ACES HIGH
Aces High - Iron Maiden
Kevin and daughter Kaela ( see here ) have teamed up to give us a mirror symmetry, FOURTEEN x 16 grid with horizontal Royalty in the themers, and a vertical Royal Reveal. Kevin and wife Zhou Zhang paired up here for the LA Times back on July 10. Because of the odd-sized grid, both 52A. and 57A. are unique fills. Triple-five corners, 24 3LWs, ten names, and no circles. The themers and reveal;
19. Head of a hive: QUEEN BEE
29. Colorful bird with a daggerlike bill: KINGFISHER
52. Milkweed pollinator also called "common tiger": MONARCH BUTTERFLY
10. With 39-Down, defenders over London, or an apt description of 19-, 29-, and 52-Across?: ROYAL
39. See 10-Down: AIR FORCE - I do the Down clues first, so I 'revealed the reveal' to start
Here's me back in 2006 at MacArthur Airport standing beside a fully functional P-51 Mustang
TWELVE cylinder monster - you felt it take off
And in case you can't see the above link, here's a PS image of the same page.
And . . . . Happy Left-Hander's Day~!
YO DUDE, that's like, backwards, my man. . . .25A.
Up, Up, And Away We Go~!ACROSS:
1. Weight-to-height meas.: BMI - Body Mass Index - my trainer has me do a "weigh-in" every two weeks; my fat % went from 40 down to 29.8 over the three months I have been working out - and we're steady holding at 30lbs lost, as well - the next 30 are going to be harder
4. Classic diner order: BLT - Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato, crosswordese
7. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU - Louisiana State University -shoutout~!
10. Big truck: RIG
13. Go on the __: LAM - A little Blue Öyster Cult for you
I'm on the Lam....but I Ain't No Sheep
14. Slaps after shots: BAR FIGHT - my 8D. was "ENOUGH", so this section was all wrong
17. "I __ you one!": "OWE"
18. Verbal hesitations: UMs....ers, uhs, needed crossings
20. __ and yang: YIN
21. Site with "gently used" items: eBAY
23. Buyer's incentive: REBATE - AND - 24A. Buyer's incentive: SALE
25. "My man!": "YO DUDE~!"
27. Frequent toddler mishaps: SPILLS
34. Gather: AMASS - we had this Monday
37. Nevada gambling city: RENO - name #1
38. Parting words: CIAOs - a bit meh.
42. "Cool" amount: MILlion - I have not made my first "cool" million - yet.
43. State between the Pacific Ocean and the Snake River: OREGON - name #2
45. Pen filler: INK
46. Announcement after a brief game stoppage: "PLAY ON~!"
49. Big name in hiking backpacks: OSPREY - not clued as the bird to avoid a theme conflict
57. Reluctant whine: "AWW, DO I HAVE TO~?" - cute 12-letter clue/answer
58. Winnie-the-Pooh's creator: MILNE - name #3
60. "Hot To Go!" singer Chappell: ROAN - don't know of her, more here - name #4
61. Join: MERGE
64. Runway worker: MODEL
65. Overly proud: SMUG
66. Implicit: TACIT - two "-cit" words
67. Complicated situation: SNARL
68. Snakelike: EELY
69. End of the Greek alphabet: OMEGA
DOWN:
1. TV dog whose mum and dad are Chilli and Bandit: BLUEY - I wonder who came up with this clue....
And name #5
And name #5
2. Caribbean dance: MAMBO - I can never remember if it's SAMBA or MAMBO - I was wrong today
Perry Como Papa Loves Mambo from Ocean's Eleven - UH~!
