Theme: MM MM GOOD (63A. Campbell's soup slogan, and a hint to
the puzzle theme found in 18-, 20-, 40- and 56-Across) - Each theme
entry contains 4 M's.
18A. Musical based on ABBA songs : MAMMA MIA.
8-letter answer as the first theme entry is just hard. You'll know when
you construct puzzles yourself. They result in stacked 6's alongside,
and I find stacked 6's challenging to fill, esp for a Monday grid.
Also, notice this theme entry and the next one have a 5-letter overlap?
No showmanship here. They're often done out of necessity. Gareth gets
smoother fill this way. Downside: plenty of 3-letter entries.
20A. Golfer Snead's nickname : SLAMMIN' SAMMY. Did you know Sam Snead can kick the top of a seven-foot doorway in his 70's? He was very very agile.
His swing is so hard to imitate. I tried! Ben Hogan's, on the other
hand, is highly effective & efficient. Sam Snead makes me want to
over-swing.
40A. One on a board : COMMITTEE MEMBER
56A. Whale or dolphin : MARINE MAMMAL
C.C.
here. No new puzzle from Cruciverb last night. Dear Santa Argyle
normally braves through, but he has to go to VA hospital early this
morning for a stress test.
Regulars probably have
noticed, this problem happens on Cruciverb once a month, when new batch
of puz files do not arrive in time for Cruciverb to put out.
Across:
1. Paper used for envelopes : MANILA
7. Teensy kitchen invader : ANT. The mouse in our house really bothers me. Peanut butter just does not attract him.
10. Thick-bodied river fish : CHUB. The fish looks stunned.
14. Lessened : ABATED
15. Critical hosp. area : ICU
16. Take down with a wrecking ball : RAZE
17. Trade for cash : REDEEM
22. "I don't care which" : ANY
23. Naval petty officer : YEOMAN
27. Lasting mark : SCAR. "Lasting...", so it can't be SCAB.
30. __ and gown : CAP
33. John, Paul, George or Ringo : NAME.
Some words are fun to clue, like NAME, NOUN, VERB, etc. Some are plain
boring, like RARA, IRAE. You just don't have other choices.
34. Go without food : STARVE. I always eat fish on New Year's day. Superstition. I'm worried that I'll starve again.
36. "True __": Wayne film : GRIT
39. CFO's degree : MBA
43. Swiss peak : ALP
44. Gas in a sign : NEON
45. Knocks for a loop : FLOORS
46. Scallion relative : LEEK. I think Yellowrocks has killer potato leek soup recipe.
48. Space-saving abbr. : ETC
50. Team statistic : LOSS. Twin Cities has all the major sports teams. Lossville though.
51. Finale : ENDING
54. Selling fast : HOT. I snatched a set of this Carolina Herrera cute bags. $9.99 at Target. All gone now. Look closely at the design of the biggest bag. What do you see?
66. "Seinfeld" woman : ELAINE. She always has big salad.
67. Albany's canal : ERIE. Hello Abejo!
68. Actress Hagen : UTA
69. Sticky-toed lizards : GECKOS
70. Tadpole's breathing organ : GILL
71. LPGA star Se Ri __ : PAK. Her name is actually Park. Error in filling in some form, then she decided to keep the wrong PAK.
72. Be agreeable : ASSENT
Down:
1. Red planet : MARS
2. Ill-fated Biblical brother : ABEL
3. Diddly, to Dalí : NADA
4. To-do list entry : ITEM
5. Oscar winner for "Cat Ballou" : LEE MARVIN. Nice full name.
6. Part of FDA: Abbr. : ADMIN
7. Gets in one's sights, with "at" : AIMS. Watch the action at 1 minute mark. Thanks, again, TTP!
8. Campus sports org. : NCAA
9. Tot's belly : TUMMY. And 10. Tot's drawing tool : CRAYON
11. Clumsy actor : HAM
12. Special forces weapon : UZI
13. Arthur who played Maude : BEA
19. Marseille Mrs. : MME
21. The Big Apple, initially : NYC. A snapshot of the top visitors to our blog two days ago. Don't know where "not set" is located.
24. Latin ballroom dances : MAMBOS
25. Orange-yellow gemstones : AMBERS
26. Gets warmer, in a game : NEARS. I don't get this clue.
27. Taken in a break-in : STOLEN
28. Slept next to the trail, say : CAMPED
29. Upper limb : ARM
31. Sales rep : AGENT
32. Opposite of post- : PRE
34. Weighing device : SCALE. Boomer
weighed 214lbs in his Army days, with a 34' waist. His weight has not
changed much over the years, but his waist has gone through the roof.
35. Somme summer : ETE
37. Global currency org. : IMF
38. Stretch the truth : TELL TALES
41. Bathwater tester : TOE. Fun clue.
42. Dairy farm sound : MOO
47. Late-night host Jimmy : KIMMEL. I like Fallon.
49. Revolutionary Guevara : CHE
52. Inveterate faultfinder : NAG
53. Word with hug or therapy : GROUP. Do you often find this type of "Word with what or what" clue more challenging?
55. Alpha's opposite : OMEGA
57. Teensy amount : IOTA
58. Fargo's st. : N DAK. Hi there Qli.
59. Apples with screens : MACs
60. Karaoke prop : MIKE
61. Many a folk song, composer-wise: Abbr. : ANON
62. "__ we forget" : LEST
63. Ryan of "Sleepless in Seattle" : MEG. Did anyone watch her "Courage Under Fire"? I was so confused and could not tell who's telling truth.
64. Hosp. scan : MRI
65. 1,000 G's : MIL
A couple notes:
1) Click here for details of the Second Minnesota Crossword Tournament to be held on Feb 3, 2013.
2) I'm so happy to see more new faces on the blog the past week, despite our blog trouble. Here is some basic guide on how to turn blue. It's not updated. So feel free to pop in Comments section if you need help.
C.C.
 |
| (MMMM, from Argyle) |
