Theme: None
Total blocks: 25
Total words: 68
Out of the 11 LAT Saturday themeless we've been offered since the switch, this puzzle has the least amount of black squares. The grid feels so open, with the triple-stacked 15-letter fills at the top and bottom:
1A: Winner of 49 Pulitzer Press: ASSOCIATED PRESS
16A: Diner order: SPANISH OMELETTE
17A: 200-mph swooper: PEREGRINE FALCON
46A: Two-generation groups: NUCLEAR FAMILIES
50A: State collections: INTERNAL REVENUE
51A: Some decks: CASSETTE PLAYERS
This time I was not intimidated at all. I got ASSOCIATED PRESS immediately, though my first thought was Washington Post, which actually has a total of 47 Pulitzers (NY Times has 101). I wonder if that's Doug's seed entry.
I was able to conquer the vast area of the top half, but I struggled with the lower part. What exactly is INTERNAL REVENUE? I wanted some word/phrase ending in TAX. Nevertheless, I am quite pleased with what I achieved today. I think the energy in my #1 CHAKRA point flowed pretty well.
Across:
18A: Menu items: ICONS. Computer. I thought of the food items.
19A: Nutrient in lentils: IRON. This answer came to me slowly, like love. I could only think of protein.
20A: MLB stat: HRS (Home Runs). ERA, RBI, etc. All three letters. Do you think Mine That Bird will hit a home run today? I want Calvin Borel to make history. Anyone besides Eliot Spitzer picks Luv Guv? The owner of Luv Guv also owns a horse called "Ninth Client".
21A: Peel: RIND. Noun.
22A: Loyal subject: LIEGE. I struggled with this answer.
24A: Premiere arrival: LIMO
25A: Lines on "ER"?: EEG. Filled in immediately.
26A: Break down: PARSE. Break down a sentence.
27A: General drift: TENOR. I like this clue.
29A: Heavy: BAD GUY. Heavy is noun. My initial answer is FAT GUY, since I had LET IN rather than LED IN for the intersecting 24D: Ushered.
30A: Fans of the bulldog Handsome Dan: YALIES. I forgot that Handsome Dan is Yale's mascot.
32A: Like much wage discrimination: SEXIST
33A: General types: DONORS. Mine was GIVERS.
34A: Beau: SWAIN. The 5-letter answer for "Beau" clue seems to be SWAIN all the time, never LOVER.
35A: Clearances: OKAYS. Spent a long time fooling around in this corner.
36A: Doesn't stay put: ROAMS. I had ?O??S staring at me forever.
37A: Sallie __: MAE. And Freddie Mac.
40A: Sake brewer's need: MOLD. Wrote down RICE first.
41A: Overcharge: GOUGE
42A: __ Corners: FOUR. Oh, this FOUR Corners. I thought of Augusta's AMEN Corner.
43A: Sermon ending?: IZE. Sermonize. One blank short for my AMEN again, and one blank too more for EN, the last letter of Sermon.
44A: Cotillard's Oscar-winning role: PIAF. I was shocked that Marion Cotillard won. She did not even sing in "La Vie en Rose".
45A: Eponymous Italian physicist: VOLTA (Alessandro). Ha ha, I had no idea that Volt is named after this guy.
Down:
1D: Have high hopes: ASPIRE
2D: Change: SPECIE. Well, I read Al's "Metallic money" posts a few times the other day, and I still failed to get this answer. "Coined money" seemed to be the most accurate definition.
3D: Java wrap: SARONG
4D: Standing up: ON END
5D: Bummed things: CIGS. Cigaretts? I don't get this clue.
6D: Country on the Medit.: ISR (Israel)
7D: Sushi staple: AHI. Also "Sashimi staple". Yummy!
8D: Tops in chic: TONIEST. I did not know tops is an adjective. Thought tops here is a verb.
9D: Appear: EMERGE
10D: "Captain Singleton" author: DEFOE (Daniel). I only knew his "Robinson Crusoe". Easy guess though.
11D: Outline: PLAN. PLOT fits too.
12D: Xmas visitor, say: REL. No Santa.
13D: Some Rembrandts: ETCHINGS
14D: Make a dramatic exit: STORM OUT
15D: Tactile, e.g.: SENSORY
22D: Velcro alternative: LACES. Could not keep zipper out of my mind.
23D: Red states?: IRES. Great clue.
26D: Not very strong hand: PAIRS. Poker.
