Theme: NONE
Wow, our TMS crossword stalwart golfers Ernie ELS, RORY Sabbatini both missed the cut yesterday. BUBBA Watson is hanging there strong though. I don't think K. J. Choi stands a chance this time, so I am going to flip-flop on my prediction. I will pick up Retief Goosen. I do like Travor Immelman and Ian Poulter though. Have been following both of them (and Justin Rose) since their European Tour.
I almost shot a bogey free round today. Nice and easy. Everything was in sync. I found my TIGER zone. No slice or hook, all my tee shots are straight. No chip flub. And the greens were so receptive. No undulations at all. I only went to dictionary once to check the meaning of 22A: "Subjugates" (had a bit of problem with VIREO and HELEN). Polished off this puzzle around 25 minutes.
Grid: Total letters filled: 191. Total blank squares: 34
Front Nine:
1A: One of the Seven Sisters college: VASSAR. Vassar has gone co-ed, right? Meryl Streep, Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe in "Friends") and Edna St. Vincent Millay all graduated from this college. Jackie Kennedy also studied here for 2 years before her Sorbonne venture.
7A: Mass produce efficiently: CHURN OUT. Efficiently? Really, not hurriedly or routinely? How come I cannot see any efficiency in the puzzles you CHURN OUT for us Editor? Where is the Quality Control?
15A: Slip away, as time: ELAPSE. I like the addition of "as time", rendering the clue much more accurate than "Slip away" alone.
16A: Biddies residence: HEN HOUSE
17A: Belly buttons: NAVELS
18A: Apportioned: ALLOTTED
19A: Breakfast choices: OMELET
20A: Place-kicker's need: TEE. Poor Fred Couples. Had he made that birdie on the last hole, he would've held the consecutive Masters cut record all by himself rather than sharing it with Gary Player. Speaking of Gary Player, all you crossword constructors or constructors wannabes, why not misguide us with his surname for golf related clues next time?
21A: TV journalist Safer: MORLEY. Don't you just love his interview with Helen Mirren? I bet FCC is lurking around ready to pounce on their next nude interview!
22A: Subjugates: ENSLAVES
30A: Oral moisture: SALIVA. Hope your first kiss experience is better than Leonardo DiCaprio's.
31A: Husky pull: SLED
35A: Ornamental case: ETUI. It's painful to watch Ms. ETUI's wrinkly face 3 times a week!
38A: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" Co-star Dillon: MELINDA. No idea. I got her name from the down clues. The only actor/actress Dillon I know is Matt. Had a mild crush on him after" Crash".
42A: Accustom: INURE. No hesitation this time between INURE and ENURE due to the "I" in SMIRK.
46A: Low mountain crests: RIDGE. Alright, I am ready for former Homeland Security Secretary Tom ___ !
48A: Folk tale: MYTH
50A: Fully committed: KNEE DEEP. I thought KNEE DEEP has a negative undertone, like Hillary (Wellesley Grad) is now KNEE DEEP in trouble. "Fully committed" sounds very positive to me. Are they the same to you?
58A: Fold: CREASE
59A: Thiamine deficiency: BERIBERI. No idea. I got it from the down clues. It's of Sri Lanka origin, meaning "I cannot, I cannot" in Sinhalese language. The word is "doubled for emphasis".
64A: Laws issued by monarchs: EDICTS. Disagree. Any public proclamation issued by the authority can be EDICT, including those fatwas.
65A: Monty Python troupe member: ERIC IDLE. Pieced it together from down clues.
66A: Relative intensity: DEGREE
67A: Ready-for-anything attitude: GAMENESS
68A: Borgnine or Hemingway: ERNEST. Knew Hemingway, had no idea who Borgnine is.
Back nine:
1D: Animal toxin: VENOM
3D: Piggybank filler: SAVER
4D: Indefinite period: SPELL
5D: In dreamland: ASLEEP
6D: Fashioned anew: RESTYLED. Oh by the way, the RESTYLE maven Stacy London (TLC's What Not to Wear) also graduated from VASSAR.
