Theme: None
Total blocks: 37
Total words: 70
Six great grid-spanning 15-letter multi-word entries in Across:
14A. Dating option: DINNER AND A MOVIE. Dinner before or after a movie? I like latter.
17A. Thank-you trinket, e.g.: INEXPENSIVE GIFT
24A. "My mind isn't made up yet": I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE. Nice clue/answer.
44A. "You've got a lot of nerve!": WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?. New idiom to me.
57A. Retaliatory steps: COUNTERMEASURES
61A. Ups and downs of one's youth?: TEETER-TOTTERING. In playground.
Another humbling slog. So many unknowns & unaccustomed references. But I was so pleased to see HAN (6D. River to the Yangtze) in the grid. It's the longest branch of the Yangtze River (longest river in China/Asia). Han River rises from my hometown Shaanxi Province (Xi'An is its capital). There are 56 ethnic groups in China, about 92% are Han, which is named after the river. I am a Han.
Factual error with ACTA (48D. Washington Nationals manager Manny). Manny Acta is now with the Cleveland Indians.
Across:
1. Spoiled sci-fi race: ELOI. The "spoiled race" in "The Time Machine". Got me.
5. Engage in a high-tech scam: PHISH
10. High-tech mogul Michael: DELL. Founder of Dell Computer. I liked the "high-tech" sequence.
18. Arachnid's hatching pouch: EGG SAC. Here is a black widow spider and her egg sac.
19. Hole in your shoe?: EYELET. D'oh! Shoelace hole.
20. Lemon-colored quartz: CITRINE. New definition to me. Thought citrine is just an adjective for citrus.
32. Ill-advised move: NO-NO
33. German-born surrealist: ERNST (Max)
34. Oka River city: OREL (aw-REL). South of Moscow. New to me. Both the city and the damned river.
35. Stretched out: LAIN. Past particle of "lie". Dictionary gives an example: "The broad plain that lies before us". I filled in EKED.
36. Hindu fire god: AGNI (UHG-nee). Utter unknown unknown.
37. Peak: ACME
38. Perfect Sleeper maker: SERTA
43. French cathedral city: METZ. Metz Cathedral (Gothic) is nicknamed "God's Lantern". Stumper.
47. Extra: TO SPARE
48. Like chinchillas: ANDEAN
52. It may accompany a new experience: DEJA VU. Clever in retrospect.
62. What's more: ALSO
64. Capital on Upolu Island: APIA. Capital of Samoa.
Down:
1. Jack Kerouac's first wife: EDIE. Man, too obscure a clue for me.
3. Universal donor's type, briefly: O NEG. Keep reading the answer as ONE G.
4. Michael Hutchence's band: INXS. Pronounced like "in excess".
5. Exact: PRECISE
7. Former green card agcy.: INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service). Now the green card is handled by USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). I still call it INS.
8. Reagan mil. program: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). Known as the Star Wars, informally.
9. One living in poverty: HAVE-NOT
10. Old Venetian magistrate: DOGE. Italian for "duke"?
11. Dark: EVIL
12. It's "too short for chess": Henry J. Byron: LIFE. Have never heard of the quote.
13. Neighbor of an Estonian: LETT. The Latvian.
15. Solar year/lunar year differential: EPACT (EE-pakt). Was surprised that I did not know this word, considering that I often measure my day/year with Chinese lunar calendar.
16. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" director Nicholas: MEYER. Should I know him?
21. Sea dog: TAR. Both slang for "sailor".
22. Rembrandt van __: RYN. Ryn & Rijn & Rhine are the same, right, Kazie?
23. They may happen: IFS. Nice clue.
24. Oft-maligned kin: IN-LAW. True with my Mom's family.
25. Signaler in a box: COACH. Baseball.
26. Jung's inner self: ANIMA. Contrasted with "persona", the "public self".
27. The Muses. e.g.: NONET. There are nine Muses.
28. "Likewise": SO AM I
29. Pressed: URGED
30. Income, in Cannes.: RENTE. I used to think rente is French for "rent". It's actually "loyer".
31. The "her" in Broadway's "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face": ELIZA. From "My Fair Lady" . I peeked at the answer sheet.
38. Rock-throwing protesters: STONERS
39. Words of doubt: EHS
40. Good name: REP (Reputation). No hint for abbr.?
41. Abbr. for an unknown 42-Down: TBA. And AIR DATE (42d. When something is on). Wanted AIR TIME.
45. Express: STATE
46. Honkers: GEESE
50. Member's payment: DUES
51. Prefix with -zoic.: ENTO. Prefix for "within". Entozoic is (of a parasitic animal) living within the body of its host.
53. __ Mountains, which separate the Rhine and the Rhone: JURA. Located in the north of the Alps. Jura is literally "forest". Alien to me.
54. "what __!": "I've been had!": A RIP
55. Caesarean opening: VENI. The opening of Caesar's boast "Veni, vidi, vici". I was picturing childbirth.
56. Links-governing org.: USGA (United States Golf Association). Links = Golf.
59. Calendar col.: MON
60d/ X-files subjects, for short: ETS. Three consecutive Down abbreviations in this section.
Answer grid.
Happy LXV-th Birthday, Argyle!
