Theme: AP → IP - AP is replaced by IP in the first word of each two-word common phrase.
17A. Ballet? : TIP DANCING. The base phrase is Tap Dancing.
27A. Photo session with a klutz? : TRIP SHOOTING. Trapshooting. Constructor John Lampkin is an avid photographer and recently shot some scenes at sea on the Maine Coast the day after Hurricane Earl blew by. In other words, he did some TRIP SHOOTING OF WATER. See his dramatic images here.
47A. Part of a barber shop review? : SNIP JUDGMENT. Snap Judgment. Fun clue.
62A. Christmas morning ritual? : RIP SESSION. Rap Session. Such an evocative answer.
The first and the last both have one consonant in front of IP, the middle pair have a double consonant blend. I like the symmetry, intended or not.
I wonder if John tried three blend consonant clusters like STR, you know, Strap Down to STRIP DOWN. Sounds good to me.
I mentioned last week how constructors pride themselves in debuting a new word/phrase, today we have WINGNUT (24D. Hand-tightened fastener). With the I & U (from two pre-set theme answers) in place, John could have gone with DISH OUT or FIRE UP or any other existing choices. He went extra mile and got WINGNUT. Safe clue. No political controversy. I loved the fill also because it's a nickname for carrier based fighter pilot. Familiar with the term, Spitzboov?
Across:
1. Bulldogs' home : YALE. Yale Bulldogs.
5. Controversial 2009 Nobelist : OBAMA. Controversial indeed.
10. Tevye's toast subject : LIFE. Tevye is the father in "Fiddler on the Roof". L'chaim (literally "to life")!
14. Airline with a King David Lounge : EL AL
15. Drink disparaged by W.C. Fields : WATER. "I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it."
16. Bridal gown shade : ECRU
19. Iberian Peninsula invader : MOOR (756-1492)
20. Cartographic detail : INSET
21. Au pair in a ring? : KTS (Karats). Au = Gold (Thanks, Dennis) chemically. Why pair? The "Au pair" play is lost on me.
22. Salsa instrument : BONGO
23. Can't commit : SEESAWS. Hey, CC alliteration.
25. "Don't gimme that!" : C'MON
32. Realtors' database: Abbr. : MLS. Dictionary says it stands for Multiple Listing Service. Not a familiar term to me.
35. Abbr. part, often : INIT (Initial). Drew a blank.
36. "The nerve!" : I NEVER
37. Court cry : OYEZ. Used to think it's O YES. Another CC alliteration.
39. Airborne annoyances : GNATS
41. Dynamic opening? : AERO. Aerodynamic.
42. Gibbon, e.g. : SIMIAN
44. Naldi of silents : NITA. Lives forever in Xword due to her Xword friendly name.
46. Use a seed drill : SOW. What is a seed drill?
50. She played Elizabeth I in "Elizabeth" : CATE (Blanchett). Very sculpted face.
51. Wrote a Dear John : ENDED IT
55. Shot to the face? : BOTOX. Man, I understands the humor, but this clue still sounds a bit violent to me.
58. ESP, e.g. : PSI. Just learned the telepathy meaning of PSI a few weeks ago.
60. Predawn : EARLY
61. Pundit's piece : OP-ED. Alliteration.
64. Area between gutters : LANE. Bowling.
65. Come about : OCCUR
66. Further : ELSE
67. Line discontinued in 2004 : OLDS
68. Military camp : ETAPE. Learned from doing Xword.
69. Blonde, at times : DYER
Down:
1. Elusive Himalayans : YETIS
2. "Drop me __" : A LINE. Or A NOTE.
3. Dropping the ball, so to speak : LAPSE. Hmm, "so to speak", I bet Lois seldom lapses.
4. First arrival : ELDEST
5. MYOB part : OWN. MYOB = Mind Your Own Business.
6. English, maybe : BACKSPIN. The pool term "English". Can it also mean SIDE SPIN, Lois?
7. Arguing : AT IT
8. Good guy : MENSCH. Nice consonants-rich word.
9. Its mon. unit is the peso : ARG (Argentina)
10. Throat-soothing brew : LEMON TEA. Iced Lemon Tea is very popular in Hongkong.
11. Macintosh's apple, e.g. : ICON
12. __ legs : FROG. Delicious! Delicacy in Guangzhou.
