Saturday, February 3, 2018 — Honourable and Noble

Introduction

I was a bit slow getting started with today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon but once underway, I made fairly smooth progress.

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

7a   Parrot clutching family member/’s/ coat (8)

MAC(KIN)AW — MACAW (parrot) containing (clutching) KIN (family member)

Mackinaw^[10] is another name for Mackinaw coat^[10], a mainly US and Canadian term for a thick short double-breasted plaid coat.

9a   Remarks to the audience // since Caesar’s final hours (6)

AS|IDES — AS (since) + IDES (Caesar's final hours)

Julius Caesar^[5] (100–44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. He was murdered on the Ides (15th) of March in a conspiracy led by Brutus and Cassius.

10a   Inferior // colour covering post office (6)

TIN(PO)T — TINT (colour) containing (covering) PO (Post Office; abbrev.)

11a   Wear lock sporting // fancy trim (8)

LACEWORK* — anagram (sporting) of WEAR LOCK

As an anagram indicator, sport^[5] is used in the sense of to play in a lively, energetic way [in other words, to move around excitedly] ⇒ the children sported in the water.

12a   Horse-drawn carriage // revamped phaetons (8)

STANHOPE* — anagram (revamped) of PHAETONS

Historically, a stanhope^[5] was a light open horse-drawn carriage for one person, with two or four wheels. It was named after Fitzroy Stanhope (1787–1864), an English clergyman for whom the first one was made.

Scratching the Surface
Historically, a phaeton[5] was a light, open four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage.

13a   Rile // a green cuckoo (6)

ENRAGE* — anagram (cuckoo) of A GREEN

14a   Also represent wayward // former Prime Minister (6,7)

{LESTER PEARSON}* — anagram (wayward) of ALSO REPRESENT

Lester Bowles Pearson^[5] (1897–1972) was a Canadian diplomat and Liberal statesman, prime minister 1963–8. As Secretary of State for External Affairs (1948–57) he acted as a mediator in the resolution of the Suez crisis (1956) for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (l957).

17a   Fling // a female cricket (6)

A|F|FAIR — A (†) + F (female; abbrev.) + FAIR (cricket)

Not cricket^[5] is an informal British expression denoting something contrary to traditional standards of fairness or rectitude ⇒ an appeal by the Crown against too lenient a sentence is simply not cricket.

19a   Put on a lot of weight consuming one // gift (8)

DON|A|T(I)ON — DON (put on) + A (†) + TON (lot of weight) containing (consuming) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

22a   Textual comment // often too cryptic (8)

FOOTNOTE* — anagram (cryptic) of OFTEN TOO

23a   Libra // climbs (6)

SCALES — double definition, the first being a noun and the second, a verb

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.

24a   Say no to // official function (6)

REF|USE — REF (official; informal short form for referee) + USE (function)

25a   Some of Asia/’s/ regions caught in trap (4,4)

NE(AR EAS)T —AREAS (regions) contained in (caught in) NET (trap)

Down

1d   Song penned by lieutenant, // something catchy? (6)

L(ARIA)T — ARIA (song; opera solo) contained in (penned by) LT (lieutenant; abbrev.)

The setters have flagged the cryptic definition with a question mark; I have done so with a dotted underline.

2d   Wintertime sportswear — // leave the bugs out? (3,5)

SKI P|ANTS — SKIP (leave ... out) + ANTS (the bugs)

The wordplay works better when treated as whole phrase rather than when decomposed into its separate elements.

3d   Boxer’s combination // was victorious also, we hear (3-3)

{ONE-TWO}~ — sounds like (we hear) {WON (was victorious) + TOO (also)}

A one-two^[5] is a pair of punches delivered in quick succession with alternate hands.

4d   Parades before a // noblewoman from Italy (8)

MARCHES|A — MARCHES (parades) preceding (before) A (†)

A marchesa^[12] is an Italian noblewoman ranking just above a countess.

5d   Spectator // right behind six sheep (6)

VI|EWE|R — R (right; abbrev.) following (behind) {VI ([Roman numeral for] six) + EWE (sheep)}

6d   Figure in geometry // mistaken on target (8)

TETRAGON* — anagram (mistaken) of ON TARGET

Tetragon^[3,4,11] is a less common name for a quadrilateral^[3,4,11], a geometric figure having four sides.

8d   Actor in Mrs. Miniver // mixed gelatin powder (6,7)

{WALTER PIDGEON}* — anagram (mixed) of GELATIN POWDER

Walter Pidgeon^[7] (1897–1984) was a Canadian actor who starred in many films, including How Green Was My Valley (1941), Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Forbidden Planet (1956), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), Advise & Consent (1962), Funny Girl (1968) and Harry in Your Pocket (1973). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in Mrs. Miniver (1942) and Madame Curie (1943). Pidgeon, who was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and attended the University of New Brunswick, also made many Broadway and television appearances.

14d   Jimmy taking failure to excess (8)

LE(F|TO)VER — LEVER (jimmy) containing (taking) {F (failure; academic assessment} + TO (†)}

Jimmy^[3,4,10] (British jemmy) means to pry (something) open with or as if with a jimmy (a short crowbar with curved ends) ⇒ jimmy a door.

15d   Noble British awards // where you might find studs (8)

EARL|OBES — EARL (noble) + OBES (British awards)

An earl^[5] is a British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquess [in other words, the third highest of the five ranks of British nobility — duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron].

---

OBE^[5] is the abbreviation for Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire^[7] is the "order of chivalry of British democracy", rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations and public service outside the Civil Service. It was established in 1917 by King George V, and comprises five classes, in civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male, or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order.

The classes are: Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), Knight or Dame Commander (KBE/DBE), Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE), and Member (MBE).

Appointments to the Order of the British Empire were at first made on the nomination of the self-governing Dominions of the Empire, the Viceroy of India, and the colonial governors, as well as on nominations from within the United Kingdom. As the Empire evolved into the Commonwealth, nominations continued to come from the Commonwealth realms, in which the monarch remained head of state. These overseas nominations have been discontinued in realms which have established their own Orders, such as the Order of Australia, the Order of Canada, and the New Zealand Order of Merit, but members of the Order are still appointed in the British Overseas Territories.

16d   Relaxed, I swallowed the last bit of food, /getting/ stuffed (8)

SAT|I|ATE|D — SAT (relaxed) + I () + ATE (swallowed) + D (the last bit [letter] of fooD)

18d   Legendary king // arrives around Thursday (6)

AR(THU)R — ARR (arrives; abbrev. seen on train, bus, and airline schedules) containing (around) THU (Thursday; abbrev. seen on a calendar — or one of the above schedules)

Arthur^[5] was a legendary king of Britain, historically perhaps a 5th- or 6th-century Romano-British chieftain or general. Stories of his life, the exploits of his knights, and the Round Table of his court at Camelot were developed by Malory, Chrétien de Troyes, and other medieval writers and became the subject of many legends.

20d   Mark follows North American // racing circuit (6)

N|A|SCAR — SCAR (mark) follows (†) {N (north) + A (American)}

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR)^[7] is an American family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto-racing sports events. Bill France Sr. founded the company in 1948 and his grandson Brian France became its CEO in 2003. NASCAR is motorsport's preeminent stock-car racing organization.

21d   New resole // as an alternative (2,4)

{OR ELSE}* — anagram (new) of RESOLE

Epilogue

In today's puzzle we find an Italian noblewoman (4d) paired with a British nobleman on whom has been bestowed a British honour (15d). As the centrepiece of the puzzle, we have the Right Honourable Lester Pearson, former Prime Minister of Canada, who was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Peace.

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