C.C. the HAN
Total blocks: 37
Total words: 70
Six great grid-spanning 15-letter multi-word entries in Across:
14A. Dating option: DINNER AND A MOVIE. Dinner before or after a movie? I like latter.
17A. Thank-you trinket, e.g.: INEXPENSIVE GIFT
24A. "My mind isn't made up yet": I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE. Nice clue/answer.
44A. "You've got a lot of nerve!": WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?. New idiom to me.
57A. Retaliatory steps: COUNTERMEASURES
61A. Ups and downs of one's youth?: TEETER-TOTTERING. In playground.
Another humbling slog. So many unknowns & unaccustomed references. But I was so pleased to see HAN (6D. River to the Yangtze) in the grid. It's the longest branch of the Yangtze River (longest river in China/Asia). Han River rises from my hometown Shaanxi Province (Xi'An is its capital). There are 56 ethnic groups in China, about 92% are Han, which is named after the river. I am a Han.
Factual error with ACTA (48D. Washington Nationals manager Manny). Manny Acta is now with the Cleveland Indians.
Across:
1. Spoiled sci-fi race: ELOI. The "spoiled race" in "The Time Machine". Got me.
5. Engage in a high-tech scam: PHISH
10. High-tech mogul Michael: DELL. Founder of Dell Computer. I liked the "high-tech" sequence.
18. Arachnid's hatching pouch: EGG SAC. Here is a black widow spider and her egg sac.
19. Hole in your shoe?: EYELET. D'oh! Shoelace hole.
20. Lemon-colored quartz: CITRINE. New definition to me. Thought citrine is just an adjective for citrus.
32. Ill-advised move: NO-NO
33. German-born surrealist: ERNST (Max)
34. Oka River city: OREL (aw-REL). South of Moscow. New to me. Both the city and the damned river.
35. Stretched out: LAIN. Past particle of "lie". Dictionary gives an example: "The broad plain that lies before us". I filled in EKED.
36. Hindu fire god: AGNI (UHG-nee). Utter unknown unknown.
37. Peak: ACME
38. Perfect Sleeper maker: SERTA
43. French cathedral city: METZ. Metz Cathedral (Gothic) is nicknamed "God's Lantern". Stumper.
47. Extra: TO SPARE
48. Like chinchillas: ANDEAN
52. It may accompany a new experience: DEJA VU. Clever in retrospect.
62. What's more: ALSO
64. Capital on Upolu Island: APIA. Capital of Samoa.
Down:
1. Jack Kerouac's first wife: EDIE. Man, too obscure a clue for me.
3. Universal donor's type, briefly: O NEG. Keep reading the answer as ONE G.
4. Michael Hutchence's band: INXS. Pronounced like "in excess".
5. Exact: PRECISE
7. Former green card agcy.: INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service). Now the green card is handled by USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). I still call it INS.
8. Reagan mil. program: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). Known as the Star Wars, informally.
9. One living in poverty: HAVE-NOT
10. Old Venetian magistrate: DOGE. Italian for "duke"?
11. Dark: EVIL
12. It's "too short for chess": Henry J. Byron: LIFE. Have never heard of the quote.
13. Neighbor of an Estonian: LETT. The Latvian.
15. Solar year/lunar year differential: EPACT (EE-pakt). Was surprised that I did not know this word, considering that I often measure my day/year with Chinese lunar calendar.
16. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" director Nicholas: MEYER. Should I know him?
21. Sea dog: TAR. Both slang for "sailor".
22. Rembrandt van __: RYN. Ryn & Rijn & Rhine are the same, right, Kazie?
23. They may happen: IFS. Nice clue.
24. Oft-maligned kin: IN-LAW. True with my Mom's family.
25. Signaler in a box: COACH. Baseball.
26. Jung's inner self: ANIMA. Contrasted with "persona", the "public self".
27. The Muses. e.g.: NONET. There are nine Muses.
28. "Likewise": SO AM I
29. Pressed: URGED
30. Income, in Cannes.: RENTE. I used to think rente is French for "rent". It's actually "loyer".
31. The "her" in Broadway's "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face": ELIZA. From "My Fair Lady" . I peeked at the answer sheet.
38. Rock-throwing protesters: STONERS
39. Words of doubt: EHS
40. Good name: REP (Reputation). No hint for abbr.?
41. Abbr. for an unknown 42-Down: TBA. And AIR DATE (42d. When something is on). Wanted AIR TIME.
45. Express: STATE
46. Honkers: GEESE
50. Member's payment: DUES
51. Prefix with -zoic.: ENTO. Prefix for "within". Entozoic is (of a parasitic animal) living within the body of its host.
53. __ Mountains, which separate the Rhine and the Rhone: JURA. Located in the north of the Alps. Jura is literally "forest". Alien to me.
54. "what __!": "I've been had!": A RIP
55. Caesarean opening: VENI. The opening of Caesar's boast "Veni, vidi, vici". I was picturing childbirth.
56. Links-governing org.: USGA (United States Golf Association). Links = Golf.
59. Calendar col.: MON
60d/ X-files subjects, for short: ETS. Three consecutive Down abbreviations in this section.
Answer grid.
Happy LXV-th Birthday, Argyle!
C.C. the HAN