13. Prefix with bond or dollar : EURO. We had this clue before.
18. Game company first called Syzygy : ATARI. Unaware of the trivia. What does Syzygy mean?
22. Godsend : BOON
26. What misters do : MOISTEN. Misters = Ones who mist. Notice it's not capitalized?
28. Ford muscle car, to devotees : STANG
29. Lithographer James : IVES
30. Fabled fiddler : NERO. Alliteration. Nero fiddles while Rome burns.
31. Generate interest : GROW
32. Damp area growth : MOSS
33. The Eagles' "__' Eyes" : LYIN'
34. Big Mack : SEMI. Nice play on "Big Mac".
38. 60606 and 70707, e.g. : ZIP CODES. Awesome clue. Where are those two places, by the way?
40. Proctor's announcement : TIME IS UP. Another debut entry.
43. "Iliad" hero : AJAX. He rescued the body of Achilles and killed himself when Achilles' armor went to Odysseus.
45. Much of Chile : ANDES
48. Portray : DEPICT
49. Ribbed : TEASED
52. How deadpan humor is delivered : DRILY
53. Terse concession : I LOSE. Always wanted I LOST.
54. Jazz pianist McCoy __ : TYNER. Sorry, Sir, don't know you. I am sure Jazzbumpa will pick a smooth link for us.
55. New Mexico's official neckwear : BOLO. Can you picture Gunghy with a bolo tie?
56. Fire __ : OPAL. The fill-in-the blank clues today are not that easy.
57. Be inclined (to) : TEND
59. Shelter org. : SPCA
62. Some eggs : ROE. Now I see "egg", I see IRA. Nest egg.
63. Long lead-in : ERE. Erelong.
I did not notice any clecho (clue echo), you? Go there and thumb up, lurkers. Thanks.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Ballet? : TIP DANCING. The base phrase is Tap Dancing.
27A. Photo session with a klutz? : TRIP SHOOTING. Trapshooting. Constructor John Lampkin is an avid photographer and recently shot some scenes at sea on the Maine Coast the day after Hurricane Earl blew by. In other words, he did some TRIP SHOOTING OF WATER. See his dramatic images here.
47A. Part of a barber shop review? : SNIP JUDGMENT. Snap Judgment. Fun clue.
62A. Christmas morning ritual? : RIP SESSION. Rap Session. Such an evocative answer.
The first and the last both have one consonant in front of IP, the middle pair have a double consonant blend. I like the symmetry, intended or not.
I wonder if John tried three blend consonant clusters like STR, you know, Strap Down to STRIP DOWN. Sounds good to me.
I mentioned last week how constructors pride themselves in debuting a new word/phrase, today we have WINGNUT (24D. Hand-tightened fastener). With the I & U (from two pre-set theme answers) in place, John could have gone with DISH OUT or FIRE UP or any other existing choices. He went extra mile and got WINGNUT. Safe clue. No political controversy. I loved the fill also because it's a nickname for carrier based fighter pilot. Familiar with the term, Spitzboov?
Across:
1. Bulldogs' home : YALE. Yale Bulldogs.
5. Controversial 2009 Nobelist : OBAMA. Controversial indeed.
10. Tevye's toast subject : LIFE. Tevye is the father in "Fiddler on the Roof". L'chaim (literally "to life")!
14. Airline with a King David Lounge : EL AL
15. Drink disparaged by W.C. Fields : WATER. "I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it."
16. Bridal gown shade : ECRU
19. Iberian Peninsula invader : MOOR (756-1492)
20. Cartographic detail : INSET
21. Au pair in a ring? : KTS (Karats). Au = Gold (Thanks, Dennis) chemically. Why pair? The "Au pair" play is lost on me.
