Saturday, January 13, 2018 — The Hunters and the Hunted

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon was hardly a read and write effort but it proved to be a steady and rather satisfying solve.

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   Insects // I feel moving around in trees (9)

FIR(EFLIE*)S — anagram (moving around) of {I FEEL} contained in (in) FIRS (trees)

One might also parse this as a nested "Russian doll" clue in which the wordplay would be read as "I; feel moving around; in trees" or, alternatively, "feel moving around I; in trees":

FIR(EFL(I)E*)S — {anagram (moving) of FEEL containing (around) I} contained in (in) FIRS (trees)

6a   Mark/’s/ married in unconscious state (5)

CO(M)MA or COM(M)A — M (married; abbrev.) contained in (in) COMA (unconscious state)

9a   French painter’s // entrance (7)

INGRES|S — INGRES (French painter) + S ('s)

La Grande Baigneuse (1808)

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres ^[5] (1780–1867) was a French painter. A pupil of Jacques-Louis David, he vigorously upheld neoclassicism in opposition to Delacroix’s romanticism. Notable works: Ambassadors of Agamemnon (1801) and La Grande Baigneuse (The Bather) (1808).

10a   Vlad’s epithet: // “I’m not so dark” (7)

IM|PALER — IM (I'm) + PALER (not so dark)

Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler^[7] or Vlad Dracula (1428/31 – 1476/77) was a prince of Wallachia renowned for his cruelty. He was the second son of Vlad Dracul (Dracula denoting 'son of Dracul'). Irish author Bram Stoker (1847–1912) adopted the name Dracula^[5] for the Transylvanian vampire in his novel Dracula (1897) although the story has little — if anything — to do with the Wallachian prince.

11a   Turning stupid, the animal // frightened easily (5)

{TI|MID}< — reversal (turning) of {DIM (stupid) + IT (the animal)}

12a   Disregard // nasty creatures kept by Sparks (5,4)

NE(VER MIN)D — VERMIN (nasty creatures) contained in (kept by) NED (Sparks; Canadian-born character actor Ned Sparks)

No Laughing Matter

Ned Sparks[7] (1883–1957) was a Canadian-born character actor of the American stage and screen. Sparks was known for his deadpan expression and deep, gravelly voice. In the 1930s, Sparks became known for portraying dour-faced, sarcastic, cigar-chomping characters. He became so associated with the type that, in 1936, The New York Times reported that Sparks had his face insured for USD$100,000 with Lloyd's of London. The market agreed to pay the sum to any photographer who could capture Sparks smiling (Sparks later admitted that the story was a publicity stunt and he was only insured for $10,000).

13a   Cold // War’s beginning in essay (6)

W|IN|TRY — W (War's beginning [initial letter]) + IN (†) + TRY (essay)

14a   Polar worker boarding the ship with a large // medicinal plant (4-4)

S(ELF)-HE|A|L — ELF (polar worker; one in the employ of Mr. Claus) contained in (boarding) SHE (the ship; ships are traditionally given female names and addressed as 'she') + A (†) + L (large; abbrev.)

Self-heal^[7] (Prunella vulgaris) is a purple-flowered Eurasian plant of the mint family, which was formerly widely used for healing wounds.

17a   Lost in trek up // U.S. highway (8)

TURNPIKE* — anagram (lost) of IN TREK UP

Now and Then
Although the term turnpike is very much in current use in the US, it would apparently be viewed as a historical term by readers across the pond. In the UK, between the mid-16th and late 19th centuries, turnpike[10] denoted: gates or some other barrier set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid; or a road on which a turnpike was operated.

19a   Popular song by Yankee including a // break (6)

HI(A)T|US — {HIT (popular song) + (by) US (Yankee)} containing (including) A (†)

What is a Yankee?

A visitor to Big Dave's Crossword Blog once explained: To foreigners, a Yankee is an American. To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner. To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner. To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander. To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter. To Vermonters, a Yankee is a Flatlander*. To Flatlanders, Yankees suck. * a term for newcomers to the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont As of 2014, 51.3% of Vermont's population was born in the state. The changing demographics between those with multi-generational ties to the state and those who are newcomers, bringing different values with them, has resulted in a degree of tension between the two perspectives. This tension is expressed in the terms, "Woodchuck", being applied to those established in the state, and "Flatlander", applied to the newcomers.[7]

22a   Roger and I swimming // border river (3,6)

{RIO GRANDE}* — anagram (swimming) of ROGER AND I

Tweet, Tweet
This river marks the location of a future wall. Upon completion, I am sure that Chinese President Xi Jinping can expect to receive the message "My wall's bigger than your wall!".

24a   Department head’s initial // intensity (5)

DEPT|H — DEPT (department; abbrev.) + H (head's initial [letter])

26a   Japanese island // unscathed somehow, for the most part (7)

OK|IN|A|WA_ — OK, IN A WA[Y] (unscathed somehow) with the final letter deleted (for the most part)

Okinawa Island^[7] is the largest of the Okinawa Islands group as well as the larger Ryukyu Islands group of Japan.

Unscathed?

The island of Okinawa was the site of most of the ground warfare in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II, when U.S. Army and Marine Corps troops fought a long and bloody battle to capture Okinawa, so it could next be used as the major air force and troop base for the planned invasion of Japan. During this 82-day-long battle, about 95,000 Imperial Japanese Army troops and 12,510 Americans were killed — along with over 149,000 Okinawan civilians who either were killed or committed suicide during the Battle of Okinawa and the Pacific War.

