Theme: "CHICAGO"
20A: Local poet: CARL SANDBURG
32A: Start of a local sobriquet: CITY OF THE
40A: Part 2 of sobriquet: BIG
43A: End of a sobriquet: SHOULDERS
58A: Local collection: CHICAGO POEMS
First of all, define "local", am I supposed to call a dead Chicago poet as a hometown boy? This puzzle is tailor-made for the Chicago Tribune readers, not for us, Mr. who-cares-what-you-think Editor, you should have done some basic editing before you release it to our syndication papers.
I fought hard with every breath I took for this damned puzzle, and got absolutely no satisfaction after I was done with it, so irked by the unfairness of the clues.
You know what's shocking? I actually breezed through the ever-intimidating upper left corner today without any problem. And I nailed the lower left corner easily. But all the other areas are blanketed with "could be this, could be that" clues. I experienced tremendous difficulties committing answers to quite a few seemingly easy clues.
However, I do love how MOOLA parallels DINAR, and I appreciate the symmetry of LOBAR & INCUS. Nicely balanced. At least, you know the constructor put some thoughts into his work. And there is no obscure actor, or actress, or composer to frustrate me. So, that's good.
I also noticed three Middle East words appear in today's puzzle: UAR, DINAR, EILAT & two Japanese words: SAN & KOBE.
OK, without further ado, here we go:
4A: Fishhook features: BARBS. I enjoy every cutting barb Maureen Daud throws at Hillary.
9A: Wounded by a wasp: STUNG. Why do I have this intense interest in Client No. 9 and his collapse? I guess I am just worried that he might not be an exception but a norm in the upper echelons of our government. He just happened to be caught.
14A: Gun it in neutral: REV. Saw it before, never knew why. Here is Dick's explanation: "The speed of an engine is often defined as revolutions per minute thus the slang REV for speeding up the engine."
15A: Yep!: UH HUH. For a non-native speaker, these simple Uh Uh, Uh-Huh, Uh-Oh can be quite tough to grasp.
16A: Part of the plan: PHASE
17A: Dander: IRE I did not know the meaning of Dander, hence could not get the answer.
18A: Crystal-lined rock: GEODE. Saw it before.
19A: Distinctive atmosphere:s AURAE. The plural form could also be AURAS.
24A: Purify sea water: DESALT
30A: Team charm: MASCOT. I like those old college bobbleheads, 1960s, awesome.
38A: Honshu port: KOBE. Kobe beef is a luxury. Tongue in Kobe is Ichiro (Seattle Mariners)'s favorite food.
39A: Handlelike parts: ANSAE. ANSA is Latin for handle. Another interesting plural form.
41A: Israeli seaport: EILAT. Be careful with this word, as it could be also spelled as ELATH. But I am obsessed with HAIFA. Always want to fill in HAIFA whenever I see an Israeli port clue.
45A: Execrable: CURSED. I did not know the meaning of "Execrable".
49A: Forerunner of the CIA: OSS (Office of Strategic Services). Another repeat offender. But I will let you loose, do not have time to imprison every one of your fame-craved hag.
50A: Wayside shelter: SPITAL. Shelter on a highway. Never heard of it.
60A: Smackers: MOOLA. Have never heard of smackers being slangily used to mean money.
63A: Life and toss: HEAVE. I heaved several heavy groans of hopelessness over this puzzle.
65A: Kuwaiti cash: DINAR. Also the money unit in Iraq, Jordon, Libya, Bahrain, and a few other Middle East countries. Does "Dinar" mean Dollar in Arabic language, anyone?
66A: NYC theater awards: OBIES. Vacillated between TONYS and OBIES until AGAIN revealed itself.
68A: Heavy tread: CLOMP. Clump. Which is more commonly used?
69A: Last movement of sonata: RONDO. It escaped my mind this morning. It's "a work or movement, often the last movement of a sonata, having one principal subject that is stated at least three times in the same key and to which return is made after the introduction of each subordinate theme."
70A: Japanese honorific: SAN. I found out that San is also "a member of a nomadic, racially distinct, short-statured people of southern Africa." or river in Central Europe.
Down entries:
1D: Writer Jong: ERICA. The Fear of Fly author. Never read her books.
4D: Cartoon Bunny: BUGS
5D: Leading: AHEAD OF. I saw AHEAD clued as Leading often. I don't know, shouldn't the clue be reinforced by a preposition also? Or are you guys OK with the clue?
6D: European River: RHONE. Rhone originates from Alps in Switzerland and flows south into the Mediterranean through SE France. Rhine also originates from Alps, but it flows north into North Sea (through Germany and the Netherlands).
7D: Billy and Zola: BUDDS. Here is Zola BUDD the Track & Field sensation, here is Billy BUDD the novela by Herman Melville. I was not acquainted with either of them.
8D: Biblical land: SHEBA. I put SINAI.
9D: Laconian city: SPARTA. Nope. No idea.
11D: Egy.-Syr., once: UAR (United Arab Republic). Gimme for me. Nasser signed the treaty. UAE is United Arab Emirates which consists of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and 5 other states. We have a fellow TMS puzzle solver there in UAE. Hi.
