Theme: What a Slugger!
17A: One who's at home on the range: COWPUNCHER
57A: Noisy eater: LIP SMACKER
10D: Oater villain who attacks from hiding: BUSHWHACKER
25A: Girl idolizing a pop star, perhaps: TEENYBOPPER
I did not know BOP can mean "strike/hit" too. TEENYBOPPER was not a familiar phrase to me. Nor did I know COWPUNCHER is simply a slang for cowboy.
Read a few pages of Molly Irvins's "Bushwhacked" several summers' ago. But I had never bothered to check what's the exact meaning of bushwhack. Wikipedia says one the most famous men who fought as a BUSHWHACKER was Jesse James. LIP SMACKER is a lip gloss brand too.
Plus BOOT HILL (28A: Gunfighters' graveyard) and NRA (55A: Org. that sticks to its guns?), this puzzle has some force!
Several affixes in today's grid: RESOD (64: Patch the lawn, in a way), USER (16A: Manipulative sort), SUER (54A: Litigant), and WRESTLER (38D: Andre the Giant, e.g.). Andre the Giant is also the nickname of Vogue's Andre Leon Talley, the adviser on fashion to the Obama's. He introduced Jason Wu to Michelle Obama.
Just found out earlier that Pancho in Pancho Harrison means "free man" in Spanish. Not an easy Monday for me at all. I think I am in a slump.
Across:
1A: Big name in copiers: MITA. Xerox, Canon & Ricoh are big to me. I've never heard of MITA copier.
5A: Improvise on stage: AD-LIB. Always thought Obama is good at AD-LIB. Had no idea that he relies on teleprompter heavily.
10A: Yawn-inducing speaker: BORE. And its anagram BOER (21A: Transvaal settler). Transvaal means "beyond the Vaal River" in Afrikaans. Is two a's spelling also common in Dutch language?
15A: Gaucho's rope: RIATA. Or REATA, often clued as "Giant" ranch.
19A: Venetian blind part: SLAT. Once Williams clued SLAT as "Louvre part" and confused the hell out of me. I did not know louver can be spelled as louvre, so I kept thinking of the museum.
20A: Make haste: HIE. Used to mix HIE with FIE.
22A: Words after "Hi, honey!": I'M HOME
24A:Counting everything: ALL TOLD
26A: Crock-Pot potful: STEW. Winter is over, no more STEW or chili.
27A: Antiquity, once: ELD. Oh, I had the wrong notion that ELD is an old adjective meaning "old".
35A: Jean Auel's "The __ of the Cave Bear": CLAN. Sigh! I totally forgot about this book. Someone mentioned the Daryl Hannah (Ayla) movie before. I bet it's a gimme for Crockett. Jean Auel lives in Oregon.
36A: 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. Here is the clip. I used to confuse the song with Verdi's AIDA.
40A: 1960s Cosby/Culp espionage series: I SPY. Learned the title I SPY from doing Xword. Sounds fun.
41A: Roger of "Cheers": REES. Nope. Not a familiar actor to me. He is a Welsh-American. He looks very cold.
42A: Do axels and lutzes: SKATE. Did not know the plural form of lutz is lutzes. What's the plural for Pez then? Pezes?
43A: Corned beef is usually ordered on it: RYE BREAD. What's the difference between RYE BREAD and Pumpernickel again? I am not fond of caraway seeds.
47A: Take back, as a public statement: RETRACT
51A: Fozzie Bear, e.g.: MUPPET. Fozzie Bear is new to me.
60A: Doily material: LACE. "Lingerie material" too.
62A: Queen played by Liz: CLEO. Have you tried Cleopatra's milk and honey bath?
63A: Norse thunder god: THOR. Thursday is named after him.
Down:
1D: Coffee-chocolate mix: MOCHA. Named after the Yemen port.
2D: How some tuna is packed: IN OIL
3D: Beach drier: TOWEL
4D: Dada pioneer Jean: ARP
8D: Suffix with Canaan: ITE. Suffix with Israel also.
9D: Voice between bass and tenor: BARITONE. Is Michael Bublé a BARITONE?
13D: Art Deco designer: ERTE. French pronunciation of his initials R. T. (Romain de Tirtoff).
18D: Horseshoe-shaped hardware: U-BOLT. I forgot what a U-BOLT is.
26D: Uses a hang glider: SOARS. Did not know what a hang glider is.
28D: Run, as colors in the wash: BLEED
32D: Light-skinned: FAIR. Filled in PALE first.
34D: Easy gait: LOPE. Wanted TROT.
35D: Use crib notes: CHEAT. Not familiar with "crib notes". I pictured notes written on baby's crib.
42D: Kama __: SUTRA. Kama is Hindu god of erotic desire. SUTRA is Hindu aphorism.
47D: Rene of "Tin Cup": RUSSO. She is an Italian-American. I thought she has Russian roots. "Tin Cup" is a good movie.
48D: Bracelet site: ANKLE. Not WRIST? What about anklet then?
51D: Ice cream drink: MALT. What's your daily beverage for dinner? I have a friend who drinks milk with his meal. Weird.
53D: Somewhat, in music: POCO. New word to me. ASSAI is "Very, in music". Both Italian are origins.
69D: IV amounts: CCS. Just had CCED the other day. Now I am waiting for CCING.
Answer Grid.
