Theme: Top 'O The Morning - Homophones. Vaguely. With an Irish twist?
17A. Author Gertrude's Irish friend? : PAL O' STEIN. Palestine. My dad was stationed in Palestine in the 1930's. He had nothing but good things to say about the county and the people.
59A. Irish physician? : MAN O' CURES. Manicures. Guinness and Jameson's whisky. Those are the Irish cures. My mom was given Guinness in hospital after I was born; she was anemic. You've got to love those kinds of diagnoses.
11D. Irish hotel that offers perfumed pillows? : INN O' SCENTS. Innocents. Here's Dublin's finest - The Clarence:
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31D. Change tossed into an Irish busker's hat? : PAIR O' DIMES. Paradigms.
I'm not totally enthused by this theme. Homophones depend on how you speak, and some work for me, and some don't. Your mileage may vary. Let's leave it at that.
The North-west was a challenge, the rest was a regular Thursday experience. Let's see what jumps out:
Across:
1. Sugar amt. : TBSP. Tablespoon. Three of them in my sushi vinegar. 4-3-1 is the magic combination - 4 tbsps rice wine vinegar, 3 tbsp of sugar and the one is a teaspoon of salt.
5. Swimmer's regimen : LAPS. I once swam 334 laps of an Olympic pool for a charity event. It was a 10-mile marathon swim. I was dizzy when I got out of the pool.
9. Margaret Atwood's "__ Grace" : ALIAS. Thank you, crosses.
14. Cosmetic additive : ALOE
15. Alternatively : ELSE
16. Small drum or large antelope : BONGO. I knew the drum, not the antelope. Now I do. They're stripey:
19. Prepared to tackle : RAN AT
20. Foul odor : STENCH
21. Liquid-Plumr rival : DRANO. Probably to fix the above from a blocked drain.
23. Brewer's kiln : OAST
26. Black Sea port : ODESSA
29. Like some time-release pills : CAPSULAR. New word for me.I got there eventually, but it took some time.
33. Old Toyota subcompact : TERCEL
34. "Don't interrupt!" studio sign : ON AIR
35. Inflexibility : RIGOR
37. Head lines, for short? : E.E.G. Electroencephalography, but we all knew that.
38. Fail to attend : SKIP
39. Checkout choice : PAPER. Or Plastic. The latter is not available in LA anymore, the former you pay for. BYOB - bring your own bag. I like it.
40. Latin word on a cornerstone : ANNO. Domini. There's a new PC term for it now, but it's hard to replace all those foundation stones.
41. Road goo : TAR. Macadam. I love the smell of freshly-laid tar.
42. Church law : CANON
43. Buzzing : ASTIR
44. Pleasant emanations : AROMAS. See TAR above.
46. Antipathy : DISTASTE
48. Air traffic control devices : RADARS
49. Assist, as a theater patron : SEAT
50. Puts a dent in one's gas mileage : IDLES
52. Herbal cough drop brand : RICOLA. The commercials are annoying.
57. Carved piece of jewelry : CAMEO
62. Alaskan native : ALEUT
63. Straddling : UPON
64. "Let me know if you're coming" letters : RSVP. "Répondez s'il vous plaît". It annoys me when I see "Please RSVP". But I get annoyed with "ATM machine" and "PIN number". I guess I'm easily annoyed.
65. Mud nest builders : WASPS
66. Dinner summons at the manor house : GONG. I tried "RING" first. Was wrong.
67. Young fellows : BOYS
Down:
1. Melody from a bugler : TAPS
2. Sour note from a bugler : BLAT. Completely unknown, thank you, crosses. Any musicians amongst us care to explain?
3. Dover flatfish : SOLE
4. Menial employee : PEON
5. Quite destructive : LETHAL. Quite? Something of an understatement.
6. Bass, e.g. : ALE. Loved this clue/answer. The world's first trademark was the red triangle on the label.
7. Pressure meas. : PSI. Pounds per Square Inch. I rate cheesecake on how many pounds I gain per square inch of cheesecake eaten.
8. Dispatch : SEND
9. Carpenter's rasp, for one : ABRADER. More thank you, crosses. I'm sure an abrader is a thing, but I'm sure I'd never walk into a hardware store and ask for one.
10. Dealership vehicle : LOANER
12. Turkish title : AGA
13. Tosspot : SOT. Yet another learning moment. A tosspot in England is a loser.
18. Search far and wide : SCOUR. Great word.
22. Common pump part : ROTOR
24. Wrap for leftovers : SARAN. Plenty of these after Christmas.
25. Photography gear : TRIPODS.
27. "Already caught that movie" : SEEN IT!
28. 1990s veep : AL GORE I'm drinking some Tom Gore wine right now. Any relation?
29. Share the marquee : CO-STAR
30. Capital ESE of Istanbul : ANKARA
32. Sample some soup : SIP
36. "Arabian Nights" spirit : GENIE
39. Behind the times : PASSÉ
40. Actor Butterfield of "Ender's Game" : ASA. Hello crosses! Thank you!
42. Where lemons may be sold : CAR LOTS
43. Cobwebby place : ATTIC
45. Fictionalized : MADE UP
47. Polynesian garment : SARONG. I looked for a link, this was the first one that came up. I thought I'd keep it.
51. Self-righteous : SMUG
53. HBO's "__ Your Enthusiasm" : CURB
54. Guesstimate phrase : OR SO.
55. Tax : LEVY
56. Nile serpents : ASPS
57. Cornfield sound : CAW. Why do crows like corn so much?
58. Menu phrase : A LA. Carte. Mode. King. What was the last one?
60. Mil. mail drop : A.P.O.
61. Haitian negative : NON. You need to know French is spoken in Haiti.Crosswords teach you a lot of things.
With that, I'm done. Merry Thursday, falling between Christmas and New Year! I couldn't find any music links - have at it!
Steve
17A. Author Gertrude's Irish friend? : PAL O' STEIN. Palestine. My dad was stationed in Palestine in the 1930's. He had nothing but good things to say about the county and the people.
59A. Irish physician? : MAN O' CURES. Manicures. Guinness and Jameson's whisky. Those are the Irish cures. My mom was given Guinness in hospital after I was born; she was anemic. You've got to love those kinds of diagnoses.
11D. Irish hotel that offers perfumed pillows? : INN O' SCENTS. Innocents. Here's Dublin's finest - The Clarence:
31D. Change tossed into an Irish busker's hat? : PAIR O' DIMES. Paradigms.
I'm not totally enthused by this theme. Homophones depend on how you speak, and some work for me, and some don't. Your mileage may vary. Let's leave it at that.
The North-west was a challenge, the rest was a regular Thursday experience. Let's see what jumps out:
Across:
1. Sugar amt. : TBSP. Tablespoon. Three of them in my sushi vinegar. 4-3-1 is the magic combination - 4 tbsps rice wine vinegar, 3 tbsp of sugar and the one is a teaspoon of salt.
5. Swimmer's regimen : LAPS. I once swam 334 laps of an Olympic pool for a charity event. It was a 10-mile marathon swim. I was dizzy when I got out of the pool.
9. Margaret Atwood's "__ Grace" : ALIAS. Thank you, crosses.
14. Cosmetic additive : ALOE
15. Alternatively : ELSE
16. Small drum or large antelope : BONGO. I knew the drum, not the antelope. Now I do. They're stripey:
r
19. Prepared to tackle : RAN AT
20. Foul odor : STENCH
21. Liquid-Plumr rival : DRANO. Probably to fix the above from a blocked drain.
23. Brewer's kiln : OAST
26. Black Sea port : ODESSA
29. Like some time-release pills : CAPSULAR. New word for me.I got there eventually, but it took some time.
33. Old Toyota subcompact : TERCEL
34. "Don't interrupt!" studio sign : ON AIR
35. Inflexibility : RIGOR
37. Head lines, for short? : E.E.G. Electroencephalography, but we all knew that.
38. Fail to attend : SKIP
39. Checkout choice : PAPER. Or Plastic. The latter is not available in LA anymore, the former you pay for. BYOB - bring your own bag. I like it.
40. Latin word on a cornerstone : ANNO. Domini. There's a new PC term for it now, but it's hard to replace all those foundation stones.
41. Road goo : TAR. Macadam. I love the smell of freshly-laid tar.
42. Church law : CANON
43. Buzzing : ASTIR
44. Pleasant emanations : AROMAS. See TAR above.
46. Antipathy : DISTASTE
48. Air traffic control devices : RADARS
49. Assist, as a theater patron : SEAT
50. Puts a dent in one's gas mileage : IDLES
52. Herbal cough drop brand : RICOLA. The commercials are annoying.
57. Carved piece of jewelry : CAMEO
62. Alaskan native : ALEUT
63. Straddling : UPON
64. "Let me know if you're coming" letters : RSVP. "Répondez s'il vous plaît". It annoys me when I see "Please RSVP". But I get annoyed with "ATM machine" and "PIN number". I guess I'm easily annoyed.
65. Mud nest builders : WASPS
66. Dinner summons at the manor house : GONG. I tried "RING" first. Was wrong.
67. Young fellows : BOYS
Down:
1. Melody from a bugler : TAPS
2. Sour note from a bugler : BLAT. Completely unknown, thank you, crosses. Any musicians amongst us care to explain?
3. Dover flatfish : SOLE
4. Menial employee : PEON
5. Quite destructive : LETHAL. Quite? Something of an understatement.
6. Bass, e.g. : ALE. Loved this clue/answer. The world's first trademark was the red triangle on the label.
7. Pressure meas. : PSI. Pounds per Square Inch. I rate cheesecake on how many pounds I gain per square inch of cheesecake eaten.
8. Dispatch : SEND
9. Carpenter's rasp, for one : ABRADER. More thank you, crosses. I'm sure an abrader is a thing, but I'm sure I'd never walk into a hardware store and ask for one.
10. Dealership vehicle : LOANER
12. Turkish title : AGA
13. Tosspot : SOT. Yet another learning moment. A tosspot in England is a loser.
18. Search far and wide : SCOUR. Great word.
22. Common pump part : ROTOR
24. Wrap for leftovers : SARAN. Plenty of these after Christmas.
25. Photography gear : TRIPODS.
27. "Already caught that movie" : SEEN IT!
28. 1990s veep : AL GORE I'm drinking some Tom Gore wine right now. Any relation?
29. Share the marquee : CO-STAR
30. Capital ESE of Istanbul : ANKARA
32. Sample some soup : SIP
36. "Arabian Nights" spirit : GENIE
39. Behind the times : PASSÉ
40. Actor Butterfield of "Ender's Game" : ASA. Hello crosses! Thank you!
42. Where lemons may be sold : CAR LOTS
43. Cobwebby place : ATTIC
45. Fictionalized : MADE UP
47. Polynesian garment : SARONG. I looked for a link, this was the first one that came up. I thought I'd keep it.
51. Self-righteous : SMUG
53. HBO's "__ Your Enthusiasm" : CURB
54. Guesstimate phrase : OR SO.
55. Tax : LEVY
56. Nile serpents : ASPS
57. Cornfield sound : CAW. Why do crows like corn so much?
58. Menu phrase : A LA. Carte. Mode. King. What was the last one?
60. Mil. mail drop : A.P.O.
61. Haitian negative : NON. You need to know French is spoken in Haiti.Crosswords teach you a lot of things.
With that, I'm done. Merry Thursday, falling between Christmas and New Year! I couldn't find any music links - have at it!
Steve
