Saturday, October 30, 2021 — Monstrous Solve

Introduction

Today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon is nicely themed for the season with a collection of monsters from mythology and folklore to get us in the mood for the trick-or-treaters who will be at our doors tomorrow.

The introductory video is especially for Richard in New York City.

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 "wavy underline" - whimsical and inferred definitions
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of the symbols and markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a	Rathbone portrays central Tokyo // monster (8)

BASIL|IS|K — BASIL (Rathbone) + IS (portrays) + K (central [middle letter of] ToKyo)

Basil Rathbone^[7] (1892–1967) was an English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films. Rathbone is most widely recognised for his many portrayals of Sherlock Holmes.

Monster #1
The basilisk[5] is a mythical reptile with a lethal gaze or breath, hatched by a serpent from a cock's egg ⇒ In heraldry the basilisk is represented as an animal with the head, torso and legs of a cock, the tongue of a snake and the wings of a bat. Basilisk

5a	No drink for a sailor backing // monster (6)

{GORG|ON}< — reversal of (backing) {NO (†) + GROG (drink for a sailor)}

Monster #2
In Greek mythology, the gorgons[5] were three sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, with snakes for hair, who had the power to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. The only mortal gorgon was Medusa[5] whom Perseus killed by cutting off her head. Medusa, by Caravaggio (1595)

9a	In trouble, don’t // extend (3,4)

AD(D ONT)O — DONT (don't) contained in (in) ADO (trouble)

10a	Choose Republican, a // woman of myth (7)

ELECT|R|A — ELECT (choose) + R (Republican; US politician) + A (†)

In Greek mythology, Electra^[5] is the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. She persuaded her brother Orestes to kill Clytemnestra and Aegisthus (their mother’s lover) in revenge for the murder of Agamemnon.

11a	Recycling container, leave // game of chance (5)

BIN|GO — BIN (recycling container) + GO (leave)

12a	Hebrew patriarch article compared to // monster (9)

LEVI|A|THAN — LEVI (Hebrew patriarch) + A ([indefinite] article) + THAN (compared to)

Monster #3
A leviathan[5] is a sea monster from the Bible, identified in different passages with the whale and the crocodile. The Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Doré (1865)

13a	Monster // repeated phrase, possessed by spirits (7)

GRIFFIN — RIFF (repeated [musical] phrase) contained in (possessed by) GIN ([alcoholic] spirits)

Monster #4
The griffin[5] (also gryphon) is a mythical creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, typically depicted with pointed ears and with the eagle's legs taking the place of the forelegs.

15a	Ten // observed stag (7)

SAW|BUCK — SAW (observed) + BUCK (stag; male deer)

Sawbuck^[7] is a slang term for a U.S. $10 bill [banknote to our British readers], derived from the similarity between the shape of a sawbuck device^* and the Roman numeral X (10), which appeared on an early issue of U.S. $10 bills.

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^* A sawbuck^[7] (known in Canada as a sawhorse) is a device for holding wood so that it may be cut into pieces. It consists of an "X" form at each end which are joined by cross bars below the intersections of the X's. The stock to be cut is placed in the V's formed above the intersections of the X's.

Despite the assertion to the contrary by some British dictionaries^[5,10], I have never heard or seen a Canadian $10 bill referred to as a sawbuck.

US $10 Legal Tender note from 1863

17a	Wine cellars // show signs of combustible fuel (7)

BODE|GAS — BODE (show signs of) + GAS (combustible fuel)

In Spanish-speaking countries^*, a bodega^[5,10] can be either a wine cellar or a shop selling wine (and sometimes groceries).

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^* In Spanish-speaking neighbourhoods in the US, a bodega^[5] is a small grocery shop.

19a	The Hunchback of Notre Dame? A // monster (7)

CHIMER|A — CHIMER (the Hunchback of Notre Dame?; the question mark indicating this is a definition by example) + A (†)

A chimer^[3] is someone who produces music by striking bells.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame^[7] is a novel by French writer Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The title character, Quasimodo—a deformed 20-year-old hunchback, is the bell-ringer of Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris.

Monster #5
In Greek mythology, the chimera[7] (also chimaera) is a fire-breathing female monster usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat protruding from its back, and a tail that might end with a snake's head. Bellerophon riding Pegasus while killing the Chimera

21a	“Extra” about agitated // monster (9)

M(ANTIC)ORE — MORE (extra) containing (about) ANTIC (agitated)

Monster #6
The manticore[5] is a mythical animal typically depicted as having the body of a lion, the head of a man, and the sting of a scorpion. A manticore (1678)

23a	Cake // seen through reflector telescope (5)

_TOR|TE_ — hidden in (seen though) reflecTOR TElescope

25a	Hold // our bunch in dirty spot (7)

S(US)TAIN — US (our bunch) contained in (in) STAIN (dirty spot)

26a	Depicted // suffering media mogul Rogers (7)

PAIN|TED — PAIN (suffering) + TED (media mogul Rogers)

Edward S. "Ted" Rogers Jr. (1933–2008) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., and the fifth-richest person in Canada in terms of net worth.

Uncanny Foresight?

