Theme: PEPPER (Word that can follow the first word of 17-, 25-, 39-, 47- or 60-Across)
17A: Beetle Bailey's boss: SERGEANT SNORKEL (Sergeant Pepper)
25A: Quasimodo's milieu: BELL TOWER (Bell Pepper)
39A: Swiss Miss, e.g.: HOT CHOCOLATE MIX (Hot Pepper)
47A: Physician of 1930s-'40s film: DR. KILDARE (Dr Pepper)
60A: German dessert, American-style: BLACK FOREST CAKE (Black Pepper)
I am used to the abbreviated "Sgt. Pepper". Wikipedia says Beatles originally named their album "Dr. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band". But they changed the title to "Sgt. Pepper... " after discovering that Dr Pepper was a trademarked American soft drink. Do you know why there is no dot between DR & PEPPER?
I am not familiar with the Beetle Bailey comic strip or DR. KILDARE. Love seeing BLACK FOREST CAKE as the last theme entry. Sweet dessert!
Heavy themage today, three grid-spanning 15 letter entries, and two 9-letter answer, plus a unifying PEPPER. Hot enough for the "Snottie Dottie" Pepper. I have never tried chocolate with chili pepper or chocolate-covered peppers, have you?
Neat to see KNAVE (49D: Rogue) and SCAMP (53D: Rogue) with the same clue. I started to develop a fondness for this kind of same-clue-different answer cluing. Would have loved to see SID (16A: Rocker Vicious) as "Caesar of comedy" to pair up with COCA (40D: Caesar's TV sidekick).
Across:
1A: Patches, as a lawn: RESODS. The letter O enabled me to get ORG (4D: URL ending) immediately.
7A: Grass houses: HUTS. Are straws grasses?
15A: Place serving links: IHOP. Why "links"? I like IHOP's crepes. Links made me think of golf courses.
20A: Fund for later yrs.: IRA. Looks like the market is on a steady recovery now.
21A: Puritanical: PRIM. PRIM? Hmmm, definitely not. Talk about pitchfork.
22A: Superman player: REEVE (Christopher)
23A: Migrant: NOMAD. Wrote now MOVER first.
28A: Kissers: LIPS
30A: Western treaty gp.: OAS (Organization of American States). Established in 1948. Cuba's membership has yet to be re-stated.
31A: Remove the chaff: THRESH. Nice word. Consonants heavy.
33A: Rd. or st.: RTE. And HOV (32D: Hwy. lane type)
34A: American __, North Dakota state tree: ELM. Oh, I did not know this trivia. MN's state tree is red pine. What's your state tree?
35A: "Yay me!": TADA. I've never said "Yay me!"
42A: Times to call, in ads: EVES. I wrote down NOWS. Call NOW.
44A: Horror film creature: ZOMBIE
45A: Nuclear agency estab. under Truman: AEC (1946-1975). I like this clue better than "NRC predecessor". Nice to learn some trivia.
46A: Sign of traffic impatience: BEEP. HONK does not fit.
52A: Puccini heroine: TOSCA. And "Verdi heroine" is AIDA. Learned both from doing Xword.
56A: Postage meter unit: OUNCE
59A: Fish oil source: COD. Salmon fish oil is equally good.
64A: Bk. before Numbers: LEV (Leviticus). After Exodus.
65A: Shaw's homeland: EIRE. No ERIN dilemma due to the crossing fills.
66A: Dorm cohort: ROOMIE. I shared a tiny dorm with 6 other girls in my college years.
67A: "... __the set of sun": "Macbeth": ERE. Stumped. I am used to the "Poet's before" clue.
68A: Will of "The Waltsons": GEER. Finally I remember him. He was the Grandpa Walton.
Down:
1D: Amber, e.g.: RESIN. Oh, I only know color amber. Had no idea that it's a resin.
2D: Juanita's January: ENERO. Another alliteration. This seems to appear with foreign words only.
3D: Ex-NFL coach Hank: STRAM. No idea. Wikipedia says Hank STRAM "is largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade to the NFL due to his close association with Ray Graves, coach at the University of Florida during Gatorade's development and infancy".
5D: Like Chicago-style pizza: DEEP DISH. Have never had Chicago style pizza or Chicago style hot dog.
7D: "I'll take a card": HIT ME. No idea. Gambling term I suppose.