12D: Govt. advisory grp.: NSA (National Security Agency). The eavesdropping agency. This is their insignia which consists of "a bald eagle facing its right, grasping a key in its talons, representing NSA's clutch on security as well as the mission to protect and gain access to secrets." I gather you do not abbreviate National Security Adviser as NSA?
13D: Turn right! GEE. Turn left: HAW
21D: Tripoli populace: LIBYANS. Remember Tripoli is also a seaport in Lebanon.
26D: Of the lungs: LOBAR
31D: Hit the road: SKIDDOO. Not familiar with this slang.
32D: Portland's bay: CASCO. No idea. (Update later: Casco Bay in Portland, Maine)
33D: Ear bone: INCUS. Nope.
34D: Winter Palace rulers: TSARS.
35D: One of Ted's stations: TBS. Does Turner still own this station? I thought he sold his shares of Time Warner long time ago.
36D: Royal address, in brief: HIH (His Imperial Highness; Her Imperial Highness.). I put HRM (Her Royal Majesty).
37D: Psyche part: EGO. Somehow I put ESP here earlier. I must be thinking of the Psychic.
44D: Lonely: UNLOVED. How can "not loved" become "lonely?". "Lonely" means lack of companionship. An army wife might be lonely when her husband leaves her and risks his life in Iraq, but she is not "unloved", isn't she? Did I miss something here?
46D: Also known as F.: E SHARP
47D: Printer letters: DPI (dots per inch)
51D: God's blood: ICHOR. No idea. It's "an ethereal fluid flowing in the veins of the gods." Greek mythology.
52D: Billy Blanks workout: TAE BO. Did not know who was Billy Blanks, and had no idea what was Tae Bo.
55D: clobbers: BELTS. Did not know that Belt could mean "hard blow".
56D: Missouri River port: OMAHA. Only know Omaha, NE. I have an autographed photo of the Oracle of Omaha (Warren Buffett).
60D: Sixteen hundred: MDC. Hmm. Who said "Can't wait til the roman numerals rear their ugly heads'' yesterday? Ha ha.
61D: Tin Man's cure-all: OIL. The Wizard of Oz, who does not like it?
62D: Lennon's Yoko: ONO. Wonder what Yoko is thinking of the $48 million Heather mills milked from Paul McCartney.
It's still dark outside now. And we are on the fringe of another several inches of snow. Please come quickly Spring! Bring me your warm sunshine and the sweet scent of freshly cut grass.
C. C.
20A: Local poet: CARL SANDBURG
32A: Start of a local sobriquet: CITY OF THE
40A: Part 2 of sobriquet: BIG
43A: End of a sobriquet: SHOULDERS
58A: Local collection: CHICAGO POEMS
First of all, define "local", am I supposed to call a dead Chicago poet as a hometown boy? This puzzle is tailor-made for the Chicago Tribune readers, not for us, Mr. who-cares-what-you-think Editor, you should have done some basic editing before you release it to our syndication papers.
I fought hard with every breath I took for this damned puzzle, and got absolutely no satisfaction after I was done with it, so irked by the unfairness of the clues.
You know what's shocking? I actually breezed through the ever-intimidating upper left corner today without any problem. And I nailed the lower left corner easily. But all the other areas are blanketed with "could be this, could be that" clues. I experienced tremendous difficulties committing answers to quite a few seemingly easy clues.
However, I do love how MOOLA parallels DINAR, and I appreciate the symmetry of LOBAR & INCUS. Nicely balanced. At least, you know the constructor put some thoughts into his work. And there is no obscure actor, or actress, or composer to frustrate me. So, that's good.
I also noticed three Middle East words appear in today's puzzle: UAR, DINAR, EILAT & two Japanese words: SAN & KOBE.
OK, without further ado, here we go:
4A: Fishhook features: BARBS. I enjoy every cutting barb Maureen Daud throws at Hillary.
9A: Wounded by a wasp: STUNG. Why do I have this intense interest in Client No. 9 and his collapse? I guess I am just worried that he might not be an exception but a norm in the upper echelons of our government. He just happened to be caught.
14A: Gun it in neutral: REV. Saw it before, never knew why. Here is Dick's explanation: "The speed of an engine is often defined as revolutions per minute thus the slang REV for speeding up the engine."
15A: Yep!: UH HUH. For a non-native speaker, these simple Uh Uh, Uh-Huh, Uh-Oh can be quite tough to grasp.
16A: Part of the plan: PHASE
17A: Dander: IRE I did not know the meaning of Dander, hence could not get the answer.
18A: Crystal-lined rock: GEODE. Saw it before.
19A: Distinctive atmosphere:s AURAE. The plural form could also be AURAS.
24A: Purify sea water: DESALT
30A: Team charm: MASCOT. I like those old college bobbleheads, 1960s, awesome.
38A: Honshu port: KOBE. Kobe beef is a luxury. Tongue in Kobe is Ichiro (Seattle Mariners)'s favorite food.
