theme: DIRTY WORDS (12) - Click here to see the full effect. Each theme answer can be preceded by dirty to form a common phrase. All the dirty words are placed symmetrically.
5A. *Stand-up's delivery : (dirty) JOKE. classic (not dirty).
12A. *Bygone magazine known for its photography : (dirty) LOOK. fashion magazine, final issue october 1971.
14A. *2012 presidential campaign issue : (dirty) JOBS
17A. *Office betting group : (dirty) POOL. dirty pool is a phrase meaning unfair or unsportsmanlike conduct. also a great stevie ray tune.
61A. *Failure : (dirty) BOMB
65A. *Pay attention to : (dirty) MIND. i always pay attention to a dirty mind.
67A. *Function as promised : (dirty) WORK
69A. *Give everyone a hand : (dirty) DEAL. tried clap first.
1D. *Hemingway title character : the (dirty) OLD MAN and the sea.
19D. *Most famous Hogwarts pupil : (dirty) HARRY potter.
42D. *Documents often stored in a safe : (dirty) DEEDS
50D. *Bamboozles : (dirty) TRICKS
and the unifier, right in the middle:
39. 1967 war film, and an apt description for this puzzle's starred answers : THE DIRTY DOZEN
melissa here.
melissa here.
wow! 13 theme entries, what's not to love about that? clever theme, and interesting grid pattern, with the blocks in the northeast and southwest corners. a few obscure unknowns, but doable.
across:
1. Nobel Institute site : OSLO.
9. Stat for Randy Johnson : ERA. baseball pitching statistic, earned run average.
13. Dip __ in: test : A TOE
16. Early eighth-century year : DCCI. 701.
18. Novelist Wharton : EDITH
20. Folk singer Miriam known as "Mama Africa" : MAKEBA
22. __-Man : PAC
24. Narc's agcy. : DEA. drug enforcement administration.
25. Darth, at one time : ANI. too obscure for me, perps to the rescue. i found this from wikipedia: A character named "Anikin Starkiller" also appears in an early draft of Star Wars, playing a role similar to Luke Skywalker's. is there a better explanation?
26. Final : END MOST
29. __ Lingus : AER. Irish airline.
30. Front and back, at Pebble Beach : NINES, and and 42. Starts a hole, at Pebble Beach : DRIVES
32. Pop flies, usually : OUTS
33. "Car Talk" airer : NPR. click and clack recently announced their retirement. no new episodes as of september of this year.
34. Preferences : LIKES
36. Ullman of comedy : TRACEY. go home!
43. "__ Teenage Werewolf" : I WAS A. 1957 teenage horror film, starring the late michael landon.
44. __ in echo : EAS. maybe i'll understand this in the morning ....
45. Project particular : SPEC. specification.
47. Hardly suitable : INAPT. inappropriate.
51. Cog attachment? : ENT. cogent. i hear groaning.
52. Contest in the sky : AIR RACE
54. Peace, to Pasternak : MIR. boris pasternak was the russian, nobel prize-winning author of dr. zhivago. mir was the name given to the russian space station, meaning both peace and world.
55. Brit. medal : DSO. distinguished service order.
56. Yucatán year : ANO. spanish.
57. Powerful Roman Church family name : ORSINI. had no idea.
59. It's seen around leftovers : SARAN. cute.
64. 20 fins : ONE C. fin is slang for a five dollar bill, and a c-note is slang for $100 - c being the roman numeral for 100.
66. Pamplona pronoun : ESTO. spanish for this.
68. Limit : CAP
70. Slow-leak sound : SSSS
down:
2. Boaster's reply to a boast : SO CAN I. so there.
3. Finalize, as a Final Jeopardy! wager : LOCK IN
4. Dust Bowl migrant : OKIE
5. Mount Fuji's nation : JAPAN. pretty.
6. Missouri River people : OTO. native american tribe.
7. Kitchy-__ : KOO. baby talk, more often gitchy-goo.
8. Sniggler's trap : EEL POT
9. DVD button : EJECT
10. Thing to spare, in an adage : ROD. spare the rod and spoil the child. i'll disagree.
11. Conformity : ABIDANCE. perfectly valid word, though not often heard.
15. Go uphill fast? : STEEPEN. ditto.
21. Next to : BESIDE
23. Subordinate in the prosecutor's off. : ASST DA. assistant district attorney.
27. Hardly a couch potato : DOER
28. More attic-like : MUSTIER. nailed it.
31. Map abbr. : ELEV. elevation.
35. "__ Cousins": 1964 Presley film : KISSIN'. have not seen it.
37. Not as gloomy : ROSIER
38. Islamic call to prayer : AZAN. did not know this either.
39. "Knight Rider" car : TRANS AM
40. Like one for the books : HISTORIC
41. Girls' rec. center : YWCA. young women's christian association.
46. Looked into deeply : PROBED
48. Essential acids : AMINOS
49. Sad souls : PINERS. interesting sculpture, called pining.
52. U.S. food retailer that reached its peak in the mid-1900s : A AND P
53. Early computer language : COBOL
58. Plants : SOWS. anyone growing a garden this summer?
60. Prefix with baptist : ANA. anabaptist.
62. Sweet ending : OSE. as in dextrose, sucrose, fructose, glucose.
63. NYC subway overseer : MTA. metropolitan transportation authority.
Answer grid.
melissa
Answer grid.
melissa
