Theme: BREAKING UP (54A: Disbanding, and a literal hint to the hidden theme in 17-, 23- and 46-Across) - UP is broken and spans the last two words of the theme entries.
17A: Pancake-wrapped Chinese dish: MOO SHU PORK
23A: Peppered entree: STEAK AU POIVRE
46A: Judge's query after charges are read: HOW DO YOU PLEAD
Too bad 46A is not food related. It would have been a tighter theme. Great "BREAKING UP" title. But Like Jack McIntuff's "Herd Mentality", this kind of word embedding/spanning does not really excite me.
The first time I had MOO SHU PORK was in San Francisco, my sister-in-law was shocked that I did not know what the dish is. Quite a few American Chinese dishes were foreign to me then. I've never had STEAK AU POIVRE, way too much poivre in this picture. Nice to see it as part of an answer rather than "Poivre partner" for SEL (French salt & pepper).
Since we have ALITO (14A: O'Connor's successor) in the grid, I wish SAM (33A: "Uncle" with a red bow tie) were clued as a tie in to ALITO. Whom do you pick to replace Justice Souter? I'll bet on Sonia Sotomayor, female and Hispanic.
Today's constructor Bonnie L. Gentry is a senior financial adviser at Merrill Lynch. She is based in Scottsdale, AZ. And her puzzle appears in LAT once a month, according to this article. I found it interesting that she does not like cluing either.
Across:
1A: Still in force: VALID
6A: Serve with summons: CITE. Alliteration again.
15A: Partly revitalized sea: ARAL. I don't understand the "partly revitalized" part. Does it refer to the revitalized economy in that region?
19A: Harper's Bazaar artist: ERTE. Big name in "Art deco".
20A: Transportation secretary under Clinton: PENA (Federico). Obtained his name from the Down clues. He co-chaired Obama's campaign.
21A: Nickelodeon dog: REN. Often clued as "Stimpy's pal". Stimpy is a cat.
22A: Father of Paris: PRIAM. The last king of Troy of course. He was played by Peter O'Toole in the movie "Troy". Orlando Bloom is Paris. The girl on his left is Helen, whose face launched a thousand ship. How many millihelen do you think Megan Fox radiates? This girl's picture is everywhere now.
27A: Goodyear offering: RADIAL
29A: Knotty and twisted: GNARLED. This one is totally out of shape. Pretty ugly.
30A: Sound from a nest: TWEET
31A: Fill with bubbles: AERATE
36A: "Little Red Book": MAO. My dad could recite every sentence in "Little Red Book".
41A: Court sport, for short: B-BALL. Basketball.
43A: Italian inkeeper: PADRONE. New to me. So close to patron.
49A: Cup with crumpets: TEA. Is it because crumpets/scones are always served with TEA?
53A: Climb, as a tree: SHIN . New verb meaning to me.
58A: Cougar maker, briefly: MERC. Crossing BMW (54D: 5 Series automaker).
59A: "Cheers" waitress: DIANE. Easy guess. The lady in red?
60A: Work measures: ERGS. Rooted in Greek ergon, meaning work.
62A: "No surprise to me": I KNEW
Down:
1D: Seductress: VAMP. The word VAMP always brings to mind Theda Bara.
3D: Pride's quarters: LION'S DEN
4D: Shout evoked by a dead heat: IT'S A TIE. I love all the long Down answers today. Vibrant.
5D: 2001 OED addition that cites "The Simpsons": D'OH
6D: "RUR" playwright: CAPEK. The guy who coined "robot".
7D: When forging started: IRON AGE. Around 12th century BC.
9D: Fraternal society member: ELK. Or "Lodge member".
10D: More than just clean: STERILE. I was expecting an ER ending adjective.
12D: Old explosive device: PETARD. New word to me. So close to retard.
13D: Teacher's note next to an F: SEE ME. Did you get F's in school? Were you a good student?
22D: Like laptops: PORTABLE
24D: Suffers humiliation: EATS CROW. Maybe she will. Maybe she won't. What a waste of time to go back and dredge up those waterboarding briefings. I am against closing Gitmo.
25D: Strip, as a ship: UNRIG. Why do I always want de-rig? Too much bug and de-bug in my previous work I suppose.
26D: Early late-night host: PAAR. What's your favorite Jack PAAR memory? I learned his name purely from doing Xword.
31D: Protein building block, for short: AMINO. AMINO acid.
34D: "Hey!" to a mate: AHOY. Wish TAR (8D: Road-surfacing goo) were clued differently to pair up with AHOY. It's a slang for sailor. I am very into tie-in fills lately.
36D: Title character who "returns" in a Neil Simon title: MAX DUGAN. Have never heard of this movie. Is it romantic? The title sounds like a soldier returns after the war and then finds his wife in love with another man.
40D: Spays: NEUTERS. I had no idea that Mine That Bird was gelded until Clear Ayes pointed it out.
42D: '50s - '60s counterculturist: BEATNIK. MAN, I DIG. That's all I know about BEATNIK.
43D: More swanky: POSHER. Wrote down TONIER first.
44D: Storefront shade: AWNING. Holy cow! I did not know there is a special term for this shade.
45D: Harsh criticism: FLAK. I always have problem spelling out criticism.
46D: Waste maker?: HASTE. HASTE makes waste.
51D: Do some piano maintenance: TUNE. Can you also clue it as "Do some guitar maintenance"?