Headline from today's Financial Post section of the National Post The timing of this clue—which I am sure was written weeks ago, if not more—is eerie. The clue could well apply to Ted Rogers' son, Edward S. Rogers III who until his recent ouster was chairman of Rogers Communications, Canada's largest wireless company. An epic Shakespearen boardroom drama has gripped the company for several weeks. It began when Edward Rogers attempted to get rid of chief executive Joe Natale and install chief financial officer Tony Staffieri in the top job. The move was opposed by his mother, Loretta Rogers—the matriarch of the family that controls Rogers Communications—as well as his sisters Martha and Melinda and the company itself. Instead of removing Natale, the board decided to fire Staffieri and replace Edward Rogers as Chairman. Rogers then used his position as chairman of the family trust which controls Rogers Communications to replace the board with his own slate of directors who reinstated him as chairman. This was done against the wishes of the other members of the family trust. So now we have two different groups claiming to be the rightful board of directors of the company. This mess is now in the hands of the courts to sort out. In an ironic twist, Natale apparently learned of the plot against him when Staffieri sat on his cellphone during a meeting to discuss the planned ouster and placed a "butt call" to Natale himself.

27a	Wet blanket worn by // monster (6)

DRAG|ON — DRAG (wet blanket) + ON (worn by; The dress on the first model is my favourite.)

Monster #7
The dragon[5] is a mythical monster like a giant reptile. In European tradition the dragon is typically fire-breathing and tends to symbolize chaos or evil, whereas in East Asia it is usually a beneficent symbol of fertility, associated with water and the heavens. Illustration of a winged, fire-breathing dragon by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (1806)

28a	Monster // we develop fully in retrospect (8)

WE|REWOLF< — WE (†) + reversal of (in retrospect) FLOWER (develop fully)

Monster #8
A werewolf[5] is a character in folklore who changes for periods of time into a wolf, typically when there is a full moon. Woodcut of a werewolf attack by Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 1512

Down

1d	Petition about a sports league // seat that’s squishy (7)

BE(A|NBA)G — BEG (petition) containing (about) {A (†) + NBA (sports league; National Basketball Association)

2d	US and turbulent // African land (5)

SUDAN* — anagram of (turbulent) US AND

Another crystal ball clue, given recent events in this African country.

3d	Fixed on golf, don // rainwear (6,3)

{LONDON FOG}* — anagram of (fixed) ON GOLF DON

London Fog^[7] is a US apparel company which makes trench coats, raincoats, jackets, parkas and accessories such as handbags and umbrellas.

4d	Bit of lemon in hot, // fruity bread (7)

STOL(L)EN or STO(L)LEN — L (bit [initial letter] of Lemon) contained in (in) STOLEN (hot)

Stollen^[7] is a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit, coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar. It is a traditional German bread eaten during the Christmas season.

6d	Ryan in love with a // Greek character (5)

O|MEG|A — MEG (Ryan; American actress Meg Ryan^[7]) contained in (in) {O (love; nil score in tennis) + A (†)}

7d	See a tough new // structure near an entrance (9)

GATEHOUSE* — anagram of (new) SEE A TOUGH

8d	Fastidious sort // taken in, sadly (7)

NEATNIK* — anagram of (sadly) TAKEN IN

10d	Tunnel vision includes // pop icon (5)

_EL|VIS_ — hidden in (includes) tunnEL VISion

According to the Official Charts website, his best selling release (singles and tracks) was:

14d	Island nation // units infiltrating subcontinent (9)

IND(ONES)IA — ONES (units) contained in (infiltrating) INDIA (subcontinent)

16d	Dieter’s concern // modified a wine list (9)

WAISTLINE* — anagram of (modified) A WINE LIST

17d	Plot about large birds // puzzled (7)

B(EMUS)ED — BED ([garden] plot) containing (about) EMUS (large birds)

18d	Cut off // small, bony outgrowth (5)

S(CORN) — S(mall) + CORN (bony outgrowth [on the foot])

S(HORN) — S(mall) + HORN (bony outgrowth [on the head])

Thank you to MG for redirecting me to the correct part of the anatomy.

19d	Guy that is pocketing dupe’s last // lousy item (7)

CH(E)AP|IE — {CHAP (guy) + IE (that is)} containing (pocketing) E (dopE's last [letter])

20d	Had a foe confused // before (5,2)

{AHEAD OF}* — anagram of (confused) HAD A FOE

22d	State // marriage vow, swallowing sigh (5)

I|D(AH)O — I DO (marriage vow) containing (swallowing) AH (sigh)

24d	Relative number // engaged in entering Brazilian resort (5)

R(AT)IO — AT (engaged in) contained in (entering) RIO (Brazilian resort; Rio de Janeiro)

Epilogue

While the Canadian media mogul may have been unfamiliar to our American readers, I picked up a number of references with US connotations—the American paper currency, the American clothing manufacturer (although its products are common here; I even have one in my closet), and the Latino convenience store (although today clued as a Spanish wine cellar).

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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]   - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Dictionary of English)

  ^[6]   - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (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)

^[15]   - CollinsDictionary.com (Penguin Random House LLC/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd )

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Signing off for today — Falcon