3. [Crying emoji]: I'M SAD 😢
4. Cookout, for short: BBQ - Barbecue - no "Q" in the word, actually
5. Fashion icon Ralph: LAUREN - name #6, but I have heard of him - he's worth a cool $11.9 Billion
6. Peach or beech: TREE - rhyme time
7. Pride parade inits.: LGBT - the acronym has expanded - more here
8. "OK, OK!": "SHEESH~!" - I tried ENOUGH, then STOP IT
9. SLC athlete: UTE - the Utes, short for University of Utah sports players, and Salt Lake City
11. Volunteer's response: "I WILL."
12. Parental hand-me-downs: GENES
15. Black History Mo.: FEBruary
16. Two peas __ pod: IN A
22. Hardy-har-hars: YUKs
24. Speaker on an iPad: SIRI - I am PC - and nam(ish)
26. Put down: DIS - as in DISrespect
28. Delt neighbor: PECtorals, muscles of the chest
30. Watchdog's warning: GRR~!!! - argh~! Not ARF~!
31. Service charge: FEE
32. Gerund suffix: ING - a form derived from a verb that acts like a noun
33. Phillipa of "Hamilton": SOO - name #7
34. Time toggle: AM/PM - nice alliteration in the clue
35. Venus de __: MILO - and now Spinal Tap, with their album, Intravenus De Milo -name #8
36. Hawkeye Pierce player on "M*A*S*H": ALAN ALDA - his whole crossword-friendly name ( #9 ) today
40. Law school newbie: ONE L - crossword staple
41. Absolut alternative: SKYY - Vodkas; here's some "JACK" for a Royal Flush
43. Like audiobooks, once: ON CD
44. Child's punishment, maybe: NO TV - that was my generation; today I am guessing it's "no phone"
47. Snoozefest: YAWNER - Booooooring~!
48. "Animal Farm" novelist George: ORWELL - Double Plus Ungood - his 'other' novel, name #10
50. Appear that way: SEEM TO
51. Image-cultivating group, informally: PR TEAM - Public Relations - the spin doctors
53. Carriage puller: HORSE - OK I was looking for a "10" horse team for the Royal Flush
Alas, we only have eight . . . .
54. Desert or tundra: BIOME - toyed with CLIME
55. Company for DIY movers: U-HAUL
It does say you can move a 2-3 bedroom house . . . .
56. Like some tartar sauce: TANGY
58. Ruler divs., casually: MMs - not "INs", which I didn't think was correct; not sure why we had the 'casually' in the clue, with 'divs.' already there for the abbr.
59. Non-neutral particle: ION
62. Short-term engagement: GIG
63. "When ru coming?": "ETA~?"
Splynter
24 comments:
I don’t know about the
rest of you folks, but to me this puzzle went very quickly, quicker than yesterday, for sure. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning! (Guess who overslept?)
Gotta disagree with Sub-G. This one took two minutes longer than yesterday. BLUEY at 1d was a mystery, as was OSPREY, as clued. Not a fan of the plural CIAOS. SHEESH evoked memories of Jayce. Hope he's doing OK. I'm currently rereading ORWELL's 1984. Slow going. I can take just so much dystopia in a sitting. His prophecy was off by 41 years. Thanx to the Currys for a Wednesday-appropriate offering, and Splynter for the expo. (You should watch West Side Story. Maybe MAMBO will stick in your memory.)
Remembered Blues Clues not Bluey; need to watch more with my grandkids; learned about Osprey backpacks. Enjoyed the puzzle and enjoy this blog, especially since it's not political. Thanks to all responsible.
FIR, but snafu gave way to SNARL, which fits the clue much better. Also changed skor to SKYY - guess I got my vices mixed up.
Weight-to-height ratio is a handy shortcut to approximate BMI, but the way to do it accurately is to mimic ol' man Archimedes and go dunk yourself.
Nearby Old Dominion University's mascot is the MONARCH. In print and signage they use the BUTTERFLY, but in sports they use a lion costume complete with crown.
My first audiobooks were on cassette tape. You could buy them at Cracker Barrel, then turn them in for a refund of all but a dollar or two of the purchase price. My first recorded story was Disney's Mickey and the Beanstalk, distributed on 78 rpm records (circa 1955.)
I'll see your Perry Como and raise you Lou Bega's MAMBO No. 5.
Thanks to Kaela and Kevin for the fun, easy-ish hump day special, and to Splynter for the informative narrative. BTW - there are still several P-51s being used for air racing. Usual modifications for racing include shortening the wings. Interesting trivia - the original P-51 was designed in 117 days.
My first recorded story was The Little Engine That Could by Paul Wing. About 1953, I think.
My son introduced my to Bluey several years ago and I became an instant fan even though chubby, sixty-something year old lawyers aren’t the target audience.
FIR. I really dislike vertical puzzles because they often have odd crossings and forced corners, such as LSU and Ute, or BMI and Bluey. I find that most annoying, but with that type of construction there may be no other way. Give me a diagonal puzzle any day. Enough of my rant!
I figured out the theme early on and that helped with the solve. I'm not a fan of " yo dude" or "play on", But given the type of grid I guess all bets are off. You have to fit things in where you can. "Aww, do i have to".
Overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
Took 5:42 today to waddle through this like an emperor penguin.
I did not know the Actress of the Day, but one day, I'll learn this "Soo."
I didn't know the song in the clue, but am familiar with "Pink Pony Club" by Chappel Roan.
Cute theme and reveal, but seemed like a lot of 3LWs.
Too cutesy and trite. A plethora of 3 letter words. 2 out of 5 stars.
Had it not been for the NW, this CW would have been á breeze. I blew the whole NW not knowing BLUEY, for some reason I kept reading weight to weight for BMI, I had samba for MAMBO, etc.
However, though i didn’t know SOO, ROAN, as clued, and OSPREY, as clued, the rest filled with no SNARLs.
I liked the clue for GENES.
I’ve never seen á KING FISHER, that I remember. They’re beautiful.
Thank you Splynter for your nice recap and the visuals.
