Saturday, December 23, 2017 — Happy Holidays

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon is appropriately seasonal in nature and should not hold you up too long from getting to your last minute Christmas shopping.

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 semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions — including whimsical and vague definitions — are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Wake up // one of Santa's reindeer with ring (4,2)

COME T|O — COMET (one of Santa's reindeer) + (with) O ([letter that looks like a] ring)

4a   Christmas tree in front of building with one's // heaps set ablaze (8)

B|ON(FIR)E|S — FIR (Christmas tree) contained in (in) {B (front [initial letter] of Building) + ONE (†) + S ('s)}

9a   Odd situation: // Nick s rear caught in chimney passage (5)

FLU(K)E — K (Nick's rear; final letter of NicK) contained in (caught in) FLUE (chimney passage)

Scratching the Surface
Saint Nick[3] (short for Saint Nicholas) is another name for Santa Claus.

10a   December speaker /is/ expert on ornaments? (9)

DEC|ORATOR — DEC (December; abbrev.) + ORATOR (speaker)

11a   A topic shifted at the end of Kwanzaa: // pudding choice (7)

TAPIOC*|A — anagram (shifted) of {A + TOPIC} + (at; next to) A (the end [final letter] of KwanzaA)

Scratching the Surface

Kwanzaa*[3,4,11] (also Kwanza) is an an African-American cultural festival observed from December 26 to January 1, celebrating family, community, and culture. * Kwanzaa was originally a harvest festival, with the name coming from the Swahili word kwanza 'first (fruits of the harvest)'. It was respelled in English as "kwanzaa" to have seven letters corresponding to the seven traditional African virtuous principles celebrated by the holiday.

12a   What gets Santa dirty and hot, /in/ reality (5)

SOOT|H — SOOT (what gets Santa dirty) + (and) H (hot; abbrev.)

Sooth^[5] is an archaic term meaning truth.

14a   Library features // quiet helpers of Santa (7)

SH|ELVES — SH ([admonition to be] quiet) + ELVES (helpers of Santa)

16a   Letter address // is read wrong by Rudolph initially (4,3)

{DEAR SI}*|R_ — anagram (wrong) of {IS READ} + (by; next to) R (Rudolph initially; initial letter of Rudolph)

17a   Noble rank // excited lad more (7)

EARLDOM* — anagram (excited) of {LAD MORE}

20a   Wood in the hearth engulfed in pine product // scent (7)

CO(LOG)NE — LOG (wood in the hearth) contained in (engulfed in) CONE (pine product)

22a   New Jersey hockey player // had a home flipped (5)

DEVIL< — reversal (flipped) of LIVED (had a home)

The New Jersey Devils^[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The club was founded as the Kansas City Scouts in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1974. The Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado in 1976 and became the Colorado Rockies. In 1982, they moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey and took their current name.

23a   Criticizing // a holiday chore in conversation (7)

RAPPING~ — sounds like (in conversation) WRAPPING (a holiday chore)

26a   A novice, on different // number? (9)

NOVOCAINE* — anagram (different) of {A NOVICE ON}

Number is a whimsical cryptic crossword definition denoting something that numbs.

27a   Christmas stocking brings, at first, // a certain prize (5)

NO(B)EL — NOEL (Christmas) containing (stocking) B (brings, at first; initial letter of Brings)

A Nobel Prize^[5] is any of six international prizes awarded annually for outstanding work in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economics, and the promotion of peace. The Nobel Prizes, first awarded in 1901, are decided by members of Swedish learned societies or, in the case of the peace prize, the Norwegian Parliament.

28a   Term for Christmas // you'll even put into speech (8)

{YULE|TIDE}~ — sounds like (put into speech) {YOU'LL (†
) + TIED (even)}

29a   Santa's teddy bears // sampled (6)

_TA|S|TED_ — hidden in (bears) SanTA'S TEDdy

Down

1d   Restaurant/'s/ changing face (4)

CAFE* — anagram (changing) of FACE

2d   Law enforcer // set free after very short length of time (7)

MO|UNTIE — UNTIE (set free) following (after) MO (very short length of time)

Mo^[3,5] (abbreviation for moment) is an informal, chiefly British term for a short period of time ⇒ hang on a mo!.

3d   Pipsqueak // leads in the West End revue, perhaps (5)

T_W_E_R_P_ — initial letters of (leads in) The West End Revue Perhaps

The West End^[10] is a part of west central London, England containing the main shopping and entertainment areas.

