Introduction
Today's National Post Cryptic Crossword from Cox & Rathvon (NP 220205) has a bit of a monetary feel to it.The puzzle will be posted on the blog next Saturday.
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
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| Symbols and Markup Conventions | |
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| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of the symbols and markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | Money for developing // a mine in California (7) |
C(A|PIT)AL — {A (†) + PIT (mine)} contained in (in) CAL (California)
| 5a | Old rug // cord held back by slob (7) |
P(ERIW<)IG — WIRE ([electrical] cord) reversed and contained in (held back by) PIG (slob)
| 9a | Real confused about Green // Giant (5) |
{LAR(G)E}* — anagram of (confused) REAL containing (about) G(reen)
| 10a | Aquatic athlete on the rebound embraced by objective // writer (4,5) |
GO(RE VID<)AL — reversal of (on the rebound) DIVER (aquatic athlete) contained in (embraced by) GOAL (objective)
| 11a | Emil has nomadic // Arab forebear, according to tradition (7) |
ISHMAEL* — anagram of (nomadic) EMIL HAS
| 12a | Bum // call from a bovine actress (7) |
MOO|CHER — MOO (call from a bovine) + CHER (actress)
| 13a | Cheap // energy advancing gradually around northern New York (5-8) |
PE(N|NY)-P|INCHING — {PEP (energy) + INCHING (gradually advancing)} containing (around) {N(orthern) + NY (New York)}
On Second Look
| |
|---|---|
| The solution was so obvious to me from the numeration, a few checkers and a couple of elements of the wordplay that I didn't bother to carefully parse the clue. It was only on writing the review that I realized the full extent of the wordplay. |
| 17a | Petty, // claim kin ended badly (6-3-4) |
{NICKEL-AND-DIME}* — anagram of (badly) CLAIM KIN ENDED
| 21a | Craft that circles // or one that attacks (7) |
OR|BITER — OR (†) + BITER (one that attacks)
| 23a | Conditionally released // part written in tablet (7) |
PA(ROLE)D — ROLE ([acting] part) contained in (written in) PAD ([writing] tablet)
| 24a | Jude Law film set in frigid // mining area (9) |
CO(ALFIE)LD — ALFIE (Jude Law film[7]) contained in (set in) COLD (frigid)
| 25a | Island // section of Baltimore (5) |
_TIMOR_ — hidden in (section of) BalTIMORe
| 26a | Improvises // new sign in Wit (5,2) |
W(INGS*) IT or WI(NGS I*)T — anagram of (new) SIGN contained in (in) WIT
Scratching the Surface
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|---|---|
| Wit[7] (also styled as W;t) is a one-act play written by American playwright Margaret Edson, which won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. |
| 27a | Still wearing bygone // infantile outfit (7) |
LA(YET)TE — YET (still) contained in (wearing) LATE (bygone)
Down
| 1d | Manage including everything with one // instrument (8) |
C(ALL|I)OPE — COPE (manage) containing (including) {ALL (everything) + I ([Roman numeral] one)}
| 2d | Leave chicken just next to // ancient temple (9) |
PART|HEN|ON — PART (leave) + HEN (chicken) + ON (just next to;
that car has been on my tail for miles)
| 3d | Health care // talk among those guys (7) |
THE(RAP)Y — RAP (talk) contained in (among) THEY (those guys)
| 4d | Part of a trip American League // sanctioned (5) |
LEG|AL — LEG (part of trip) + AL (American League)
| 5d | Tiny organisms: // a pair came asunder (9) |
PARAMECIA* — anagram of (asunder) A PAIR CAME
| 6d | A string found in Rhode Island // pasta dish (7) |
R(A|VIOL)I — {A (†) + VIOL (string; stringed [musical] instrument} contained in (found in) RI (Rhode Island)
| 7d | Diameter inside accompanying // measurement across (5) |
WI(D)TH — D(iameter) contained in (inside) WITH (accompanying)
| 8d | Pierce gains a pound // to spare? (6) |
G(A|L)ORE — GORE (pierce) containing (gains) {A (†) + L (pound; British currency)}
| 14d | Interest close to home in a tree, // seriously (2,7) |
I|N EAR|NEST — I(nterest) + NEAR (close to) + NEST (home in a tree)
| 15d | Remorse about mole disturbed bird (9) |
GUIL(LEMO*)T — GUILT (remorse) containing (about) anagram of (disturbed) MOLE
| 16d | Cop in Paris // hereditary unit given low-grade weapon (8) |
GEN(D|ARM)E — GENE (hereditary unit) containing (given) {D (low-grade) + ARM (weapon)}
| 18d | To put in turned-up hems, // shortened jeans (3-4) |
CU(T-O)FFS — TO (†) contained in (put in) CUFFS (turned-up hems)
| 19d | Make elevator’s last operator your // fantasy girl? (7) |
DO|R|O|THY — DO (make) + R (elevatoR's last [letter]) + O (operator; alluding to the figure "0" being the number for a telephone operator) + THY ([archaic term for] your)
I presume the solution refers to Dorothy Gale[7], the fictional protagonist created by American author L. Frank Baum (1856–1919). Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels.
| 20d | Kremlin setting // patterns for a criminal and bully (6) |
MOS|COW — MOS (patterns for a criminal; modus operandi) + (and) COW (bully; as a verb)
| 22d | Egghead // popular after supporting underwear (5) |
BRA|IN — IN (popular) following (after) BRA (supporting underwear)
| 23d | Wrapped alien features // of the feet (5) |
_PED|AL_ — hidden in (features) wrapPED ALien
Epilogue
The puzzle contains a penny, a nickel and a dime but no coins larger than that—aside from a passing reference to the British pound.
