Theme: Flower Girls
A17: Ernestine's creator: LILY TOMLIN
59A: Porky's girlfriend: PETUNIA PIG
10D: Henry James title character: DAISY MILLER
24D: Puzzle theme: FLOWER GIRLS
OK, do you still stubbornly believe our puzzle mirrors the NY Times' difficulty patten? If so, this is not a Monday puzzle, it belongs to Friday/Saturday. Granted, it's a new constructor, so it takes time for us to get into her wavelength. But the editor could easily reworded several clues if he wanted Monday to be the easiest. The conclusion: TMS crossword is random.
I slogged like a blind man this morning. Could not find my way out. Struggled hard at every corner. The fact that SCOOTER (Libby) & KARL (Rove) appeared in the same puzzle was very disconcerting.
Here are some of the across entries.
1A: Cut ruthlessly: HACK. That's how I solved your puzzle Ms. Suit!
5A: Get lost!: SCRAM
10A: Cowgirl Evans: DALE
15A: Colorado brewery: COORS
16A: Sale caveat: AS IS
A17: Ernestine's creator: LILY TOMLIN. I had no idea who/what Ernestine was. For all I knew, she could be another Mona Lisa, or another Scarlett O'Hara, or another Rubik's Cube, so I was wracking my brain for a painter/composer/author/creator's name. Never watched Laugh-in. Tomline played the wisecracking Ernestine in it. Hated the clue.
20A: Sault __ Marie: STE.
23A: Has aspirations: HOPES. You aspire, you strive, you pursue, you seek, and you hope? Are they the same?
22A: Hit single's companion: B SIDE. Sounds so clunky to me.
23A: Crisp fabric: TAFFETA. This word is of Persian origin, meaning "Twisted woven", considered to be high-end fabric according to Wikipedia.
25A: Brit's indignant comment: I SAY. Bloody.
27A: Property claim: LIEN
28A: Upscale department store, briefly: NEIMANS. Neiman Marcus. Needlessly Marked up. Kohl's is all I can afford.
32A: My bad!: I'M SORRY
35A: Sea of Israel: GALILEE. Is it a gimme for you?
37A: "Gentlemen prefer Blondes": LOOS (Anita). Never heard of her. The movie (Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, 1953) was OK.
38A: Francis and Dahl: ARLENES. Complete strangers to me.
42A: Greek: HELLENE. No idea.
45A: Proximal: NEAREST
46A: _fixe (obsession): IDEE. My current idee fixe: Hillary the fish slimer. Can you believe they will stoop that low to curry favor with the voters? Well, at least, I learned that there was a difference between gutting a fish and sliming a fish.
48A: Dawdled: TARRIED
52A: Unspoken: TACIT
55A: "Midnight Cowboy" role: RATSO. Never watched this movie. Had no knowledge of Ratso. It sounds like a stoolie to me.
57A: 1011: MXI. Yep. Our editor is having a Roman Numerals Fest lately. 2 in yesterday's puzzle also.
58A: Cracked open: AJAR
59A: Porky's girlfriend: PETUNIA PIG. Walt Disney cartoon characters. I simply did not know. (update: I was wrong. It's Warner Brother's Looney Tunes).
61A: "Communist Manifesto" author Marx: KARL. Marx, Engles, Lennin and Chairman Mao. That's the stuff I grew up with, not Porky Pig or Mickey Mouse.
62A: Michaels of "SNL": LORNE. It was clued as Actor Greene in yesterday's puzzle.
63A: Pastrami purveyor: DELI
64A: Former mates: EXES. God, I hated this word "Mates".
65A: Basketry willow: OSIER. What a weird looking word. I am sure I will forget it next time.
66A: Menu plan: DIET. Why? I was thinking of Steak & Potato, Fish & Rice, Clam noodles, you know, a real meal menu.
Down entries:
1D: Composer of "The Planets": HOLST. My brain simply refused to take in certain names. This guy was on Friday's puzzle.
2D: Novelist Brookner: ANITA. What's wrong with Anita Hill? Has anyone ever heard of Anita Brookner?
3D: Staff symbol: C CLEF
4D: E or G, e.g.: KEY. I like how 3D and 4 D are stacked together.
