Theme: S-lopped Over (Familiar ST-beginning phrases with S lopped)
17A: Insect's working hours?: (S)TICK SHIFT. Manuel transmission.
24A: Seaman who saw it all? (S)TAR WITNESS. One who provides crucial information in a criminal case. TAR is slang for sailor, so is GOB.
34A: Split end?: (S)TRESS FRACTURE. Common sports injury. Split ends are often seen in long hair, hence TRESS.
46A: London museum's hidden camera locations?: (S)TATE SECRET. Often classified. TATE museums.
53A: Where two-wheelers aren't allowed? (S)TRIKE ZONE. Over home plate. Between batter's knees and shoulders.
Hmm, a beautifully woven tapestry, but with an eye-catching flaw. The clue for CAST (37D: Fracture treatment) should have been changed.
Lots of fill-in-the-blanks in this puzzle:
28A: __ Moines: DES
43A: Gal__: PAL
49A: __Alto: PALO
57A: __ Corning, maker of Fiberglas: OWENS
6D: Rapper Mos __: DEF. Mos DEF = Most Definitely.
13D: __ the line: TOE. Did not like the "line" due to ON LINE (21A: Where users meet).
32D: End in __: A TIE
48D: Horse __: SENSE
A clear sign that Rich Norris is continuing his eased-up cluing for Friday & Saturday. Perfect for me, as I've sadly realized that I am simply not able to handle his normal late week puzzles.
Across:
1A: NBA stats: PTS (Points)
4A: Meccan, e.g.: SAUDI. Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia. The holiest city of Islam. I did not know people of Mecca are called Meccan though.
9A: Silver fish: SMELT. I've yet to try fried SMELT someday.
14A: The Rams of the NCAA's Atlantic 10 Conf.: URI (University of Rhode Island). The answer revealed itself. I forgot that their mascot is a ram.
15A: Popular place to go downhill: ASPEN. The Colorado ski resort.
16A: Something not done: TABOO. Sigh. I was picturing some rare/medium meat that's not well done.
19A: Peace goddess: IRENE. Gimme.
20A: Tools with teeth: RAKES
29A: Scout's concern: TALENT. Sometimes the answer is RECON.
30A: Site of bedlam: ZOO. Liked the clue.
31A: One-named model on many romance novel covers: FABIO. The Italian long-haired model. Not my type.
32A: Attention-getting sounds: AHEMS
38A: Young Aussie hoppers: JOEYS. Baby kangaroos are called JOEYS.
39A: Plumbing outlet: DRAIN
40A: 911 response outlet: EMS
41A: Tiny African threat: TSETSE. Good to see the fly's full name.
50A: Must: HAVE TO. Wrote down NEED TO first.
51A: Malice: VENOM
52A: Former #1 woman pool player Corr: KAREN. Nicknamed "the Irish Invader". Unknown to me, though her face looks familiar. Must have seen on on ESPN before.
58A: Gave in: CAVED. Mine was CEDED.
59A: Israeli weapon: UZI. The "British weapon" is STEN.
60A: Do figures, in a way: SKATE. Figure is defined as "a movement, pattern, or series of movements in skating" in dictionary. Is that how figure skating got its name? I was thinking of numeral figure.
61A: Doglike scavenger: HYENA. The "laughing" scavenger.
62A: Whole lot: TON
Down:
1D: Rotten: PUTRID
2D: "M*A*S*H" system: TRIAGE. The military medical prioritizing system.
3D: Perverted types: SICKOS
4D: Impudence: SASS
5D: Burning issue?: ASH. Got me. Very clever.
6D: News letter: UPI. And TASS (29D: Soviet news agency)
8D: Back from a trip, say: IN TOWN. Thought of RETURN first.
9D: Clown's accessory: STILT. I was picturing the big nose on a clown's face.
10D: Sausalito's county: MARIN. Not familiar with Sausalito, a Bay Area city. Wikipedia says both ISABEL Allende and Amy Tan live there.
11D: Charles's miser: EBENEZER (Scrooge). "Dickens' miser" would be SCROOGE. Given name in clue = given name in answer. Surname in clue = Surname in answer.
12D: Like the road in a classic ballad: LONESOME. Stumper. James Taylor's "That LONESOME Road".
18D: Flooey lead-in: KER. Also lead-in for plop/plunk.
25D: First Arab letter: ALIF. The first Hebrew letter is ALEPH.
28D: Ask for more: REORDER
27D: Scrubbing brand: SOS. So you wear glove when using SOS?
31D: Five-time Emmy winner Tina: FEY. What a great job with Sarah Palin. "I can see Russia from my house."
33:D Attila, notably: HUN. Attila the HUN.
34D: Western weapon: TOMAHAWK. Awesome answer.
35D: Interstate feature: REST AREA
36D: Museo display: ARTE. Spanish/Italian for art. Museo is Spanish/Italian for museum.
38D: Air Force One, e.g.: JET
41D: Asian holiday: TET. Well, it's only a Vietnamese holiday. Would you call Bastille Day an "European holiday"? I don't think so. It's only a French National holiday.
42D: It's often served with soda: SCOTCH
43D: End successfully: PAN OUT
44D: Former NBA star Mourning: ALONZO. No idea. He last played for the Miami Heat.
45D: Chinese menu offering: LO MEIN. LO = dredge up. MEIN = noodles. It's not stir-fried. CHOW MEIN is. CHOW simply means "to stir-fry". All Cantonese.
47D: Olympics contest, e.g.: EVENT
49D: Dispensable candy: PEZ. This puzzle has three Z's, one J, three V's and 5 K's. Quite scrabbly.
51D: Hindu sacred text: VEDA. Sanskrit for "sacred lore, knowledge".
52D: Decks in a ring: KOS (Knock outs). Wish there were an abbreviation hint.
54D: Light line: RAY. RAY Of hope? The "line" bothers me too.
55D: "__been meaning to tell you...": I'VE. That "Wo Ai Ni", Chinese for "I love you".
56D: "Jeopardy!" great Jennings: KEN. Alas, H&R Block.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of Dr. Dad and his family. It's taken 7 or 8 years ago. From left to right: Dr. Dad, his wife Kathy, daughter Jennifer who is now 26 years old and living in New Jersey, and daughter Danielle who is now 14 and starting high school this year.
C.C.
17A: Insect's working hours?: (S)TICK SHIFT. Manuel transmission.
24A: Seaman who saw it all? (S)TAR WITNESS. One who provides crucial information in a criminal case. TAR is slang for sailor, so is GOB.
34A: Split end?: (S)TRESS FRACTURE. Common sports injury. Split ends are often seen in long hair, hence TRESS.
46A: London museum's hidden camera locations?: (S)TATE SECRET. Often classified. TATE museums.
53A: Where two-wheelers aren't allowed? (S)TRIKE ZONE. Over home plate. Between batter's knees and shoulders.
Hmm, a beautifully woven tapestry, but with an eye-catching flaw. The clue for CAST (37D: Fracture treatment) should have been changed.
Lots of fill-in-the-blanks in this puzzle:
28A: __ Moines: DES
43A: Gal__: PAL
49A: __Alto: PALO
57A: __ Corning, maker of Fiberglas: OWENS
6D: Rapper Mos __: DEF. Mos DEF = Most Definitely.
13D: __ the line: TOE. Did not like the "line" due to ON LINE (21A: Where users meet).
32D: End in __: A TIE
48D: Horse __: SENSE
A clear sign that Rich Norris is continuing his eased-up cluing for Friday & Saturday. Perfect for me, as I've sadly realized that I am simply not able to handle his normal late week puzzles.
Across:
1A: NBA stats: PTS (Points)
4A: Meccan, e.g.: SAUDI. Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia. The holiest city of Islam. I did not know people of Mecca are called Meccan though.
9A: Silver fish: SMELT. I've yet to try fried SMELT someday.
14A: The Rams of the NCAA's Atlantic 10 Conf.: URI (University of Rhode Island). The answer revealed itself. I forgot that their mascot is a ram.
15A: Popular place to go downhill: ASPEN. The Colorado ski resort.
16A: Something not done: TABOO. Sigh. I was picturing some rare/medium meat that's not well done.
19A: Peace goddess: IRENE. Gimme.
20A: Tools with teeth: RAKES
29A: Scout's concern: TALENT. Sometimes the answer is RECON.
