Theme: Chem Lingo
23A: Einstein with no more einsteinium in stock, e.g.?: OUT OF ONE'S ELEMENT
36A: Incipient chemical concoction? INFANT FORMULA
54A: Caustic chemical couriers?: BASE RUNNERS
78A: Caustic remark about a litmus test result?: ACID COMMENT
97A: Report concerning chemical ions?: CHARGE ACCOUNT
112A: Attention given to a chemical mixture? COMPOUND INTEREST
16D: Where one buys chemical supplies?: MASS MARKET
71D: Neither black nor white chemical stuff?: GRAY MATTER
Where is ORGANIC/INORGANIC?
I really liked this puzzle, so well constructed. I had expected something complicated after I saw the titled theme, so I was elated when I got most of the themed entries without encountering too much resistance.
Wasted a long time on SNORE (73D: Saw wood in bed). I had actually heard of the idiom "saw wood" before, but I could not remember the exact meaning. I just kept wanting a past tense word and SLEPT sounded perfect.
I thought "Dorothy's surname" would be a better clue for GALE (22A: Whitecap weather) since we have AUNT EM (49D: Dorothy's guardian) in the grid.
It warmed my heart to see THAMES clued as "Flower by Big Ben" (35A), so comforting after my repeated pleas for a "flow-er" clue last week. But there should definitely be a "?" in the clue. Otherwise, it's too startling and senseless for a unsuspecting solver. I thought "Spanish flower?" would be a great clue for (48D: River of Spain) too.
There are so many things that flow: river, cash, air, hot lava, champagne, thought, information, idea, words, sweat, love and tears. But a broken heart is indeed like a river that won't flow.
I've been enjoying the real flowers and music in this Ravel Bolero clip. I hope you like it too.
Across:
1A: Natural fountain: SPRING. This flows too. What's the real difference between SPRING water and mineral water?
20A: Unbroken view: PANORAMAS. For those who only solve Sunday's crossword puzzle, enjoy this Outer Space flash movie Sallie linked yesterday. Beautiful!
27A: West coat seagull: MEW. Here is a picture. New to me.
40A: Ranch name in "Giant": REATA. I forgot. Saw this clue long time ago on a TMS puzzle. Have you seen "Giant" before? So many people collect James Dean memorabilia.
47A: Roskalnikov's refusals: NYETS. Is Roskalnikov from Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment"? Or is it just a popular Russian name? I had never heard of it before.
67A: Mr. Peanut's spiffy legwear: SPATS. New to me also. Is it the same as gaiter? SPATS was clued as "Rhubarbs" earlier this week.
68A: Kevin Klein movie: DAVE. It's a pretty good movie.
84A: Niels or Aage of physics: BOHR. Both of them won Nobel prize in physics.
92A: Pers. with a handle?: CBER
96A: "All Men Are Whores" dramatist: MAMET (David). I've never heard of his name before. But what a terrible play title. I dislike so much the word "whore".
105A: Canvas colors?: OILS. What do you think about this clue?
111A: Dated leader?: ANTE. A nice change from "Feed the kitty' clue.
119A: Combo bet: EXACTA. And trifecta. What else?
Down:
4D: Forge output: IRON BAR
5D: Letters on a rubber check: NSF. I did not know that a bounced check is also called a rubber check.
6D: Euclid's province: GEOMETRY. I also did not know that province also means "a department or branch of learning or activity".
18D: Loudly laments: KEENS. And 80D: Poetic lament: ELEGY
33D: Trivial stuff: DROSS. New to me also. I always thought of DROSS as "discarded waste matter".
38D: Old French bread?: FRANC. It's the "Stale Swiss bread" too.
39D: Series of eight: OCTAD. Basically there is no difference between OCTAD and OCTET, right?
50D: Bearded grazers: GNUS. I only remembered his horns, had never paid attention to his beard .
58D: Goalie's feat: SAVE. A closer can achieve this feat too.
61D: Robin Cook thriller: COMA. Learned this from doing Xword. Have you read this book?
65D: Novi Sad resident: SERB. Novi Sad is Serbia's second largest city, after Belgrade. New to me also.
68D: Moral obligation: DUTY. I vodka Dennis so much. He has done such a great job fulfilling his morel moral obligation for this country.
72D: Polecat defense: ODOR. Did not know that skunk is also called polecat.
75D: "As You Liked it" forest: ARDEN. I just learned that Shakespeare's mother's name is Mary ARDEN.
76D: Cereal box fig.: NET WT. Ha, I always thought it's NT WT.
91D: Big-billed bird: PELICAN. Gimme for Chris I am sure. It's their state bird. I really liked Denzel Washington's role in "The PELIAN Brief".
92D: Pause in conversation: CAESURA. Completely foreign to me. What exactly is a CAESURA?
98D: Spartan drudge: HELOT. I forgot. All I could think of was SERF. Have difficulty remembering any Spartan/Laconian stuff.
108D: Orlop or poop: DECK. I've never heard of poop deck before. What a strange name!
109D: Italian noble family: ESTE. I forgot how they are related to Ferrara.
115D: Joanne of films: DRU. I googled her name, and found out that she did quite a few movies with John Wayne.
116D: Outer: pref.: EXO. The opposite prefix is ENDO.
