Hockey Fights Cancer (Solution No. 3,200)

Spearing for a cure

The solution to The Nation puzzle no. 3,200 is below the fold.

Each November, I join thousands (I hope) of other refs in dedicating one of our game fees to Hockey Fights Cancer.  Saturday morning was that game: a nice skate with the mites (seven-year-olds) and a partner who looked to be 12 or 13 (with the perfect balance of support and independence from his father).

Want to join us?  Take an hour’s pay or the proceeds from a puzzle you construct, and send it to Hockey Fights Cancer.  The first five people who do so and send an e-mail to thenationcryptic@gmail.com will get a Hockey Fights Cancer decal you can put on your helmet (or fencing mask!).

The Nation cryptic crossword #3,200

Degree of difficulty (by standards of this weekly puzzle): moderate, with a few hard parts where the solve isn’t so smooth.

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	TRAIN OF TH_OUGHT	TRAIN (“practice”) + OF (†) + TH_e (†, omission of last letter indicated by “endless”) + OUGHT (“duty”)
9a	FL OUNCE	FL (“Florida”) + OUNCE (“little weight”)
10a	{G{ELATIN	ELATIN{G{ (relocation of last letter indicated by “if you serve the last bit first”)
11a	FOOT BALL CO ACH	FOOT (“to pay”) + BALL (“dance”) + CO (“company”) + ACH (“in Germany, alas”)
13a	LIB IDO	LIB (“liberation”) + I DO (“vow”)
15a	HA*R(D)TACK	HA (†) + *TRACK (anagram indicated by “irregular”) containing ^D^erby (first letter indicated by “start”)
17a	*COMEDIES	*SOME DICE (anagram indicated by “throwing”)
19a	_ZYDECO_	cra_ZY DECO_rators (hidden word indicated by “adopted by”)
22a	*BUS ONES DI SHES	*BONUSES (anagram indicated by “distributed”) + DI (“princess”) + SHE’S (†)
25a	LO*NGAGO	LO (“behold”) + *A GONG (anagram indicated by “broken”)
26a	FUZZIER	Pun
27a	ROCKING THE BOAT	Inverted clue: ATE BOTH anagrams to (ROCKING) “the boat”

Down

1d	TUFT_	TUFT_s (anagram “university,” omission of S indicated by “singular”)
2d	A<LOOF<	A (†) + <FOOL< (“con,” reversal indicated by “climbing”)
3d	<NO N-WORD<	<DROWN (“sink to one’s death”) + ON (†)<, reversal of the whole thing indicated by “rising”
4d	~FLEW BY	~FLUE BUY (“tube purchase,” homophone indicated by “we’re told”)
5d	H*EGELIAN	^H^ad (first letter indicated by “at first”) + *LINEAGE (anagram indicated by “mixed up”)
6d	<UN LACED<	<DECAL (“sticker”) + NU (“so?”: Yiddish)
7d	HIT PARADE	Definition by examples
8d	*IN THE KNOW	*WE THINK NO (anagram indicated by “change”)
12d	BLACKBALL	Double definition
14d	*BUMPS INTO	*UP IN TOMBS (anagram indicated by “creepy”)
16d	*TEASPOON	*OATS OPEN (anagram indicated by “rolled”)
18d	DEN MARK	DEN (“hideaway”) + MARK (“sign”)
20d	~YAHTZEE	~YACHT Z (“the last vessel,” homophone indicated by “sounds like”)
21d	M(I SF)IT	MIT (“Cambridge school”) containing (“home to”) I (“one”) + SF (“science fiction”) +
23d	<SEIKO<	<OKIES< (“migrants,” reversal indicated by “the return of”)
24d	BRAT	Double definition