Theme: None
Total block: 31
Total word: 72 (maximum allowed for a themeless)
Lots of 7-letter words in this puzzle, 24 I think. Funny how grid can be so deceptive. I felt this puzzle has more black squares than last Saturday's eight 15-letter themeless. But that one turns out to have one more block. This one by Kevin G. Der holds the record for fewest blocks (18). I bet 17 is not so far away.
I teed off perfectly with BARBARO ( 1A: 2006 Kentucky Derby winner), thanks to the crossing REBECCA (3D: Novel that begins "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again"). I thought of Giacomo first. It has the same amount of letters. Giacomo is named after Sting's son, and his wife bet big and won big at the 2005 Derby.
BARBARO jumped the gun in Preakness Stakes and then broke his legs. I had no idea that an injured leg can be fatal to a horse. I read REBECCA long time ago, in Chinese. Linda mentioned a few weeks ago that dreamt is the only English word ending in mt.
Anyway, after BARBARO, my struggle started and continued until the very end. Still, I was able to fill in plenty of blanks. Good enough for me. I wonder how long it takes a constructor to build a Saturday themeless. Probably 4-5 hours at least. It's just not right for Dan Feyer to conquer the grid under 5 minutes. He needs to slow down.
Across:
8A: Libyan leader whose name has more than 30 spellings: QADDAFI. "30"? That's why we need a clear standard for romanizing Arab names. Gaddafi seems to be more common. His given name Muammar sounds weird too.
15D: Demand too much of: OVERTAX
17A: It often has branches: LIBRARY. I pictured trees, then banks.
18A: Unstoppable: ON A ROLL
19A: Stubbing victim: TOE. The image of a cigarett popped into my mind immediately.
20A: Took down a peg: DEMOTED
23A: Letter-bottom letters: ENCL (Enclosure)
25A: 007 wore one: ROLEX. Is that a ROLEX? Why "wore" one instead of "wears" one?
26A: __ Fein: SINN. IRA's extremely left wing party. I filled in SEIN first.
27A: Red Sox pitcher Matsuzaka's nickname: DICE K. Ah, gimme. His name is Daisuke, pronounced like Dice K.
29A: Traffic stopper: RED. I asked our editor Rich Norris about this RED clue/answer duplication the other day. He says it doesn't bother him, and he will change "if a long (6 letters or more) or prominent word is duped in a clue".
30A: Out of it: DAZED. New definition of "Out of it" to me.
31A: Common Yuletide mail: CATALOG
33A: Teases, in slang: JIVES. New slang to me also.
35A: Life in the Yucatán: (retype): VIDA. Here is Ricky Martin's "Livin' La VIDA Loca".
36A: Jackal or fox: CANID. I can only think of canine. Is "id" a suffix for something, Kazie? Dictionary defines CANID as "any animal of the dog family Canidae, including the wolves, jackals, hyenas, coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs".
38A: Manatee relatives: DUGONGS. Another unknown. They can be found at the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. No hind limb. Huge!
41A: "Platoon" actor Willem: DAFOE. Saw the movie "Platoon". Can't remember his name though. So close to Defoe, the author of "Robinson Crusoe".
45A: U.S. Marine Corps E-6: SSGT (Staff Sergeant). See this list. I suppose the ranking is different in the Army/Air Force/Navy?
46A: Power problem: SURGE
48A: 1 for H, e.g.: AT NO (Atomic Number). H is Hydrogen. More here. Carbon is 6. Neon is 10.
49A: '60 VP: HHH (Hubert Horatio Humphrey). LBJ's VP. Gimme for any Minnesotan. Walter Mondale is another veep from Minnesota. We've never had a president though. How about your state?
50A: Like Lake Mead: MAN-MADE. It's the largest MAN-MADE lake in the world, isn't it?
52A: "Gimme __!": Columbus cheer beginning: AN O. I guessed. I surmise it's the cheerleading sound from Ohio State University?
53A: Ebbing: ABATING
55A: Reels off: RECITES
57A: Encountered: RAN INTO. Had problem obtaining this multiple word answer.
58A: Thankless one: INGRATE
59A: Magazine revenue: PRINT AD. There were only 2 letters in my brain, AD, then nothing else.
60A: Yields: ASSENTS. I only know the "Agree" meaning of assent.
Down:
1D: Downed quickly: BOLTED. Was ignorant of "Down quickly" definition of BOLT. Don't BOLT. Food is to be enjoyed.
2D: Relating to Space Age technology: AVIONIC. Also new to me. The noun AVIOTICS = AVI (ation) + (Electr)ONICS.
4D: Polar outburst?: BRR. I wrote down RAY, confusing Polar with Solar.
5D: Somewhat: A TAD
6D: More valuable, as coins: RARER. And MINT (50D: Spanking new). Both remind me of coins and baseball cards.
7D: Deafening silent, e.g.: OXYMORON. Elissa linked this list last time. Sallie likes jumbo shrimp.
