Saturday, April 30, 2022 — International Smorgasbord (NP 220430)

Introduction

My review for today's National Post Cryptic Crossword from Cox & Rathvon (NP 220430) is appearing a bit later than usual. Having procrastinated until the last possible moment, I spent the last couple of days preparing and filing my income tax return.

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

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	Some bread and some butter // with a hearty sound? (3-1-3)

PIT-A|-PAT — PITA (some bread) + (and) PAT (some butter)

The cryptic definition alludes to the frequent use of the solution to describe the sound of a heartbeat as per the following entry from Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries):

Pit-a-pat^[5] (also pitapat) means with a sound like quick light steps or taps ⇒ ‘her heart went pit-a-pat.

5a	Asian city left nothing invested in jazz band (7)

CO(L|O)MBO — {L(eft) + O (nothing; letter that looks like a zero)} contained in (invested in) COMBO (jazz band)

Colombo^[5] is the capital and chief port of Sri Lanka.

9a	Trial lawyer // turned on one swamp dweller (9)

LIT|I|GATOR — LIT (turned on; illuminated) + I ([Roman numeral] one) + GATOR (swamp dweller)

10a	Excited, I can’t // shut up (3,2)

{CAN IT}* — anagram of (excited) I CANT

11a	Loud noise, in general, // in a mess? (6)

DIN|IN|G — DIN (loud noise) + IN (†) + G (general; film rating)

A cryptic definition of what one might be doing in a mess on a military base.

12a	Prepared aspic with Latin // pepper (8)

CAPSI*|CUM — anagram of (prepared) ASPIC + CUM (with Latin; Latin word meaning 'with')

14a	Eastern province // reorganized avocations (4,6)

{NOVA SCOTIA}* — anagram of (reorganized) AVOCATIONS

16a	Dizzy // cuckoo coming back (4)

STUN< — reversal of (coming back) NUTS (cuckoo)

Dizzy^[5] is used as a verb meaning to make (someone) feel unsteady, confused, or amazed ⇒ her nearness dizzied him.

18a	Fix // coil of hair (4)

LOCK — double definition

19a	Stop // obsessed fans, up to about 500 (10)

STAN(D)S|TILL — {STANS (obsessed fans) + TILL (up to)} containing (about) D ([Roman numeral] 500)

A stan is is an overzealous maniacal fan of a celebrity or athlete..

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Origin: A mix of 'stalker' and 'fan', the term is based on the central character in the Eminem song of the same name.

22a	Joker often // did crawl when swimming (4,4)

WILDCARD* — anagram of (when swimming) DID CRAWL

23a	French article is concerned with // agreement (6)

UN|IS}ON — UN (French [indefinite] article) + IS (†) + ON (concerned with)

26a	Place in India // playing soul singer Cooke (5)

AS|SAM — AS (playing; portraying the role of) + SAM (soul singer Cooke; American singer Sam Cooke^[7])

Sam Cooke's life and career were tragically cut short at the age of 33 in 1964. Here's his first and likely most successful release (reaching Number 1 on Billboard in 1957):

27a	Feline, // by morning, caught by noble (9)

C(AT|AM)OUNT — {AT (by) + AM (morning)} contained in (caught by) COUNT (noble)

Catamount^[5] (also catamountain) is a North American term for a medium-sized or large wild cat, especially a puma.

28a	Radical obtains // stronghold (7)

BASTION* — anagram of (radical) OBTAINS

29a	Married a former Seattle player // connected with a secret society (7)

M|A}SONIC — M(arried) + A (†) + SONIC (former Seattle player)

The Seattle SuperSonics^[7] (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Pacific and Northwest divisions from 1967 until 2008. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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Masonic denotes relating to Freemasonry^[5], an international order established for mutual help and fellowship, which holds elaborate secret ceremonies. (show more )

The original free masons were itinerant skilled stonemasons of the 14th century, who are said to have recognized fellow craftsmen by secret signs. Modern freemasonry is usually traced to the formation of the Grand Lodge in London in 1717; members are typically professionals and businessmen.

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Down

1d	Champion // boy in distress (7)

PA(LAD)IN — LAD (boy) contained in (in) PAIN (distress)

2d	Giant // Italian wearing light brown (5)

T(IT)AN — IT (Italian) contained in (wearing) TAN (light brown)

3d	Manuscript in a narrow opening brought back // ancient belief (8)

{PAG|A|NI|SM}< — reversal of (brought back) {MS (manuscript) + IN (†) + A (†) + GAP (narrow opening)}

4d	Pretentious-sounding // Peace Nobelist (4)

TUTU~ — sounds like (sounding) TOO TOO (pretentious)

Too-too^[5] is a dated informal term denoting very impressive or extreme; excessive or extravagant ⇒ build an outfit around one special jewelled item, something that's a little too-too for day.

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Desmond Tutu^[5] (1931–2021) was a South African clergyman. As General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (1979–84) he became a leading voice in the struggle against apartheid. He was Archbishop of Cape Town 1986–96. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

5d	Flowers // people put in vehicles (10)

CAR(NATION)S — NATION (people) contained in (put in) CARS (vehicles)

6d	Place with true // member of a swarm (6)

LOCUS|T — LOCUS (place) + (with) T(rue)

7d	Crazy note about Old Testament // pasta (9)

MANIC(OT)TI — {MANIC (crazy) + TI ([musical] note) containing (about) OT (Old Testament)

8d	Turkish // slogan backed up by article (7)

OTTOM<|AN — reversal of (backed up) MOTTO (slogan) + (by) AN (article)

The Ottoman Empire^[5] was The Turkish empire, established in northern Anatolia by Osman I at the end of the 13th century and expanded by his successors to include all of Asia Minor and much of south-eastern Europe. After setbacks caused by the invasion of the Mongol ruler Tamerlane in 1402, Constantinople was captured in 1453. The empire reached its zenith under Suleiman in the mid 16th century; it had greatly declined by the 19th century and collapsed after the First World War.

13d	Central American // deciphered an acrostic (5,5)

{COSTA RICAN}* — anagram of (deciphered) AN ACROSTIC

15d	Love 100 elite groups behind five // singers (9)

V|OCALISTS — O (love; nil score in tennis) + C ([Roman numeral] 100) + A-LISTS (elite groups)} following (behind) V ([Roman numeral] five)

17d	Riding in Datsun, a missionary // waves (8)

_TSUN|A|MIS_ — hidden in (riding in) DaTSUN A MISsionary

18d	Pitch about tungsten-and calcium-restricted // sort of diet (3-4)

LO(W|_CA|R)B — LOB (pitch) containing (about) {W ([chemical symbol for] tungsten; from Latin wolfram) + (and) CA ([chemical symbol for] calcium) + R (restricted; film rating)}}

20d	Kook // entangled in a cult (7)

LUNATIC* — anagram of (entangled) IN A CULT

21d	Seafood // swindle linked to Greek character (6)

SCAM|PI — SCAM (swindle) + PI (Greek character; sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet)

24d	Reject // Spanish coffee container (5)

SP|URN — SP(anish) + URN (coffee container)

25d	A male turkey // bit (4)

A|TOM — A (†) + TOM (male turkey)

Epilogue

It is difficult to discern a theme in this puzzle. There are tidbits of food scattered around the grid in which a diverse group of geographical destinations receive mention—ranging from North America to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Central America.

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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