Theme: None
Total blocks: 26
Total words: 68
Now I start to admire Higgins' tenacity in coming up with themeless after themeless on Saturdays. He is obviously undaunted by the challenges of constructing a low word /block count grid.
He also seems to like 27 black square grids. I am so curious to know how he started this puzzle and which was the first word he filled in.
As usual, most of his clues are impeccably correct, straight from the dictionary. But certain liveliness is missing. And too many S and ED suffixes for my taste. LACKER (13D: One in want) sounds like a made-up word. So does BASSNESS (36D: Low quality of music?), which is nowhere to be found when I googled earlier.
Across:
1A: Louisiana county: PARISH. Is Louisiana the only state where county is called PARISH?
7A: Microscopic layer: THIN FILM. Science lab term?
15A: Hardy shrub of the honeysuckle family: ABELIA. See this photo. It's named after the British botanist Clarke Abel. Not a familiar shrub to me. Honeysuckle is too fragrant.
16A: Source of agar: RED ALGAE. Good to know. Is RED ALGAE edible?
23A: Squash pigment: CAROTENE. Also "Carrot/Sweet potato pigment". Source for Vitamin A. Good for your eyes.
26A: Wins by charms: ENDEARS. This reminds me a clue for END: Kind of ear? Very tough clue, isn't it? It took me a long time to figure out why the answer is ENDEAR.
31A: But, to Brutus: SED. Nope. My first encounter with this Latin "But". I am sure I won't remember it tomorrow morning when I wake up.
37A: Skulls: CRANIA
39A: Redhead duck: POCHARD. No idea. This POCHARD looks angry.
42A: Museum guides: DOCENTS
46A: Plants with funnel-shaped flowers: PETUNIAS. Nice picture. Do you know that PETUNIAS belong to the nightshade family?
47A: In the rigging: ALOFT. Opposite of alow. New nautical term to me. I always associate ALOFT with "High in the sky".
50A: Have a ball: LIVE IT UP. Reminded me of yesterday's NATURAL GAS (Teetotalers' bash). I could not find "It's a GAS" being referred as "Have a blast" anywhere on line. If you find the source, please let me know.
54A: Sap of energy: ENERVATE
55A: Moves in and out: WEAVES. What is moved "in and out"? Shuttle?
56A: Final courses: DESSERTS. What is this dessert? Looks like corn flour.
57A: "Gunsmoke" star: ARNESS (James). Uh-uh, nope. Strange name. Feels like letter H is missing from ARNESS. This girl looks very pretty.
Down:
1D: Cure-alls: PANACEAS. Sad to hear about Steve Jobs' health problem. Maybe he should have continued his vegan lifestyle rather than eating meat again. Who knows.
2D: Act of enduring without yielding: ABIDANCE. Such an exact definition.
10D: Prattled: NATTERED. And GAB (34A: Shoot the breeze)
11D: Batted one's eyes, for example: FLIRTED. I was thinking of the idiom "Not bat an eye".
12D: Start burning: IGNITE. Very rigid clue.
24D: Massive ref. work: OED (Oxford English Dictionary). Massive indeed, 20 volumes.
32D: Serving to pull: TRACTIVE. I thought the answer would end in *ING.
34D: Possessive case: GENITIVE
35D: Fred and Adele: ASTAIRES. Probably the most famous dancing siblings.
37D: Large slow moving beetles: CHAFERS. Here is a CHAFER. Unknown to me. Too small to move slowly.
38D: Generic game pieces: MEN. This clue is getting stale. Oscar Wilde once said "MEN marry because they are tired; women because they are curious; both are disappointed."
44D: Loser at Little Bighorn: CUSTER. If the clue is "Winner at Little Bighorn", whom would you think of? Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse?
53D: Author of "Saving Fish from Drowning": TAN (Amy). I've not read this book yet. "The Joy Luck Club" is fascinating read.
C.C.
Total blocks: 26
Total words: 68
Now I start to admire Higgins' tenacity in coming up with themeless after themeless on Saturdays. He is obviously undaunted by the challenges of constructing a low word /block count grid.
He also seems to like 27 black square grids. I am so curious to know how he started this puzzle and which was the first word he filled in.
As usual, most of his clues are impeccably correct, straight from the dictionary. But certain liveliness is missing. And too many S and ED suffixes for my taste. LACKER (13D: One in want) sounds like a made-up word. So does BASSNESS (36D: Low quality of music?), which is nowhere to be found when I googled earlier.
Across:
1A: Louisiana county: PARISH. Is Louisiana the only state where county is called PARISH?
7A: Microscopic layer: THIN FILM. Science lab term?
15A: Hardy shrub of the honeysuckle family: ABELIA. See this photo. It's named after the British botanist Clarke Abel. Not a familiar shrub to me. Honeysuckle is too fragrant.
16A: Source of agar: RED ALGAE. Good to know. Is RED ALGAE edible?
23A: Squash pigment: CAROTENE. Also "Carrot/Sweet potato pigment". Source for Vitamin A. Good for your eyes.
26A: Wins by charms: ENDEARS. This reminds me a clue for END: Kind of ear? Very tough clue, isn't it? It took me a long time to figure out why the answer is ENDEAR.
31A: But, to Brutus: SED. Nope. My first encounter with this Latin "But". I am sure I won't remember it tomorrow morning when I wake up.
37A: Skulls: CRANIA
39A: Redhead duck: POCHARD. No idea. This POCHARD looks angry.
42A: Museum guides: DOCENTS
46A: Plants with funnel-shaped flowers: PETUNIAS. Nice picture. Do you know that PETUNIAS belong to the nightshade family?
47A: In the rigging: ALOFT. Opposite of alow. New nautical term to me. I always associate ALOFT with "High in the sky".
50A: Have a ball: LIVE IT UP. Reminded me of yesterday's NATURAL GAS (Teetotalers' bash). I could not find "It's a GAS" being referred as "Have a blast" anywhere on line. If you find the source, please let me know.
54A: Sap of energy: ENERVATE
55A: Moves in and out: WEAVES. What is moved "in and out"? Shuttle?
56A: Final courses: DESSERTS. What is this dessert? Looks like corn flour.
57A: "Gunsmoke" star: ARNESS (James). Uh-uh, nope. Strange name. Feels like letter H is missing from ARNESS. This girl looks very pretty.
Down:
1D: Cure-alls: PANACEAS. Sad to hear about Steve Jobs' health problem. Maybe he should have continued his vegan lifestyle rather than eating meat again. Who knows.
2D: Act of enduring without yielding: ABIDANCE. Such an exact definition.
10D: Prattled: NATTERED. And GAB (34A: Shoot the breeze)
11D: Batted one's eyes, for example: FLIRTED. I was thinking of the idiom "Not bat an eye".
12D: Start burning: IGNITE. Very rigid clue.
24D: Massive ref. work: OED (Oxford English Dictionary). Massive indeed, 20 volumes.
32D: Serving to pull: TRACTIVE. I thought the answer would end in *ING.
34D: Possessive case: GENITIVE
35D: Fred and Adele: ASTAIRES. Probably the most famous dancing siblings.
37D: Large slow moving beetles: CHAFERS. Here is a CHAFER. Unknown to me. Too small to move slowly.
38D: Generic game pieces: MEN. This clue is getting stale. Oscar Wilde once said "MEN marry because they are tired; women because they are curious; both are disappointed."
44D: Loser at Little Bighorn: CUSTER. If the clue is "Winner at Little Bighorn", whom would you think of? Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse?
53D: Author of "Saving Fish from Drowning": TAN (Amy). I've not read this book yet. "The Joy Luck Club" is fascinating read.
C.C.