7D: French manor house: CHATEAU (Castle). Here is a beautiful CHATEAU at Feste's suggestion. And enjoy some sumptuous Chocolate Gâteau if you do not care for ASPIC.
8D: Euripides play: HELEN. No idea. Anything Greek related is tragically daunting to me. According to Wikipedia, Euripides' greatest works include Alcestis, Medea, Eletra and the Bacchae.
9D: Except if: UNLESS
11D: Slangy contradiction: NOT. How come it's a "Slangy contradiction"? I don't get this one. (update: See Comments section for explanation).
12D: Inning ender: OUT. The intersection of this OUT with 7A CHURN OUT is NOT pretty.
14D: Actor Knight: TED. Knew him from the "Chess Mate" puzzle.
23D: Stick it out: LAST. Needs recluing. Don't like the double appearances of OUT (12D: Inning ender) and out.
25D: Small green bird: VIREO. Lovely, isn't it? The plumage is indeed green.
27D: Prone to backtalk: SASSY
29D: Relative to etc.: ET AL. This makes me laugh! Look how ET AL and I SAY are stacked together to anchor the whole puzzle! Is that your statement Mr. Editor? I say, bloody!!
31D: Insolent smile: SMIRK
32D: Red Square figure: LENIN
33D: Give the slip to: ELUDE. Good clue. But really I hate when "slip" appeared twice in the clue. See 15A: Slip away.
34D: Funeral song: DIRGE
36D: Brit's indignant comment: I SAY
41D: Go before: ANTECEDE. OK clue. Don't like how ANTECEDE parallels SECEDE.
44D: Uses up: EMPTIES
47D: Leave the union: SECEDE. I was on the wrong train initially, thinking of separate and divorce.
49D: More difficult: HARDER
51D: Some noblemen: EARLS. OK, OK, I know your name is EARL.
53D: Period in power: REIGN
54D: Mother of pearl: NACRE. Here is a picture.
55D: __ Park, Colo.: ESTES
61D: Periphery: RIM
63D: Open container: BIN. Most of the bins have lids, don't they?
C.C.
Wow, our TMS crossword stalwart golfers Ernie ELS, RORY Sabbatini both missed the cut yesterday. BUBBA Watson is hanging there strong though. I don't think K. J. Choi stands a chance this time, so I am going to flip-flop on my prediction. I will pick up Retief Goosen. I do like Travor Immelman and Ian Poulter though. Have been following both of them (and Justin Rose) since their European Tour.
I almost shot a bogey free round today. Nice and easy. Everything was in sync. I found my TIGER zone. No slice or hook, all my tee shots are straight. No chip flub. And the greens were so receptive. No undulations at all. I only went to dictionary once to check the meaning of 22A: "Subjugates" (had a bit of problem with VIREO and HELEN). Polished off this puzzle around 25 minutes.
Grid: Total letters filled: 191. Total blank squares: 34
Front Nine:
1A: One of the Seven Sisters college: VASSAR. Vassar has gone co-ed, right? Meryl Streep, Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe in "Friends") and Edna St. Vincent Millay all graduated from this college. Jackie Kennedy also studied here for 2 years before her Sorbonne venture.
7A: Mass produce efficiently: CHURN OUT. Efficiently? Really, not hurriedly or routinely? How come I cannot see any efficiency in the puzzles you CHURN OUT for us Editor? Where is the Quality Control?
15A: Slip away, as time: ELAPSE. I like the addition of "as time", rendering the clue much more accurate than "Slip away" alone.
16A: Biddies residence: HEN HOUSE
17A: Belly buttons: NAVELS
18A: Apportioned: ALLOTTED
19A: Breakfast choices: OMELET
20A: Place-kicker's need: TEE. Poor Fred Couples. Had he made that birdie on the last hole, he would've held the consecutive Masters cut record all by himself rather than sharing it with Gary Player. Speaking of Gary Player, all you crossword constructors or constructors wannabes, why not misguide us with his surname for golf related clues next time?
21A: TV journalist Safer: MORLEY. Don't you just love his interview with Helen Mirren? I bet FCC is lurking around ready to pounce on their next nude interview!
