Theme: Ex Libris
25A: Start of Ed Howe quip: WHEN I GET HOLD
38A: Part 2 of quip: OF A BOOK I ADMIRE, I
50A: Part 3 of quip: AM SO
72A: Part 4 of quip: ENTHUSIASTIC THAT I LOAN
96A: Part 5 of quip: IT TO
103A: Part 6 of quip: SOME ONE WHO NEVER
122A: End of quip: BRINGS IT BACK
So he does not really like the book, does he?
Wikipedia does not have an entry for Ed Howe, so I suppose he is not very famous.
He also said: "As a man handles his troubles during the day, so he goes to bed at night a General, Captain, or Private." I don't think I get it either. He has different rank because the way he is treated by his wife?
This is probably the most boring Sunday TMS puzzle I've ever solved. Nothing thrilling. Quip never excites me. I guess I have difficulty understanding English puns or irony/sarcasm contained in the quip.
It's nice to see MAHATMA (9D: Gandhi's title) and INDIRA (42D: Gandhi of India) in the same puzzle though. They are different Gandhi's, but both great leaders. I am surprised that Indian people are not tired of the Nehru/Gandhi family dynasties.
I wanted TORN APART for 90D: Ripped open (TORN INTO). "Tear into" has a different meaning, doesn't it? The clue for STRIA (79A: Glacially produced grooves) is simply wrong. The clue is asking for STRIAE.
Across:
8A: Shadows: UMBRAS. I suppose "umbrage" is rooted in UMBRA.
21A: Kickback money: PAYOLA
23A: Scottish river: TAY. I think I linked this one several days ago. See Perth? Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Australia.
27A: Like the pounding surf: AROAR
32A: Data on jackets: TITLES. I wish TITLES were positioned where SMITE (62D: Hit hard, old-style) is, in singular form of course.
48A: Trues up: ALIGNS. I would like to see TRUES UP clued as "Align" next time.
57A: German city: STADT. German for "city".
63A: Loses traction: SLIPS. I wanted SKIDS.
66A: Tank top?: GAS CAP. I liked the question mark.
78A: Captive of Paris: HELEN. PARIS was clued as "Helen's abductor" yesterday. Who is the singer of the song "Poison"?
80A: "Oedipus" composer: ENESCO (Georges). I've never heard of his name before. This violin piece sounds so good.
83A: Extras in a theater production: SUPES. Should be SUPERS of course.
89A: Shoe form: LAST. I really had no idea that this wooden shoe model is called LAST.
93A: Runs in the heat: MELTS
97A: "The Devil Wears Prada" star: STREEP. Meryl STREEP is so talented. She pulled off the evil Miranda role so beautifully.
99A: Golfer Mediate: ROCCO. I think this is ROCCO Mediate's crossword debut.
112A: Japanese mat: TATAMI. This TATAMI bed looks a bit hard. Interesting, I recognize Japanese kanji "First time" and "High" on the pillow sheet.
113A: Fleet leaders: ADMIRALS
118A: Stretch of unchanging weather: SPELL. New definiton of SPELL to me.
125A: Franc's follower: EURO. Since Jan 2002.
128A: Literary anthology: CENTO. It's "a literary or a musical composition formed by selections from different authors disposed in a new order." New to me. ANA is a collection of work from one particular author, right?
135A: Some of the French?: DES. Good clue.
Down:
6D: Currier's partner: IVES. Got it this time.
8D: Prey's perilous position: UPWIND
12D: First Arabic letter: ALIF. Dictionary says ALIEF is the first letter of Hebrew alphabet.
14D: Gold-rush name: SUTTER (John). I had no idea that the SUTTERS built Sacramento.
15D: Gossamer: ETHEREAL. "Gossamer" is a new word to me.
17D: Cherbourg she: ELLE. Here is the map. Cherbourg is a seaport in Northwest France on the English Channel. Unknown to me.
30D: Complete failures: FIASCOES. The plural form can also be FIASCOS.
33D: Woman alone on stage: SOLA. Solus for man. I did not know this before.
35D: Monet's medium: OILS. Here is Monet's "Haystacks". Both Millet and van Gogh painted some great hayfield scenes too.
39D: Nancy of "The Beverly Hillbillies": KULP. No idea. I googled her name.
41D: Deuce, at the French Open: EGAL. I always associate EGAL with "equal" rather than "even".
44D: Jerry Reed song: AMOS MOSES. Here is the song slip. What is it about?
49D: Tampa neighbor: ST. PETE. Should have "informally" in the clue.
52D: "The Good Earth" heroine: OLAN. The best book about pre-1949 China, in my opinion, very real.
53D: Quickly: POSTHASTE. I did not know that "lickety-split" also has DF meaning until several weeks ago.
67D: Pretentious sorts: PSEUDS
74D: Golden-brown quartz: TIGER EYE. This reminds me of the blue glass Turkish evil eye amulets.
75D: Revere: HALLOW
77D: Norse goddesses of fate: NORN. New to me. It refers to "any of three goddesses of fate, the goddess of the past (Urd), the goddess of the present (Verdandi), and the goddess of the future (Skuld)".
98D: Cayenne car: PORSCHE. Pure guess. Why is it called Cayenne?
100D: Achieve victory after victory: ON A ROLL
102DL Akkadian kingdom's founder: SARGON. Unknown to me. He conquered Mesopotamia.
104D: Laptop item?: NAPKIN
106D: Improvised: VAMPED. Not familiar with the jazz term VAMP. VAMP is always siren to me.
119D: Soup ingredient: LEEK. I don't think so, unless you are making a potato leek soup.