39A: Handlelike parts: ANSAE. ANSA is Latin for handle. Another interesting plural form.
41A: Israeli seaport: EILAT. Be careful with this word, as it could be also spelled as ELATH. But I am obsessed with HAIFA. Always want to fill in HAIFA whenever I see an Israeli port clue.
45A: Execrable: CURSED. I did not know the meaning of "Execrable".
49A: Forerunner of the CIA: OSS (Office of Strategic Services). Another repeat offender. But I will let you loose, do not have time to imprison every one of your fame-craved hag.
50A: Wayside shelter: SPITAL. Shelter on a highway. Never heard of it.
60A: Smackers: MOOLA. Have never heard of smackers being slangily used to mean money.
63A: Life and toss: HEAVE. I heaved several heavy groans of hopelessness over this puzzle.
65A: Kuwaiti cash: DINAR. Also the money unit in Iraq, Jordon, Libya, Bahrain, and a few other Middle East countries. Does "Dinar" mean Dollar in Arabic language, anyone?
66A: NYC theater awards: OBIES. Vacillated between TONYS and OBIES until AGAIN revealed itself.
68A: Heavy tread: CLOMP. Clump. Which is more commonly used?
69A: Last movement of sonata: RONDO. It escaped my mind this morning. It's "a work or movement, often the last movement of a sonata, having one principal subject that is stated at least three times in the same key and to which return is made after the introduction of each subordinate theme."
70A: Japanese honorific: SAN. I found out that San is also "a member of a nomadic, racially distinct, short-statured people of southern Africa." or river in Central Europe.
Down entries:
1D: Writer Jong: ERICA. The Fear of Fly author. Never read her books.
4D: Cartoon Bunny: BUGS
5D: Leading: AHEAD OF. I saw AHEAD clued as Leading often. I don't know, shouldn't the clue be reinforced by a preposition also? Or are you guys OK with the clue?
6D: European River: RHONE. Rhone originates from Alps in Switzerland and flows south into the Mediterranean through SE France. Rhine also originates from Alps, but it flows north into North Sea (through Germany and the Netherlands).
7D: Billy and Zola: BUDDS. Here is Zola BUDD the Track & Field sensation, here is Billy BUDD the novela by Herman Melville. I was not acquainted with either of them.
8D: Biblical land: SHEBA. I put SINAI.
9D: Laconian city: SPARTA. Nope. No idea.
11D: Egy.-Syr., once: UAR (United Arab Republic). Gimme for me. Nasser signed the treaty. UAE is United Arab Emirates which consists of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and 5 other states. We have a fellow TMS puzzle solver there in UAE. Hi.
12D: Govt. advisory grp.: NSA (National Security Agency). The eavesdropping agency. This is their insignia which consists of "a bald eagle facing its right, grasping a key in its talons, representing NSA's clutch on security as well as the mission to protect and gain access to secrets." I gather you do not abbreviate National Security Adviser as NSA?
13D: Turn right! GEE. Turn left: HAW
21D: Tripoli populace: LIBYANS. Remember Tripoli is also a seaport in Lebanon.
26D: Of the lungs: LOBAR
31D: Hit the road: SKIDDOO. Not familiar with this slang.
32D: Portland's bay: CASCO. No idea. (Update later: Casco Bay in Portland, Maine)
33D: Ear bone: INCUS. Nope.
34D: Winter Palace rulers: TSARS.
35D: One of Ted's stations: TBS. Does Turner still own this station? I thought he sold his shares of Time Warner long time ago.
36D: Royal address, in brief: HIH (His Imperial Highness; Her Imperial Highness.). I put HRM (Her Royal Majesty).
37D: Psyche part: EGO. Somehow I put ESP here earlier. I must be thinking of the Psychic.
44D: Lonely: UNLOVED. How can "not loved" become "lonely?". "Lonely" means lack of companionship. An army wife might be lonely when her husband leaves her and risks his life in Iraq, but she is not "unloved", isn't she? Did I miss something here?
46D: Also known as F.: E SHARP
47D: Printer letters: DPI (dots per inch)
51D: God's blood: ICHOR. No idea. It's "an ethereal fluid flowing in the veins of the gods." Greek mythology.
52D: Billy Blanks workout: TAE BO. Did not know who was Billy Blanks, and had no idea what was Tae Bo.
55D: clobbers: BELTS. Did not know that Belt could mean "hard blow".
56D: Missouri River port: OMAHA. Only know Omaha, NE. I have an autographed photo of the Oracle of Omaha (Warren Buffett).
60D: Sixteen hundred: MDC. Hmm. Who said "Can't wait til the roman numerals rear their ugly heads'' yesterday? Ha ha.
61D: Tin Man's cure-all: OIL. The Wizard of Oz, who does not like it?
62D: Lennon's Yoko: ONO. Wonder what Yoko is thinking of the $48 million Heather mills milked from Paul McCartney.
It's still dark outside now. And we are on the fringe of another several inches of snow. Please come quickly Spring! Bring me your warm sunshine and the sweet scent of freshly cut grass.
C. C.
