Theme: Baa-ed Homophones
17A: Wonderful sheep-fleecing job?: SHEAR PERFECTION (Sheer Perfection)
38A: Gets Dolly the sheep to defect?: MAKES A EWE TURN (Make a U-turn)
60A: Use a young sheep as a beast of burden?: TAKE IT ON THE LAMB (Take it on the Lam)
Hmmm, not baaad at all. Lovely puzzle. Wish MEEK (38D Overly compliant) clued as "Sheepish".
Weird to see A rather than AN in front of EWE. I am still struggling with article a/an in front of a "U" sound.
I loved the cross-referenced clues in today's grid (15A/22A & 10D/23D). I am in the mood for all those tie-in answers/clues and cross-references lately. My favorite clue today is EURO (59A: German bread). Would be easier to obtain if there were a ? mark in the clue. But it's not really necessary.
Across:
4A: "If I had a Hammer" singer Lopez: TRINI. Here is a clip. Learned this guy's name from doing Xword. I like Peter, Paul and Mary's version.
9A: To one side: ASKEW
14A: Computer program suffix: EXE. What does EXE mean exactly?
15A: His 2,297 RBI is a major league record: AARON. Hank AARON had 755 home runs, second only to Barry Bonds, whose 762 record needs to be stripped.
16A: Second longest African river: CONGO. The Nile is the longest.
20A: Heels: CADS. Bad MEN (1A: Old boys).
21A: Annoy: MOLEST. Was surprised to know last time that "Annoy" is the #1 meaning of MOLEST.
22A: 15-Across was one in 21 of his 23 seasons: ALL-STAR. Incredible, isn't it? Just learned that both Stand Musial and Willie Mays had a record 24 ALL-STAR appearances.
26A: Way cool: RAD. Do you say this word in your daily conversation?
27A: Org. with some lightweights: WBA (World Boxing Association)
30A: Sheltered side: LEE
37A: Rodger's partner before Hammerstein: HART (Lorenz). Wikipedia says Richard Rodgers is one of only two persons to have won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. The only guy is composer Marvin Hamlisch ("A Chorus Line").
42A: Old VHS alternative: BETA
43A: Pack animals: LLAMAS
48A: Sitter's challenge: IMP
51A: Letters before a pseudonym: AKA
52A: Syncopated musical work: RAG. What does "syncopated" mean?
54A: Cause to reel: STAGGER
65A: Noodle products?: IDEAS
66A: Carpentry pin: DOWEL. No idea. Are they metals?
67A: Glasgow negative: NAE
68A: Man with a mission: PADRE. Is that how San Diego PADRES got their name?
69A: Ivory's partner, in song: EBONY. "EBONY and Ivory".
70A: Start of an afterthought: AND
Down:
1D: Agave liquor: MESCAL. I forgot. Last time I was also stumped when PEYOTE was clued as "Mescal".
2D: Say "Whew!", say: EXHALE
3D: Hypo: NEEDLE. I did not know "hypo" is short for hypodermic. I was actually thinking of hype. "Hypo" is a Greek suffix for "under", opposite of "hyper" (over).
5D: Type of sheet or session: RAP. What is a RAP session?
6D: Wilde country: Abbr.: IRE (Ireland). The movie "Wilde" was kind of shocking. Well, it sure is wild. I like the clue.
8D: About to endure: IN FOR. I had IN??R, somehow I wanted INCUR, which does not correspond with the clue grammartically.
9D: Give the nod (to): ACCEDE
10D: They're potted: SOTS. "Potted" is slang for drunk. And TOPE (23D: What 10-Down do). I was thinking of flowers of course.
11D: Most sweaters and jerseys: KNITWEAR
12D: Source of chutzpah: EGO. I wonder why we seldom see CHUTZPAH as an answer. Too many consonants?
18D: Balaam's carrier: ASS. Not aware of Balaam and the donkey story. What is it about? I thought Balaam is a capital city of some country and the clue was asking for an airline name.
19D: Jack of old Westerns: ELAM
25D: Kidney-related: RENAL
28D: Brought into the world: BORN. Wrote down BORE first.
29D: Works on the wall?: ART. Alliteration again.
34D: Ergo: THUS
39D: Went after: ATTACKED. And CHASE (56A: Pursue). Wish the clue were "Go after".
41D: Seville snack: TAPA. Another alliteration.
42D: Top of a two-piece: BRA. Hmmm, really hot!
46D: It's right on the map: EAST
48D: Critter in a Tennessee Williams title: IGUANA. No idea. Have never heard of "Night of the IGUANA". All I could think of is "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".
49D: "Gypsy" star, 1959: MERMAN (Ethel). I wonder why she changed her name into MERMAN. For mermaid connection?
50D: Delved into: PROBED
53D: Crystal-lined rock: GEODE. No idea. What is GEODE used for?
58D: Start to appeal?: SNOB. SNOB appeal. It appeared in our puzzle before.
61D: Nabokov novel: ADA. Alliteration in the clue again. ADA, PNIN & LOTITA. That's all you need to know about Nabokov.
63D: Egg source: HEN. Why did ROE come to me first? It's the damned "Caviar source".