22A: Subjugates: ENSLAVES
30A: Oral moisture: SALIVA. Hope your first kiss experience is better than Leonardo DiCaprio's.
31A: Husky pull: SLED
35A: Ornamental case: ETUI. It's painful to watch Ms. ETUI's wrinkly face 3 times a week!
38A: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" Co-star Dillon: MELINDA. No idea. I got her name from the down clues. The only actor/actress Dillon I know is Matt. Had a mild crush on him after" Crash".
42A: Accustom: INURE. No hesitation this time between INURE and ENURE due to the "I" in SMIRK.
46A: Low mountain crests: RIDGE. Alright, I am ready for former Homeland Security Secretary Tom ___ !
48A: Folk tale: MYTH
50A: Fully committed: KNEE DEEP. I thought KNEE DEEP has a negative undertone, like Hillary (Wellesley Grad) is now KNEE DEEP in trouble. "Fully committed" sounds very positive to me. Are they the same to you?
58A: Fold: CREASE
59A: Thiamine deficiency: BERIBERI. No idea. I got it from the down clues. It's of Sri Lanka origin, meaning "I cannot, I cannot" in Sinhalese language. The word is "doubled for emphasis".
64A: Laws issued by monarchs: EDICTS. Disagree. Any public proclamation issued by the authority can be EDICT, including those fatwas.
65A: Monty Python troupe member: ERIC IDLE. Pieced it together from down clues.
66A: Relative intensity: DEGREE
67A: Ready-for-anything attitude: GAMENESS
68A: Borgnine or Hemingway: ERNEST. Knew Hemingway, had no idea who Borgnine is.
Back nine:
1D: Animal toxin: VENOM
3D: Piggybank filler: SAVER
4D: Indefinite period: SPELL
5D: In dreamland: ASLEEP
6D: Fashioned anew: RESTYLED. Oh by the way, the RESTYLE maven Stacy London (TLC's What Not to Wear) also graduated from VASSAR.
7D: French manor house: CHATEAU (Castle). Here is a beautiful CHATEAU at Feste's suggestion. And enjoy some sumptuous Chocolate Gâteau if you do not care for ASPIC.
8D: Euripides play: HELEN. No idea. Anything Greek related is tragically daunting to me. According to Wikipedia, Euripides' greatest works include Alcestis, Medea, Eletra and the Bacchae.
9D: Except if: UNLESS
11D: Slangy contradiction: NOT. How come it's a "Slangy contradiction"? I don't get this one. (update: See Comments section for explanation).
12D: Inning ender: OUT. The intersection of this OUT with 7A CHURN OUT is NOT pretty.
14D: Actor Knight: TED. Knew him from the "Chess Mate" puzzle.
23D: Stick it out: LAST. Needs recluing. Don't like the double appearances of OUT (12D: Inning ender) and out.
25D: Small green bird: VIREO. Lovely, isn't it? The plumage is indeed green.
27D: Prone to backtalk: SASSY
29D: Relative to etc.: ET AL. This makes me laugh! Look how ET AL and I SAY are stacked together to anchor the whole puzzle! Is that your statement Mr. Editor? I say, bloody!!
31D: Insolent smile: SMIRK
32D: Red Square figure: LENIN
33D: Give the slip to: ELUDE. Good clue. But really I hate when "slip" appeared twice in the clue. See 15A: Slip away.
34D: Funeral song: DIRGE
36D: Brit's indignant comment: I SAY
41D: Go before: ANTECEDE. OK clue. Don't like how ANTECEDE parallels SECEDE.
44D: Uses up: EMPTIES
47D: Leave the union: SECEDE. I was on the wrong train initially, thinking of separate and divorce.
49D: More difficult: HARDER
51D: Some noblemen: EARLS. OK, OK, I know your name is EARL.
53D: Period in power: REIGN
54D: Mother of pearl: NACRE. Here is a picture.
55D: __ Park, Colo.: ESTES
61D: Periphery: RIM
63D: Open container: BIN. Most of the bins have lids, don't they?
C.C.
