Saturday, August 27, 2022 — In All Directions (NP 220827)

Introduction

A compass might prove useful in solving today's National Post Cryptic Crossword from Cox & Rathvon (NP 220827).

The puzzle will be posted on the blog on Saturday, September 3, 2022.

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	Capitalism anomalously displays // charm (8)

_TALISM|AN_ — hidden in (displays) capiTALISM ANomalously

5a	Candy // pieces for a musician in audition (6)

SWEETS~ — sounds like (in audition) SUITES (pieces for a musician)

9a	Short rant trashed // NHL player (5,4)

{NORTH STAR}* — anagram of (trashed) SHORT RANT

The Minnesota North Stars^[7] moved to Dallas, Texas in 1993 and are now known as the Dallas Stars.

11a	Mr. Welles, // or descendant (5)

OR|SON — OR (†) + SON (descendant)

12a	At a rodeo, catch // gal with loop (5)

LASS|O — LASS (girl) + (with) O ([letter that looks like a] loop)

13a	Show the way // one of Santa’s reindeer goes around some Christmas trees (4,5)

COME (FIRS)T — COMET (one of Santa's reindeer) containing (goes around) FIRS (some Christmas trees)

14a	Wine god transformed // duck (7)

WIDGEON* — anagram of (transformed) WINE GOD

16a	Em running across // someone with a van (5)

M|OVER — M (em) + OVER (running across)

18a	Model // puzzle (5)

POSER — double definition

19a	Novelist // stirred Red’s ire (7)

DREISER* — anagram of (stirred) REDS IRE

Theodore Dreiser^[10] (1871–1945) was a US novelist whose works include Sister Carrie (1900) and An American Tragedy (1925)

21a	Waggish one with hairless // guy’s name (9)

ARCH|I|BALD — ARCH (waggish) + I ([Roman numeral] one) + (with) BALD (hairless)

24a	Dole out // a regressive tax (5)

A|LLOT< — A (†) + reversal of (regressive) TOLL (tax)

26a	In play, notice // fawn (5)

TO(AD)Y — AD ([commercial] notice) contained in (in) TOY (play; as a verb)

As a verb, toady^[10] means to to fawn on and flatter (someone).

27a	Cartoon // shark up to no good? (5,4)

{SOUTH PARK}* — anagram of (no good) SHARK UP TO

South Park^[7] is an American animated sitcom infamous for its profanity and dark, surreal humour that satirizes a wide range of topics toward an adult audience. The series revolves around four boys and their exploits in and around the titular Colorado town.

28a	Shake // vermin and let loose (6)

RAT|TLE* — RAT (vermin) + (and) anagram of (loose) LET

29a	Keen on researching // poker debts? (8)

STUD|IOUS — STUD (poker) + IOUS (debts)

Down

1d	Enmesh // tail of wet fish (6)

T|ANGLE — T (tail [final letter] of weT) + ANGLE (fish)

2d	Instruments // fabulists heard (5)

LYRES~ — sounds like (heard) LIARS (fabulists)

3d	In new arrangement, he records // Peanuts pianist (9)

SCHROEDER* — anagram of (in new arrangement) HE RECORDS

Schroeder^[7] is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000). He is distinguished by his prodigious skill at playing the toy piano.

4d	Clownish // mannerism behind article (5)

AN|TIC — TIC (mannerism) following (behind) AN ([grammatical] article)

6d	Material failing // Mrs. Dalloway author (5)

WOOL|F — WOOL (material) + F (failing; very poor grade on an exam)

Mrs Dalloway^[7] is a novel by English writer Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), published in 1925, that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional upper-class woman in post-First World War England.

7d	Each one trying // current in New York City? (4,5)

EA|ST RIVER — EA (each) + STRIVER (one trying)

8d	Nasty air recycled // clean (8)

SANITARY* — anagram of (recycled) NASTY AIR

10d	Love story // from ancestors in the interior (7)

_ROM|ANCE_ — hidden in (in the interior) fROM ANCEstors

14d	Two castes reconfigured // Vancouver’s location (4,5)

{WEST COAST}* — anagram of (reconfigured) TWO CASTES

15d	Charms // one among finishers (7)

ENDE(A)RS — A (one) contained in (among) ENDERS (finishers)

16d	Having hair on the face // has to hurt (9)

MUST|ACHED — MUST (has to) + ACHED (hurt)

Mustache^[10] is the US spelling^* of moustache.

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^* C&R generally avoid using US spellings in this puzzle, today being an exception

17d	Spill // small serving dish (8)

S|PLATTER — S(mall) + PLATTER (serving dish)

20d	Front of store requires // wooden posts (6)

S|TAKES — S (front [initial letter] of Store) + TAKES (requires)

22d	Poem // not doing anything for the audience (5)

IDYLL~ — sounds like (for the audience) IDLE (not doing anything)

23d	Cow // just passing relative (5)

D|AUNT — D (just passing; rather poor grade on an exam) + AUNT (relative)

25d	Plain // going back above everything (5)

{LLA|NO}< — reversal of (going back) {ON (above) + ALL (everything}

Epilogue

One needs to rotate the grid 90 degrees clockwise to get the directions aligned with the compass.

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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