5d   Place for many a tree // or green vegetable (7)

OR|CHARD — OR (†) + CHARD (green vegetable)

6d   Obstruct // many trees completely (9)

FOREST|ALL — FOREST (many trees) + ALL (completely)

7d   Lab animal is keeping on // restricted fare (7)

RAT|I(ON)S — RAT (lab animal) + IS (†) containing (keeping) ON (†)

8d   Extra payments // turn to black in waves (10)

SUR(CHAR)GES — CHAR (turn to black) contained in (in) SURGES (waves)

10d   Doctor Love, by the way, // takes a fall (5)

DR|O|PS — DR (doctor; abbrev.) + O (love; nil score in tennis) + PS (by the way; abbrev. for postscript)

Scratching the Surface

Perhaps the surface reading is an allusion to American author and motivational speaker Leo Buscaglia[7] (1924–1998), also known as "Dr. Love," who was a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California. While teaching at USC, Buscaglia was moved by a student's suicide to contemplate human disconnectedness and the meaning of life, and began a non-credit class he called Love 1A. This became the basis for his first book, titled simply LOVE. His dynamic speaking style was discovered by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and his televised lectures earned great popularity in the 1980s. At one point his talks, always shown during fund raising periods, were the top earners of all PBS programs. This national exposure, coupled with the heartfelt storytelling style of his books, helped make all of his titles national Best Sellers; five were once on the New York Times Best Sellers List simultaneously.

13d   Candy canes relocated /in/ the highest position (10)

ASCENDANCY* — anagram (relocated) of CANDY CANES

15d   Crackpot cited evil // to wit (9)

VIDELICET* — anagram (crackpot) of CITED EVIL

Videlicet^[3,4,11] (abbreviation viz.) is a Latin term meaning that is (to say) or namely used to introduce examples, lists, items, etc.

18d   Old show brought back // competitor snaring empty victory (7)

R(E|V)IVAL — RIVAL (competitor) containing (snaring) {E (empty (abbrev. found on fuel gauges) + V (victory; symbol made famous by Sir Winston Churchill}

A Slip of the Fingers

As I wrote in a recent review of a weekday cryptic crossword puzzle, one must be very careful to make the "V" sign correctly lest one cause serious offence (show explanation ). A V sign[7] made with the fingers and with the palm facing out may be a victory sign (as made famous by Sir Winston Churchill) or a peace sign (arising from the 1960s counterculture movement). However, in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, when made with the palm facing in, it means "F**k off"*. * The Brits would seem to need two fingers to get across an idea that North Americans manage to convey with a single finger. For a time in the UK, "a Harvey (Smith)" became a way of describing the insulting version of the V sign, much as "the word of Cambronne" is used in France, or "the Trudeau salute" is used to describe the one-fingered salute in Canada. This happened because, in 1971, show-jumper Harvey Smith was disqualified for making a televised V sign to the judges after winning the British Show Jumping Derby at Hickstead. (His win was reinstated two days later.) Harvey Smith pleaded that he was using a Victory sign, a defence also used by other figures in the public eye. Sometimes foreigners visiting the countries mentioned above use the "two-fingered salute" without knowing it is offensive to the natives, for example when ordering two beers in a noisy pub, or in the case of United States president George H. W. Bush, who, while touring Australia in 1992, attempted to give a "peace sign" to a group of farmers in Canberra—who were protesting about U.S. farm subsidies—and instead gave the insulting V sign. Steve McQueen in Le Mans Steve McQueen gives a British (knuckles outward) V sign in the closing scene in the 1971 motorsport movie 'Le Mans'. A still picture of the gesture was also recorded by photographer Nigel Snowdon and has become an iconic image of both McQueen and the 24 hours of Le Mans. hide explanation

19d   Confused admirer // got hitched (7)

MARRIED* — anagram (confused) of ADMIRER

Depending on the context, the definition could be either "hitched" ⇒ She got married (hitched) to her childhood sweetheart or "got hitched" ⇒ She married (got hitched) at the age of twenty-one.

If the definition were to be taken as merely "hitched", then the word "got" would need to be considered a link word between the wordplay and definition:

• Confused admirer /got/ hitched (7)

20d   Police heard /in/ thicket (5)

COPSE~ — sounds like (heard) COPS (police)

21d   Information unit/'s/ job, somewhat (7)

GIG|A|BIT — GIG (job [for a member of a musical group]) + {A BIT (somewhat)}

24d   Old Greek land // in region I approached (5)

_ION|I|A_ — hidden in (in) regION I Approached

In classical times, Ionia^[5] was the central part of the west coast of Asia Minor, which had long been inhabited by Hellenic people (the Ionians) and was again colonized by Greeks from the mainland from about the 8th century BC.

25d   Guided behind the front of Santa/'s/ vehicle in the snow (4)

S|LED — LED (guided) following (behind) S (the front [initial letter] of Santa)

Epilogue

Wishing all readers a joyous holiday season, whatever you may happen to be celebrating — whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or other festivity.

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)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon