Theme: Two's Company or an enemy! Two-handed games, let's go look:
17A. *Brain trust member: MASTERMIND. Fun game, you try to match the colors and order of four hidden pegs set by your opponent. "Mastermind" is also a long-running quiz show in the UK; the first few seasons were won by university professors, diplomats and such. Then Fred Housego, a London taxi driver, stormed the competition, he won and became a popular figure appearing on TV and radio. Even though he was an emerging media star he still continued to drive his cab.
22A. *Nixon's cocker spaniel: CHECKERS. Not many alternative clues for this one. The only one I can think of is too "British". (the Prime Minister's "official" country residence). Why the PM needs a country residence is beyond me.
38A. *Influential record company named for co-founding brothers Leonard and Phil: CHESS. A great story and anyone lovers of R&B or Rock 'n Roll will know Chess Records. Interestingly, they also had a subsidiary label "Checker" - shame it wasn't the plural to match 22A.
This is their release "Rocket 88" with Jackie Brenston, a single generally accepted as the first "Rock and Roll" release
50A. *Playful question spoiled by caller ID: GUESS WHO? Also guess who:
"Knock knock!
Who's there?
To!
To who?
No, it's to whom.
60A. *The USS Iowa, e.g.: BATTLESHIP. The game used to be simple, played on graph paper, and calling out squares to your opponent, but it's got a little more complicated, battery powered and unnecessary. Does there have to be an app for everything? The battleship "Iowa" found a home here in Southern California in San Pedro harbor.
11D. With 28-Down, words to a cheater ... or an honest hint to the answers to starred clues: TWO CAN PLAY ...
28D. See 11-Down: ... AT THAT GAME
This was nicely done. The five theme entries were clued without any reference to the games, and the down reveal was a nice surprise when it all came together. Great job by Kristian and a lot of fun fill to round things out.
Across:
1. Isla surrounder: AGUA
5. Real cutup: JOKER
10. Italian volcano: ETNA. There's another four-letter volcano in Italy in the Lazio region, Vico, and Lake Vico occupies the caldera,it's safe to say it hasn't blown its top for quite some time, if it does all that water would be giving Rome a hot shower.
14. TV series that had flashbacks, flash-forwards and multiple timelines: LOST
15. Kemper of "The Office": ELLIE
16. Truant GI: AWOL
19. Meander: ROVE
20. Afflicted with illness, say: STRICKEN
21. Gastric woe: ULCER
25. PC key: ALT
26. Reel Big Fish music genre: SKA
29. Pigs out (on): ODS
30. Flying frenemy of Godzilla: RODAN. "Frenemies" because they usually start out fighting each other in the movies, then team up to defeat a bigger threat to them both.
32. "Beaten" ways: PATHS. Because "Sado-masochistic lifestyle" doesn't quite fit.
34. One who is rotten to the core?: BAD APPLE
37. Quartet member: ALTO
40. Serb or Croat: SLAV
41. Went over again and again: REHASHED
43. Razz: TEASE
44. Geometric given: AXIOM. I thought "postulates" were geometric and "axioms" algebraic, but since I pretty much sucked at high school mathematics so who am I to question the experts?
45. Ox tail?: -IDE
47. Hankering: YEN
48. Toward the stern: AFT
53. 2010 Supreme Court appointee: KAGAN
55. Shows derision for: SNEERS AT
59. Boast: BRAG
62. Toon mail-order company: ACME. He'd get quicker delivery and free returns with Amazon Prime today.
63. Be of use to: AVAIL
64. Sty sound: OINK
65. Swamp stalk: REED
66. "Aw, fudge!": NERTS!
67. Corddry of TV's "Mom": NATE. Crosses all the way, as is my wont with TV-related clues.
Down:
1. Help for the needy: ALMS
2. Animal on the Cubs' 2016 World Series rings: GOAT. I've been to the original Billy Goat Tavern on Lower Michigan Avenue. Simple enough place, cold beer and the "cheezborgers" of Saturday Night Live fame.
3. Space Race inits.: U.S.S.R.
4. Room often with a slanted ceiling: ATTIC
5. Pulled quickly: JERKED
6. Early Mexicans: OLMECS
7. "Hogan's Heroes" colonel: KLINK
8. German article: EIN
9. Crimson, e.g.: RED
10. Bluegrass legend Scruggs: EARL
12. Original: NOVEL
13. At the ready: ALERT
18. Heart sonograms, familiarly: ECHOS
21. Food safety agcy.: U.S.D.A.
23. Paleozoic and Cenozoic: ERAS
24. Retina cells: RODS
26. Exchange barbs: SPAR
27. Curly cabbage: KALE
31. Church area: APSE
33. The Cardiff Giant, notably: HOAX. A great story. The hoax was exploited by one David Hannum, who coined the phrase "there's a sucker born every minute" when he discovered people were paying to see a copy of the giant, created by P.T. Barnum. Hannum sued Barnum, but the case was dismissed by the judge who ruled that Barnum had just faked a fake.
Look him up on Wikipedia. I'd post the picture here, but some of delicate dispositions might be alarmed by the naked giant's nether regions. If the giant is ten feet tall, his well-sculpted "wedding tackle" is around a foot. He puts Michelangelo's "David" to shame.
34. __ Bath & Beyond: BED
35. Zap with a beam: LASE
36. Equally matched: EVEN
38. __ En-lai: CHOU
39. Iron-rich blood pigment: HEME. Slowly figured this out from the related words - hematoma, hemaglobin and so on. In UK English, we complicate matters, originally using the dipthong spelling "hæma..." and then, completely true to the "why don't we complicate spelling?" edict, the expanded "haema".
42. Portent: SIGN
43. Giggly sound: TE-HEE
45. "Don't you agree?": ISN'T IT?
46. Resides: DWELLS
48. 1556-1605 Mogul emperor: AKBAR
49. Screwball comedy: FARCE
51. Celestial red giant: S-STAR
52. Director Welles: ORSON
54. Like good Scotch: AGED. It never goes bad, unlike wine aged too long, but it disappears, evaporating into the ether, the annual 2% loss known as "the angel's share". That's 29 million gallons of Scotch evaporating out of the barrels of Scottish distilleries every year. Those angels are having a PAR-TEY!
56. LaBeouf of "Transformers" films: SHIA
57. Informal contraction: AIN'T
58. Toll rd.: TPKE. The geek in me knows it as an acronym for Threshold Public Key Encryption.
60. Prohibition: BAN. A good job it didn't happen in Scotland otherwise those angels would have to go find something useful to do.
61. "__ Maria": AVE
That's about it, I think. Music link posted? Check. Picture embedded? Check. Random story about the UK? Check! Grid? Here it is. Check!
Steve
17A. *Brain trust member: MASTERMIND. Fun game, you try to match the colors and order of four hidden pegs set by your opponent. "Mastermind" is also a long-running quiz show in the UK; the first few seasons were won by university professors, diplomats and such. Then Fred Housego, a London taxi driver, stormed the competition, he won and became a popular figure appearing on TV and radio. Even though he was an emerging media star he still continued to drive his cab.
22A. *Nixon's cocker spaniel: CHECKERS. Not many alternative clues for this one. The only one I can think of is too "British". (the Prime Minister's "official" country residence). Why the PM needs a country residence is beyond me.
38A. *Influential record company named for co-founding brothers Leonard and Phil: CHESS. A great story and anyone lovers of R&B or Rock 'n Roll will know Chess Records. Interestingly, they also had a subsidiary label "Checker" - shame it wasn't the plural to match 22A.
This is their release "Rocket 88" with Jackie Brenston, a single generally accepted as the first "Rock and Roll" release
50A. *Playful question spoiled by caller ID: GUESS WHO? Also guess who:
"Knock knock!
Who's there?
To!
To who?
No, it's to whom.
60A. *The USS Iowa, e.g.: BATTLESHIP. The game used to be simple, played on graph paper, and calling out squares to your opponent, but it's got a little more complicated, battery powered and unnecessary. Does there have to be an app for everything? The battleship "Iowa" found a home here in Southern California in San Pedro harbor.
11D. With 28-Down, words to a cheater ... or an honest hint to the answers to starred clues: TWO CAN PLAY ...
28D. See 11-Down: ... AT THAT GAME
This was nicely done. The five theme entries were clued without any reference to the games, and the down reveal was a nice surprise when it all came together. Great job by Kristian and a lot of fun fill to round things out.
Across:
1. Isla surrounder: AGUA
5. Real cutup: JOKER
10. Italian volcano: ETNA. There's another four-letter volcano in Italy in the Lazio region, Vico, and Lake Vico occupies the caldera,it's safe to say it hasn't blown its top for quite some time, if it does all that water would be giving Rome a hot shower.
14. TV series that had flashbacks, flash-forwards and multiple timelines: LOST
15. Kemper of "The Office": ELLIE
16. Truant GI: AWOL
19. Meander: ROVE
20. Afflicted with illness, say: STRICKEN
21. Gastric woe: ULCER
25. PC key: ALT
26. Reel Big Fish music genre: SKA
29. Pigs out (on): ODS
30. Flying frenemy of Godzilla: RODAN. "Frenemies" because they usually start out fighting each other in the movies, then team up to defeat a bigger threat to them both.
32. "Beaten" ways: PATHS. Because "Sado-masochistic lifestyle" doesn't quite fit.
34. One who is rotten to the core?: BAD APPLE
37. Quartet member: ALTO
40. Serb or Croat: SLAV
41. Went over again and again: REHASHED
43. Razz: TEASE
44. Geometric given: AXIOM. I thought "postulates" were geometric and "axioms" algebraic, but since I pretty much sucked at high school mathematics so who am I to question the experts?
45. Ox tail?: -IDE
47. Hankering: YEN
48. Toward the stern: AFT
53. 2010 Supreme Court appointee: KAGAN
55. Shows derision for: SNEERS AT
59. Boast: BRAG
62. Toon mail-order company: ACME. He'd get quicker delivery and free returns with Amazon Prime today.
63. Be of use to: AVAIL
64. Sty sound: OINK
65. Swamp stalk: REED
66. "Aw, fudge!": NERTS!
67. Corddry of TV's "Mom": NATE. Crosses all the way, as is my wont with TV-related clues.
Down:
1. Help for the needy: ALMS
2. Animal on the Cubs' 2016 World Series rings: GOAT. I've been to the original Billy Goat Tavern on Lower Michigan Avenue. Simple enough place, cold beer and the "cheezborgers" of Saturday Night Live fame.
3. Space Race inits.: U.S.S.R.
4. Room often with a slanted ceiling: ATTIC
5. Pulled quickly: JERKED
6. Early Mexicans: OLMECS
7. "Hogan's Heroes" colonel: KLINK
8. German article: EIN
9. Crimson, e.g.: RED
10. Bluegrass legend Scruggs: EARL
12. Original: NOVEL
13. At the ready: ALERT
18. Heart sonograms, familiarly: ECHOS
21. Food safety agcy.: U.S.D.A.
23. Paleozoic and Cenozoic: ERAS
24. Retina cells: RODS
26. Exchange barbs: SPAR
27. Curly cabbage: KALE
31. Church area: APSE
33. The Cardiff Giant, notably: HOAX. A great story. The hoax was exploited by one David Hannum, who coined the phrase "there's a sucker born every minute" when he discovered people were paying to see a copy of the giant, created by P.T. Barnum. Hannum sued Barnum, but the case was dismissed by the judge who ruled that Barnum had just faked a fake.
Look him up on Wikipedia. I'd post the picture here, but some of delicate dispositions might be alarmed by the naked giant's nether regions. If the giant is ten feet tall, his well-sculpted "wedding tackle" is around a foot. He puts Michelangelo's "David" to shame.
34. __ Bath & Beyond: BED
35. Zap with a beam: LASE
36. Equally matched: EVEN
38. __ En-lai: CHOU
39. Iron-rich blood pigment: HEME. Slowly figured this out from the related words - hematoma, hemaglobin and so on. In UK English, we complicate matters, originally using the dipthong spelling "hæma..." and then, completely true to the "why don't we complicate spelling?" edict, the expanded "haema".
42. Portent: SIGN
43. Giggly sound: TE-HEE
45. "Don't you agree?": ISN'T IT?
46. Resides: DWELLS
48. 1556-1605 Mogul emperor: AKBAR
49. Screwball comedy: FARCE
51. Celestial red giant: S-STAR
52. Director Welles: ORSON
54. Like good Scotch: AGED. It never goes bad, unlike wine aged too long, but it disappears, evaporating into the ether, the annual 2% loss known as "the angel's share". That's 29 million gallons of Scotch evaporating out of the barrels of Scottish distilleries every year. Those angels are having a PAR-TEY!
56. LaBeouf of "Transformers" films: SHIA
57. Informal contraction: AIN'T
58. Toll rd.: TPKE. The geek in me knows it as an acronym for Threshold Public Key Encryption.
60. Prohibition: BAN. A good job it didn't happen in Scotland otherwise those angels would have to go find something useful to do.
61. "__ Maria": AVE
That's about it, I think. Music link posted? Check. Picture embedded? Check. Random story about the UK? Check! Grid? Here it is. Check!
Steve
