oats (5)
I|OTAS — I (first [letter] of Irish) + anagram (wild) of OATS
25d White, // like chicken (5)
AS|HEN —AS (like) + HEN (chicken)
Epilogue
The title of today's review is inspired by 14a (Pb), 19a (Au), 7d (NaCl), and 15d (Fe).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)