Theme: "I crabbed about it, but wasn't cowed, fished my way around, and finally got it done...(I kid you not!)" Animals used as verbs, told in a cute sports short story.
20A. I ___ him about never playing Ping-Pong with me... : HOUNDED. "Dogged" is also a word similar to hounded, meaning persistently followed. From the German "hund", for "dog".
22A. I ___ over my string of victories at the rec center... : CROWED. Crows are raucous birds, and tend to make a lot of noise over their accomplishments.
29A. I always thought he'd ___ out on me in fear... : WEASELED. Weasels are very agile, and can slip in and out of tiny nooks and crannies, thus avoiding their predators.
46A. So I ___ him into a game. What a mistake! : BADGERED. Badgers are known to dig ferociously. Very persistent animals!
55A. I ___ to avoid his smashes, and I couldn't touch his serve... : DUCKED. From the Old English dūce or, "diver".
56A. In the end, the score was 21-0. I got ___! : SKUNKED. Did you ever try to win a battle with a skunk? Nope, didn't think so! So when you get skunked, you lose big -- almost, as if you didn't even try!
Marti here, to explain the rest of the entries in this fun puzzle from one of our regular constructors.
Across:
1. Covent Garden numbers : ARIAS. Covent Garden is a popular shopping and tourist area associated with The Royal Opera House, which is also known as "Covent Garden".
6. Drainage areas : SUMPS
11. Documentarian Burns : KEN. Winner of both Academy Awards and Emmys for his documentaries. Here is a glimpse at one of his latest films.
14. Common billing cycle : MONTH
15. '90s FBI head : FREEH. This guy. And yep, that's really how to spell his name!
16. Seine sight : ILE
17. Metal giant : ALCOA
18. Initial strategy : PLAN A. For my retirement, I am about as far as Plan Y right now...(Anyone have a tip on a good scratch ticket?)
19. Spanish root word? : OLE. HaHa, funny punny clue. "Root", meaning to cheer for.
24. Persian greeting : MEOW. Persian cat, that is.
25. Sudden insight : EPIPHANY. I had an epiphany when I finally sussed this answer!
27. Collar : NAB
31. Appian Way, e.g. : ITER. Latin for "road"
33. WWII transports : LSTS. Landing Ship, Tank(s)
34. Make even shorter, in a way : REHEM. In H.S., us girls would always have a needle and thread in our purse, so that we could "re-hem" our skirts as soon as our parents dropped us off at the bus stop.
38. Zilch : NONE. Hey, doesn't this clue / ans. belong in yesterday's blog?
39. Exams for future attys. : LSATS. Law School Admission Test(s)
41. Golfer Isao : AOKI. If you don't know this one by now, file it away: THIS INSTANT!
42. Cortés subject : AZTEC
44. Fla.-to-Cal. highway : I-TEN. Map, in pink. I have driven I-40 across the country, but never took I-10. Anyone else?
45. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" director : ROEG. Nicolas. He also directed "Walkabout" and "Don't look Now".
49. Ltr. afterthoughts : PSs. Post-Script(s). in letters.
50. Unsuccessful contenders : ALSO-RANS
53. Warring Olympian : ARES. I thought "Thor" at first.
59. Hosp. area : ICU
60. Sovereign decree : EDICT
63. Initiative : DRIVE
64. Globe : ORB
65. Chute material : NYLON. Did anyone else think of the playground slide, and "steel"?
66. "The Elements of Bridge" author : GOREN.
67. ___ salt : SEA. I use Maldon Sea Salt all the time. But I save the "Fleur de sel" (flower of salt) for the most delicate dishes.
68. Lathers : SOAPS
69. Log line : ENTRY. Also, "blog line"!
Down:
1. Asian pram pusher : AMAH
2. Chewy candy brand : ROLO. Caramel and milk chocolate in the US, but dark chocolate in the UK. Why the difference?
1. Covent Garden numbers : ARIAS. Covent Garden is a popular shopping and tourist area associated with The Royal Opera House, which is also known as "Covent Garden".
6. Drainage areas : SUMPS
11. Documentarian Burns : KEN. Winner of both Academy Awards and Emmys for his documentaries. Here is a glimpse at one of his latest films.
14. Common billing cycle : MONTH
15. '90s FBI head : FREEH. This guy. And yep, that's really how to spell his name!
16. Seine sight : ILE
17. Metal giant : ALCOA
18. Initial strategy : PLAN A. For my retirement, I am about as far as Plan Y right now...(Anyone have a tip on a good scratch ticket?)
