Theme:
10D. *Italian pistols: BERETTAS. (Beret) In the early James Bond novels, his pistol of choice was a Beretta 418, but a firearm expert and a fan of the books wrote to Ian Fleming criticizing his decision as the weapon had no real stopping power. Fleming replaced the firearm with a Walther PPK in Dr. No.
11D. *A skeptic's wont: TO QUESTION (Toque) I was impressed that Timothy found a way to use the proper name for the tall chef's hat, among other styles.
28D. *Quaker Oats cereal with a naval officer on the box: CAP'N CRUNCH (Cap)
38D. *The Sunshine Skyway Bridge spans it: TAMPA BAY (Tam). The bridge was involved in a tragic incident in 1980 when a freighter collided with it during a thunderstorm and brought down a large section.
38A. Partners of tails ... and what's found in the answers to starred clues: TOP HATS. See the picture of the royals below.
Happy Thursday, everyone, and I'm thinking a particularly happy Thursday for the constructor, as I believe this is his debut for the LA Times. The theme is simple, but nicely done. The theme entries are all in the downs so that the hat can sit "on top." as the reveal suggests.
[Edit: It's actually Tim's second LAT).
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Ancient gathering place: STOA
5. Warm place to chill: HOT TUB
11. "Waterfalls" pop trio: TLC. I know the song, I had no ideal that was the name of the group.
14. Medical breakthrough: CURE
15. Revolt: UPRISE
16. "That looks good!": OOH!
17. Dict. label: ABBR.
18. Not as nice: MEANER
19. Sine __ non: QUA. An "essential condition or necessary component" for you non-ancient Romans out there.
20. Impressive vocal quality: RESONANCE
22. Spew: ERUPT
24. Have a feeling: SENSE
25. Reason for a warm eye compress: STYE
26. Race town near Windsor Castle: ASCOT. Gentlemen are encouraged to dress formally for the annual Royal Ascot meet in June. Here's some royals being, well, royal at Royal Ascot. Prince Harry looks like he just got off a horse.
29. Information to process: DATA SET.
32. "Sounds fair": DEAL
33. Berth place: MARINA
36. Greek cross: TAU
37. ChapStick target: LIP
39. Doctrine suffix: -ISM
40. The Stratford, in TV's "Newhart": INN. Here's the Waybury Inn in Vermont which was used in the show "acting" as the Stratford.
41. Pupil surrounder: AREOLA. Quiet at the back.
42. Frost lines?: POEM
43. Flatters: BECOMES
45. Masculine: MANLY
46. Cheats, with "off": RIPS
47. "__ always makes it better": Anne Burrell: BACON. I never heard her say it, but didn't take long to figure this one out.
50. Throat dangler: UVULA
52. Aboveboard: ALLOWABLE
56. Solder component: TIN along with lead, or silver and copper for lead-free solders, and commonly with a flux core.
57. Caviar source: BELUGA
59. Morsel on a shellfish platter: CLAW. Depends how big your crustacean is. The biggest lobster caught on record was a 44lb behemoth off Nova Scotia in 1977. Those claws are certainly not "morsels"!
60. Anti-apartheid org.: A.N.C. The African National Congress.
61. Landfall for Noah: ARARAT
62. Word before and after sweet: HOME
63. Part of a snarky laugh: HEH
64. Approvals: YESSES
65. Terminal info: E.T.A.S
Down:
1. Emotional trauma consequence: SCAR
2. Skin cream holder: TUBE
3. Poetic spheres: ORBS
4. Spray starch dispenser: AEROSOL
5. Likely to err, eventually?: HUMAN. You can be divine, and forgive though.
6. Hits theaters: OPENS
7. Vestige: TRACE
8. Spork prong: TINE
9. Finish, with "up": USE
12. __-garou: werewolf: LOUP. First mentioned in 60 B.C. by Roman author Petronius, so they've been around a while. Before the invention of firearms and silver bullets, they pretty much had the run of the place at full moon time. Apparently you can bludgeon one to death with a blunt silver object, but I'd prefer to keep my distance.
