Introduction
Today's
National Post Cryptic Crossword from Cox & Rathvon (NP 221001) features a winter sport that is likely second only to hockey in Canada.
The puzzle will be posted on the blog on Saturday, October 8, 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
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| 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 | Wave-making device // girl tossed together with unicorn (7,4) |
— anagram of (
tossed) {GIRL + (
together with) UNICORN}
| 7a | I’m into stick // sport for recreation (7) |
— IM (I'm) contained in (
into) PASTE (stick)
| 8a | On the way back, look for no // US citizens (7) |
— reversal of (
on the way back) {SEEK (look for) + (NAY (no)}
| 10a | Dell user upset about one // calculation tool (5,4) |
— anagram of (
upset) DELL USER containing (
about) I ([
Roman numeral] one)
| 11a | Volume inserted in only // crack (5) |
— V (volume;
physics symbol) contained in (
inserted in) SOLE (only)
| 12a | Dress // prohibition 500 years old? (7) |
— BAN (prohibition) + D ([
Roman numeral] 500) + AGE (years old)
In the comments, the equivalence of "age" and "years old" is questioned. I think they are equivalent in the following sentences:
- She is age 100.
- She is 100 years old.
If
I have my grammar correct, in the first example the adverb "100" comes
after the adjective "age" (postpositive) while in the second it precedes
the adjectival phrase "years old" (prepositive).
| 13a | Puck has busted // chops (5,2) |
— anagram of (
busted) PUCK HAS
| 15a | Shellac // new counter (7) |
— anagram of (
new) COUNTER
| 18a | Old Egyptian keeping yellow California // parrot (7) |
— COPT (old Egyptian) containing (
keeping) {Y (yellow) + CA (California;
postal abbreviation)}
| 20a | Single American League // star in the NBA once (5) |
— ONE (single) + AL (American League;
one of the two leagues forming Major League Baseball)
Shaquille O'Neal[7]
is an American former professional basketball player who played for
six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association
(NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
| 22a | Stitch hoop in sixty minutes before first of kitchen // chores (9) |
— {SEW (stitch) + O ([
letter that looks like a] hoop)} contained in (
in) HOUR (sixty minutes) preceding (
before) K (
first [
letter]
of Kitchen)
| 23a | Band member // called and is returning (7) |
— reversal of (
is returning) {NAMED (called) + (
and) IS (†)}
| 24a | Added remark about enraged // outlaws (7) |
— PS (added remark;
postscript) containing (
about) IRATE (enraged)
| 25a | Short distance // to home in quiet street (6,5) |
— {TO (†) + NEST (home)} contained in (
in) SH ([
admonition to be] quiet) + ROW (street)
Row[10] is a mainly British term for a street, especially a narrow one lined with identical houses.
Down
| 1d | Sea // snake and myself in vessel (7) |
— {ASP (snake) + (
and) I (myself)} contained in (
in) CAN (vessel)
| 2d | Canaries I disturbed // make a fuss (5,4) |
— anagram of (
disturbed) CANARIES I
| 3d | Rapper // pitches “Crud” beer, ignoring the odds (3,4) |
— the even letters from (
ignoring the odds) p
It
Ch
Es
Cr
Ud
Be
Er
Ice Cube[7] is the professional name of American rapper
O'Shea Jackson Sr.
| 4d | Ultimately, painting by Wyeth acquires new // woman’s name (7) |
— G (ultimately, painting;
final letter of paintinG) + WYETH (†) containing (
acquires) N (new;
abbreviation used in places names on maps)
Scratching the Surface
|
|---|
| Andrew Wyeth[7]
(1917–2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist
painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the
best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. |
| 5d | Player ultimately endorses // skating venues (5) |
— R (player ultimately;
final letter of playeR) + INKS (endorses)
| 6d | Sharp objects // having no point, mostly (7) |
— NEEDLES[
S] (having no point) discarding the final letter (
mostly)
| 7d | Switches // spun hot tubs mistakenly (4,7) |
— anagram (
mistakenly) SPUN HOT TUBS
| 9d | Soprano cries and wins
// contest (11) |
— S (soprano) + WEEPS (cries) + (
and) TAKES (wins)
| 14d | Wine server // prepared
crab puree (9) |
— anagram of (
prepared) CRAB PUREE
| 16d | Iroquois people found among Shoshone,
I’d assume (7) |
— hidden in (
found among) Shosh
ONE ID ASsume
The
Oneida people[7]
are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of
the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of
upstate New York, particularly near the Great Lakes. Today the Oneida
are found mainly in New York, Wisconsin, and Ontario.
Scratching the Surface
|
|---|
The Shoshone[7] (or Shoshoni) are a Native American tribe living in the western United States.
|
| 17d | Better // men chance individually losing face (7) |
— discard the initial letters from (individually losing face) [
M]EN [
C]HANCE
| 18d | Cold booze and favourite // snack with tea (7) |
— C (cold;
symbol on water taps) + RUM (booze) + (
and) PET (favourite)
| 19d | Oklahoma tribe // reordered
cat chow (7) |
— anagram of (
reordered) CAT CHOW
The
Choctaw[7]
are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern
Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Today, the Choctaw
are found mainly in Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
| 21d | Purgatory // dance (5) |
— double definition
Epilogue
The vocabulary of the sport of CURLING [1a] features
prominently in today's puzzle including SLIDE [10a], HACK [13a], HOUSE
[22a], STONE and THROW [25a], RAISE [2d], ICE [3d], RINK [5d], BUTTON
[7d], and SWEEP [9d].