8D: Sounds of uncertainty: UHS
10D: Wears proudly: SPORTS. Fun to see the old jerseys and caps people SPORT at the ball park.
11D: Obliquely: ASKEW
12D: Utensil with a mesh bottom: SIEVE
13D: Freud contemporary: ADLER (Alfred). I forgot. He is the guy who coined "Inferiority Conplex". Brett Favre needs to be psychoanalyzed. He looks good in Viking's uniform (fake one). Or do you like the real Packers' photo?
18D: Penpoints: NIBS. NIB, neb, nab, nub. So confusing.
19D: Vintage wheels: REO. Another 20 years, the clue would be "Antique wheels". Antique has to be over 100 years old.
24D: Smart fellows?: ALECS. Smart ALEC. Stumped. The ? made me think of Agent Smart.
26D: Recline lazily: LOLL
27D: Birthday preparation class: LAMAZE. See Paul's Clever Clue of the Month (Jan). Very cool "Class that ends before labor day?" clue.
29D: Used one's cell: PHONED
31D: With 38-Down, employment termination: THE And AXE (38D: See 31-Down). Get THE AXE.
35D: Pace of a piece: TEMPO. Musical pace.
36D: UN delegate: AMB (Ambassador). Wrote down REP first.
37D: 502, to the Romans: DII
41D: In direct confrontation: TOE TO TOE
45D: Brew container: ALE KEG
46D: "I've Gotta __": 1969 hit: BE ME. Here is the clip. It's new to me. I like the song title.
47D: Paso __: two step: DOBLE. No idea. I don't speak Spanish. Is it literally "double pass"?
48D: Commander: RULER. Not fond of this clue.
50D: Former RR watchdog: ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission, 1887-1996)
54D: News analyst Roberts: COKIE. NPR's senior news analyst. Her name escaped me this morning.
55D: "Doe, __ ...": song lyric: A DEER. "Doe, A DEER, a female deer ...". From "The Sound of Music".
58D: Car sticker abbr.: MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price). Looks like GM and Chrysler are going to file bankruptcy any day.
61D: Old annoyed cry: FIE
63D: One on a beat: COP. Here is a list of slang terms for cops. Pigs/Swine sound so rude.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Beetle Bailey's boss: SERGEANT SNORKEL (Sergeant Pepper)
25A: Quasimodo's milieu: BELL TOWER (Bell Pepper)
39A: Swiss Miss, e.g.: HOT CHOCOLATE MIX (Hot Pepper)
47A: Physician of 1930s-'40s film: DR. KILDARE (Dr Pepper)
60A: German dessert, American-style: BLACK FOREST CAKE (Black Pepper)
I am used to the abbreviated "Sgt. Pepper". Wikipedia says Beatles originally named their album "Dr. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band". But they changed the title to "Sgt. Pepper... " after discovering that Dr Pepper was a trademarked American soft drink. Do you know why there is no dot between DR & PEPPER?
I am not familiar with the Beetle Bailey comic strip or DR. KILDARE. Love seeing BLACK FOREST CAKE as the last theme entry. Sweet dessert!
Heavy themage today, three grid-spanning 15 letter entries, and two 9-letter answer, plus a unifying PEPPER. Hot enough for the "Snottie Dottie" Pepper. I have never tried chocolate with chili pepper or chocolate-covered peppers, have you?
Neat to see KNAVE (49D: Rogue) and SCAMP (53D: Rogue) with the same clue. I started to develop a fondness for this kind of same-clue-different answer cluing. Would have loved to see SID (16A: Rocker Vicious) as "Caesar of comedy" to pair up with COCA (40D: Caesar's TV sidekick).
Across:
1A: Patches, as a lawn: RESODS. The letter O enabled me to get ORG (4D: URL ending) immediately.
7A: Grass houses: HUTS. Are straws grasses?
15A: Place serving links: IHOP. Why "links"? I like IHOP's crepes. Links made me think of golf courses.
20A: Fund for later yrs.: IRA. Looks like the market is on a steady recovery now.
21A: Puritanical: PRIM. PRIM? Hmmm, definitely not. Talk about pitchfork.
22A: Superman player: REEVE (Christopher)
23A: Migrant: NOMAD. Wrote now MOVER first.
28A: Kissers: LIPS
30A: Western treaty gp.: OAS (Organization of American States). Established in 1948. Cuba's membership has yet to be re-stated.
