Saturday, March 5, 2022 — Antipodal Menagerie (NP 220305)

Introduction

Today's National Post Cryptic Crossword from Cox & Rathvon (NP 220305) introduces us to fauna unique to Australia and surrounding areas.

The puzzle will be posted on the blog next Saturday (barring interference from Russian hackers!).

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Outage at PressReader and the National Post e-Paper

For those of us who rely on either the National Post E-paper or PressReader for the puzzle, it became a Monday afternoon distraction rather than a Saturday morning diversion. A cyber attack on Thursday against PressReader (which in addition to its own site also hosts the National Post E-paper on its Branded Editions website) took the service completely offline for a time. The service did eventually come back online but without any content that would have been posted after the time of the initial incident. The Thursday, Friday and Saturday editions of the National Post E-paper did not appear online until about noon today (Monday). You can read more about the incident on the infosecurity website in the article PressReader Suffers Cyber-Attack.

The cyberattack came just days after PressReader removed dozens of Russian newspapers from its catalogue, although it cannot be confirmed that the hacking was related to this decision.

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	Go on ark at sea, conveying a // marsupial (8)

{K(A)NGAROO}* or {KANG(A)ROO}* — anagram of (at sea) GO ON ARK containing (conveying) A (†)

The kangaroo^[5] is a large plant-eating marsupial with a long powerful tail and strongly developed hindlimbs that enable it to travel by leaping, found only in Australia and New Guinea.

5a	Attack // dope, and suffer (6)

ASS|AIL — ASS (dope) + (and) AIL (suffer)

9a	By the sound of it, snowy // isle (5)

WIGHT~ — sounds like (by the sound of it) WHITE (snowy)

The Isle of Wight^[5] is an island off the south coast of England in the English Channel near Southampton.

10a	Group with one ducklike avian // creature from Down Under (9)

BAND|I|COOT — BAND (group) + (with) I ([Roman numeral] one) + COOT (ducklike avian)

The bandicoot^[5] is a mainly insectivorous marsupial native to Australia and New Guinea.

12a	Get angry about volume // cut (7)

SE(V)E|RED — SEE RED (get angry) containing (about) V(olume)

13a	Article inside barricade, next to // hopper (7)

WALL(A)BY — A ([] article) contained in (inside) {WALL (barricade) + BY (next to)}

The wallaby^[5] is an Australasian marsupial that is similar to, but smaller than, a kangaroo.

14a	Render senseless, in the manner of // beast that sleeps a lot (5)

KO|ALA — KO (render senseless; knock out) + A LA (in the manner of; a term used especially in French cooking)

The koala^[5] is a bear-like arboreal Australian marsupial that has thick grey fur and feeds on eucalyptus leaves.

16a	Italian gentlemen // misrepresented origins (7)

SIGNORI* — anagram of (misrepresented) ORIGINS

19a	Queen // Elizabeth’s beginning to incline otherwise (7)

E|LEAN|OR — E (Elizabeth's beginning [initial letter]) + LEAN (to incline) + OR (otherwise)

20a	Canine // racket in front of exit (5)

DIN|GO — DIN (racket) preceding (in front of) GO (exit)

A dingo^[5] is a wild or half-domesticated dog with a sandy-coloured coat, found in Australia.

22a	Chained wild // animal with spines (7)

ECHIDNA* — anagram of (wild) CHAINED

The echidna^[5] (also called spiny anteater) is a spiny insectivorous egg-laying mammal with a long snout and claws, native to Australia and New Guinea.

24a	Contacted // Argentinian guerrilla in study (7)

REA(CHE)D — CHE (Argentinian guerrilla) contained in (in) READ (study)

"Argentinian revolutionary " = CHE [Guevara]

Che Guevara^[7] (1928–1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.

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Here and There
While, in North America, read could be construed to mean "study" in a fairly general sense, the two words are synonyms in a far more specific sense in the UK as read[5] is a British term meaning to study (an academic subject) at a university ⇒ (i) I’m reading English at Cambridge; (ii) he went to Manchester to read for a BA in Economics.

26a	Big bird that’s solitary, // cold and, as such, cautious (9)

CASSOWARY — C(old) + (and) AS SO (as such) + WARY (cautious)

The cassowary^[5] is a very large flightless bird related to the emu, with a bare head and neck, a tall horny crest, and one or two coloured wattles. It is native mainly to the forests of New Guinea.