64D: English cathedral town: ELY. It escaped me. Saw this clue before. ELY is 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge, according to Wikipedia.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Wonderful sheep-fleecing job?: SHEAR PERFECTION (Sheer Perfection)
38A: Gets Dolly the sheep to defect?: MAKES A EWE TURN (Make a U-turn)
60A: Use a young sheep as a beast of burden?: TAKE IT ON THE LAMB (Take it on the Lam)
Hmmm, not baaad at all. Lovely puzzle. Wish MEEK (38D Overly compliant) clued as "Sheepish".
Weird to see A rather than AN in front of EWE. I am still struggling with article a/an in front of a "U" sound.
I loved the cross-referenced clues in today's grid (15A/22A & 10D/23D). I am in the mood for all those tie-in answers/clues and cross-references lately. My favorite clue today is EURO (59A: German bread). Would be easier to obtain if there were a ? mark in the clue. But it's not really necessary.
Across:
4A: "If I had a Hammer" singer Lopez: TRINI. Here is a clip. Learned this guy's name from doing Xword. I like Peter, Paul and Mary's version.
9A: To one side: ASKEW
14A: Computer program suffix: EXE. What does EXE mean exactly?
15A: His 2,297 RBI is a major league record: AARON. Hank AARON had 755 home runs, second only to Barry Bonds, whose 762 record needs to be stripped.
16A: Second longest African river: CONGO. The Nile is the longest.
20A: Heels: CADS. Bad MEN (1A: Old boys).
21A: Annoy: MOLEST. Was surprised to know last time that "Annoy" is the #1 meaning of MOLEST.
22A: 15-Across was one in 21 of his 23 seasons: ALL-STAR. Incredible, isn't it? Just learned that both Stand Musial and Willie Mays had a record 24 ALL-STAR appearances.
26A: Way cool: RAD. Do you say this word in your daily conversation?
27A: Org. with some lightweights: WBA (World Boxing Association)
30A: Sheltered side: LEE
37A: Rodger's partner before Hammerstein: HART (Lorenz). Wikipedia says Richard Rodgers is one of only two persons to have won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. The only guy is composer Marvin Hamlisch ("A Chorus Line").
42A: Old VHS alternative: BETA
43A: Pack animals: LLAMAS
48A: Sitter's challenge: IMP
51A: Letters before a pseudonym: AKA
52A: Syncopated musical work: RAG. What does "syncopated" mean?
54A: Cause to reel: STAGGER
65A: Noodle products?: IDEAS
66A: Carpentry pin: DOWEL. No idea. Are they metals?
67A: Glasgow negative: NAE
68A: Man with a mission: PADRE. Is that how San Diego PADRES got their name?
69A: Ivory's partner, in song: EBONY. "EBONY and Ivory".
70A: Start of an afterthought: AND
Down:
1D: Agave liquor: MESCAL. I forgot. Last time I was also stumped when PEYOTE was clued as "Mescal".
2D: Say "Whew!", say: EXHALE
3D: Hypo: NEEDLE. I did not know "hypo" is short for hypodermic. I was actually thinking of hype. "Hypo" is a Greek suffix for "under", opposite of "hyper" (over).
5D: Type of sheet or session: RAP. What is a RAP session?
6D: Wilde country: Abbr.: IRE (Ireland). The movie "Wilde" was kind of shocking. Well, it sure is wild. I like the clue.
8D: About to endure: IN FOR. I had IN??R, somehow I wanted INCUR, which does not correspond with the clue grammartically.
9D: Give the nod (to): ACCEDE
10D: They're potted: SOTS. "Potted" is slang for drunk. And TOPE (23D: What 10-Down do). I was thinking of flowers of course.
11D: Most sweaters and jerseys: KNITWEAR
12D: Source of chutzpah: EGO. I wonder why we seldom see CHUTZPAH as an answer. Too many consonants?
18D: Balaam's carrier: ASS. Not aware of Balaam and the donkey story. What is it about? I thought Balaam is a capital city of some country and the clue was asking for an airline name.
19D: Jack of old Westerns: ELAM
25D: Kidney-related: RENAL
28D: Brought into the world: BORN. Wrote down BORE first.
29D: Works on the wall?: ART. Alliteration again.
34D: Ergo: THUS
39D: Went after: ATTACKED. And CHASE (56A: Pursue). Wish the clue were "Go after".
41D: Seville snack: TAPA. Another alliteration.
42D: Top of a two-piece: BRA. Hmmm, really hot!
46D: It's right on the map: EAST
48D: Critter in a Tennessee Williams title: IGUANA. No idea. Have never heard of "Night of the IGUANA". All I could think of is "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".
49D: "Gypsy" star, 1959: MERMAN (Ethel). I wonder why she changed her name into MERMAN. For mermaid connection?
50D: Delved into: PROBED
53D: Crystal-lined rock: GEODE. No idea. What is GEODE used for?
58D: Start to appeal?: SNOB. SNOB appeal. It appeared in our puzzle before.
61D: Nabokov novel: ADA. Alliteration in the clue again. ADA, PNIN & LOTITA. That's all you need to know about Nabokov.
63D: Egg source: HEN. Why did ROE come to me first? It's the damned "Caviar source".
64D: English cathedral town: ELY. It escaped me. Saw this clue before. ELY is 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge, according to Wikipedia.
Answer grid.
C.C.
