Thursday, February 14, 2013 Dave Eckert

Theme: Pleasantly Plump

20A. Stout : TEAPOT ADJECTIVE. "I'm a little teapot, short and stout..."

37A. Stout : WOLFE CREATOR REX. Detective fiction author Rex Stout who created the famous Nero Wolfe character.

52A. Stout : GUINNESS PRODUCT. And of course, you are all familiar with this example?

Three grid-spanners for theme entries, and only missing a "Q" for a pangram. This is what is called a "definition" theme, where the same clue is used for all the theme entries, but with different answers for each one. Not much else to add by way of explanation. I think it has been nearly three years since we last saw Dave Eckert. His previous puzzle was a definition theme as well.

Marti here with my theme song to start off the day...2:39

Across:

1. Geometry subject : PLANE. Annoying clip. 2:00

6. Vend : SELL.

10. "Don't let anyone else hear this" : PSST.

14. Cowboy, at times : ROPER. I never knew that Mr. Roper was a cowboy in his spare time? 0:30

15. Palm product : TREO. Nope, not date. Not coco. Not palm tree, but Palm Treo.

16. Classic cream-filled snack : HO-HO. Pardon me, but I think they are always referred to in the plural?

17. For the birds? : AVIAN. I loved that it crosses 3-Down. For the bees : APIAN.

18. Agile deer : ROES. Why "agile?"

19. Actor Ken : OLIN. Producer of the TV show "Brothers and Sisters."  Did not recognize him.

23. Seaside raptor : ERN.

24. Have to thank for, with "to" : OWE.

25. Horn sound : TOOT. And 63-Across. Reaction to being cut off : HONK.

26. Belgrade native : SERB.

28. Lawn option : SOD.

29. Nova Scotia hrs. : AST. Hmmm..."AST" could be Atlantic Standard Time (UTC-4), Alaska Standard Time (UTC-9) or Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3). But since Nova Scotia is the only one on the "Atlantic," I'll go with curtain # 1...

32. Relative via remarriage : STEP NIECE. I had difficulties with this one, and went through step-daughter, -son, -mother, -father.  NIECE was a loooong time comin'!!

36. Shell out : GIVE.

40. Gremlin and Pacer : AMCS. Both American Motor Corporation cars.

41. Able to come back : RESILIENT.

42. Cole Porter's "___ Clown" : BE A. Classic song from the 1948 movie "The Pirate." 2:52

43. Bond, for one : SPY. James Bond.

45. "Heavens to Betsy!" : EGAD.

46. Place to tie up : PIER.

48. "___ we having fun yet?" : ARE. I am. I hope you are, too!

49. Intractable beast : ASS.

57. Dead set against : ANTI.

58. Ram, e.g. : MALE. How many "male" names can you come up with?  I'll start: buck, cock, bull, drone, jack, tom, drake, billy, stallion, stud...

59. Significant : MAJOR. We just survived a MAJOR storm called "Nemo" here in the NE.

60. Sax immortal Getz : STAN.

61. Politico Bayh : EVAN. Hmmm...I thought I had a valid nit. Birch "Evans" Bayh was Indiana senator from 1963-1981. His son, EVAN Bayh, was governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997, and senator from 1999 to 2011. So alas, my nit was not to be.

62. Blue hue : AZURE. I dream of this.

64. Not a good mark : DENT. Like many a mark on my V8 can.

65. Hem again : RESEW.

Down:

1. Talk and talk : PRATE.

2. Casanova : LOVER.

4. Tide type : NEAP.

5. Cubemaster Rubik : ERNO. Did you remember his first name?

6. Milkshake choice : STRAWBERRY. I always used to like coffee shakes. Now, I just get the shakes from drinking coffee!

7. Gradually vanish : ERODE. It didn't help that I read the clue as "Gradually vaRnish..."

8. Cobb of "12 Angry Men" : LEE J. Fantastic movie. 2:13

9. Not get the better of : LOSE TO.

10. Flickr image : PHOTO.

11. Ring insert : SOLITAIRE. Diamond.

12. Knife in "West Side Story" : SHIV. The word "shiv" usually refers to an improvised weapon, such as those made by prisoners which are fashioned from razor blades, shards of glass or other sharp objects.