27D: Airport lineup: TAXIS. Wanted QUEUE.
28D: Two-time heavyweight champ Patterson: FLOYD. Nope. First encounter with this champ.
29D: New York mayor before Koch: BEAME (Abe). I can never remember his name. He was the mayor between 1974 and 1977. Wikipedia says "he was a man of very short stature, being only five feet, two inches tall". I am 5'4''. How about you?
30D: Highest rank in sumo: YOKOZUNA. No idea. I recognized its Kanji character 横綱 though. It's literally "horizontal rope". Wikipedia says the word comes from the most visible symbol of their rank, the rope (tsuna) worn around the waist.
31D: "The __ of Confucius": ANALECTS. Well, see these two Chinese characters? They simply mean "commentaries". I've never heard of ANALECTS before.
32D: Loot: SWAG. Forgot this slang word again.
33D: Patron saint of astronomers: DOMINIC. Stymied. Wikipedia says this Saint DOMINIC "zealously practiced rigorous self-denial" throughout his life. And "he abstained from meat and observed stated fasts and periods of silence". No wonder he is a saint.
34D: Fluffy fare: SOUFFLE. Yummy! Alliteration again.
36D: Obviously enjoy, as humor: ROAR AT
37D: Quad Cities city: MOLINE. John Deere is headquartered here.
38D: Stylish filmmaker: AUTEUR. Why "Stylish"? Woody Allen is an AUTEUR.
39D: Removes, in a way: ERASES.
42D: "The Unit" actor Scott: FOLEY. Recognized his mug when I googled him. That's Jennifer Garner, his ex-wife, in his arms. He was Noel in "Felicity".
44D: Nice old man?: PERE. Nice the city in France. Can't fool me.
45D: Bounty rival: VIVA. Holy moley. Have never heard of this brand.
47D: __ Fauves: Matisse group: LES. "The Wild Beast". Learned this group from reading "Charmed Circle", a book about Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway, etc.
48D: Grünwald associate: ARP (Jean). The Dada pioneer. Was stumped. Not familiar with Alfred Grünwald, who founded Cologne Dada group with ARP and Max Ernest.
49D: Film maker Brooks: MEL. So many MEL's in Hollywood.
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total blocks: 25
Total words: 68
Out of the 11 LAT Saturday themeless we've been offered since the switch, this puzzle has the least amount of black squares. The grid feels so open, with the triple-stacked 15-letter fills at the top and bottom:
1A: Winner of 49 Pulitzer Press: ASSOCIATED PRESS
16A: Diner order: SPANISH OMELETTE
17A: 200-mph swooper: PEREGRINE FALCON
46A: Two-generation groups: NUCLEAR FAMILIES
50A: State collections: INTERNAL REVENUE
51A: Some decks: CASSETTE PLAYERS
This time I was not intimidated at all. I got ASSOCIATED PRESS immediately, though my first thought was Washington Post, which actually has a total of 47 Pulitzers (NY Times has 101). I wonder if that's Doug's seed entry.
I was able to conquer the vast area of the top half, but I struggled with the lower part. What exactly is INTERNAL REVENUE? I wanted some word/phrase ending in TAX. Nevertheless, I am quite pleased with what I achieved today. I think the energy in my #1 CHAKRA point flowed pretty well.
Across:
18A: Menu items: ICONS. Computer. I thought of the food items.
19A: Nutrient in lentils: IRON. This answer came to me slowly, like love. I could only think of protein.
20A: MLB stat: HRS (Home Runs). ERA, RBI, etc. All three letters. Do you think Mine That Bird will hit a home run today? I want Calvin Borel to make history. Anyone besides Eliot Spitzer picks Luv Guv? The owner of Luv Guv also owns a horse called "Ninth Client".
21A: Peel: RIND. Noun.
22A: Loyal subject: LIEGE. I struggled with this answer.
24A: Premiere arrival: LIMO
25A: Lines on "ER"?: EEG. Filled in immediately.
26A: Break down: PARSE. Break down a sentence.
27A: General drift: TENOR. I like this clue.
29A: Heavy: BAD GUY. Heavy is noun. My initial answer is FAT GUY, since I had LET IN rather than LED IN for the intersecting 24D: Ushered.
30A: Fans of the bulldog Handsome Dan: YALIES. I forgot that Handsome Dan is Yale's mascot.
32A: Like much wage discrimination: SEXIST
33A: General types: DONORS. Mine was GIVERS.
