Theme: Kerannng! Car crash calamities. Eight cars are involved in accidents around the grid.
As explained by the grid-spanning reveal:
38A. Car mishaps that occur at this puzzle's four circles : T-BONE COLLISIONS.
If you didn't have circles in your puzzle then look at the grid at the bottom of the post and the "t-bones" should become clear (if you hadn't spotted them already).
1A. "Pay attention!" (Ford) : FOCUS! & 3D. Type of pride (Honda) : CIVIC
9A. Minute Maid Park player (Chevy) : ASTRO & 11D. Beat (Ford) : TEMPO
46A. Venomous snake (Dodge) : VIPER & 48D. Space explorer (Ford) : PROBE
51A. Atlas, for one (Nissan) : TITAN & 53D. Western skiing mecca (Chevy) : TAHOE.
Very slick puzzle from Bruce. There's a lot to admire here - the theme itself, the quintuple-stacked 5's in each corner, the bisecting grid-spanners across and down, the long downs, and the tricky single-entry points to the corner blocks. This could have been a beast without solid crosses, and there would be a real temptation to load up the 3's with crosswordese.
I'm not sure the car brands in the clues were necessary and might actually have detracted from the challenge, but I wonder if test solvers struggled without them.
I don't think the theme entries themselves need any clarification - maybe non-sports folks would like the confirmation that baseball's Houston Astros play at Minute Maid Park; Atlas was one of the Titans in Greek mythology for the non-classicists among us.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
6. Time for new growth: Abbr. : SPR.
14. Select group : A-LIST
15. Eastern ideal : TAO
16. Absolute : SHEER
17. Summer Olympics competitor : DIVER
18. Symmetrically placed Monopoly sqs. : R.R.S. Railroad Stations. Liverpool Street, King's Cross, Marylebone and Fenchurch Street in the London version.
19. Bambino's parent : MAMMA
20. Musical narrated by Che : EVITA
21. Squeeze (out) : EKE
22. Cosmetician Adrien : ARPEL. Close to a personal natick with the "A" crossing "ASMARA", but I guessed right.
23. Info-gathering mission : RECON
24. Entanglement : WEB
25. Guffaw evokers : RIOTS
26. Way up the mountain : GONDOLA. A lot more comfortable than the old chair lifts and t-bars.
29. Slowpokes : SNAILS
33. 1945 battle setting, familiarly : IWO. Jima.
34. "Macbeth" witches, e.g. : TRIO. Shakespeare's "weird" or "weyward" sisters were never named.
41. Jabbers : YAKS
42. Lip-reading alternative: Abbr. : A.S.L. American Sign Language. Did you notice at the start of the singing of the National Anthem at the Superbowl that CBS put a camera on the ASL interpreter for about three seconds, and the producer never showed her again? Somewhat defeats the purpose.
43. Subtlety : NUANCE
44. Writer who used his actual middle name as a pen name : DR. SEUSS
50. Place for a key: Abbr. : IGN. If one of the puzzle's eight cars hadn't put a key in the ignition this morning, that would have been one fewer accident.
56. Pianist known for his Beethoven interpretations : ARRAU. Thank you, crosses
57. Most preferred, in texts : FAV
58. RollerCoaster Tycoon World publisher : ATARI. A video game. I don't play them.
59. Pope after John X : LEO VI
60. Seine sight : ILE. The famous cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is located on the Ile de la Cité.
61. Can't be beaten : IS HOT
62. Not yet up : IN BED
63. Yalie : ELI
64. Calf-roping loop : NOOSE
65. Monopoly stack : DEEDS
66. 67-Acr. has one : SYL. Syllable.
67. Show contempt : SNEER
Down:
1. Sound mixing control : FADER. Take your pick.
2. Bar staple : OLIVE
4. Be of __: help : USE TO
5. Suppress : STRANGLE
6. Scattered : STREWN
7. Subject to ticketing : PARKED ILLEGALLY. Very nicely automotive-related in tune with the main theme.
8. NCAA's "Granddaddy of them all" : ROSE BOWL. So nicknamed because it's the oldest college football bowl game. Played on New Year's Day just up the road from me in Pasadena.
9. Capital of Eritrea : ASMARA. I didn't know this, and as I mentioned, was almost naticked with ARPEL. Guessed right.
10. Lewis with Lamb Chop : SHARI.
12. Convened again : RE-MET. Grammatically OK, but have any of us actually used this?
13. Educational hurdles : ORALS. EXAMS went in, EXAMS came out.
27. Prize for a picture : OSCAR
28. Beef cuts : LOINS. In legend, a particularly tasty loin was knighted by King James I to become the Sir Loin.
29. Rooting place : STY. I tried BED first for plant roots.
30. Larry O'Brien Trophy org. : N.B.A. The championship trophy named for the Postmaster General turned NBA Commissioner.
31. "Fine with me!" : A-OK
32. Connections : INS
34. Familia member : TIA
35. Harry's Hogwarts cohort : RON. Potter's buddy Weasley. I read about 100 pages of the first book, but never got into it.
36. Firm ending? : INC.
37. Verb ending : -OSE
39. Hardens into bone : OSSIFIES
40. Keeps up : SUSTAINS
44. Ancient Celtic priests : DRUIDS
45. Present to the public : UNVEIL
46. Well-founded : VALID
47. Adler of Sherlock Holmes lore : IRENE. She appears in "A Scandal in Bohemia" and Holmes scholars like to refer to her as Sherlock's love interest.
49. Like many roofs : EAVED
52. "Challenge accepted!" : IT'S ON
54. Got up : AROSE
55. Gunpowder ingredient : NITER. Along with sulfur and charcoal.
I think that's it from me. Here's the grid, complete with circles and the "T" patterns shown in blue.