Good morning CC. I got this one today with help from the surrounding clues. I would LOVE to try some of that chocolate Gateau. Looks yummmy. The vireo is lovely, and so is the nacre. I never saw that before, even though I knew what it was.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend. I don't get the Sunday Tribune.
Good morning, C.C. and gang - You're right - smooth sailing today with only a couple of whitecaps.
ReplyDeleteI also agree about "efficiently" in 7A - I don't think "churn out" necessarily implies that.
8D was all greek to me. (sorry)
All in all, a nice way to end the week. Hope it's an outstanding weekend for everyone.
Hi Katherine,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you enjoyed the Gateau. Have a great weekend.
Dennis,
HELEN of Troy would be too insipid for a Saturday! Cluing it as "Euripides play" does make it very Hellenic as you said.
Too many letters "S" today, 20 I think, including VASSAR, SASSY, UNLESS, GAMENESS.
Maybe a themeless puzzle is very hard to pull off without abusing "S".
Regarding 11D: Slangy contradiction (NOT). How come? "NOT" does not sound like a slangy word to me.
C.C. - "Not" has become a very popular one word contradiction, with kids especially, such as, "I can't wait to go to school today. NOT!
ReplyDeleteDennis,
ReplyDeleteNow I see. Thanks.
Do they have UGLI there in FL? Have you had it before?
C.C. - no idea if they're available in Florida - I would think so though.
ReplyDeleteHave I had ugli before? Yes, but I'm not proud of it...
What do you mean by "not proud of it"? Does it taste that awful?
ReplyDeleteI've never seen an UGLI in person. I thought FL grows UGLIS and other citrus fruits. I've never had an OCA (Andean tuber) either. Learned the existence of those 2 fruit/veggie only from doing crosswords.
Have a safe trip to FL tomorrow!
Good morning CC, Katherine, Dennis, et al. Great puzzle! 3D threw me. I was looking for coins or cents. Just on the wrong wave length, but got it w/out too much trouble. Oh, hello, chocolate gateau! Much more appealing than aspic to me.
ReplyDeleteDennis, you do make me laugh. Have never had ugli. Don't think I'll try it lest I become what I eat!
Have a great day and safe travels.
Morning, everyone.
ReplyDeleteSmooth sailing this morning. I'm getting very tired of ETAL and ETUI, though-- how many straight days have we seen those?
I got VIREO from a couple of letters and NACRE off the top of my head. I had some trouble with SECEDE. I was thinking union as in workers' organization, like the ever popular in crosswords AFL-CIO.
Have a good weekend.
Nice to be able to sail through a puzzle. Had to give up on the NYT puzzle yesterday. Today's has been ranked the same "challenging", so that does not bode well for completion.
ReplyDeleteI picked out the same pictures for nacre and vireo that you did c.c.-great minds think alike!
Here is an old postcard ofVASSAR which is in Poughskeepie, NY.
And here is anETUI. I've not heard or seen this word used anywhere but in a crossword.
I must not be awake yet even after sleeping in-looking at the completed puzzle and wondering who is ERICIDLE? Well here isERIC IDLE. Duh!
This is from the "vast file of dynamic trivia"-doesn't that sound like stuff we could use for this crossword?! Third row from the bottom, third from the left is MELINDA Dillon.
I hope you all have a great weekend too!
Our old friends, etui and et.al. are back. How about "Player of golf?" With Player first in the clue, it might get someone thinking what do you call a golf player. Ernest Borginine - I remember him as Detective Rogo in the original Poseidon Adventure book and movie that also starred Gene Hackman and Shelley Winters. He was also in the TV show Airwolf with Jan Michael Vincent. I thought knee deep was a negative connotation as well (knee deep in trouble). I liked the way C.C. picked out all the intersections, e.g., the "outs" and the "cedes" this time. This was a hard puzzle - NOT!!! Dennis - have a good trip.
ReplyDeleteI should've written third from the right on MELINDA Dillon. I'm not awake yet!