C.C.
23A: Einstein with no more einsteinium in stock, e.g.?: OUT OF ONE'S ELEMENT
36A: Incipient chemical concoction? INFANT FORMULA
54A: Caustic chemical couriers?: BASE RUNNERS
78A: Caustic remark about a litmus test result?: ACID COMMENT
97A: Report concerning chemical ions?: CHARGE ACCOUNT
112A: Attention given to a chemical mixture? COMPOUND INTEREST
16D: Where one buys chemical supplies?: MASS MARKET
71D: Neither black nor white chemical stuff?: GRAY MATTER
Where is ORGANIC/INORGANIC?
I really liked this puzzle, so well constructed. I had expected something complicated after I saw the titled theme, so I was elated when I got most of the themed entries without encountering too much resistance.
Wasted a long time on SNORE (73D: Saw wood in bed). I had actually heard of the idiom "saw wood" before, but I could not remember the exact meaning. I just kept wanting a past tense word and SLEPT sounded perfect.
I thought "Dorothy's surname" would be a better clue for GALE (22A: Whitecap weather) since we have AUNT EM (49D: Dorothy's guardian) in the grid.
It warmed my heart to see THAMES clued as "Flower by Big Ben" (35A), so comforting after my repeated pleas for a "flow-er" clue last week. But there should definitely be a "?" in the clue. Otherwise, it's too startling and senseless for a unsuspecting solver. I thought "Spanish flower?" would be a great clue for (48D: River of Spain) too.
There are so many things that flow: river, cash, air, hot lava, champagne, thought, information, idea, words, sweat, love and tears. But a broken heart is indeed like a river that won't flow.
I've been enjoying the real flowers and music in this Ravel Bolero clip. I hope you like it too.
Across:
1A: Natural fountain: SPRING. This flows too. What's the real difference between SPRING water and mineral water?
20A: Unbroken view: PANORAMAS. For those who only solve Sunday's crossword puzzle, enjoy this Outer Space flash movie Sallie linked yesterday. Beautiful!
27A: West coat seagull: MEW. Here is a picture. New to me.
40A: Ranch name in "Giant": REATA. I forgot. Saw this clue long time ago on a TMS puzzle. Have you seen "Giant" before? So many people collect James Dean memorabilia.
47A: Roskalnikov's refusals: NYETS. Is Roskalnikov from Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment"? Or is it just a popular Russian name? I had never heard of it before.
67A: Mr. Peanut's spiffy legwear: SPATS. New to me also. Is it the same as gaiter? SPATS was clued as "Rhubarbs" earlier this week.
68A: Kevin Klein movie: DAVE. It's a pretty good movie.
84A: Niels or Aage of physics: BOHR. Both of them won Nobel prize in physics.
92A: Pers. with a handle?: CBER
96A: "All Men Are Whores" dramatist: MAMET (David). I've never heard of his name before. But what a terrible play title. I dislike so much the word "whore".
105A: Canvas colors?: OILS. What do you think about this clue?
111A: Dated leader?: ANTE. A nice change from "Feed the kitty' clue.
119A: Combo bet: EXACTA. And trifecta. What else?
Down:
4D: Forge output: IRON BAR
5D: Letters on a rubber check: NSF. I did not know that a bounced check is also called a rubber check.
6D: Euclid's province: GEOMETRY. I also did not know that province also means "a department or branch of learning or activity".
18D: Loudly laments: KEENS. And 80D: Poetic lament: ELEGY
33D: Trivial stuff: DROSS. New to me also. I always thought of DROSS as "discarded waste matter".
38D: Old French bread?: FRANC. It's the "Stale Swiss bread" too.
39D: Series of eight: OCTAD. Basically there is no difference between OCTAD and OCTET, right?
50D: Bearded grazers: GNUS. I only remembered his horns, had never paid attention to his beard .
58D: Goalie's feat: SAVE. A closer can achieve this feat too.
61D: Robin Cook thriller: COMA. Learned this from doing Xword. Have you read this book?
65D: Novi Sad resident: SERB. Novi Sad is Serbia's second largest city, after Belgrade. New to me also.
68D: Moral obligation: DUTY. I vodka Dennis so much. He has done such a great job fulfilling his
72D: Polecat defense: ODOR. Did not know that skunk is also called polecat.
75D: "As You Liked it" forest: ARDEN. I just learned that Shakespeare's mother's name is Mary ARDEN.
76D: Cereal box fig.: NET WT. Ha, I always thought it's NT WT.
91D: Big-billed bird: PELICAN. Gimme for Chris I am sure. It's their state bird. I really liked Denzel Washington's role in "The PELIAN Brief".
92D: Pause in conversation: CAESURA. Completely foreign to me. What exactly is a CAESURA?
98D: Spartan drudge: HELOT. I forgot. All I could think of was SERF. Have difficulty remembering any Spartan/Laconian stuff.
108D: Orlop or poop: DECK. I've never heard of poop deck before. What a strange name!
109D: Italian noble family: ESTE. I forgot how they are related to Ferrara.
115D: Joanne of films: DRU. I googled her name, and found out that she did quite a few movies with John Wayne.
116D: Outer: pref.: EXO. The opposite prefix is ENDO.
C.C.
