Theme: America's Major Wars
20A: Conflict ended 11/11/18: WORLD WAR ONE
37A: Conflict ended 2/28/91: GULF WAR
51A: Conflict ended 9/2/45: WORLD WAR TWO
11D: Conflict ended 2/2/1848: MEXICAN WAR
28D: Conflict ended 4/30/75: VIETNAM WAR
I think this puzzle was intended for last Tuesday. I also think that the original clue for NOVEMBER (11D: Election month) is "Veterans Day month".
Revolutionary War has 16 letters, so it won't fit in a 15*15 grid. Civil War and Korean War have different number of letters, and there is no way they can be put in the grid symmetrically. I wonder if John Understood has considered IRAQ WAR for 37A to add some scrabbliness to his puzzle. It also has an odd number of letter, which is perfect for a center theme fill.
Because SEATS is the answer for 64A: Places at the tables, the clues for ROW (57A: Line of seat) and SADDLE (5D: Bike seat) definitely need to be changed.
I don't think I could finish this puzzle without the theme answer help today. Some of the fills were very obscure to me: LIVIA, IVOR, INO, AMON, JABBA, ALIDA, ADARE and YONNE. Oh, I've never heard of HI HO crackers either.
Across:
1A: Handmade weapons: SHIVS. Did you see "In Cold Blood"?
2A: Black-eyed or lazy girl?: SUSAN. Can you think of a clever way to clue Brooke Shields' "Suddenly SUSAN"?
14A: Durrell novel: LIVIA. I doubt this novel LIVIA is a gimme for anyone.
16A: "__ tu" (Verdi aria): ERI. Here is a clip. I got from the down fills. What's the meaning of "ERI tu"?
17A: Get __ of yourself: A HOLD. I wonder why ADARE (62A: Antarctic cape) is not clued as a partial fill as well, you know, "On A DARE". I am not familiar with Cape ADARE.
22A: Daughter of Cadmus: INO. Is it pronounced the same as "I know"? Have never heard of INO or Cadmus.
23A: Valli of "The Third Man": ALIDA. See this poster. Why is her name incomplete?
29A: Fat Hutt: JABBA. I obtained his name from the adjacent fills. Not a "Star Wars" fan. Eek, he is ugly.
40A: Former Dodges: INTREPIDS. Why "Former"?
44A: Makes a basket: SCORES. I was picturing a handmade basket rather than the basketball basket.
59A: Eye shade?: VISOR. I like this clue.
61A:Burgundy river: YONNE. See this map. I don't think even Carla Bruni knows this river, unless her husband desperately needs the votes in the YONNE Department.
Down:
2D: Brand of crackers: HI HO. Have never heard of HI HO crackers before. I can only think of Ritz, which is also 4-letter. By the way, we call crackers "biscuits" in China.
3D: Welsh actor Novello: IVOR. I googled his name. He appeared in our puzzle before.
4D: Bad guy: VILLAIN
8D: Pudding starch: SAGO. Want some?
9D: Egyptian fertility god: AMON. Also spelled as AMEN, AMUN. I would not have got this god without the across fills. Isn't BAAL "God of fertility" also? We just had ASTARTE (clued as "Ancient Fertility goddess") the other day. ASTARTE = Ishtar.
21D: Wag of the tongue: WIT. Mine was WET. I did not know that "wag" can mean "a humorous person".
33D: Old postal abbr.: RFD (Rural Free Delivery). Learned from doing Xword.
42D: Thrill trip: JOYRIDE. Is "joyrider" a word?
45D: Fancy tie: CRAVAT. From French cravate I suppose.
46D: Column style: DORIC. Ionic is also 5-letter.
C.C.
20A: Conflict ended 11/11/18: WORLD WAR ONE
37A: Conflict ended 2/28/91: GULF WAR
51A: Conflict ended 9/2/45: WORLD WAR TWO
11D: Conflict ended 2/2/1848: MEXICAN WAR
28D: Conflict ended 4/30/75: VIETNAM WAR
I think this puzzle was intended for last Tuesday. I also think that the original clue for NOVEMBER (11D: Election month) is "Veterans Day month".
Revolutionary War has 16 letters, so it won't fit in a 15*15 grid. Civil War and Korean War have different number of letters, and there is no way they can be put in the grid symmetrically. I wonder if John Understood has considered IRAQ WAR for 37A to add some scrabbliness to his puzzle. It also has an odd number of letter, which is perfect for a center theme fill.
Because SEATS is the answer for 64A: Places at the tables, the clues for ROW (57A: Line of seat) and SADDLE (5D: Bike seat) definitely need to be changed.
I don't think I could finish this puzzle without the theme answer help today. Some of the fills were very obscure to me: LIVIA, IVOR, INO, AMON, JABBA, ALIDA, ADARE and YONNE. Oh, I've never heard of HI HO crackers either.
Across:
1A: Handmade weapons: SHIVS. Did you see "In Cold Blood"?
2A: Black-eyed or lazy girl?: SUSAN. Can you think of a clever way to clue Brooke Shields' "Suddenly SUSAN"?
14A: Durrell novel: LIVIA. I doubt this novel LIVIA is a gimme for anyone.
16A: "__ tu" (Verdi aria): ERI. Here is a clip. I got from the down fills. What's the meaning of "ERI tu"?
17A: Get __ of yourself: A HOLD. I wonder why ADARE (62A: Antarctic cape) is not clued as a partial fill as well, you know, "On A DARE". I am not familiar with Cape ADARE.
22A: Daughter of Cadmus: INO. Is it pronounced the same as "I know"? Have never heard of INO or Cadmus.
23A: Valli of "The Third Man": ALIDA. See this poster. Why is her name incomplete?
29A: Fat Hutt: JABBA. I obtained his name from the adjacent fills. Not a "Star Wars" fan. Eek, he is ugly.
40A: Former Dodges: INTREPIDS. Why "Former"?
44A: Makes a basket: SCORES. I was picturing a handmade basket rather than the basketball basket.
59A: Eye shade?: VISOR. I like this clue.
61A:Burgundy river: YONNE. See this map. I don't think even Carla Bruni knows this river, unless her husband desperately needs the votes in the YONNE Department.
Down:
2D: Brand of crackers: HI HO. Have never heard of HI HO crackers before. I can only think of Ritz, which is also 4-letter. By the way, we call crackers "biscuits" in China.
3D: Welsh actor Novello: IVOR. I googled his name. He appeared in our puzzle before.
4D: Bad guy: VILLAIN
8D: Pudding starch: SAGO. Want some?
9D: Egyptian fertility god: AMON. Also spelled as AMEN, AMUN. I would not have got this god without the across fills. Isn't BAAL "God of fertility" also? We just had ASTARTE (clued as "Ancient Fertility goddess") the other day. ASTARTE = Ishtar.
21D: Wag of the tongue: WIT. Mine was WET. I did not know that "wag" can mean "a humorous person".
33D: Old postal abbr.: RFD (Rural Free Delivery). Learned from doing Xword.
42D: Thrill trip: JOYRIDE. Is "joyrider" a word?
45D: Fancy tie: CRAVAT. From French cravate I suppose.
46D: Column style: DORIC. Ionic is also 5-letter.
C.C.
