Saturday, December 30, 2017 — Raise a Glass ... or a Bottle (Eh!)

Introduction

In solving today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, I became stuck in a couple of snowdrifts and needed a bit of help from my electronic assistants to push me out.

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

5a   Make a metallic noise, /and/ hook fish (6)

J|ANGLE — J ([letter that looks like a] hook) + ANGLE (fish)

8a   Strange belief about end of summer /being/ too hot? (7)

FEB(R)ILE* — anagram (strange) of BELIEF containing (about) R (end [final letter] of summeR)

9a   Union // hurt by fad embracing independence at first (8)

MAR|R(I)AGE — MAR (hurt) + RAGE (fad) containing (embracing) I (independence at first; initial letter of Independence)

10a   In answer, favouring // protective wear (6)

A(PRO)NS — PRO (favouring) contained in (in) ANS (answer; abbrev.)

For effect, the wordplay has been phrased in an inverted construct [just as I have done in this sentence]. For solving purposes, tt helps to restate it in a normal sequence which would be "favouring in answer".

11a   Noncommittal responses // by same crackpot (6)

MAYBES* — anagram (crackpot) of BY SAME

12a   Carrying piano, injures new // shrubs (8)

JUNI(P)ERS* — anagram (new) of INJURES containing (carrying) P (piano; musical direction to play softly)

Once again the wordplay has been presented in an inverted construct.

14a   Almost persuaded // local star (3)

SOL_ — SOL[D] (persuaded) with the final letter deleted (almost)

Sol^*[5] is a poetic word for the sun.

---

^* Sol^*[5] is the Roman god personifying the sun, a counterpart of the Greek god Helios.

15a   Cut short // dangerous deed (5)

STUNT — double definition; the first a verb, the second a noun

17a   Pair // involved in Hindu organization (3)

_DU|O_ — hidden in (involved in) HinDU Organization

18a   Just like Enya, need front halves only // cut in strips (8)

JU|LI|EN|NE — the initial two letters (front halves only) of JUst LIke ENya NEee

20a   For the audience, predicts // boring things (6)

AUGERS~ — sounds like (for the audience) AUGURS (predicts)

22a   Phosphorus within insulates // flower parts (6)

SE(P)ALS — P ([symbl for the chemical element] phosphorus) contained in (within) SEALS (insulates)

24a   Geometric shapes // dancing to congas (8)

OCTAGONS* — anagram (dancing) of TO CONGAS

25a   Publication // number five by jazz legend (7)

NO|V|ELLA — NO (number; abbrev.) + V ([Roman numeral for] five) + ELLA (jazz legend [Ella Fitzgerald^[7]])

26a   Official order // of French First Nation tribe (6)

DE|CREE — DE (of French; French word meaning 'of') + CREE (First Nation)

Down

1d   Preserve spot next to a // Strange Brew setting (6)

CAN|AD|A — CAN (preserve [food]) + AD ([commercial] spot) + A (†)

Strange Brew^[7] (also known as The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew) is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, portrayed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis.

Loosely based on elements of Shakespeare's Hamlet, most of the film was shot in Toronto, Scarborough, Kitchener, and Hamilton, Ontario. Parts were also filmed in Prince George, British Columbia. The film begins with two unemployed brothers, Bob and Doug McKenzie, placing a live mouse in a beer bottle in an attempt to blackmail the local beer store into giving them free Elsinore beer.

2d   Secure // bananas in boat (6)

OBTAIN* — anagram (bananas) of IN BOAT

3d   Rank // maker of knots (4)

TIER — double definition; both nouns

4d   A noodler turned // artist (8)

LEONARDO* — anagram (turned) of A NOODLER

Leonardo de Vinci^[7] (1452–1519) was an Italian painter, scientist, and engineer. His paintings are notable for their blended colour and shading in the technique known as sfumato; they include The Virgin of the Rocks (1483–5), The Last Supper (1498), and the enigmatic Mona Lisa (1504–5). He devoted himself to a wide range of other subjects, from anatomy and biology to mechanics and hydraulics: his nineteen notebooks include studies of the human circulatory system and plans for a type of aircraft and a submarine.

6d   Soldier capturing a dirty // Italian patriot (9)

G(ARIBALD)I — GI ([American] soldier) containing (capturing) {A (†) + RIBALD (dirty)}

Giuseppe Garibaldi^[5] (1807–1882) was an Italian patriot and military leader of the Risorgimento. With his volunteer force of ‘Red Shirts’ he captured Sicily and southern Italy from the Bourbons in 1860–1, thereby playing a key role in the establishment of a united kingdom of Italy.

7d   Goes by // the Spanish cathedral areas (7)

EL|APSES — EL (the Spanish; Spanish word meaning 'the') + APSES (cathedral areas)

8d   Opponent // of turning east (3)

FO<|E — reversal (turning) of OF + E (east; abbrev.)

12d   Bit of work /with/ gem slurred (5)

JOULE — sounds like (slurred) JEWEL (gem)

Joule^[5] is the SI unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves one metre in the direction of action of the force, equivalent to one 3600th of a watt-hour.

13d   Edward, excited, seen in snapshot // of teachers (9)

P(ED|AGOG)IC — {ED ([diminutive of] Edward) + AGOG (excited)} contained in (seen in) PIC (snapshot)

14d   Irish-born writer swallowing gold // wine (8)

S(AU)TERNE — STERNE (Irish-born writer [Laurence Sterne^[7]]) containing AU ([symbol for the chemical element] gold)

Sauterne^[10] is a sweet to semi-dry Californian white wine blended from several kinds of grapes. The French wine is spelled Sauternes^[10].

16d   Tried eating bagel // lightly browned (7)

T(O)ASTED — TASTED (tried) containing (eating) O ([letter that looks like a] bagel)

19d   Is only troubled // in a prying way (6)

NOSILY* — anagram (troubled) of IS ONLY

21d   Park employee // red with fury (6)

R|ANGER — R (red; abbrev. found on video connectors) + (with) ANGER (fury)

23d   A tube’s // what off-roaders use (4)

A|TV|S — A (†) + TV (tube; television) + S ('s)

24d   Love Virginia/’s/ eggs (3)

O|VA — O (love; nil score in tennis) + VA (Virginia; abbrev.)

Epilogue

The title of today's review is inspired by 16d together with 14d and 1d.

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