Theme: Bent-o Boxes - BENT is, well BENT in each of the theme entries:
16A. Participated in a pub crawl: WENT BAR HOPPING. There is a Tube line in London which runs in a circle around town, called, very appropriately, the Circle Line. Back in my day, there were 27 stations on the continuous loop, and the "Circle Line Pub Crawl" was to ride the train for one lap, get off at each station and drink half a pint of beer at the nearest pub to the station. Back then, some stations actually had a bar on the platform, so that made life easy. For those of you doing the math, that meant downing thirteen-and-a-half pints during the ride.
24A. "Shadows of the Night" Grammy winner: PAT BENATAR. When I was a callow youth, never having seen her, I thought she was a guy. Women rockers were unusual in prehistoric times. Bass guitarist and Detroit bad-ass pop icon Suzi Quatro put me straight on the matter when I was around 13.
37A. Placating words before a confession: DON'T BE MAD ... I don't believe the placation has worked, ever. There's always a kicker too - "Don't me mad, I ran over the dog, but I got you a NEW PUPPY!"
53A. New and improved: EVEN BETTER. A new and improved family dog?
61A. Upset ... and what can be found in the four other longest answers?: BENT OUT OF SHAPE. Especially when the family dog has joined the choir celestial due to careless spousal driving.
Across:
1. Gold rush storyteller Bret: HARTE. All crosses, this made the north-west a struggle. A question - why do we refer to the "Pacific North-West" when describing that part of the country? I don't see many other north-wests?
6. Saints' org.: NFL The New Orleans Saints of the National Football League, he said, in an official tone.
9. Word pronounced like its middle letter: ARE.
12. "The Lion in Winter" co-star: O'TOOLE. For no good reason, I had GARP at 13D, so this was a struggle. I was puzzled that I didn't remember Costner in the movie. Eventually reason prevailed.
14. Senator Lisa Murkowski, notably: ALASKAN
18. Cleanse (of): RID
19. Afore: ERE "Able was I ere I saw Elba". Poor Napoleon, reduced to a palindrome, a complex and a cookie.
20. Video game pioneer: ATARI
22. Sch. playing home games in the Sun Bowl: U.T.E.P. Although I know full well that the Sun Bowl is in Texas, my left brain could not stop my knee-jerk-impulse brain filling in "UTAH" here. More corrective action required. Sorry, El Paso.
28. Numbs, as senses: DULLS
30. Bilingual TV explorer: DORA
31. File menu command: SAVE
32. Seiko Group printers: EPSONS. Had to wait a little for this one. With "----NS" in place, Canon and Epson had equal dibs on the fill.
34. Mountain myth: YETI
36. Flower location: BED
40. The Eiger, for one: ALP. Any Yeti in the Alps, or do they stick to being unproven in the Himalaya?
43. Scott who played Chachi: BAIO
44. Supplement: ENRICH
48. Snowblower brand: TORO. Pure guess, but "T" seemed to set things in motion. We see leaf blowers around here more than the snow cousins.
50. Schedule: PLAN. There's some English words I can't remember how to pronounce now depending on which side of the pond I'm on - this is one of them - SKED- or SHED-?
52. "Borat" star __ Baron Cohen: SACHA
56. Vegetable with Golden and Chioggia varieties: BEET. Food! (Sort of!). I know golden beets - Chioggia not so much.
57. San __, California: MATEO. One of the Bay Area bridges too.
58. "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" singer Chris: REA
60. __-di-dah: LAH
66. Nonworking time: LEISURE
67. Twain of country: SHANIA. I'd already got "HAT HAIR", so that required a rethink. A few do-overs today.
68. Bigger copy: Abbr.: ENL.argement.
69. Place to retire: INN. You have to drink thirteen-and-a-half pints before they let you go to bed though.
70. Over: ENDED
Down:
1. Indignant reaction: HOW RUDE!
2. Savored the flattery: ATE IT UP
3. Short poems: RONDELS. I had a N and an S. In went SONNETS. I was way too impulsive today. Here's Henry Austin Dobson having a crack at a rondel c.1877:
4. Playdate participant: TOT
5. Hamburg's river: ELBE. "Eble was I 'ere I saw Elbe". "Eble" means "The condition of a person who has never visited Hamburg, nor seen its river". Apparently. Not.
6. "I don't wanna": NAH
7. Woman in Progressive ads: FLO. Is the character now moving beyond "irritating" to "mute the TV?"
8. One of 12 on a sitting jury?: LAP. Clever. 12 jurors sitting, making one lap each.
9. Tough dogs: AKITAS
10. Deferred payment at the pub: RAN A TAB. You can't do that on a pub crawl.
11. Impress deeply?: ENGRAVE
13. 1994 Costner role: EARP. So not GARP then? OK.
15. Go over: SPAN
17. Get lost in a book: READ
21. Ticked off: IRED. Nahhhh, c'mon, you're pulling me leg 'ere Guv'nor. There ain't no word "IRED" Mary Poppins! Unless, o' course, yer 'iring me to sweep yer chimney!
OK, enough of that. I haven't been on a pub crawl, honest, guv.
23. Lumber (along): PLOD
25. Bath time plaything: TOY BOAT. I had a toy deep sea diver when I was a kid, complete with helmet, dry suit, weighted boots and air supply. Sadly he was 12 inches tall, and there's not much more than 12 inches of water in a bathtub, so he didn't do much.
26. "Grimm" actress Turner: BREE
27. Wonderland cake words: EAT ME.
29. Elitist sort: SNOB
33. Harry Potter's potions teacher: SNAPE. Severus, brought to the screen by the fine, and sadly departed, Alan Rickman.
35. Fleming and Holm: IANS. I used to work for Fleming's, a private bank in London which was founded by the family. The bank had the largest collection of Scottish art in private hands, much of which was on display in the building. We had a bagpiper serenade us into work between 8:30 and 9. If you missed the piper, you were late. On the upside, the bank had its own pub, called the Scottish Pound.
38. Incline: TILT
39. Hardly lively: DRAB
40. "Lemme __!": AT 'EM
41. Precious: LOVABLE. One meaning of precious.
42. Many a middle schooler: PRE-TEEN
45. Most sparsely populated European country: ICELAND. But a footballing powerhouse despite only having a population of 300,000 and a coach who is a part-time dentist.
46. Inexpensive knockoff: CHEAPIE
47. Consequence of wearing a cap too long: HAT HEAD
49. Low soccer score: ONE NIL. And the score by which Iceland (reminder, population 300,000) beat England (population sixty-odd million) in the European Championships in 2016 to dump England out of the competition and force the resignation of the coach.
51. Sleuth Wolfe: NERO
54. Some spammers: BOTS.
55. Two-legged zebras: REFS
59. 1975 Wimbledon winner: ASHE
62. Non's opposite: OUI
63. Coffee server: URN
64. Phil Rizzuto's retired number: TEN. Yankee shortstop "The Scooter". Why? No idea, ask C.C. (Steve: "Holy cow!")
65. Chewie's pal: HAN. Star Wars, Chewbacca the Wookie and Han Solo. The clue isn't really "correct" though - Chewie was a nickname, Han was Solo's first name. Details, details.
Right, that wraps it up for me. Onwards and gridwards!
Steve
Note from C.C.:
As Lemonade mentioned a few times, tomorrow's write-up will be unique. Be sure to come back and celebrate the special occasion of a blog favorite.
16A. Participated in a pub crawl: WENT BAR HOPPING. There is a Tube line in London which runs in a circle around town, called, very appropriately, the Circle Line. Back in my day, there were 27 stations on the continuous loop, and the "Circle Line Pub Crawl" was to ride the train for one lap, get off at each station and drink half a pint of beer at the nearest pub to the station. Back then, some stations actually had a bar on the platform, so that made life easy. For those of you doing the math, that meant downing thirteen-and-a-half pints during the ride.
24A. "Shadows of the Night" Grammy winner: PAT BENATAR. When I was a callow youth, never having seen her, I thought she was a guy. Women rockers were unusual in prehistoric times. Bass guitarist and Detroit bad-ass pop icon Suzi Quatro put me straight on the matter when I was around 13.
37A. Placating words before a confession: DON'T BE MAD ... I don't believe the placation has worked, ever. There's always a kicker too - "Don't me mad, I ran over the dog, but I got you a NEW PUPPY!"
53A. New and improved: EVEN BETTER. A new and improved family dog?
61A. Upset ... and what can be found in the four other longest answers?: BENT OUT OF SHAPE. Especially when the family dog has joined the choir celestial due to careless spousal driving.
Across:
1. Gold rush storyteller Bret: HARTE. All crosses, this made the north-west a struggle. A question - why do we refer to the "Pacific North-West" when describing that part of the country? I don't see many other north-wests?
6. Saints' org.: NFL The New Orleans Saints of the National Football League, he said, in an official tone.
9. Word pronounced like its middle letter: ARE.
12. "The Lion in Winter" co-star: O'TOOLE. For no good reason, I had GARP at 13D, so this was a struggle. I was puzzled that I didn't remember Costner in the movie. Eventually reason prevailed.
14. Senator Lisa Murkowski, notably: ALASKAN
18. Cleanse (of): RID
19. Afore: ERE "Able was I ere I saw Elba". Poor Napoleon, reduced to a palindrome, a complex and a cookie.
20. Video game pioneer: ATARI
22. Sch. playing home games in the Sun Bowl: U.T.E.P. Although I know full well that the Sun Bowl is in Texas, my left brain could not stop my knee-jerk-impulse brain filling in "UTAH" here. More corrective action required. Sorry, El Paso.
28. Numbs, as senses: DULLS
30. Bilingual TV explorer: DORA
31. File menu command: SAVE
32. Seiko Group printers: EPSONS. Had to wait a little for this one. With "----NS" in place, Canon and Epson had equal dibs on the fill.
34. Mountain myth: YETI
36. Flower location: BED
40. The Eiger, for one: ALP. Any Yeti in the Alps, or do they stick to being unproven in the Himalaya?
43. Scott who played Chachi: BAIO
44. Supplement: ENRICH
48. Snowblower brand: TORO. Pure guess, but "T" seemed to set things in motion. We see leaf blowers around here more than the snow cousins.