Steve
As explained by the grid-spanning reveal:
38A. Car mishaps that occur at this puzzle's four circles : T-BONE COLLISIONS.
 |
| No crash-test dummies were injured in this experiment |
1A. "Pay attention!" (Ford) : FOCUS! & 3D. Type of pride (Honda) : CIVIC
9A. Minute Maid Park player (Chevy) : ASTRO & 11D. Beat (Ford) : TEMPO
46A. Venomous snake (Dodge) : VIPER & 48D. Space explorer (Ford) : PROBE
51A. Atlas, for one (Nissan) : TITAN & 53D. Western skiing mecca (Chevy) : TAHOE.
Very slick puzzle from Bruce. There's a lot to admire here - the theme itself, the quintuple-stacked 5's in each corner, the bisecting grid-spanners across and down, the long downs, and the tricky single-entry points to the corner blocks. This could have been a beast without solid crosses, and there would be a real temptation to load up the 3's with crosswordese.
I'm not sure the car brands in the clues were necessary and might actually have detracted from the challenge, but I wonder if test solvers struggled without them.
I don't think the theme entries themselves need any clarification - maybe non-sports folks would like the confirmation that baseball's Houston Astros play at Minute Maid Park; Atlas was one of the Titans in Greek mythology for the non-classicists among us.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
6. Time for new growth: Abbr. : SPR.
"This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green,
Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,
Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between
Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes."
(D.H.Lawrence)
14. Select group : A-LIST
15. Eastern ideal : TAO
16. Absolute : SHEER
17. Summer Olympics competitor : DIVER
18. Symmetrically placed Monopoly sqs. : R.R.S. Railroad Stations. Liverpool Street, King's Cross, Marylebone and Fenchurch Street in the London version.
19. Bambino's parent : MAMMA
20. Musical narrated by Che : EVITA
21. Squeeze (out) : EKE
22. Cosmetician Adrien : ARPEL. Close to a personal natick with the "A" crossing "ASMARA", but I guessed right.
23. Info-gathering mission : RECON
24. Entanglement : WEB
25. Guffaw evokers : RIOTS
26. Way up the mountain : GONDOLA. A lot more comfortable than the old chair lifts and t-bars.
29. Slowpokes : SNAILS
33. 1945 battle setting, familiarly : IWO. Jima.
34. "Macbeth" witches, e.g. : TRIO. Shakespeare's "weird" or "weyward" sisters were never named.
41. Jabbers : YAKS
42. Lip-reading alternative: Abbr. : A.S.L. American Sign Language. Did you notice at the start of the singing of the National Anthem at the Superbowl that CBS put a camera on the ASL interpreter for about three seconds, and the producer never showed her again? Somewhat defeats the purpose.
43. Subtlety : NUANCE
44. Writer who used his actual middle name as a pen name : DR. SEUSS
50. Place for a key: Abbr. : IGN. If one of the puzzle's eight cars hadn't put a key in the ignition this morning, that would have been one fewer accident.
56. Pianist known for his Beethoven interpretations : ARRAU. Thank you, crosses
57. Most preferred, in texts : FAV
58. RollerCoaster Tycoon World publisher : ATARI. A video game. I don't play them.
59. Pope after John X : LEO VI
60. Seine sight : ILE. The famous cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is located on the Ile de la Cité.
61. Can't be beaten : IS HOT
62. Not yet up : IN BED
63. Yalie : ELI
64. Calf-roping loop : NOOSE
65. Monopoly stack : DEEDS
66. 67-Acr. has one : SYL. Syllable.
67. Show contempt : SNEER
Down:
1. Sound mixing control : FADER. Take your pick.
2. Bar staple : OLIVE
4. Be of __: help : USE TO
5. Suppress : STRANGLE
6. Scattered : STREWN
7. Subject to ticketing : PARKED ILLEGALLY. Very nicely automotive-related in tune with the main theme.
8. NCAA's "Granddaddy of them all" : ROSE BOWL. So nicknamed because it's the oldest college football bowl game. Played on New Year's Day just up the road from me in Pasadena.
9. Capital of Eritrea : ASMARA. I didn't know this, and as I mentioned, was almost naticked with ARPEL. Guessed right.
10. Lewis with Lamb Chop : SHARI.
12. Convened again : RE-MET. Grammatically OK, but have any of us actually used this?
13. Educational hurdles : ORALS. EXAMS went in, EXAMS came out.
27. Prize for a picture : OSCAR
28. Beef cuts : LOINS. In legend, a particularly tasty loin was knighted by King James I to become the Sir Loin.
29. Rooting place : STY. I tried BED first for plant roots.
30. Larry O'Brien Trophy org. : N.B.A. The championship trophy named for the Postmaster General turned NBA Commissioner.
31. "Fine with me!" : A-OK
32. Connections : INS
34. Familia member : TIA
35. Harry's Hogwarts cohort : RON. Potter's buddy Weasley. I read about 100 pages of the first book, but never got into it.
36. Firm ending? : INC.
37. Verb ending : -OSE
39. Hardens into bone : OSSIFIES
40. Keeps up : SUSTAINS
44. Ancient Celtic priests : DRUIDS
45. Present to the public : UNVEIL
46. Well-founded : VALID
47. Adler of Sherlock Holmes lore : IRENE. She appears in "A Scandal in Bohemia" and Holmes scholars like to refer to her as Sherlock's love interest.
49. Like many roofs : EAVED
52. "Challenge accepted!" : IT'S ON
54. Got up : AROSE
55. Gunpowder ingredient : NITER. Along with sulfur and charcoal.
I think that's it from me. Here's the grid, complete with circles and the "T" patterns shown in blue.
Steve