ReplyDeleteInitially I had no clue for 1a, and thought this puzzle to be a challenge, but once I got through that, it was almost too easy. Vireo was a given for me as I resided once where they were common. Come to visit every year from Mexico, Cent. & S.America. Maria Callas as Medea is pure coloratura.
ReplyDeleteFeste
This was a typical Saturday puzzle. Longer words but easy clues. I breezed through it in about 10 minutes with no need for help.
ReplyDelete"Not" was (maybe still is) used in a satirical way to negate a statement, as in "Hillary Clinton is way ahead in the polls...NOT!" Some TV character started it but I don't remember who. Maybe someone else remembers. Oops, just saw that Dennis answered this earlier.
I forgot to mention that I thought having secede and antecede in the same puzzle was bad since they come from the same root word. Why not add in precede as well...NOT!
ReplyDeleteBorgnine is till working, and he's 90-91 yrs. old! He won an Oscar for "Marty" and don't forget his 1960s stint as McHale in TV's "McHale's Navy". He's also famous for his 32-day marriage to Ethel Merman. Thanks for the photo of the chocolate gateau-mmmmm.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone. Anyone up for a trip on a bateau to the château for some gateau? The slangy 11D is contradiction, not contraction. So in response to "IS SO" we get "NOT." Haven’t seen 54D for a while. That used to give me fits when I started doing the puzzle -- think I've finally learned it. I had ANTEDATE for 41D but easily adjusted when I got to the lower right and filled in the downs. How about PGA Player? as a clue to get Gary Player into the puzzle? Don't think a place-kicker uses a tee much anymore, it's usually only used on the kick-off. Goodness, Dennis was not the first comments post this morning! Have a great weekend!!
ReplyDeleteHey everyone,
ReplyDeleteYay!! Today's puzzle was completed totally google and blog free again without too many ink scratch outs. Not quite record time, but not too bad.
Has et al or etc been an answer almost everyday this week?
Have a great Saturday!
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteETUI: 3
ET AL: 4
in the past 6 days! We deserve better than this!
nytanonimo,
Yep, Great minds think alike! Even the ETUI picture you picked today is the same as the one I linked on Wednesday.
drdad and crockett1947,
I like both "PGA Player" and "Player of Golf" for GARY.
Crockett, sorry to disappoint you; I'll try to do better...
ReplyDeleteWOOHOO! Maybe Mr Editor saw my comment yesterday about having to Google - i did not need any outside help for this puzzle...yay!
ReplyDeleteLoved the Brit references ISAY and ERICIDLE (gimmes for me!)
and CC, the CHATEAU de Cenonceau... I have been there!!! twice! it is as gorgeous in real life as it is in the picture..
I missed the ETUI picture on Wednesday-must've been half awake that day too.
ReplyDeleteI missed the ETUI picture on Wednesday-must've been half awake that day too.
ReplyDeletehey to all...this seemed to be a pretty easy one...so it got me jazzed up to beat the airport crowds today at ORD and make it back to 90 degrees. To acquire some background in the art of negation/contradiction, see the recent film "Borat" in which the eponymous principal character attempts to master the subtleties of "...NOT!"
ReplyDeletelittlelj,
ReplyDeleteYou've been to everywhere man!
Thomas,
I actually saw Borat when it was first released. Very funny. But yesterday I did not fully understand the clue for 11D. In fact, I misread it as "Slangy Contraction" for a while (as Crockett1947 had pointed it out).
Now everything is crystal clear! Thanks.
C.C.
ReplyDeleteIt was a nice puzzle today. I haven't seen Vireo before (it is lovely, indeed), got it from the cross clues, and it's been a while since I've seen Nacre. Thanks for posting the pictures.
By the way, the Twins' new second baseman, Brendan Harris, comes from Queensbury, NY, just a little up the road from me here in Albany. He comes back in the offseason to give clinics. He has been a good pickup for your Twins so far, hasn't he?
Thanks, for your site, I'm still checking it out daily.
William,
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to hear that you still swing by every day. Thought you were gone.
Yes, Brendan Harris has been great. I do miss Santana though. NY fans were so tough on him yesterday. The boos were ridiculous!!!