50. Schedule: PLAN. There's some English words I can't remember how to pronounce now depending on which side of the pond I'm on - this is one of them - SKED- or SHED-?
52. "Borat" star __ Baron Cohen: SACHA
56. Vegetable with Golden and Chioggia varieties: BEET. Food! (Sort of!). I know golden beets - Chioggia not so much.
57. San __, California: MATEO. One of the Bay Area bridges too.
58. "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" singer Chris: REA
60. __-di-dah: LAH
66. Nonworking time: LEISURE
67. Twain of country: SHANIA. I'd already got "HAT HAIR", so that required a rethink. A few do-overs today.
68. Bigger copy: Abbr.: ENL.argement.
69. Place to retire: INN. You have to drink thirteen-and-a-half pints before they let you go to bed though.
70. Over: ENDED
Down:
1. Indignant reaction: HOW RUDE!
2. Savored the flattery: ATE IT UP
3. Short poems: RONDELS. I had a N and an S. In went SONNETS. I was way too impulsive today. Here's Henry Austin Dobson having a crack at a rondel c.1877:
Love comes back to his vacant dwelling,
The old, old Love that we knew of yore!
We see him stand by the open door,
With his great eyes sad, and his bosom swelling.
He makes as though in our arms repelling
He fain would lie as he lay before;
Love comes back to his vacant dwelling,
The old, old Love that we knew of yore!
Ah ! who shall help us from over-spelling
That sweet, forgotten, forbidden lore?
E'en as we doubt, in our hearts once more,
With a rush of tears to our eyelids welling,
Love comes back to his vacant dwelling
4. Playdate participant: TOT
5. Hamburg's river: ELBE. "Eble was I 'ere I saw Elbe". "Eble" means "The condition of a person who has never visited Hamburg, nor seen its river". Apparently. Not.
6. "I don't wanna": NAH
7. Woman in Progressive ads: FLO. Is the character now moving beyond "irritating" to "mute the TV?"
8. One of 12 on a sitting jury?: LAP. Clever. 12 jurors sitting, making one lap each.
9. Tough dogs: AKITAS
10. Deferred payment at the pub: RAN A TAB. You can't do that on a pub crawl.
11. Impress deeply?: ENGRAVE
13. 1994 Costner role: EARP. So not GARP then? OK.
15. Go over: SPAN
17. Get lost in a book: READ
21. Ticked off: IRED. Nahhhh, c'mon, you're pulling me leg 'ere Guv'nor. There ain't no word "IRED" Mary Poppins! Unless, o' course, yer 'iring me to sweep yer chimney!
OK, enough of that. I haven't been on a pub crawl, honest, guv.
23. Lumber (along): PLOD
25. Bath time plaything: TOY BOAT. I had a toy deep sea diver when I was a kid, complete with helmet, dry suit, weighted boots and air supply. Sadly he was 12 inches tall, and there's not much more than 12 inches of water in a bathtub, so he didn't do much.
26. "Grimm" actress Turner: BREE
27. Wonderland cake words: EAT ME.
29. Elitist sort: SNOB
33. Harry Potter's potions teacher: SNAPE. Severus, brought to the screen by the fine, and sadly departed, Alan Rickman.
35. Fleming and Holm: IANS. I used to work for Fleming's, a private bank in London which was founded by the family. The bank had the largest collection of Scottish art in private hands, much of which was on display in the building. We had a bagpiper serenade us into work between 8:30 and 9. If you missed the piper, you were late. On the upside, the bank had its own pub, called the Scottish Pound.
38. Incline: TILT
39. Hardly lively: DRAB
40. "Lemme __!": AT 'EM
41. Precious: LOVABLE. One meaning of precious.
42. Many a middle schooler: PRE-TEEN
45. Most sparsely populated European country: ICELAND. But a footballing powerhouse despite only having a population of 300,000 and a coach who is a part-time dentist.
46. Inexpensive knockoff: CHEAPIE
47. Consequence of wearing a cap too long: HAT HEAD
49. Low soccer score: ONE NIL. And the score by which Iceland (reminder, population 300,000) beat England (population sixty-odd million) in the European Championships in 2016 to dump England out of the competition and force the resignation of the coach.
51. Sleuth Wolfe: NERO
54. Some spammers: BOTS.
55. Two-legged zebras: REFS
59. 1975 Wimbledon winner: ASHE
62. Non's opposite: OUI
63. Coffee server: URN
64. Phil Rizzuto's retired number: TEN. Yankee shortstop "The Scooter". Why? No idea, ask C.C. (Steve: "Holy cow!")
65. Chewie's pal: HAN. Star Wars, Chewbacca the Wookie and Han Solo. The clue isn't really "correct" though - Chewie was a nickname, Han was Solo's first name. Details, details.
Right, that wraps it up for me. Onwards and gridwards!
Steve
Note from C.C.:
As Lemonade mentioned a few times, tomorrow's write-up will be unique. Be sure to come back and celebrate the special occasion of a blog favorite.