C.C.
17A: One who's at home on the range: COWPUNCHER
57A: Noisy eater: LIP SMACKER
10D: Oater villain who attacks from hiding: BUSHWHACKER
25A: Girl idolizing a pop star, perhaps: TEENYBOPPER
I did not know BOP can mean "strike/hit" too. TEENYBOPPER was not a familiar phrase to me. Nor did I know COWPUNCHER is simply a slang for cowboy.
Read a few pages of Molly Irvins's "Bushwhacked" several summers' ago. But I had never bothered to check what's the exact meaning of bushwhack. Wikipedia says one the most famous men who fought as a BUSHWHACKER was Jesse James. LIP SMACKER is a lip gloss brand too.
Plus BOOT HILL (28A: Gunfighters' graveyard) and NRA (55A: Org. that sticks to its guns?), this puzzle has some force!
Several affixes in today's grid: RESOD (64: Patch the lawn, in a way), USER (16A: Manipulative sort), SUER (54A: Litigant), and WRESTLER (38D: Andre the Giant, e.g.). Andre the Giant is also the nickname of Vogue's Andre Leon Talley, the adviser on fashion to the Obama's. He introduced Jason Wu to Michelle Obama.
Just found out earlier that Pancho in Pancho Harrison means "free man" in Spanish. Not an easy Monday for me at all. I think I am in a slump.
Across:
1A: Big name in copiers: MITA. Xerox, Canon & Ricoh are big to me. I've never heard of MITA copier.
5A: Improvise on stage: AD-LIB. Always thought Obama is good at AD-LIB. Had no idea that he relies on teleprompter heavily.
10A: Yawn-inducing speaker: BORE. And its anagram BOER (21A: Transvaal settler). Transvaal means "beyond the Vaal River" in Afrikaans. Is two a's spelling also common in Dutch language?
15A: Gaucho's rope: RIATA. Or REATA, often clued as "Giant" ranch.
19A: Venetian blind part: SLAT. Once Williams clued SLAT as "Louvre part" and confused the hell out of me. I did not know louver can be spelled as louvre, so I kept thinking of the museum.
20A: Make haste: HIE. Used to mix HIE with FIE.
22A: Words after "Hi, honey!": I'M HOME
24A:Counting everything: ALL TOLD
26A: Crock-Pot potful: STEW. Winter is over, no more STEW or chili.
27A: Antiquity, once: ELD. Oh, I had the wrong notion that ELD is an old adjective meaning "old".
35A: Jean Auel's "The __ of the Cave Bear": CLAN. Sigh! I totally forgot about this book. Someone mentioned the Daryl Hannah (Ayla) movie before. I bet it's a gimme for Crockett. Jean Auel lives in Oregon.
36A: 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. Here is the clip. I used to confuse the song with Verdi's AIDA.
40A: 1960s Cosby/Culp espionage series: I SPY. Learned the title I SPY from doing Xword. Sounds fun.
41A: Roger of "Cheers": REES. Nope. Not a familiar actor to me. He is a Welsh-American. He looks very cold.
42A: Do axels and lutzes: SKATE. Did not know the plural form of lutz is lutzes. What's the plural for Pez then? Pezes?
43A: Corned beef is usually ordered on it: RYE BREAD. What's the difference between RYE BREAD and Pumpernickel again? I am not fond of caraway seeds.
47A: Take back, as a public statement: RETRACT
51A: Fozzie Bear, e.g.: MUPPET. Fozzie Bear is new to me.
60A: Doily material: LACE. "Lingerie material" too.
62A: Queen played by Liz: CLEO. Have you tried Cleopatra's milk and honey bath?
63A: Norse thunder god: THOR. Thursday is named after him.
Down:
1D: Coffee-chocolate mix: MOCHA. Named after the Yemen port.
2D: How some tuna is packed: IN OIL
3D: Beach drier: TOWEL
4D: Dada pioneer Jean: ARP
8D: Suffix with Canaan: ITE. Suffix with Israel also.
9D: Voice between bass and tenor: BARITONE. Is Michael Bublé a BARITONE?
13D: Art Deco designer: ERTE. French pronunciation of his initials R. T. (Romain de Tirtoff).
18D: Horseshoe-shaped hardware: U-BOLT. I forgot what a U-BOLT is.
26D: Uses a hang glider: SOARS. Did not know what a hang glider is.
28D: Run, as colors in the wash: BLEED
32D: Light-skinned: FAIR. Filled in PALE first.
34D: Easy gait: LOPE. Wanted TROT.
35D: Use crib notes: CHEAT. Not familiar with "crib notes". I pictured notes written on baby's crib.
42D: Kama __: SUTRA. Kama is Hindu god of erotic desire. SUTRA is Hindu aphorism.
47D: Rene of "Tin Cup": RUSSO. She is an Italian-American. I thought she has Russian roots. "Tin Cup" is a good movie.
48D: Bracelet site: ANKLE. Not WRIST? What about anklet then?
51D: Ice cream drink: MALT. What's your daily beverage for dinner? I have a friend who drinks milk with his meal. Weird.
53D: Somewhat, in music: POCO. New word to me. ASSAI is "Very, in music". Both Italian are origins.
69D: IV amounts: CCS. Just had CCED the other day. Now I am waiting for CCING.
Answer Grid.
C.C.