27a   Salt and pepper hidden /in/ revolver (7)

S|P|INNER — S (salt; abbrev.) + (and) P (pepper; abbrev.) + INNER (hidden)

28a   Authorized // walk (3,2)

LEG IT — unsplit (5) the solution would mean authorized

Leg it^[5] is an informal British term meaning to travel by foot or walk^* ⇒ I am part of a team legging it around London.

---

^* Alternatively, the expression can also mean to run away^* ⇒ he legged it after someone shouted at him.

29a   Burrowing creature // met harrow, sadly (9)

EARTHWORM* — anagram (sadly) of MET HARROW

And Then There Were Two

Earthworms have the ability to regenerate lost segments[7], but this ability varies between species and depends on the extent of the damage. Stephenson (1930) devoted a chapter of his monograph to this topic, while G.E. Gates spent 20 years studying regeneration in a variety of species, but “because little interest was shown”, Gates (1972) only published a few of his findings* that, nevertheless, show it is theoretically possible to grow two whole worms from a bisected specimen in certain species. * Imagine devoting 20 years of your career to the study of a subject only to find that no one was interested in the results!

Down

1d   Feeble // diversionary tactic in speech (5)

FAINT~ — sounds like (in speech) FEINT (diversionary tactic)

2d   I’m involved in new green // program (7)

REG(IM)EN* — IM (I'm) contained in (involved in) anagram (new) of GREEN

3d   Tried flip, breaking up // school excursion (5,4)

{FIELD TRIP}* — anagram (breaking up) of TRIED FLIP

4d   Daffy, // like a goose, circling south (6)

IN(S)ANE — INANE (like a goose) containing (circling) S (south; abbrev.)

5d   Runner #5 competes /in/ underwear (8)

SKI|V|VIES — SKI (runner) + V ([Roman numeral for] #5) + VIES (competes)

6d   Cloak and Dagger’s ultimate // crime job (5)

CAPE|R — CAPE (cloak) + (and) R (daggeR's ultimate [letter])

Scratching the Surface

Cloak (Tyrone "Ty" Johnson) and Dagger (Tandy Bowen)[7] are a fictional comic book superhero duo appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A television series based on the comic books is scheduled to air in 2018 on the Disney-ABC cable and satellite television channel Freeform. These superheros briefly lead a life of crime. Initially they are crime fighters, having declared war on drug crime in combating drug-dealers and helping runaway children. However, due to the corruptive influence of Mister Negative they become evil — although they are eventually cured by Peter Parker (the alter ego of Spiderman). Now, did Cox and Rathvon have the above in mind or did I invent this.

7d   One is absorbed by masculine // discomfort (7)

MAL(A|IS)E — {A (one) + IS ()} contained in (absorbed by) MALE (masculine)

8d   Dogs // shown on TV with some brews (9)

AIRED|ALES — AIRED (shown on TV) + (with) ALES (some brews)

13d   For Walt, we animated // ducks and geese, etc. (9)

WATERFOWL* — anagram (animated) of FOR WALT WE

Scratching the Surface
Walt Disney[5] (1901–1966) was an American animator and film producer. He made his name with the creation of cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was the first full-length cartoon feature film with sound and colour. Other notable films: Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942).

15d   Nietzsche // cooked with a lot of fat (9)

FRIED|RICH — FRIED (cooked) + RICH (with a lot of fat)

Friedrich Nietzsche^[5] (1844–1900) was a German philosopher. He is known for repudiating Christianity's compassion for the weak, exalting the ‘will to power’, and formulating the idea of the Übermensch (superman), who can rise above the restrictions of ordinary morality.

16d   Ruler caught in identical // swindle (4,4)

S(KIN G)AME — KING (ruler) contained in (caught in) SAME (identical)

Skin game^[5] is an informal North American term for a rigged gambling game or swindle.

18d  Getting set /and/ cheering (7)

ROOTING — double definition

In the first definition, root^[5] is used in the sense of become firmly established or settled ⇒ The idea of tolerance has rooted in our culture [Really?].

20d   Gain something from // time with a piebald horse (3,4)

T|A|P INTO — T (time; abbrev.) + (with) A (†) PINTO (piebald horse)

21d   Expurgate // passage from Saracen sorcerer (6)

_CEN|SOR_ — hidden in (passage from) SaraCEN SORcerer

Scratching the Surface
The meaning of Saracen[10] has evolved over the ages. At the time of the Roman Empire, it meant a member of one of the nomadic Arabic tribes, especially of the Syrian desert, that harassed the borders of the Roman Empire in that region. Later, at the time of the crusades, the name was used for a Muslim, especially one who opposed the crusades. Later yet again, the term came to mean any Arab.

23d   Cook // baloney injected with arsenic (5)

RO(AS)T — ROT (baloney; nonsense) containing (injected with) AS ([symbol for the chemical element] arsenic)

25d   Wound around Eastern // seraglio (5)

HAR(E)M — HARM (wound; injure) containing (around) E (Eastern; abbrev.)

Seraglio^[5] is a historical term for the women’s apartments (harem) in an Ottoman palace.

Epilogue

The title of today's review is inspired by the complementary clues at 8d and 13d, a hunting dog and its quarry.

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