34A: Beau: SWAIN. The 5-letter answer for "Beau" clue seems to be SWAIN all the time, never LOVER.
35A: Clearances: OKAYS. Spent a long time fooling around in this corner.
36A: Doesn't stay put: ROAMS. I had ?O??S staring at me forever.
37A: Sallie __: MAE. And Freddie Mac.
40A: Sake brewer's need: MOLD. Wrote down RICE first.
41A: Overcharge: GOUGE
42A: __ Corners: FOUR. Oh, this FOUR Corners. I thought of Augusta's AMEN Corner.
43A: Sermon ending?: IZE. Sermonize. One blank short for my AMEN again, and one blank too more for EN, the last letter of Sermon.
44A: Cotillard's Oscar-winning role: PIAF. I was shocked that Marion Cotillard won. She did not even sing in "La Vie en Rose".
45A: Eponymous Italian physicist: VOLTA (Alessandro). Ha ha, I had no idea that Volt is named after this guy.
Down:
1D: Have high hopes: ASPIRE
2D: Change: SPECIE. Well, I read Al's "Metallic money" posts a few times the other day, and I still failed to get this answer. "Coined money" seemed to be the most accurate definition.
3D: Java wrap: SARONG
4D: Standing up: ON END
5D: Bummed things: CIGS. Cigaretts? I don't get this clue.
6D: Country on the Medit.: ISR (Israel)
7D: Sushi staple: AHI. Also "Sashimi staple". Yummy!
8D: Tops in chic: TONIEST. I did not know tops is an adjective. Thought tops here is a verb.
9D: Appear: EMERGE
10D: "Captain Singleton" author: DEFOE (Daniel). I only knew his "Robinson Crusoe". Easy guess though.
11D: Outline: PLAN. PLOT fits too.
12D: Xmas visitor, say: REL. No Santa.
13D: Some Rembrandts: ETCHINGS
14D: Make a dramatic exit: STORM OUT
15D: Tactile, e.g.: SENSORY
22D: Velcro alternative: LACES. Could not keep zipper out of my mind.
23D: Red states?: IRES. Great clue.
26D: Not very strong hand: PAIRS. Poker.
27D: Airport lineup: TAXIS. Wanted QUEUE.
28D: Two-time heavyweight champ Patterson: FLOYD. Nope. First encounter with this champ.
29D: New York mayor before Koch: BEAME (Abe). I can never remember his name. He was the mayor between 1974 and 1977. Wikipedia says "he was a man of very short stature, being only five feet, two inches tall". I am 5'4''. How about you?
30D: Highest rank in sumo: YOKOZUNA. No idea. I recognized its Kanji character 横綱 though. It's literally "horizontal rope". Wikipedia says the word comes from the most visible symbol of their rank, the rope (tsuna) worn around the waist.
31D: "The __ of Confucius": ANALECTS. Well, see these two Chinese characters? They simply mean "commentaries". I've never heard of ANALECTS before.
32D: Loot: SWAG. Forgot this slang word again.
33D: Patron saint of astronomers: DOMINIC. Stymied. Wikipedia says this Saint DOMINIC "zealously practiced rigorous self-denial" throughout his life. And "he abstained from meat and observed stated fasts and periods of silence". No wonder he is a saint.
34D: Fluffy fare: SOUFFLE. Yummy! Alliteration again.
36D: Obviously enjoy, as humor: ROAR AT
37D: Quad Cities city: MOLINE. John Deere is headquartered here.
38D: Stylish filmmaker: AUTEUR. Why "Stylish"? Woody Allen is an AUTEUR.
39D: Removes, in a way: ERASES.
42D: "The Unit" actor Scott: FOLEY. Recognized his mug when I googled him. That's Jennifer Garner, his ex-wife, in his arms. He was Noel in "Felicity".
44D: Nice old man?: PERE. Nice the city in France. Can't fool me.
45D: Bounty rival: VIVA. Holy moley. Have never heard of this brand.
47D: __ Fauves: Matisse group: LES. "The Wild Beast". Learned this group from reading "Charmed Circle", a book about Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway, etc.
48D: Grünwald associate: ARP (Jean). The Dada pioneer. Was stumped. Not familiar with Alfred Grünwald, who founded Cologne Dada group with ARP and Max Ernest.
49D: Film maker Brooks: MEL. So many MEL's in Hollywood.
Answer grid.
C.C.