30A: Site of bedlam: ZOO. Liked the clue.
31A: One-named model on many romance novel covers: FABIO. The Italian long-haired model. Not my type.
32A: Attention-getting sounds: AHEMS
38A: Young Aussie hoppers: JOEYS. Baby kangaroos are called JOEYS.
39A: Plumbing outlet: DRAIN
40A: 911 response outlet: EMS
41A: Tiny African threat: TSETSE. Good to see the fly's full name.
50A: Must: HAVE TO. Wrote down NEED TO first.
51A: Malice: VENOM
52A: Former #1 woman pool player Corr: KAREN. Nicknamed "the Irish Invader". Unknown to me, though her face looks familiar. Must have seen on on ESPN before.
58A: Gave in: CAVED. Mine was CEDED.
59A: Israeli weapon: UZI. The "British weapon" is STEN.
60A: Do figures, in a way: SKATE. Figure is defined as "a movement, pattern, or series of movements in skating" in dictionary. Is that how figure skating got its name? I was thinking of numeral figure.
61A: Doglike scavenger: HYENA. The "laughing" scavenger.
62A: Whole lot: TON
Down:
1D: Rotten: PUTRID
2D: "M*A*S*H" system: TRIAGE. The military medical prioritizing system.
3D: Perverted types: SICKOS
4D: Impudence: SASS
5D: Burning issue?: ASH. Got me. Very clever.
6D: News letter: UPI. And TASS (29D: Soviet news agency)
8D: Back from a trip, say: IN TOWN. Thought of RETURN first.
9D: Clown's accessory: STILT. I was picturing the big nose on a clown's face.
10D: Sausalito's county: MARIN. Not familiar with Sausalito, a Bay Area city. Wikipedia says both ISABEL Allende and Amy Tan live there.
11D: Charles's miser: EBENEZER (Scrooge). "Dickens' miser" would be SCROOGE. Given name in clue = given name in answer. Surname in clue = Surname in answer.
12D: Like the road in a classic ballad: LONESOME. Stumper. James Taylor's "That LONESOME Road".
18D: Flooey lead-in: KER. Also lead-in for plop/plunk.
25D: First Arab letter: ALIF. The first Hebrew letter is ALEPH.
28D: Ask for more: REORDER
27D: Scrubbing brand: SOS. So you wear glove when using SOS?
31D: Five-time Emmy winner Tina: FEY. What a great job with Sarah Palin. "I can see Russia from my house."
33:D Attila, notably: HUN. Attila the HUN.
34D: Western weapon: TOMAHAWK. Awesome answer.
35D: Interstate feature: REST AREA
36D: Museo display: ARTE. Spanish/Italian for art. Museo is Spanish/Italian for museum.
38D: Air Force One, e.g.: JET
41D: Asian holiday: TET. Well, it's only a Vietnamese holiday. Would you call Bastille Day an "European holiday"? I don't think so. It's only a French National holiday.
42D: It's often served with soda: SCOTCH
43D: End successfully: PAN OUT
44D: Former NBA star Mourning: ALONZO. No idea. He last played for the Miami Heat.
45D: Chinese menu offering: LO MEIN. LO = dredge up. MEIN = noodles. It's not stir-fried. CHOW MEIN is. CHOW simply means "to stir-fry". All Cantonese.
47D: Olympics contest, e.g.: EVENT
49D: Dispensable candy: PEZ. This puzzle has three Z's, one J, three V's and 5 K's. Quite scrabbly.
51D: Hindu sacred text: VEDA. Sanskrit for "sacred lore, knowledge".
52D: Decks in a ring: KOS (Knock outs). Wish there were an abbreviation hint.
54D: Light line: RAY. RAY Of hope? The "line" bothers me too.
55D: "__been meaning to tell you...": I'VE. That "Wo Ai Ni", Chinese for "I love you".
56D: "Jeopardy!" great Jennings: KEN. Alas, H&R Block.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of Dr. Dad and his family. It's taken 7 or 8 years ago. From left to right: Dr. Dad, his wife Kathy, daughter Jennifer who is now 26 years old and living in New Jersey, and daughter Danielle who is now 14 and starting high school this year.
C.C.