Good Morning:
I thought the theme was quite clever, with a fun reveal. Yes, the TLW count (24) was high but, unfortunately, the grid dictates this. I needed perps for Bluey and Osprey and I was too quick on the Classic Diner Order with Joe (coffee) before BLT surfaced. I didn’t care for the plural Ciaos nor the generic Yo Dude, but the overall fill and cluing was straightforward and clean.
Thanks, Kaela and Kevin, and thanks, Splynter, for guiding us along. Congrats on your weight loss-keep up the good work.
Have a great day.
My FIRE time of 11:50 tells me the puzzle is befitting of a Wednesday slot. Perps needed for the unknowns BLUEY, SOO, and OSPREY (not familiar with those backpacks). Snafu became SNARL. I’ve finally memorized ROAN, but never remember if it her first or last name, maybe next time. Living on the water I occasionally see KINGFISHERs flit along the shoreline, fast flyers but sort of erratic, and they are not the same colorful species as pictured, more grey and white with a small crest on the head. That MILNE family are shirttail relatives of DW, I’ve met a few. Thanks to the father/daughter duo for the puzzle, and to Splynter for the critique and info.
Musings
-The RAF’s success in the Battle Of Britain was the first real setback for Hitler, his Luftwaffe and plans to invade the British Isles. Never have so many owed so much to so few
-Next time you eat in a fast-food establishment take out the tomato and see if it has any real flavor
-After a good shot, I thought teammates might slap high fives
-Toddlers can cause SPILLS and take SPILLS themselves
-“AWW DO I HAVE TOO?” “*#%*%” “Ok, ok, SHEESH”
-DISSING someone can result in very serious consequences
-My really old MacBook had a built in CD player, then the next one had only had USB and HDMI ports and now my current one has only USB-C ports. After much complaining, new MacBooks now have returned to including HDMI ports.
-Those Budweiser HORSES travel in an air-conditioned trailer
-I taught MM’s, cm’s and km’s for over 40 years but still convert them to English units in my head.
Aww, do I have to say nice things about this crossword? Well, perhaps not, but as a father with a daughter both of whose names begin with K (Ken and Karen), I am putty in Kevin and Kaela's hands. Nicely done, Dad and Daughter.
I enjoyed the theme; anytime we are reminded of the RAF (the reveal at 10/39 Down), I believe that is a good thing. And the three theme answers fit in well, culminating with a 16--not 15--grid-spanner.
I am not a fan of trivial "in-the-language" vocalisms like YODUDE and SHEESH and of course AWWDOIHAVETO. For the latter, if I had those 12 spaces to fill, I would have put in something like, I don't know, THEFABELMANS, or maybe TWELFTH NIGHT, or my favorite composer, GUSTAVMAHLER. But that's just me.
Thanks, Kaela and dad, for a fun, well-constructed 14 x 16 challenge today that I found Wednesday-appropriate. And thanks, Splynter, for an equally well-constructed recap, with great cartoons to boot.
hear this all the time from my parent friends, people of all ages LOVE that show
L-A-T-I-M-E-S, that clue was the flippin best
I know they love their eels, but "EELY" feels like it's pushing it hahaha
Sheesh. This would have been a much more enjoyable puzzle without the annoying paraphrase non-clues. I did like the RAF theme, though. My first audio book, also a 78 rpm record, was "Sparky and the Talking Train" circa early '50's.
Charlie, I think I remember that 78 -- "Left front wheel...left front wheel..."
While I did FIR, it took 18 minutes, due to all the names, 18, 6 DNKs. I like ROYAL AIRFORCE lining up in the CW. I saw the theme, but didn't think it was the theme, if that makes any sense. Anyway, a fun 14x16 vertical, thanx KC&KC. Thanx too to Splynter for the terrific write-up, and another outstanding example of fine feminine legs. I'm not a big fan of the music genre you included, but that's just me. Give me Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Beatles, Stones...yep, old school but not hard rock. Oh, add Led Zeppelin.
Budweiser HORSES put on a great show. They demonstrate how the horses were used back in the day, including backing down a narrow alley, and jackknifing the wagon into a warehouse dock. I also learned that today's trucker's union is named the Teamsters because their predecessors were masters of teams of horses.
Hola! Thanks to Kaela and Kevin for the ROYAL treatment. I finished in good time with only one unknown, ROAN, which is often a horse color. Ironically, HORSE crosses ROAN! Now, that would have been a nice cross reference.
I've never heard of OSPREY backpacks so luckily it perped.
SO to my late uncle Ted who was in the AIRFORCE for 30 years.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!
That was Monkey above. It seems that on á regular basis, I turn anonymous.
Maybe the KINGFISHERS are that colorful only during mating season.
D-O...yup, that's the one. When the conductor won't listen, Sparky pulls the emergency cord and saves the day! The train thanks him.
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