8D: Used another's words: QUOTED
9D: Attach: ANNEX. I wanted ADD ON.
10D: Obsolete: DEAD. Thought of GONE.
11D: Patriotic org.: DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). The other choice is SAR (Sons of American Revolution).
12D: Make a mist of: ATOMIZE
13D: Catty types: FELINES. I was thinking of the mean catty catty, not cat-like catty.
14D: Like the Aral Sea: INLAND. SHRINKING has too many letters. It's indeed INLAND.
21D: Jackie's designer: OLEG (Cassini). Michelle Obama likes Jason Wu's design.
24D: "I'd rather skip it": LET'S NOT. And DID OK (30D: Managed). Neither came to me easily.
26D: Safari destination: SAVANNA . I was thinking of a country rather than the general grassy plain.
32D: Little dude: LAD
33D: Carpentry guide: JIG. No idea. Which part is JIG?
35D: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" barony: VULGARIA. Big stumper. See here for more information. Wikipedia says it's a scenic, mountainous region that can't be found any where in the world. I did not know it's authored by Ian Fleming.
36D: Hardly a free-spirited place?: CASH BAR. No idea. Why?
37D: Kabul coin: AFGHANI. I thought it's RUPEE, since Afghanstan is close to India and Pakistan where rupee is used. Anyway, Dictionary says AFGHANI can also refer to the people, same as Afghan. And the abbreviation of the currency AFGHANI is AFG.
38D: Frequent pizza delivery destination: DORM. I had O in place, so I went with HOME first.
39D: Enjoy the sunshine, perhaps: GET A TAN
40D: Big name in slapstick: SENNETT. Mack SENNETT, "The King of Comedy". I forgot all about him. Wikipedia says his Keystone Studios started the careers of Gloria Swanson, Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, etc.
41D: Key before E: D SHARP
42D: The Aztecs' Tonatiuh: SUN GOD. I don't know what's the meaning of Tonatiuh, so complete blank here. The same as Greek Helios/Roman Sol I suppose.
46D: Seasonal temp: SANTA. I thought temp is short for temperature. Good clue.
51D: Heart lines: Abbr.: ECGS. I wrote down EEGS, which is actually the brain scan "Head lines".
54D: Like the Wizard's heartless visitor: TIN. Did not get it easily, though I love the movie and know clearly that the Tin Man has no heart. I guess I always thought of TIN as a noun rather than an adjective. So, what would be the answer for "Like the Wizard's courgeless/brainless visitor"? MANED & what?
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total block: 31
Total word: 72 (maximum allowed for a themeless)
Lots of 7-letter words in this puzzle, 24 I think. Funny how grid can be so deceptive. I felt this puzzle has more black squares than last Saturday's eight 15-letter themeless. But that one turns out to have one more block. This one by Kevin G. Der holds the record for fewest blocks (18). I bet 17 is not so far away.
I teed off perfectly with BARBARO ( 1A: 2006 Kentucky Derby winner), thanks to the crossing REBECCA (3D: Novel that begins "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again"). I thought of Giacomo first. It has the same amount of letters. Giacomo is named after Sting's son, and his wife bet big and won big at the 2005 Derby.
BARBARO jumped the gun in Preakness Stakes and then broke his legs. I had no idea that an injured leg can be fatal to a horse. I read REBECCA long time ago, in Chinese. Linda mentioned a few weeks ago that dreamt is the only English word ending in mt.
Anyway, after BARBARO, my struggle started and continued until the very end. Still, I was able to fill in plenty of blanks. Good enough for me. I wonder how long it takes a constructor to build a Saturday themeless. Probably 4-5 hours at least. It's just not right for Dan Feyer to conquer the grid under 5 minutes. He needs to slow down.
Across:
8A: Libyan leader whose name has more than 30 spellings: QADDAFI. "30"? That's why we need a clear standard for romanizing Arab names. Gaddafi seems to be more common. His given name Muammar sounds weird too.
15D: Demand too much of: OVERTAX
17A: It often has branches: LIBRARY. I pictured trees, then banks.
18A: Unstoppable: ON A ROLL
19A: Stubbing victim: TOE. The image of a cigarett popped into my mind immediately.
20A: Took down a peg: DEMOTED
23A: Letter-bottom letters: ENCL (Enclosure)
25A: 007 wore one: ROLEX. Is that a ROLEX? Why "wore" one instead of "wears" one?
26A: __ Fein: SINN. IRA's extremely left wing party. I filled in SEIN first.
27A: Red Sox pitcher Matsuzaka's nickname: DICE K. Ah, gimme. His name is Daisuke, pronounced like Dice K.
29A: Traffic stopper: RED. I asked our editor Rich Norris about this RED clue/answer duplication the other day. He says it doesn't bother him, and he will change "if a long (6 letters or more) or prominent word is duped in a clue".
30A: Out of it: DAZED. New definition of "Out of it" to me.
31A: Common Yuletide mail: CATALOG
33A: Teases, in slang: JIVES. New slang to me also.