27a	Western // omelette initially consumed by Rex (5)

O|ATE|R — O (omelette initially; initial letter of Omelette) + ATE (consumed) + R (Rex)

Canadiana Primer

In the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms*, including Canada, Rex[5] [Latin for king] or Regina[5] [Latin for queen] (in either case, abbreviation R[5]) denotes the reigning monarch. * A Commonwealth realm[7] is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealth. There are currently fifteen Commonwealth realms, the largest being Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with the remainder being smaller Caribbean and Pacific island nations. The term is used following a name (e.g. Elizabetha Regina, Queen Elizabeth — often shortened to ER) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Regina v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones). The equivalent terms during the reign of Elizabeth's father, George VI, were Georgius Rex (shortened to GR) with the usage in titles of lawsuits being Rex v. Jones, again shortened to R. v. Jones.

28a	Unusually tense about end of school, // curl up (6)

{NEST(L)E}* — anagram of (unusually) TENSE containing (about) L (end [final letter] of schooL)

29a	Semiaquatic mammal // puts play in a new light (8)

PLATYPUS* — anagram of (in a new light) PUTS PLAY

The platypus^[5] is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal which frequents lakes and streams in eastern Australia. It has a sensitive pliable bill shaped like that of a duck, webbed feet with venomous spurs, and dense fur. Also called duckbill or duck-billed platypus.

Down

1d	Motorcycle manufacturer // in Alaska was a kidder (8)

_KA|WAS|A|KI_ — hidden in AlasKA WAS A KIdder

2d	Desert, // for example, in Nevada (5)

N(EG)EV — EG (for example) contained in (in) NEV (Nevada)

The Negev^[5] is an arid region forming most of southern Israel, between Beersheba and the Gulf of Aqaba, on the Egyptian border. Large areas are irrigated for agriculture.

3d	Seabird caught by a recent // substitute (9)

A|L(TERN)ATE — TERN (seabird) contained in (caught by) {A (†) + LATE (recent)}

4d	Circled // operating room cot (5)

OR|BED — OR (operating room) + BED (cot)

Orb^[10] is used as a verb (past participle orbed) meaning to make or become circular or spherical.

6d	Accidentally drop // small tablet (5)

S|PILL — S(mall) + PILL (tablet)

7d	Love // trouble connected with budget (9)

ADO|RATION — ADO (trouble) + (connected with) RATION (budget)

8d	One of the Jacksons // a trifle confined by Los Angeles (2,4)

L(A| TOY)A — {A (†) + TOY (trifle)} contained in (confined by) LA (Los Angeles)

La Toya Jackson^[7] is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman and television personality. The fifth and middle child of the Jackson family, she first gained recognition on the family's variety television series, The Jacksons, on CBS between 1976 and 1977.

11d	Nontraditionalist, // one losing opening bet (3,4)

_NE|W AGER — [O]NE ([O]NE losing opening [letter]) + WAGER (bet)

15d	A classic computer game’s about the Rolling Stones? (9)

A|M(ETH*)YSTS — A (†) + {MYST (classic computer game) + S ('s)} containing (about) anagram of (rolling) THE

16d	Keeping name, the devil with a // rock band (7)

SA(N)TAN|A — SATAN (the devil) containing (keeping) N(ame) + (with) A (†)

Santana^[7] is an American rock band whose performance at Woodstock in 1969 launched the group to international fame. Formed in San Francisco in 1966 by Mexican-American guitarist and songwriter Carlos Santana, the band has undergone multiple recording and performing line-ups in its history, with Carlos Santana the only consistent member.

17d	Someone different // splattered mud on toad (3,3,3)

{ODD MAN OUT}* — anagram of (spattered) MUD ON TOAD

18d	Japanese cars going around ancient city // nation in Central American (8)

HOND(UR)AS — HONDAS (Japanese cars) containing (going around) UR (ancient city)

Ur^[5] was an ancient Sumerian city on the River Euphrates, in southern Iraq. It was one of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, dating from the 4th millennium BC, and reached its zenith in the late 3rd millennium BC.

21d	Act as a detainee in a prison // searchlight (6)

BE|A|CON — BE (act as) + A (†) + CON (detainee in a prison)

23d	Amusing // dancer’s first gyration (5)

D|ROLL — D (Dancer's first [initial letter]) + ROLL (gyration)

24d	Grand // stir, you might say (5)

ROYAL~ — sounds like (you might say) ROIL (stir)

25d	Solicit // joint on either side of you in Rome (3,2)

HI(T U)P — HIP (joint) containing (on either side of) TU (you in Rome; Italian word meaning 'you')

Epilogue

Today we are presented with a large collection of animal species native to Australia and New Guinea. After some initial hesitation, I concluded that menagerie—a collection of wild animals kept in captivity—was quite appropriate to use in the title, as the animals are all captured in the grid.

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References

Sources referenced in the blog are identified by the following symbols. The reference numbers themselves are hyperlinks to the entry in the source being referenced. Click on the number to view the source.

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