Introduction
One might say today's
National Post Cryptic Crossword from Cox & Rathvon (NP 220910) is fully-featured.
The puzzle will be posted on the blog on Saturday, September 17, 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 | Lightly touch Ms. Fitzgerald’s // kneecaps (8) |
— PAT (lightly touch) + ELLA (Ms. Fitzgerald;
American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald[7]) + S ('s)
| 5a | Demolishes // Latin king in speech (6) |
— sounds like (
in speech) REX (Latin [
word for] king)
| 10a | Embellishment on a letter // shoots backward (5) |
— reversal of (
backward) FIRES (shoots)
| 11a | Losses of power // won’t rob us terribly (9) |
— anagram of (
terribly) WONT ROB US
| 12a | Bashful, Ms. Murray listened to “Tribe” (8) |
— sounds like (
listened to) {SHY (bashful) + ANNE (Ms. Murray;
Canadian singer Anne Murray[7]}
| 13a | Dotty loves // crack (5) |
— anagram of (
dotty) LOVES
| 15a | Benefit // a second group (5) |
— A (†) + S(econd) + SET (group)
| 16a | Analyzed // Dion’s first new song idea (9) |
* — D (Dion's first [
letter]) + anagram of (
new) SONG IDEA
Scratching the Surface
|
|---|
Céline Dion[7] is a Canadian singer.
|
| 18a | Family member, a radical, // still under suspicion (9) |
— UNCLE (family member) + A (†) + RED (radical)
| 20a | Superior // portion of soup, perhaps (5) |
— hidden in (
portion of) [SO]
UP PER[HAPS]
| 22a | Nary a fanatical // drifter (5) |
— NO (nary a) + MAD (fanatical)
| 24a | Excessively dense // hayseed after bender (3,5) |
— HICK (hayseed) following (
after) TOOT (bender)
| 27a | Suckers // returned tablet stuck in endlessly repeating cycles (9) |
— reversal of (
returned) PILL (tablet) contained in (
stuck in) LOOPS (endlessly repeating cycles)
| 28a | Press club // humour with a twist (5) |
— IRON (press;
remove wrinkles from clothing) + Y (club;
YMCA/YWCA)
Scratching the Surface
|
|---|
A press club[7] is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news.
|
| 29a | Slew, in whatever // Shakespearean role (6) |
— TON (slew;
a large amount or number) contained in (
in) ANY (whatever)
Mark Antony is a character in William Shakepeare's play
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar[7].
| 30a | Push // facial growth, and hold (4,4) |
— BEARD (facial growth) + (
and) OWN (hold;
possess)
Down
| 1d | The sound of Edgar Allan’s // airs? (4) |
— sounds like (
the sound of) {POE (Edgar Allan;
American writer Edgar Allan Poe[7]) + S ('s)}
| 2d | Providers of light // in that orchestra (7) |
— hidden in (
in) [THA]
T ORCHES[TRA]
| 3d | Revolutionary Frenchman, // note, in baby’s outfit (9) |
— LA ([
musical] note) contained in (
in) LAYETTE (baby's outfit)
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette[7] (1757–1834), known in the United States as
Lafayette,
was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American
Revolutionary War, commanding American troops in several battles,
including the siege of Yorktown. After returning to France, he was a key
figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of
1830. He has been considered a national hero in both countries.
Name in full: Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier
| 4d | British saint // left in a bar (5) |
— L(eft) contained in (
in) {A () + BAN (bar;
prevent)}
Saint Alban[7] is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr.
| 6d | Jogs around grand // steps (5) |
— RUNS (jogs) containing (
around) G (grand;
$1000)
| 7d | Lovers // dancing up close (7) |
— anagram of (
dancing) UP CLOSE
| 8d | Uplifting accessory // US introduced to buyers (10) |
— US (†) contained in (
introduced to) SPENDERS (buyers)
| 9d | Transmogrified body near // cemetery (8) |
— anagram of (
transmogrified) BODY NEAR
| 14d | Wild Australian // orgy (10) |
— anagram of (
wild) AUSTRALIAN
In modern usage,
Saturnalia[12] denotes a period or occasion of unrestrained, often orgiastic, revelry.
Origin: Saturnalia was the ancient Roman festival of
Saturn, held about December 17, with general feasting and revelry in
celebration of the winter solstice.
| 16d | Continuance // of the French share (8) |
— DU (of the French;
French word meaning 'of the') + RATION (share)
| 17d | Shot the air gun // more like a rascal? (9) |
— anagram of (
shot) THE AIR GUN
| 19d | Arthur’s place // came with piece of land (7) |
— CAME (†) + (
with) LOT (piece of land)
Camelot[16] is the legendary site of King Arthur's palace and court, possibly near Exeter, England.
| 21d | Choose a low voiced // woodwind (7) |
— sounds like (
voiced) {PICK (choose) + A (†) + LOW (†)}
| 23d | Heard European // act condescendingly (5) |
— sounds like (
heard) DANE (European)
| 25d | Hollywood’s Davis // partially read dossier (5) |
— hidden in (
partially read) [D]
OSSIE[R]
| 26d | Song // that guy vocalized (4) |
— sounds like (
vocalized) HIM (that guy)
Epilogue
Hidden in today's puzzle are eight features of the human head – namely,
PATE[ELLAS],
BROW[NOUTS], CH[
EYE]NNE, DIAG[
NOSE]D, UNCL[
EAR]ED, [
TOO TH]ICK, LOL[
LIP]OPS,
BEAR D[OWN].
Kudos to Henry for his prowess in spotting this.
References
Sources
referenced in the blog are identified by the following reference
numbers. 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
[5] - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Dictionary of English)
[6] -
Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (
Oxford Advanced American Dictionary)
[9] -
Infoplease (
Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
Signing off for today — Falcon