35A: Life in the Yucatán: (retype): VIDA. Here is Ricky Martin's "Livin' La VIDA Loca".
36A: Jackal or fox: CANID. I can only think of canine. Is "id" a suffix for something, Kazie? Dictionary defines CANID as "any animal of the dog family Canidae, including the wolves, jackals, hyenas, coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs".
38A: Manatee relatives: DUGONGS. Another unknown. They can be found at the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. No hind limb. Huge!
41A: "Platoon" actor Willem: DAFOE. Saw the movie "Platoon". Can't remember his name though. So close to Defoe, the author of "Robinson Crusoe".
45A: U.S. Marine Corps E-6: SSGT (Staff Sergeant). See this list. I suppose the ranking is different in the Army/Air Force/Navy?
46A: Power problem: SURGE
48A: 1 for H, e.g.: AT NO (Atomic Number). H is Hydrogen. More here. Carbon is 6. Neon is 10.
49A: '60 VP: HHH (Hubert Horatio Humphrey). LBJ's VP. Gimme for any Minnesotan. Walter Mondale is another veep from Minnesota. We've never had a president though. How about your state?
50A: Like Lake Mead: MAN-MADE. It's the largest MAN-MADE lake in the world, isn't it?
52A: "Gimme __!": Columbus cheer beginning: AN O. I guessed. I surmise it's the cheerleading sound from Ohio State University?
53A: Ebbing: ABATING
55A: Reels off: RECITES
57A: Encountered: RAN INTO. Had problem obtaining this multiple word answer.
58A: Thankless one: INGRATE
59A: Magazine revenue: PRINT AD. There were only 2 letters in my brain, AD, then nothing else.
60A: Yields: ASSENTS. I only know the "Agree" meaning of assent.
Down:
1D: Downed quickly: BOLTED. Was ignorant of "Down quickly" definition of BOLT. Don't BOLT. Food is to be enjoyed.
2D: Relating to Space Age technology: AVIONIC. Also new to me. The noun AVIOTICS = AVI (ation) + (Electr)ONICS.
4D: Polar outburst?: BRR. I wrote down RAY, confusing Polar with Solar.
5D: Somewhat: A TAD
6D: More valuable, as coins: RARER. And MINT (50D: Spanking new). Both remind me of coins and baseball cards.
7D: Deafening silent, e.g.: OXYMORON. Elissa linked this list last time. Sallie likes jumbo shrimp.
8D: Used another's words: QUOTED
9D: Attach: ANNEX. I wanted ADD ON.
10D: Obsolete: DEAD. Thought of GONE.
11D: Patriotic org.: DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). The other choice is SAR (Sons of American Revolution).
12D: Make a mist of: ATOMIZE
13D: Catty types: FELINES. I was thinking of the mean catty catty, not cat-like catty.
14D: Like the Aral Sea: INLAND. SHRINKING has too many letters. It's indeed INLAND.
21D: Jackie's designer: OLEG (Cassini). Michelle Obama likes Jason Wu's design.
24D: "I'd rather skip it": LET'S NOT. And DID OK (30D: Managed). Neither came to me easily.
26D: Safari destination: SAVANNA . I was thinking of a country rather than the general grassy plain.
32D: Little dude: LAD
33D: Carpentry guide: JIG. No idea. Which part is JIG?
35D: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" barony: VULGARIA. Big stumper. See here for more information. Wikipedia says it's a scenic, mountainous region that can't be found any where in the world. I did not know it's authored by Ian Fleming.
36D: Hardly a free-spirited place?: CASH BAR. No idea. Why?
37D: Kabul coin: AFGHANI. I thought it's RUPEE, since Afghanstan is close to India and Pakistan where rupee is used. Anyway, Dictionary says AFGHANI can also refer to the people, same as Afghan. And the abbreviation of the currency AFGHANI is AFG.
38D: Frequent pizza delivery destination: DORM. I had O in place, so I went with HOME first.
39D: Enjoy the sunshine, perhaps: GET A TAN
40D: Big name in slapstick: SENNETT. Mack SENNETT, "The King of Comedy". I forgot all about him. Wikipedia says his Keystone Studios started the careers of Gloria Swanson, Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, etc.
41D: Key before E: D SHARP
42D: The Aztecs' Tonatiuh: SUN GOD. I don't know what's the meaning of Tonatiuh, so complete blank here. The same as Greek Helios/Roman Sol I suppose.
46D: Seasonal temp: SANTA. I thought temp is short for temperature. Good clue.
51D: Heart lines: Abbr.: ECGS. I wrote down EEGS, which is actually the brain scan "Head lines".
54D: Like the Wizard's heartless visitor: TIN. Did not get it easily, though I love the movie and know clearly that the Tin Man has no heart. I guess I always thought of TIN as a noun rather than an adjective. So, what would be the answer for "Like the Wizard's courgeless/brainless visitor"? MANED & what?
Answer grid.
C.C.
