Theme: VOLLEYBALL GAME (54A: Activity that involves the first words of 20-, 29- and 47-Across)
20A. How some scary things go: BUMP IN THE NIGHT. A volleyball player's most important skill is bumping - passing a volleyball by bouncing it off his or her extended forearms.
29A. Not subject to change: SET IN STONE. Setting is snapping the ball upward with two hands to set up a spike.
47A. Some stilettos: SPIKE HEELS. Spiking is sending the ball forward and downward over the net by striking it overhead with an open hand.
melissa bee blogging.
According to Wikipedia, 'Volleyball has been contested as an indoor sport at the Summer Olympic Games since 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced at the 1992 Games, and has been an official Olympic sport since 1996.'
In his interview with Concord Monitor, today's constructor Pete Mitchell mentioned that one of his hobbies is playing volleyball. He used to blog the Sun Crosswords (edited by Peter Gordon). Pete's mom Sheida stopped in our blog once last March (9:34am, the 7th from bottom up). Quite a few of our regulars started on March 2, 2009. KQ, tFrank, Andrea, etc.
Across:
1. Whack, biblically: SMITE
6. Condescending sort: SNOB
10. Kodak rival: FUJI
14. Brightly colored tropical fish: TETRA
15. Chaplin's last wife: OONA. Oona O'Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, and Charlie Chaplin's fourth wife. Unusual inconsistency, last name clue/first name answer.
16. Road for Pilate: ITER. Literally "road" in Latin.
17. "That's __ trick!": A NEAT
18. Cutting-edge Motorola phone? RAZR. Like this.
19. Statistician's input: DATA
23. Nous minus moi? TOI. (French) Us - me = you.
24. "The loneliest number," in a 1969 hit: ONE. Three Dog Night.
25. Wasted, as a chance: LOST. Sing it, Jeff.
35. "I wish!": IF ONLY
37. On the calmer side: ALEE. Away from the wind.
38. Floors, briefly: KOS. My favorite clue. Boxing term, Knock Outs (or Knocks Out). Can cause temporary unconsciousness. So can this.
39. Wolfgang Puck's restaurant: SPAGO. Beverly Hills, Maui, Las Vegas, and Beaver Creek.
40. Third qtr. start: JUL. The third quarter of a calendar year is made up of July, August, and September.
41. Talons: CLAWS. Golden Eagle.
43. Male in an alley: TOM. Tomcat.
44. Cognac initials: VSOP. Very Superior Old Pale. Cognac is a type of brandy that is produced only in the Cognac region of western France. Time for a new avatar, santa?
46. More work: UTOPIA. Very tricky, got me. Saint Thomas More's classic masterpiece.
50. Not easy to see: TINY
51. Crimson opponent: ELI. A nickname for a Yale University student, after Yale benefactor Elihu Yale. Crimson refers to Harvard.
52. Not quite oneself: OFF
62. Perfume holder: VIAL
63. Tobacco unit: LEAF. Quite large.
64. Like chalet roofs: EAVED. Lovely.
65. Be sore: ACHE. Time for your massage.
66. Take a shot: DARE
67. Word after sing or string: ALONG. For dennis, because i know you like it when pink appears.
68. Nerve opening? NEUR. Used in the formation of compound words, e.g., neural, neurology, neuritis.
69. Lose fur: SHED
70. Common asset? SENSE. Common sense.
Down:
1. Rough guess: STAB
2. See 3-Down: MENU
3. Unit on a 2-Down: ITEM
4. Ambush: TRAP
5. Weird Al Yankovic spoof of a Michael Jackson hit: EAT IT
and 26. King ___ (Michael Jackson): OF POP
6. Airman's assignment: SORTIE
7. Early boat builder: NOAH
8. Quatre + sept: ONZE. French numbers: Four + Seven = Eleven.
9. With no exceptions: BAR NONE
10. Act nervously: FIDGET
11. Home to Zion National Park: UTAH. Stunning.
12. Rocker Joan: JETT. I Love Rock and Roll.
13. Brokerage statement subj., perhaps: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.
21. Overly curious: NOSY. Also nosey.
22. Bat's prey: INSECT. The best natural insect control.
25. Leans, as a ship: LISTS
27. "Ditto": SO AM I
28. "Star Trek" sequel, for short: TNG. The Next Generation.
and 45. "Star Trek" defenses: SHIELDS
30. Brownish gray: TAUPE
32. Giraffe cousin: OKAPI
33. Hopeless: NO WIN. A hopeless/no-win situation.
34. Exam type you can't guess on: ESSAY
36. Apollo 13 commander Jim: LOVELL. Played by Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie.
40. Average guy? JOE. Average Joe.
42. Auction unit: LOT
46. Defunct gridiron org.: USFL. United States Football League, 1983-1985.
48. Sullivan's charge in "The Miracle Worker": KELLER. Anne Sullivan was Helen Keller's teacher.
49. Emulated a couch potato: LOAFED
53. Canine woes: FLEAS. Inside, outside, you go where you please, I give you love, you just give me fleas.
54. Guilty pleasure: VICE. Do you have any?
55. Iolani Palace site: OAHU. The only official state residence of royalty in the United States, ʻIolani Palace was the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom's last two monarchs--King Kalakaua, who built the Palace in 1882, and his sister and successor, Queen Lili`uokalani.'
56. "Uh-huh": YEAH
57. In one's birthday suit: BARE
58. "The Wizard of Oz" family name: GALE. Dorothy Gale.
