Saturday, August 1, 2020 — Double or Nothing

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon is a bit of a novelty being the first instance of such a puzzle that I have encountered in my many years of solving cryptic crosswords.

Note that Google has introduced a new editor function for Blogger (the platform on which this blog runs) which is playing havoc with my templates and archived code. In some cases, material appears to have been lost entirely while in others, only specific segments of text are missing. I have tried to identify and correct any instances of the latter in the material that I have used in today's blog but it is possible that something has slipped past me. So if an entry appears incomplete or bizarre, that is likely the cause.

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

Symbols and Markup Conventions
"*" - anagram "~" - sounds like "<" - indicates the preceding letters are reversed "( )" - encloses contained letters "_" - replaces letters that have been deleted  "†" - indicates that the word is present in the clue	"//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present "/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present "solid underline" - precise definition "dotted underline" - cryptic definition "dashed underline" - wordplay "double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of the symbols and markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

8a	Strange-sounding // marketplace (6)

BAZAAR~ — sounds like (sounding) BIZARRE (strange)

9a	Aries calls /for/ storms (8)

RAM|PAGES — RAM (Aries) + PAGES (calls)

In astrology, Aries^[10] (also called the Ram) is the first sign of the zodiac, symbol ♈, having a cardinal fire classification, ruled by the planet Mars. The sun is in this sign between about March 21 and April 19.

10a	Constellation // in a crimson burst (5,5)

{CANIS MINOR}* — anagram of (burst) IN A CRIMSON

Canis Minor^[5] (also Canis Minoris) is a small constellation (the Little Dog), said to represent one of the dogs following Orion. It is close to the celestial equator and contains the bright star Procyon.

11a	Article as // greenish-blue (4)

A|QUA — A ([indefinite] article) + QUA (as; Latin word used in formal or legal contexts)

The conjunction qua^[5] is a formal term meaning 'in the capacity of' or 'as being' ⇒ shareholders qua members may be under obligations to the company.

12a	The Bible // worthily translated (4,4)

{HOLY WRIT}* — anagram of (translated) WORTHILY

15a	Approximately what we’re all getting: // less friendly (6)

C|OLDER —  C (approximately; circa) + OLDER (what we're all getting; as if we need to be reminded)

16a	Uganda problem resolved, // writing with every letter included twice (6,7)

{DOUBLE PANGRAM}* — anagram of (resolved; solved again [producing a different result]) UGANDA PROBLEM

19a	Air // damaged onyx, e.g. (6)

OXYGEN* — anagram of (damaged) ONYX EG

21a	Gloria on screen with good // final performance (4,4)

SWANSON|G — SWANSON (Gloria on screen; American actress Gloria Swanson^[7] (1899–1983)) + (with) G(ood)

23a	Worry // line on a neck (4)

FRET — double definition; in the second definition, a fret^[5] being each of a sequence of ridges on the fingerboard of some stringed musical instruments (such as the guitar) used for fixing the positions of the fingers to produce the desired notes.

24a	“Soviet scum” mischaracterized // some Russians (10)

MUSCOVITES* — anagram of (mischaracterized; with its constituent characters rearranged or placed in the 'wrong' order) SOVIET SCUM

27a	Brine, // sweat are mixed (8)

SEAWATER* — anagram of (mixed) SWEAT ARE

28a	Bold // supporter of a female school of meditation (6)

BRA|ZEN — BRA (supporter of a female) + ZEN (school of meditation)

Down

1d	Virginia-Georgia alliance, // aimless one (8)

VA|GA|BOND — VA (Virginia) + Georgia (GA) + BOND (alliance)

2d	Machiavelli’s border // country (4)

MA||LI — outer letters (border) of MA(chiavel)LI

3d	From behind, notice // Seinfeld’s neighbour (6)

KRAMER< — reversal of (from behind) REMARK (notice)

Cosmo Kramer^[7], usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998). Played by Michael Richards, Kramer is the friend and neighbor of main character Jerry Seinfeld.

4d	Mark incomplete // source of fibre (4)

BRAN_ — BRAN[D] (mark) with the final letter removed (incomplete)

5d	Clapton interrupts a guy // from the States (8)

A|M(ERIC)AN —  ERIC (Clapton; English guitarist and singer/songwriter Eric Clapton^[7]) contained in (interrupts) {A (†) + MAN (guy)}

6d	Company’s beginning a dance with Love // Cowboys (10)

C|A|BALL|EROS — C (Company's beginning [initial letter]) + A (†) + BALL (dance) + (with) EROS (love)

The term Eros^[5] symbolizes^* sexual love or desire^* ⇒ Eros drives us to transcend ourselves through desire.

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^* In Greek mythology, Eros^[5] is the god of love, son of Aphrodite.

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Caballero^[12] is a southwestern US^* term for horseman.

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^* In Spanish, caballero^[8]means gentleman or knight.

7d	Dull // month, if you’re stuttering (6)

JEJUNE~ — sounds like (if you're stuttering) J-JUNE, a stuttering pronunciation of JUNE (month)

13d	Guys not now transforming // place in Ohio (10)

YOUNGSTOWN* —  anagram of (transforming) GUYS NOT NOW

Youngstown^[7] is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is located midway between Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

14d	Plug-like // snacks (5)

TAP|AS — TAP (plug) + AS (like)

Tap^[11] is used in the sense of a cylindrical plug or stopper for closing an opening through which liquid is drawn, as in a cask.

17d	Insect // altered human lot (4,4)

{LUNA MOTH}* — anagram of (altered) HUMAN LOT

The luna moth^[5] is a large North American moon moth which has pale green wings with long tails and transparent eyespots bearing crescent-shaped markings.

18d	Thelonious watched, // fooled (8)

MONK|EYED — MONK (Thelonious; American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk^[7] (1917–1982)) + EYED (watched)

20d	Attacker of Greece // uses a copying machine heartlessly (6)

XER||XES — XER[O]XES (uses a copying machine) with the middle letter removed (heartlessly)

Xerxes^[5] (c.519–465 BC) was the son of Darius I, king of Persia 486–465. His invasion of Greece achieved victories in 480 at Artemisium and Thermopylae, but defeats at Salamis (480) and Plataea (479) forced him to withdraw.

22d	One of the Stooges in a half-bare // cell (6)

A(MOE)BA — MOE (one of the Stooges; American actor and comedian Moe Howard^[7], best known as the leader of the Three Stooges comedy team) contained in (in) {A (†) + BA (half [of the word] BAre)}

25d	Worker // involved in laser fusion (4)

_SER|F_ — hidden in (involved in) laSER Fusion

26d	Country // leaders in its revolution are quiet (4)

I|R|A|Q — initial letters of (leaders in) Its Revolution Are Quiet

Epilogue

The theme of this puzzle is unambiguously set forth in 16a. A pangram is a puzzle in which every letter of the alphabet is used at least once in the solution. Today the setters up the ante by using every letter at least twice. I usually fail to recognize pangrams but it would be nigh near impossible to miss this one.

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Key to Reference Sources: 

  ^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition

  ^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)

  ^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)

  ^[4]   - TheFreeDictionarycom (Collins English Dictionary)

  ^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)

  ^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Advanced 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)

^[14]   - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)

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Signing off for today — Falcon