Triple definitions (Solution No. 3,327)

All gave some, some gave all...

The solution to The Nation puzzle no. 3,327 is below the fold.

Take a look at this clue from the weekend’s Globe and Mail cryptic by Fraser Simpson.

31a  Secretly carry off Scotch tenor     SPIRIT

Too much of a good thing?  I suspect some solvers would think so.  As I parse that clue, I get three definitions, not two:

• Secretly carry off
• Scotch
• tenor

By the Ximenean book, that’s not cricket.  A definition, wordplay (in this case a second definition), and nothing else.  Another definition qualifies as “something else.”  But having both “Scotch” and “tenor” in it makes the clue read better—a little more mysteriously too.

Then Hot and Trazom did something similar in this week’s The Nation puzzle: see 18d (in red) below.  The second definition in the clue was more like a definition and a half.  Was that intended?  Did the constructors accidentally leave in part of their original clue while editing it?  Maybe Hot will shed some light on this one for us.

Solution to The Nation cryptic crossword 3,327

Link to puzzle:  http://www.thenation.com/article/179943/puzzle-no-3327

Degree of difficulty (by standards of this weekly puzzle): hard.

Political content: 8d.

Legend: “*” anagram; “~” sounds like; “<“ letters reversed; “( )” letters inserted; “_” or lower case: letters deleted; “†” explicit in the clue, “^” first or last letter or letters, “{” relocated letter or letters; “§” heteronym, “¶” letter bank

Across

1a	A (BRA)HAM	BRA (“supporter”) contained in (“enthralled by”) A (†) + HAM  (“bad actor”)
5a	*LAWSUIT	*TULSA WI (anagram indicated by “that can’t be right”)
9a	<_ON AIR_<	<wagne_RIAN O_pera< (hidden phrase indicated by “part of,” reversal indicated by “retrospective”)
10a	}S{AN MARINO	{D}AN MARINO (“quarterback,” replacement of D (“daughter”) with S (“son”) indicated by “replaced by”) Easy example once you see it, but many solvers will probably be misdirected into thinking of a country singer.
11a	THE THREE TENORS	¶HORNETS (letter bank indicated by “arrangement of … involving repetition”)
13a	LEG U ME	LEG (“segment”) + U (“in text you”) + ME (†)
14a	NORM ANDY	NORM + ANDY (“two men”)
17a	ROCK STAR	*ARTS (inverted clue: ARTS is an anagram (indicated by “rock”) of STAR)
19a	S TRAIT	S (“small”) + TRAIT (“feature”)
22a	CLAUS TROP(HOB_)IC	CLAUS (“Santa”) + TROPIC (“Capricorn perhaps”) containing (“nabs”) HOB_o_ (“tramp,” omission of last letter indicated by “mostly”)
25a	<OC<TILLION	<CO<TILLION (“dance,” reversal of first two letters indicated by “head couple changes places”)
26a	GU(TS)Y	GUY (“man”) containing (“kidnaps”) TS (“Eliot”)
27a	~KARAOKE	~CARRIE (“Underwood of American Idol”) + OKIE (“an Oklahoma native”), homophone indicated by “is heard”
28a	MA(*TURE)D	MAD (“angry”) containing (“about”) *TRUE (anagram indicated by “disaster”) Another good misdirection: I first thought disaster was the definition rather than an indicator.

Down

1d	<AVON<	<NOVA< (“PBS program,” reversal indicated by “rewound”)
2d	R *OAD HOG	ca^R^ (last letter indicated by “rear”) + *OH GOD A (anagram indicated by “totaled”)
3d	HARD TIMES	Pun (hard copy of the New York Times)
4d	MIS_ER Y	MIS_t_ER (omission of T indicated by “loses time”)+ darc^Y^ (last letter indicated by “ultimately”) Unusual definition had me looking for something starting with CO at first.
5d	LANCE LOT	LOT (“fate”) following (“to carry”) LANCE (“a weapon”)
6d	W HALE	^W^ork (first letter indicated by “at first”) + HALE (“well”)
7d	UN I CORN	UN (“one French”) + I (“one Roman”) + CORN (“cereal”) An example of Hot and Trazom being strict Ximeneans: the clue might have read more elegantly with an additional word, but a clue should consist of a definition, wordplay, and nothing else.
8d	TROTS K(Y)ITE	TROTS (“moves briskly”) + KITE (“to pass a bad check”) containing (“around”) Y (“a club”)
12d	ALAR(M C)LOCK	ALAR (“with wings”) + LOCK (“hair”) containing (“captivating”) MC (“host”) Clever definition
15d	METH OUGHT	METH (“speed”) + OUGHT (“a moral obligation”)
16d	~PAIRWISE	~PEAR (“fruit”) + WHYS (“reasons”) , homophone indicated by “stated aloud”)
18d	COASTER	Double definition. More like two and a half definitions: “tabletop protector,” “waterfront resident,” and “resident going downhill”
20d	AV *IATOR	AV (“audio-visual”) + *A TRIO (anagram indicated by “remix”)
21d	E(PONY)M	EM (“long dash”) containing (“straddling”) PONY (“a horse”)
23d	_SAL VO_	propo_SAL VO_dka (hidden word indicated by “penetrating”)
24d	~DYED	~DIED (“went out of use,” homophone indicated by “in conversation”)