22. Salsa instrument : BONGO
23. Can't commit : SEESAWS. Hey, CC alliteration.
25. "Don't gimme that!" : C'MON
32. Realtors' database: Abbr. : MLS. Dictionary says it stands for Multiple Listing Service. Not a familiar term to me.
35. Abbr. part, often : INIT (Initial). Drew a blank.
36. "The nerve!" : I NEVER
37. Court cry : OYEZ. Used to think it's O YES. Another CC alliteration.
39. Airborne annoyances : GNATS
41. Dynamic opening? : AERO. Aerodynamic.
42. Gibbon, e.g. : SIMIAN
44. Naldi of silents : NITA. Lives forever in Xword due to her Xword friendly name.
46. Use a seed drill : SOW. What is a seed drill?
50. She played Elizabeth I in "Elizabeth" : CATE (Blanchett). Very sculpted face.
51. Wrote a Dear John : ENDED IT
55. Shot to the face? : BOTOX. Man, I understands the humor, but this clue still sounds a bit violent to me.
58. ESP, e.g. : PSI. Just learned the telepathy meaning of PSI a few weeks ago.
60. Predawn : EARLY
61. Pundit's piece : OP-ED. Alliteration.
64. Area between gutters : LANE. Bowling.
65. Come about : OCCUR
66. Further : ELSE
67. Line discontinued in 2004 : OLDS
68. Military camp : ETAPE. Learned from doing Xword.
69. Blonde, at times : DYER
Down:
1. Elusive Himalayans : YETIS
2. "Drop me __" : A LINE. Or A NOTE.
3. Dropping the ball, so to speak : LAPSE. Hmm, "so to speak", I bet Lois seldom lapses.
4. First arrival : ELDEST
5. MYOB part : OWN. MYOB = Mind Your Own Business.
6. English, maybe : BACKSPIN. The pool term "English". Can it also mean SIDE SPIN, Lois?
7. Arguing : AT IT
8. Good guy : MENSCH. Nice consonants-rich word.
9. Its mon. unit is the peso : ARG (Argentina)
10. Throat-soothing brew : LEMON TEA. Iced Lemon Tea is very popular in Hongkong.
11. Macintosh's apple, e.g. : ICON
12. __ legs : FROG. Delicious! Delicacy in Guangzhou.
13. Prefix with bond or dollar : EURO. We had this clue before.
18. Game company first called Syzygy : ATARI. Unaware of the trivia. What does Syzygy mean?
22. Godsend : BOON
26. What misters do : MOISTEN. Misters = Ones who mist. Notice it's not capitalized?
28. Ford muscle car, to devotees : STANG
29. Lithographer James : IVES
30. Fabled fiddler : NERO. Alliteration. Nero fiddles while Rome burns.
31. Generate interest : GROW
32. Damp area growth : MOSS
33. The Eagles' "__' Eyes" : LYIN'
34. Big Mack : SEMI. Nice play on "Big Mac".
38. 60606 and 70707, e.g. : ZIP CODES. Awesome clue. Where are those two places, by the way?
40. Proctor's announcement : TIME IS UP. Another debut entry.
43. "Iliad" hero : AJAX. He rescued the body of Achilles and killed himself when Achilles' armor went to Odysseus.
45. Much of Chile : ANDES
48. Portray : DEPICT
49. Ribbed : TEASED
52. How deadpan humor is delivered : DRILY
53. Terse concession : I LOSE. Always wanted I LOST.
54. Jazz pianist McCoy __ : TYNER. Sorry, Sir, don't know you. I am sure Jazzbumpa will pick a smooth link for us.
55. New Mexico's official neckwear : BOLO. Can you picture Gunghy with a bolo tie?
56. Fire __ : OPAL. The fill-in-the blank clues today are not that easy.
57. Be inclined (to) : TEND
59. Shelter org. : SPCA
62. Some eggs : ROE. Now I see "egg", I see IRA. Nest egg.
63. Long lead-in : ERE. Erelong.
I did not notice any clecho (clue echo), you? Go there and thumb up, lurkers. Thanks.
Answer grid.
C.C.