13. Shape (up) : TONE.

21. Tire-shaped : TORIC.

22. New England catch : COD. Also known as Gadus morhua.

26. Nos. for beachgoers : SPFS. Sun Protection Factor(s)

27. Chemical suffix : ENE. e.g. scene, Charlene, convene, serene...

(Just using a little SARCASM, for those who read Lemony's post at 1:34 PM on Sunday.)

28. Cryptozoologist's quarry : SEA SERPENT. A pseudoscience involving the search for animals whose existence is not yet proved, like the Loch Ness Monster.

30. Name meaning "young warrior" in Old Norse : SVEN. I was waffling between OLAF, OLAV or SVEN. Sven won.

31. Short communication : TEXT. But not while driving!!

32. Work on a deck : SWAB.

33. Large volume : TOME.

34. Yosemite attraction : EL CAPITAN. Iconic image often photographed by Ansel Adams.

35. Not a good mark : CEE. "Dent" didn't fit...

36. Crossword component : GRID. Anyone else want WORD?

38. Rival of Rory : TIGER. Golf. Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.  Fun ad. 1:03

39. Greeting in Rio : OLA.

43. When doubled, a breath freshener : SEN. Have you ever used Sen-Sen after engaging in some underage drinking?

44. Specialized undergrad course : PRE-MED. I took pre-med, but still had trouble with this one!

47. Permanently : IN INK. Or, how some stalwart solvers solve crossword puzzles...

48. Liam Neeson voiced him in "The Chronicles of Narnia" films : ASLAN.

49. Like many a prime rib serving : AU JUS.

50. One in a Lincoln quartet? : SCORE. "Four score and seven years ago..."

51. Scatter : STREW.

52. Reason for stitches : GASH. Ouch!

53. "Do ___..." : UNTO. others....

54. Late-inning achievement : SAVE. Baseball.

55. Barbra's "Funny Girl" co-star : OMAR. Sharif. "You are woman, I am man..." 4:28

56. Flabbergast : DAZE.

That's all, until next week!

Hugs,

Marti

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear Marti, our beautiful, adventurous & gifted Thursday Sherpa, who taught me by example on how to stay positive despite the adversities life offers.

Marti & Husband

2) Rex Parker organized and helped produced a set of 24 original puzzles (including one from Don G and me) to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief. Please click here for more information on American Red Crosswords. The puzzles are free, but any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

From Marti:
Thanks for the sweet comment, C.C.!  Last night I lit a candle, and this is how it burned down:

Thursday May 20, 2010 Dave Eckert

Theme: Seconds - All the theme answers are clued as definitions of "Seconds".

17A. Seconds: AIDES FOR DUELERS. The attendants of duelers.

24A. Seconds: EXTRA HELPINGS. Who doesn't go for seconds?

41A. Seconds: INFERIOR GOODS. I liked this entry and 24A, as we often use the seconds in plural form.

55A. Seconds: TICKS OF THE CLOCK. A bit contrived.

Like David Cromer's ACE puzzle last Wednesday, normally all letters of the clue for this kind of definition puzzle are capitalized. I wonder why this one is an exception.

A nice 74-worder debut from Dave Eckert. You can see he put lots of time and effort on each clue, and I think Rich kept most of his originals. Very refreshing. My favorites are:

50A. They may be felt on the range: STETSONS. Felt hat.

9D. Its home is on the range: SAUCEPAN. Tricky clue. Range echo.

40D. Cinematic opening, but not ending?: SOFT C. Refers to letter C in the word Cinematic. Brilliant clue.

Across:

1. Thick piece: SLAB

5. Kelly's cohort: REGIS (Philbin).

10. __ bath: SITZ. From German verb "sitzen," meaning "to sit.". I've never heard of it before.

14. Corduroy feature: WALE. New word to me.

15. "West Side Story" role: ANITA. I just mentioned this role in my Rita Moreno comment yesterday.