References
Key to Reference Sources:
[1] - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)
[15] - CollinsDictionary.com (Penguin Random House LLC/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd )
Signing off for today — Falcon
Good morning from a cold and windy, but not snowy, NYC. Isn't always the wind not the temperature that puts a chill in the bones?
ReplyDeleteAnyone in need of some Loose Change? There's some to be found here. I can't remember the last time I actually used a penny. C&R found a way.
15d was last in. I had the parsing but had to check the spelling for this unfamiliar word. I got 20d straight from the definition then reverse engineered the parsing. C&R are particularly good at not making both the definition and the parsing too obscure.
Falcon, you're doing quite the yeoman's work with the blog. Thanks very much.
Have a good weekend and week ahead everyone.
Richard
Good morning from a continuing cold and snowy Winnipeg where we started the new month with a blizzard and it didn't come from Dairy Queen!
ReplyDeleteThe usual fun from C&R. I did have to look up Jude Law films as I have not knowingly seen any film that he has appeared in. Apparently, this one was not one of his best in terms of 'box office performance.'
I liked 23a and 1d.
Thanks to C&R and to Falcon.
I also had to look up the Jude Law film. I did see one of his films that I think worthwhile. It is "Enemy at the Gates".
DeleteI would have said it is a Michael Caine film -- which I suppose rather dates me.
DeleteI got the solution from the definition and checkers and then reverse engineered the wordplay.
Then we are of a similar age.
DeleteI have to say that 'relocated remakes' are unsuccessful more often than not.
Michael Caine film for me too!
DeleteMG
Good morning,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Emily and Henry are on the money this morning. I found this one to be of middling difficulty and enjoyment. Can someone coin a phrase to describe it? Liked 19d which was my last one in. Have a good weekend!
Peter
And I hadn't known the film had been remade! Good guess.
ReplyDeleteDoes 27a fit the theme? I only know the one definition. Chuckled at 5a (LOI) and liked 10a.
Richard, our penny was retired a few years back. Did anyone out there keep some for old-time's sake?
Do bears run in the woods, Sal? :-) I have a clear glass piggy bank jar in the shape of a bear that I think originally came with honey or peanut butter when I was a kid. Full of pennies and carted with me my whole life.
DeleteThere are lots of pennies for sale on ebay and Kijiji. Heather, you should check what is your oldest penny. Might be worth more than one cent to a collector!
DeleteMG
Peanut butter, I think. I wish I'd kept one.
DeleteGood morning, Falcon and C&R friends. It is a beautiful sunny winter's day north of the GTA. All my trees and bushes are heavy with snow.
ReplyDeleteTook me a bit to get the rhythm of today's puzzle. Though a tad frustrating at the time, I enjoyed the satisfaction immensely in the end when it was solved. LOI was 24a - I had the wrong part of the clue as the answer for the longest time. (I too think it is a Michael Caine movie, but of course, I was really, really young and impressionable then. :-))The SE corner gave me the most trouble. Lots of great clues for me today - enjoyed 6d, 7d, 14d, 23d, 5a (had to verify that my answer was correct) and 13a...had the answer but was stuck on the parsing as I wanted energy to just be "E". Thank you to C&R for the mental workout, and to you, Falcon, for your upcoming explanation - always a treat!
Take care - have a good weekend and week ahead everyone.
Best always, Heather
Good afternoon my doughty cohorts of the cryptic world!
ReplyDeleteI didn't find the puzzle of "middling" difficulty. it was a tad more than that.
I'm not sure of the parsing for 20d, I have some ideas but nothing that seems to click.
As well as the coins in the puzzle, don't forget about 1a (and obliquely 12a).
I liked a lot of the clues, I noticed after a while that the left side was complete but I still had lots to do on the right side. LOI was 23d. Second last was 8d trying to use LB as pound.
btw, also had to look up 15d.
But it was a fun puzzle, satisfying to get to the end.
Henry,
DeleteAfter having dropped behind for a couple of weeks, glad to see you have rejoined the peloton (to use a cycling analogy).
My pleasure! I still can't start as early as I used to because of other demands on my time now, but this is still very much an integral part of my Saturday. Thanks for the post, love the title. The allusion I see is that each quarter of the puzzle posed its own problems - effectively no quarter given by C&R.
DeleteI echo Falcon's comments, Henry. I am so glad that MG's information worked for you and we have you back! Now, MG, if I can just remember where I put my penny jar .....
DeleteHenry,
DeleteRegarding the title, you have found a deeper meaning that actually had not occurred to me.
I was simply thinking of quarter as the coin missing from the mix.
DeleteFalcon - interesting how often there are alternate interpretations of things we say that we are not aware of when we say them. There should be an expression for that - such as 'Spoonerism' for the switch of initial sounds.
DeleteDo you want some observations on the solution?
9a- anagram indicator
13a- you were cheap with the insertion of parsing characters.
YOS
Henry,
DeleteI always appreciate your contributions. Good to have you back on proof-reading duty.
Hello Falcon and friends,
ReplyDeleteI found today's puzzle to be just the right level of difficulty - so it was right on the money for me! Needed to dig deep into the recesses of my brain to tease out the solutions but no assistance required. Haven't thought of 5d in decades (probably high school biology!). Really liked 12a and 19d. Last one in for me was 8d - I also got caught in the LB web.
Thank you for posting Falcon. Have a nice weekend everyone - hopefully the sun will continue to shine.
Cheers,
MG
I didn't know the Jude Law remake but got the right solution anyway. I also didn't know the bird coming down at bottom and failed to place the vowels in the anagram of MOLE correctly. I don't know how I could have done better, so maybe the clue is a bit much.
ReplyDeleteHi, John, Took me a bit to get it, but you made me smile! Thanks - have a good week. Best, Heather
Delete