52D: Emulate a geyser: SPEW
55D: Stephen of "Citizen X": REA. Have never seen "Citizen X". Liked his "The Crying Game". Very shocking ending.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Pancake-wrapped Chinese dish: MOO SHU PORK
23A: Peppered entree: STEAK AU POIVRE
46A: Judge's query after charges are read: HOW DO YOU PLEAD
Too bad 46A is not food related. It would have been a tighter theme. Great "BREAKING UP" title. But Like Jack McIntuff's "Herd Mentality", this kind of word embedding/spanning does not really excite me.
The first time I had MOO SHU PORK was in San Francisco, my sister-in-law was shocked that I did not know what the dish is. Quite a few American Chinese dishes were foreign to me then. I've never had STEAK AU POIVRE, way too much poivre in this picture. Nice to see it as part of an answer rather than "Poivre partner" for SEL (French salt & pepper).
Since we have ALITO (14A: O'Connor's successor) in the grid, I wish SAM (33A: "Uncle" with a red bow tie) were clued as a tie in to ALITO. Whom do you pick to replace Justice Souter? I'll bet on Sonia Sotomayor, female and Hispanic.
Today's constructor Bonnie L. Gentry is a senior financial adviser at Merrill Lynch. She is based in Scottsdale, AZ. And her puzzle appears in LAT once a month, according to this article. I found it interesting that she does not like cluing either.
Across:
1A: Still in force: VALID
6A: Serve with summons: CITE. Alliteration again.
15A: Partly revitalized sea: ARAL. I don't understand the "partly revitalized" part. Does it refer to the revitalized economy in that region?
19A: Harper's Bazaar artist: ERTE. Big name in "Art deco".
20A: Transportation secretary under Clinton: PENA (Federico). Obtained his name from the Down clues. He co-chaired Obama's campaign.
21A: Nickelodeon dog: REN. Often clued as "Stimpy's pal". Stimpy is a cat.
22A: Father of Paris: PRIAM. The last king of Troy of course. He was played by Peter O'Toole in the movie "Troy". Orlando Bloom is Paris. The girl on his left is Helen, whose face launched a thousand ship. How many millihelen do you think Megan Fox radiates? This girl's picture is everywhere now.
27A: Goodyear offering: RADIAL
29A: Knotty and twisted: GNARLED. This one is totally out of shape. Pretty ugly.
30A: Sound from a nest: TWEET
31A: Fill with bubbles: AERATE
36A: "Little Red Book": MAO. My dad could recite every sentence in "Little Red Book".
41A: Court sport, for short: B-BALL. Basketball.
43A: Italian inkeeper: PADRONE. New to me. So close to patron.
49A: Cup with crumpets: TEA. Is it because crumpets/scones are always served with TEA?
53A: Climb, as a tree: SHIN . New verb meaning to me.
58A: Cougar maker, briefly: MERC. Crossing BMW (54D: 5 Series automaker).
59A: "Cheers" waitress: DIANE. Easy guess. The lady in red?
60A: Work measures: ERGS. Rooted in Greek ergon, meaning work.
62A: "No surprise to me": I KNEW
Down:
1D: Seductress: VAMP. The word VAMP always brings to mind Theda Bara.
3D: Pride's quarters: LION'S DEN
4D: Shout evoked by a dead heat: IT'S A TIE. I love all the long Down answers today. Vibrant.
5D: 2001 OED addition that cites "The Simpsons": D'OH
6D: "RUR" playwright: CAPEK. The guy who coined "robot".
7D: When forging started: IRON AGE. Around 12th century BC.
9D: Fraternal society member: ELK. Or "Lodge member".
10D: More than just clean: STERILE. I was expecting an ER ending adjective.
12D: Old explosive device: PETARD. New word to me. So close to retard.
13D: Teacher's note next to an F: SEE ME. Did you get F's in school? Were you a good student?
22D: Like laptops: PORTABLE
24D: Suffers humiliation: EATS CROW. Maybe she will. Maybe she won't. What a waste of time to go back and dredge up those waterboarding briefings. I am against closing Gitmo.
25D: Strip, as a ship: UNRIG. Why do I always want de-rig? Too much bug and de-bug in my previous work I suppose.
26D: Early late-night host: PAAR. What's your favorite Jack PAAR memory? I learned his name purely from doing Xword.
31D: Protein building block, for short: AMINO. AMINO acid.
34D: "Hey!" to a mate: AHOY. Wish TAR (8D: Road-surfacing goo) were clued differently to pair up with AHOY. It's a slang for sailor. I am very into tie-in fills lately.
36D: Title character who "returns" in a Neil Simon title: MAX DUGAN. Have never heard of this movie. Is it romantic? The title sounds like a soldier returns after the war and then finds his wife in love with another man.
40D: Spays: NEUTERS. I had no idea that Mine That Bird was gelded until Clear Ayes pointed it out.
42D: '50s - '60s counterculturist: BEATNIK. MAN, I DIG. That's all I know about BEATNIK.
43D: More swanky: POSHER. Wrote down TONIER first.
44D: Storefront shade: AWNING. Holy cow! I did not know there is a special term for this shade.
45D: Harsh criticism: FLAK. I always have problem spelling out criticism.
46D: Waste maker?: HASTE. HASTE makes waste.
51D: Do some piano maintenance: TUNE. Can you also clue it as "Do some guitar maintenance"?
52D: Emulate a geyser: SPEW
55D: Stephen of "Citizen X": REA. Have never seen "Citizen X". Liked his "The Crying Game". Very shocking ending.
Answer grid.
C.C.