.
13. Facebook option: CHAT
21. Safety feature at a trapeze school: NET
23. Scandinavian rug: RYA. Thank you, crosswords past.
25. Seasonal visitor: SANTA
26. Stage surprise: AD LIB
27. River with 37 bridges in Paris: SEINE. I was going to tell you how many bridges cross the Seine in total, but when I went to Wikipedia I realized I'd be here all day counting them. Just know, there's a lot!
29. Retro phone part: DIAL
30. Conference room stand: EASEL. For the flip chart. Still a fixture in these days of whiteboards and flat-panel TVs.
31. Tot's ache source: TUMMY
33. Social customs: MORES
34. Imitates: APES
35. Letter before sigma: RHO
42. Grand style: PANACHE
44. Safflower __: OIL
45. Cut grass: MOW
47. Gets fuzzy: BLURS. Gets fuzzy, not Get Fuzzy:
48. Diet for some aquarium fish: ALGAE. The Siamese Algae Eater is described on one website as "easy to keep, and will eat anything put in the tank". I hope not, they'd eat all the plants, the other fish and the treasure chest if that was the case.
49. Paint layers: COATS
50. Arches National Park state: UTAH
51. Hollywood crosser: VINE. Here's the iconic Capitol Records tower seen from the intersection. There's a flashing light on the top of the mast which spells out "Hollywood" in Morse Code.
52. "Oh dear!": ALAS
53. Ink smudge: BLOT
54. Revered Tibetan: LAMA
55. Farm females: EWES
58. "Blood hath been shed __ now": Macbeth: ERE. On seeing Banquo's ghost.
10D. *Italian pistols: BERETTAS. (Beret) In the early James Bond novels, his pistol of choice was a Beretta 418, but a firearm expert and a fan of the books wrote to Ian Fleming criticizing his decision as the weapon had no real stopping power. Fleming replaced the firearm with a Walther PPK in Dr. No.
11D. *A skeptic's wont: TO QUESTION (Toque) I was impressed that Timothy found a way to use the proper name for the tall chef's hat, among other styles.
28D. *Quaker Oats cereal with a naval officer on the box: CAP'N CRUNCH (Cap)
38D. *The Sunshine Skyway Bridge spans it: TAMPA BAY (Tam). The bridge was involved in a tragic incident in 1980 when a freighter collided with it during a thunderstorm and brought down a large section.
38A. Partners of tails ... and what's found in the answers to starred clues: TOP HATS. See the picture of the royals below.
Happy Thursday, everyone, and I'm thinking a particularly happy Thursday for the constructor, as I believe this is his debut for the LA Times. The theme is simple, but nicely done. The theme entries are all in the downs so that the hat can sit "on top." as the reveal suggests.
[Edit: It's actually Tim's second LAT).
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Ancient gathering place: STOA
5. Warm place to chill: HOT TUB
11. "Waterfalls" pop trio: TLC. I know the song, I had no ideal that was the name of the group.
14. Medical breakthrough: CURE
15. Revolt: UPRISE
16. "That looks good!": OOH!
17. Dict. label: ABBR.
18. Not as nice: MEANER
19. Sine __ non: QUA. An "essential condition or necessary component" for you non-ancient Romans out there.
20. Impressive vocal quality: RESONANCE
22. Spew: ERUPT
24. Have a feeling: SENSE
25. Reason for a warm eye compress: STYE
26. Race town near Windsor Castle: ASCOT. Gentlemen are encouraged to dress formally for the annual Royal Ascot meet in June. Here's some royals being, well, royal at Royal Ascot. Prince Harry looks like he just got off a horse.