C.C.
25A: Start of Ed Howe quip: WHEN I GET HOLD
38A: Part 2 of quip: OF A BOOK I ADMIRE, I
50A: Part 3 of quip: AM SO
72A: Part 4 of quip: ENTHUSIASTIC THAT I LOAN
96A: Part 5 of quip: IT TO
103A: Part 6 of quip: SOME ONE WHO NEVER
122A: End of quip: BRINGS IT BACK
So he does not really like the book, does he?
Wikipedia does not have an entry for Ed Howe, so I suppose he is not very famous.
He also said: "As a man handles his troubles during the day, so he goes to bed at night a General, Captain, or Private." I don't think I get it either. He has different rank because the way he is treated by his wife?
This is probably the most boring Sunday TMS puzzle I've ever solved. Nothing thrilling. Quip never excites me. I guess I have difficulty understanding English puns or irony/sarcasm contained in the quip.
It's nice to see MAHATMA (9D: Gandhi's title) and INDIRA (42D: Gandhi of India) in the same puzzle though. They are different Gandhi's, but both great leaders. I am surprised that Indian people are not tired of the Nehru/Gandhi family dynasties.
I wanted TORN APART for 90D: Ripped open (TORN INTO). "Tear into" has a different meaning, doesn't it? The clue for STRIA (79A: Glacially produced grooves) is simply wrong. The clue is asking for STRIAE.
Across:
8A: Shadows: UMBRAS. I suppose "umbrage" is rooted in UMBRA.
21A: Kickback money: PAYOLA
23A: Scottish river: TAY. I think I linked this one several days ago. See Perth? Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Australia.
27A: Like the pounding surf: AROAR
32A: Data on jackets: TITLES. I wish TITLES were positioned where SMITE (62D: Hit hard, old-style) is, in singular form of course.
48A: Trues up: ALIGNS. I would like to see TRUES UP clued as "Align" next time.
57A: German city: STADT. German for "city".
63A: Loses traction: SLIPS. I wanted SKIDS.
66A: Tank top?: GAS CAP. I liked the question mark.
78A: Captive of Paris: HELEN. PARIS was clued as "Helen's abductor" yesterday. Who is the singer of the song "Poison"?
80A: "Oedipus" composer: ENESCO (Georges). I've never heard of his name before. This violin piece sounds so good.
83A: Extras in a theater production: SUPES. Should be SUPERS of course.
89A: Shoe form: LAST. I really had no idea that this wooden shoe model is called LAST.
93A: Runs in the heat: MELTS
97A: "The Devil Wears Prada" star: STREEP. Meryl STREEP is so talented. She pulled off the evil Miranda role so beautifully.
99A: Golfer Mediate: ROCCO. I think this is ROCCO Mediate's crossword debut.
112A: Japanese mat: TATAMI. This TATAMI bed looks a bit hard. Interesting, I recognize Japanese kanji "First time" and "High" on the pillow sheet.
113A: Fleet leaders: ADMIRALS
118A: Stretch of unchanging weather: SPELL. New definiton of SPELL to me.
125A: Franc's follower: EURO. Since Jan 2002.
128A: Literary anthology: CENTO. It's "a literary or a musical composition formed by selections from different authors disposed in a new order." New to me. ANA is a collection of work from one particular author, right?
135A: Some of the French?: DES. Good clue.
Down:
6D: Currier's partner: IVES. Got it this time.
8D: Prey's perilous position: UPWIND
12D: First Arabic letter: ALIF. Dictionary says ALIEF is the first letter of Hebrew alphabet.
14D: Gold-rush name: SUTTER (John). I had no idea that the SUTTERS built Sacramento.
15D: Gossamer: ETHEREAL. "Gossamer" is a new word to me.
17D: Cherbourg she: ELLE. Here is the map. Cherbourg is a seaport in Northwest France on the English Channel. Unknown to me.
30D: Complete failures: FIASCOES. The plural form can also be FIASCOS.
33D: Woman alone on stage: SOLA. Solus for man. I did not know this before.
35D: Monet's medium: OILS. Here is Monet's "Haystacks". Both Millet and van Gogh painted some great hayfield scenes too.
39D: Nancy of "The Beverly Hillbillies": KULP. No idea. I googled her name.
41D: Deuce, at the French Open: EGAL. I always associate EGAL with "equal" rather than "even".
44D: Jerry Reed song: AMOS MOSES. Here is the song slip. What is it about?
49D: Tampa neighbor: ST. PETE. Should have "informally" in the clue.
52D: "The Good Earth" heroine: OLAN. The best book about pre-1949 China, in my opinion, very real.
53D: Quickly: POSTHASTE. I did not know that "lickety-split" also has DF meaning until several weeks ago.
67D: Pretentious sorts: PSEUDS
74D: Golden-brown quartz: TIGER EYE. This reminds me of the blue glass Turkish evil eye amulets.
75D: Revere: HALLOW
77D: Norse goddesses of fate: NORN. New to me. It refers to "any of three goddesses of fate, the goddess of the past (Urd), the goddess of the present (Verdandi), and the goddess of the future (Skuld)".
98D: Cayenne car: PORSCHE. Pure guess. Why is it called Cayenne?
100D: Achieve victory after victory: ON A ROLL
102DL Akkadian kingdom's founder: SARGON. Unknown to me. He conquered Mesopotamia.
104D: Laptop item?: NAPKIN
106D: Improvised: VAMPED. Not familiar with the jazz term VAMP. VAMP is always siren to me.
119D: Soup ingredient: LEEK. I don't think so, unless you are making a potato leek soup.
C.C.