59. Bard's river: AVON. William Shakespeare is known as the "Bard of Avon".
60. Clothing store department: MEN'S
61. Fringe: EDGE
62. U-Haul rental: VAN. Four V* words in this puzzle.
Answer grid.
melissa
20A. How some scary things go: BUMP IN THE NIGHT. A volleyball player's most important skill is bumping - passing a volleyball by bouncing it off his or her extended forearms.
29A. Not subject to change: SET IN STONE. Setting is snapping the ball upward with two hands to set up a spike.
47A. Some stilettos: SPIKE HEELS. Spiking is sending the ball forward and downward over the net by striking it overhead with an open hand.
melissa bee blogging.
According to Wikipedia, 'Volleyball has been contested as an indoor sport at the Summer Olympic Games since 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced at the 1992 Games, and has been an official Olympic sport since 1996.'
In his interview with Concord Monitor, today's constructor Pete Mitchell mentioned that one of his hobbies is playing volleyball. He used to blog the Sun Crosswords (edited by Peter Gordon). Pete's mom Sheida stopped in our blog once last March (9:34am, the 7th from bottom up). Quite a few of our regulars started on March 2, 2009. KQ, tFrank, Andrea, etc.
Across:
1. Whack, biblically: SMITE
6. Condescending sort: SNOB
10. Kodak rival: FUJI
14. Brightly colored tropical fish: TETRA
15. Chaplin's last wife: OONA. Oona O'Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, and Charlie Chaplin's fourth wife. Unusual inconsistency, last name clue/first name answer.
16. Road for Pilate: ITER. Literally "road" in Latin.
17. "That's __ trick!": A NEAT
18. Cutting-edge Motorola phone? RAZR. Like this.
19. Statistician's input: DATA
23. Nous minus moi? TOI. (French) Us - me = you.
24. "The loneliest number," in a 1969 hit: ONE. Three Dog Night.
25. Wasted, as a chance: LOST. Sing it, Jeff.
35. "I wish!": IF ONLY
37. On the calmer side: ALEE. Away from the wind.
38. Floors, briefly: KOS. My favorite clue. Boxing term, Knock Outs (or Knocks Out). Can cause temporary unconsciousness. So can this.
39. Wolfgang Puck's restaurant: SPAGO. Beverly Hills, Maui, Las Vegas, and Beaver Creek.
40. Third qtr. start: JUL. The third quarter of a calendar year is made up of July, August, and September.
41. Talons: CLAWS. Golden Eagle.
43. Male in an alley: TOM. Tomcat.
44. Cognac initials: VSOP. Very Superior Old Pale. Cognac is a type of brandy that is produced only in the Cognac region of western France. Time for a new avatar, santa?
46. More work: UTOPIA. Very tricky, got me. Saint Thomas More's classic masterpiece.
50. Not easy to see: TINY
51. Crimson opponent: ELI. A nickname for a Yale University student, after Yale benefactor Elihu Yale. Crimson refers to Harvard.
52. Not quite oneself: OFF
62. Perfume holder: VIAL
63. Tobacco unit: LEAF. Quite large.
64. Like chalet roofs: EAVED. Lovely.
65. Be sore: ACHE. Time for your massage.
66. Take a shot: DARE
67. Word after sing or string: ALONG. For dennis, because i know you like it when pink appears.
68. Nerve opening? NEUR. Used in the formation of compound words, e.g., neural, neurology, neuritis.
69. Lose fur: SHED
70. Common asset? SENSE. Common sense.
Down:
1. Rough guess: STAB
2. See 3-Down: MENU
3. Unit on a 2-Down: ITEM
4. Ambush: TRAP
5. Weird Al Yankovic spoof of a Michael Jackson hit: EAT IT
and 26. King ___ (Michael Jackson): OF POP
6. Airman's assignment: SORTIE
7. Early boat builder: NOAH
8. Quatre + sept: ONZE. French numbers: Four + Seven = Eleven.
9. With no exceptions: BAR NONE
10. Act nervously: FIDGET
11. Home to Zion National Park: UTAH. Stunning.
12. Rocker Joan: JETT. I Love Rock and Roll.
13. Brokerage statement subj., perhaps: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.
21. Overly curious: NOSY. Also nosey.
22. Bat's prey: INSECT. The best natural insect control.
25. Leans, as a ship: LISTS
27. "Ditto": SO AM I
28. "Star Trek" sequel, for short: TNG. The Next Generation.
and 45. "Star Trek" defenses: SHIELDS
30. Brownish gray: TAUPE
32. Giraffe cousin: OKAPI
33. Hopeless: NO WIN. A hopeless/no-win situation.
34. Exam type you can't guess on: ESSAY
36. Apollo 13 commander Jim: LOVELL. Played by Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie.
40. Average guy? JOE. Average Joe.
42. Auction unit: LOT
46. Defunct gridiron org.: USFL. United States Football League, 1983-1985.
48. Sullivan's charge in "The Miracle Worker": KELLER. Anne Sullivan was Helen Keller's teacher.
49. Emulated a couch potato: LOAFED
53. Canine woes: FLEAS. Inside, outside, you go where you please, I give you love, you just give me fleas.
54. Guilty pleasure: VICE. Do you have any?
55. Iolani Palace site: OAHU. The only official state residence of royalty in the United States, ʻIolani Palace was the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom's last two monarchs--King Kalakaua, who built the Palace in 1882, and his sister and successor, Queen Lili`uokalani.'
56. "Uh-huh": YEAH
57. In one's birthday suit: BARE
58. "The Wizard of Oz" family name: GALE. Dorothy Gale.
59. Bard's river: AVON. William Shakespeare is known as the "Bard of Avon".
60. Clothing store department: MEN'S
61. Fringe: EDGE
62. U-Haul rental: VAN. Four V* words in this puzzle.
Answer grid.
melissa