31A: Remove the chaff: THRESH. Nice word. Consonants heavy.
33A: Rd. or st.: RTE. And HOV (32D: Hwy. lane type)
34A: American __, North Dakota state tree: ELM. Oh, I did not know this trivia. MN's state tree is red pine. What's your state tree?
35A: "Yay me!": TADA. I've never said "Yay me!"
42A: Times to call, in ads: EVES. I wrote down NOWS. Call NOW.
44A: Horror film creature: ZOMBIE
45A: Nuclear agency estab. under Truman: AEC (1946-1975). I like this clue better than "NRC predecessor". Nice to learn some trivia.
46A: Sign of traffic impatience: BEEP. HONK does not fit.
52A: Puccini heroine: TOSCA. And "Verdi heroine" is AIDA. Learned both from doing Xword.
56A: Postage meter unit: OUNCE
59A: Fish oil source: COD. Salmon fish oil is equally good.
64A: Bk. before Numbers: LEV (Leviticus). After Exodus.
65A: Shaw's homeland: EIRE. No ERIN dilemma due to the crossing fills.
66A: Dorm cohort: ROOMIE. I shared a tiny dorm with 6 other girls in my college years.
67A: "... __the set of sun": "Macbeth": ERE. Stumped. I am used to the "Poet's before" clue.
68A: Will of "The Waltsons": GEER. Finally I remember him. He was the Grandpa Walton.
Down:
1D: Amber, e.g.: RESIN. Oh, I only know color amber. Had no idea that it's a resin.
2D: Juanita's January: ENERO. Another alliteration. This seems to appear with foreign words only.
3D: Ex-NFL coach Hank: STRAM. No idea. Wikipedia says Hank STRAM "is largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade to the NFL due to his close association with Ray Graves, coach at the University of Florida during Gatorade's development and infancy".
5D: Like Chicago-style pizza: DEEP DISH. Have never had Chicago style pizza or Chicago style hot dog.
7D: "I'll take a card": HIT ME. No idea. Gambling term I suppose.
8D: Sounds of uncertainty: UHS
10D: Wears proudly: SPORTS. Fun to see the old jerseys and caps people SPORT at the ball park.
11D: Obliquely: ASKEW
12D: Utensil with a mesh bottom: SIEVE
13D: Freud contemporary: ADLER (Alfred). I forgot. He is the guy who coined "Inferiority Conplex". Brett Favre needs to be psychoanalyzed. He looks good in Viking's uniform (fake one). Or do you like the real Packers' photo?
18D: Penpoints: NIBS. NIB, neb, nab, nub. So confusing.
19D: Vintage wheels: REO. Another 20 years, the clue would be "Antique wheels". Antique has to be over 100 years old.
24D: Smart fellows?: ALECS. Smart ALEC. Stumped. The ? made me think of Agent Smart.
26D: Recline lazily: LOLL
27D: Birthday preparation class: LAMAZE. See Paul's Clever Clue of the Month (Jan). Very cool "Class that ends before labor day?" clue.
29D: Used one's cell: PHONED
31D: With 38-Down, employment termination: THE And AXE (38D: See 31-Down). Get THE AXE.
35D: Pace of a piece: TEMPO. Musical pace.
36D: UN delegate: AMB (Ambassador). Wrote down REP first.
37D: 502, to the Romans: DII
41D: In direct confrontation: TOE TO TOE
45D: Brew container: ALE KEG
46D: "I've Gotta __": 1969 hit: BE ME. Here is the clip. It's new to me. I like the song title.
47D: Paso __: two step: DOBLE. No idea. I don't speak Spanish. Is it literally "double pass"?
48D: Commander: RULER. Not fond of this clue.
50D: Former RR watchdog: ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission, 1887-1996)
54D: News analyst Roberts: COKIE. NPR's senior news analyst. Her name escaped me this morning.
55D: "Doe, __ ...": song lyric: A DEER. "Doe, A DEER, a female deer ...". From "The Sound of Music".
58D: Car sticker abbr.: MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price). Looks like GM and Chrysler are going to file bankruptcy any day.
61D: Old annoyed cry: FIE
63D: One on a beat: COP. Here is a list of slang terms for cops. Pigs/Swine sound so rude.
Answer grid.
C.C.