19. Spanish root word? : OLE. HaHa, funny punny clue. "Root", meaning to cheer for.
24. Persian greeting : MEOW. Persian cat, that is.
25. Sudden insight : EPIPHANY. I had an epiphany when I finally sussed this answer!
27. Collar : NAB
31. Appian Way, e.g. : ITER. Latin for "road"
33. WWII transports : LSTS. Landing Ship, Tank(s)
34. Make even shorter, in a way : REHEM. In H.S., us girls would always have a needle and thread in our purse, so that we could "re-hem" our skirts as soon as our parents dropped us off at the bus stop.
38. Zilch : NONE. Hey, doesn't this clue / ans. belong in yesterday's blog?
39. Exams for future attys. : LSATS. Law School Admission Test(s)
41. Golfer Isao : AOKI. If you don't know this one by now, file it away: THIS INSTANT!
42. Cortés subject : AZTEC
44. Fla.-to-Cal. highway : I-TEN. Map, in pink. I have driven I-40 across the country, but never took I-10. Anyone else?
45. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" director : ROEG. Nicolas. He also directed "Walkabout" and "Don't look Now".
49. Ltr. afterthoughts : PSs. Post-Script(s). in letters.
50. Unsuccessful contenders : ALSO-RANS
53. Warring Olympian : ARES. I thought "Thor" at first.
59. Hosp. area : ICU
60. Sovereign decree : EDICT
63. Initiative : DRIVE
64. Globe : ORB
65. Chute material : NYLON. Did anyone else think of the playground slide, and "steel"?
66. "The Elements of Bridge" author : GOREN.
67. ___ salt : SEA. I use Maldon Sea Salt all the time. But I save the "Fleur de sel" (flower of salt) for the most delicate dishes.
68. Lathers : SOAPS
69. Log line : ENTRY. Also, "blog line"!
Down:
1. Asian pram pusher : AMAH
2. Chewy candy brand : ROLO. Caramel and milk chocolate in the US, but dark chocolate in the UK. Why the difference?
3. One trying to keep her seat, maybe : INCUMBENT. Oh gosh, I can't tell you where my mind was going with this one. Are we in a movie theater? A bus? A bar? A restroom?
4. Make amends : ATONE
5. Tail : SHADOW. Or, "hound"?
6. Calif. force : SFPD. Not LAPD...the San Francisco Police Department.
7. Link letters : URL
8. Give-minute link : ME A...ummm, I have to think about this for a min--OH! I got it now!
9. Low-tech recording device : PENCIL. I roared over this one when it appeared. Clever clue!
10. Less dull : SHARPER. Like my low-tech recording device?
11. Oklahoma tribe : KIOWA. With 12,000 members currently.
12. Page of "Juno" : ELLEN. I just think she is so adorable! (Great movie too, BTW.)
13. Hard up : NEEDY
21. "State Fair" actor, 1962 : EWELL. Oh, c'mon. You know this guy, right? (He's the one on the right.) 1:26
23. "Heavens to Murgatroyd!" : OH DEAR. Oh dear, I just loved this clue!
25. Big properties : ESTATES
26. Annoy : PESTER. "Badger" fits, too.
27. Singer Simeone : NINA. "The High Priestess of Soul." Her smash hit of 1958 was this song from "Porgy and Bess". 4:09
28. The whole enchilada : A TO Z. "atoz" always looks so weird in the grid, doesn't it?
30. Give out, as roles : ASSIGN
32. Maker of Ex-O-Fit athletic shoes : REEBOK. I"ll take the red ones, please!
35. Dress that makes a slow dance difficult : HOOP SKIRT. But the polka is no prob! 2:16
36. Scratches (out) : EKES
37. Russian fighters : MIGS. Did you know, that the name is from the founders: Mikoyan and Gurevich? Now, it is called "Mikoyan."
40. Gridiron maneuver : SNEAK. Or, "weasel" your way past the defense?
43. Corners recklessly : CAREENS.
47. Beatnik's bro : DADDY-O. I had "daddio" at first. Arrgh!
48. Lowly worker : DRUDGE. Really? I think his reports are top-shelf!
50. "Later, Luis!" : ADIOS
51. Dinero : LUCRE. Filthy?
52. Salvage crew acronym : SCUBA. Self-Contained-Underwater-Breathing-Apparatus.
54. Infamous Houston company : ENRON. Let's not go there...
56. Short stops? : STNS. Stations, abbreviated ("short").
57. At all : EVER
58. Claim otherwise : DENY
61. Stevedore's gp. : ILA. International Longshoremen's Association.
62. Steal : COP. Cop a squat, cop an attitude...not that I would ever cop out on you!
Answer grid.
See you next week, same time, same channel...
Hugs and shrugs,
Marti