29. Information to process: DATA SET.
32. "Sounds fair": DEAL
33. Berth place: MARINA
36. Greek cross: TAU
37. ChapStick target: LIP
39. Doctrine suffix: -ISM
40. The Stratford, in TV's "Newhart": INN. Here's the Waybury Inn in Vermont which was used in the show "acting" as the Stratford.
41. Pupil surrounder: AREOLA. Quiet at the back.
42. Frost lines?: POEM
43. Flatters: BECOMES
45. Masculine: MANLY
46. Cheats, with "off": RIPS
47. "__ always makes it better": Anne Burrell: BACON. I never heard her say it, but didn't take long to figure this one out.
50. Throat dangler: UVULA
52. Aboveboard: ALLOWABLE
56. Solder component: TIN along with lead, or silver and copper for lead-free solders, and commonly with a flux core.
57. Caviar source: BELUGA
59. Morsel on a shellfish platter: CLAW. Depends how big your crustacean is. The biggest lobster caught on record was a 44lb behemoth off Nova Scotia in 1977. Those claws are certainly not "morsels"!
60. Anti-apartheid org.: A.N.C. The African National Congress.
61. Landfall for Noah: ARARAT
62. Word before and after sweet: HOME
63. Part of a snarky laugh: HEH
64. Approvals: YESSES
65. Terminal info: E.T.A.S
Down:
1. Emotional trauma consequence: SCAR
2. Skin cream holder: TUBE
3. Poetic spheres: ORBS
4. Spray starch dispenser: AEROSOL
5. Likely to err, eventually?: HUMAN. You can be divine, and forgive though.
6. Hits theaters: OPENS
7. Vestige: TRACE
8. Spork prong: TINE
9. Finish, with "up": USE
12. __-garou: werewolf: LOUP. First mentioned in 60 B.C. by Roman author Petronius, so they've been around a while. Before the invention of firearms and silver bullets, they pretty much had the run of the place at full moon time. Apparently you can bludgeon one to death with a blunt silver object, but I'd prefer to keep my distance.
.
13. Facebook option: CHAT
21. Safety feature at a trapeze school: NET
23. Scandinavian rug: RYA. Thank you, crosswords past.
25. Seasonal visitor: SANTA
26. Stage surprise: AD LIB
27. River with 37 bridges in Paris: SEINE. I was going to tell you how many bridges cross the Seine in total, but when I went to Wikipedia I realized I'd be here all day counting them. Just know, there's a lot!
29. Retro phone part: DIAL
30. Conference room stand: EASEL. For the flip chart. Still a fixture in these days of whiteboards and flat-panel TVs.
31. Tot's ache source: TUMMY
33. Social customs: MORES
34. Imitates: APES
35. Letter before sigma: RHO
42. Grand style: PANACHE
44. Safflower __: OIL
45. Cut grass: MOW
47. Gets fuzzy: BLURS. Gets fuzzy, not Get Fuzzy:
48. Diet for some aquarium fish: ALGAE. The Siamese Algae Eater is described on one website as "easy to keep, and will eat anything put in the tank". I hope not, they'd eat all the plants, the other fish and the treasure chest if that was the case.
49. Paint layers: COATS
50. Arches National Park state: UTAH
51. Hollywood crosser: VINE. Here's the iconic Capitol Records tower seen from the intersection. There's a flashing light on the top of the mast which spells out "Hollywood" in Morse Code.
52. "Oh dear!": ALAS
53. Ink smudge: BLOT
54. Revered Tibetan: LAMA
55. Farm females: EWES
58. "Blood hath been shed __ now": Macbeth: ERE. On seeing Banquo's ghost.
"...The time has been
That, when the brains were out, the man would die,
And there an end. But now they rise again
With twenty mortal murders on their crowns
And push us from our stools. This is more strange
Than such a murder is."
I don't have a lot of sympathy for Macbeth - he didn't just push Banquo off his stool, he pushed him off his mortal coil.
And with that thought, here's the grid!
Steve