16. Flowering succulent: ALOE

20. Appreciative: GRATEFUL

21. Privacy metaphor: CLOSET. Oh, in the closet.

22. Troubled insurance giant: AIG. Tragic.

23. Dry, like some Spanish wine: SECO. Our sec.

30. They have caps: KNEES. Kneecaps. I also like PEWS (60. Seats with kneelers).

31. Enjoy New York, say?: READ. New York magazine. I was stumped.

32. Hit hard: RAM

34. Isle where Saint Columba died: IONA. No idea. Don't know Saint Columba. Must be an Irish.

35. Received, as a salary: DRAWN

37. "See ya": TATA

38. Ring decision: TKO (Technical Knockout).

39. Part owner of Chrysler since 2009: FIAT. Was ignorant of this fact.

40. Nasal spray brand: SINEX. Vicks Sinex. P&G brand. New to me.

45. Env. directive: ATTN

46. Sound from Sandy: ARF. Alliteration. Sandy refers to Little Orphan Annie's dog, correct?

47. "Jeopardy!" clue, e.g. : ANSWER

57. Tribe related to the Iowa: OTOE. Always connect them with Lois' Oklahoma, not Iowa.

58. "One for My Baby" composer: ARLEN (Harold). Here is Frank Sinatra's version.

59. Samoan seaport: APIA. Alliteration.

61. Some designer dresses: DIORS. Partly alliteration.

62. Discreet attention-getter: PSST

Down:

1. Ill-gotten gains: SWAG. Slang for booty.

2. Place to hibernate: LAIR

3. "Crimes and Misdemeanors" actor: ALDA. Have never seen the movie.

4. Sugar source: BEET. Alliteration.

5. Weaver's fiber: RAFFIA. See this raffia palm. I wanted RATTAN. It's used in weaving too.

6. Once, perhaps: ENOUGH. Once is enough.

7. Madonna's "Material __": GIRL. She is too much for my taste.

8. "__ be my pleasure!": IT'D

10. Oater setting: SALOON

11. Places in la mer: ILES

12. Went like the dickens: TORE. Nice clue.

13. Citrus peel: ZEST

18. Chicago tower builder: SEARS

19. 1961 Heston role: EL CID

23. Did in: SLEW

24. Japanese mushroom: ENOKI. With thin & long stems. I use them for soup occasionally. Enoki is short for enokitake, the ending "take" means "mushroom", as in shiitake.

25. It's a gas: XENON. Noble gas.

26. Some like it hot: TEA. Saw this clue before. Still like it. I am in love with "it"/"they" type clues.

27. Troubadour's Muse: ERATO. Muse of poetry.

28. Piano type: GRAND

29. Stuffs: SATES

30. Frontiersman Carson: KIT. Was unaware of this guy. Kit is a girl's name to me.

33. "Mad __": 1979 Gibson film: MAX. No idea. What's it about?

35. Rural route: DIRT ROAD. Alliteration.

36. Showers, e.g.: RAIN

37. Uncle, in Uruguay: TIO. Alliteration.

39. Regales: FETES

42. United Kingdom's Guy __ Night: FAWKES. Bonfire Night. My lethologica moment.

43. To a certain extent: RATHER. It's like yesterday's "To the third degree", Bill G, I had difficulty understanding the exact part of speech of the clue again.

44. Salad makings: GREENS

47. Straddling: ATOP. Wait for Lois to comment.

48. Evening, informally: NITE

49. Harbor vessel: SCOW

50. WWII battle site: STLO

51. Reaction to freshness?: SLAP. I keep forgetting the slang meaning of "fresh".

52. "My bad!": OOPS

53. Mark Harmon TV series: NCIS ( Naval Criminal Investigative Service). Stymied me.

54. Game using only cards higher than six: SKAT. I only know it's a card game for three.

56. Part of T.G.I.F.: Abbr.: FRI. Called to mind Gunghy's funny WTF observation last time when we had MTWTF.

Answer grid.

C.C.