5D: Motorcycle's little brother: SCOOTER
6D: Guests: COMPANY. I filled in letter "S" all too eagerly.
9D: Certain ISP: MSN.
10D: Henry James title character: DAISY MILLER. The only James' book I read is The Portrait of a Lady, and I could not dislodge the main character's name from my dense brain at this moment.
11D: __ Spumante: ASTI. The wine.
13D: Salinger girl: ESMÉ. For Esmé with Love and Squalor. Never read it.
18D: "A League of __ own": THEIR. Tom Hanks, Madonna, Geena Davis were all in it. I don't know why I dislike this movie.
22D: Cash for Security: BAIL. I put Bond first.
24D: Puzzle theme: FLOWER GIRLS. The clue should be "This puzzle's theme", don't you think so?
25D: Black or White: SEA. Good clue. Here is the map for White Sea.
29D: Medicinal plant: ALOE. Sometimes it's SENNA.
31D: Mobutu _ Seko: SESE. Nope, never heard of him. The Zaire President. The only African evil men I knew were Idi Amin and Charles Taylor (the Liberia dictator).
32D: Reitman or Pavlov: IVAN. Ivan Pavlov, yes, Reitman No.
33D: Soggy ground: MIRE
34D: Actress Ward: SELA. Our crossword editor's favorite actress.
42D: Top-forty song: HIT TUNE. I suppose so.
43D: "Lou Grant" star: ED ASNER
44D: Writer Jones: LEROI. Completely, utterly, totally unknown to me. (Update: I got this information from a reader. Jones is also known as Amiri Baraka. Poet, Black activist, author of many excellent books like "Blues People" and "Black Music".)
49D: Mile High Center architect: I. M. PEI. He also designed the Louvre Pyramid and JFK Library.
50D: Napoleon's punishment: EXILE
52D: Make off with: TAKE. Steal.
53D: Trojan War hero: AJAX. Also a cleanser brand, "Stronger than dirt".
54D: Give a hoot: CARE
56D: Italian bell town: ATRI. The Bell of Atri. Did not know this tale, never read Longfellow's poem either.
59D: Middle East grp.: PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Abbas is their current leader. What a mess Arafat left behind! Or rather, what a mess Arafat created!
Have a good week.
C. C.
A17: Ernestine's creator: LILY TOMLIN
59A: Porky's girlfriend: PETUNIA PIG
10D: Henry James title character: DAISY MILLER
24D: Puzzle theme: FLOWER GIRLS
OK, do you still stubbornly believe our puzzle mirrors the NY Times' difficulty patten? If so, this is not a Monday puzzle, it belongs to Friday/Saturday. Granted, it's a new constructor, so it takes time for us to get into her wavelength. But the editor could easily reworded several clues if he wanted Monday to be the easiest. The conclusion: TMS crossword is random.
I slogged like a blind man this morning. Could not find my way out. Struggled hard at every corner. The fact that SCOOTER (Libby) & KARL (Rove) appeared in the same puzzle was very disconcerting.
Here are some of the across entries.
1A: Cut ruthlessly: HACK. That's how I solved your puzzle Ms. Suit!
5A: Get lost!: SCRAM
10A: Cowgirl Evans: DALE
15A: Colorado brewery: COORS
16A: Sale caveat: AS IS
A17: Ernestine's creator: LILY TOMLIN. I had no idea who/what Ernestine was. For all I knew, she could be another Mona Lisa, or another Scarlett O'Hara, or another Rubik's Cube, so I was wracking my brain for a painter/composer/author/creator's name. Never watched Laugh-in. Tomline played the wisecracking Ernestine in it. Hated the clue.
20A: Sault __ Marie: STE.
23A: Has aspirations: HOPES. You aspire, you strive, you pursue, you seek, and you hope? Are they the same?
22A: Hit single's companion: B SIDE. Sounds so clunky to me.
23A: Crisp fabric: TAFFETA. This word is of Persian origin, meaning "Twisted woven", considered to be high-end fabric according to Wikipedia.
25A: Brit's indignant comment: I SAY. Bloody.
27A: Property claim: LIEN
28A: Upscale department store, briefly: NEIMANS. Neiman Marcus. Needlessly Marked up. Kohl's is all I can afford.
32A: My bad!: I'M SORRY
35A: Sea of Israel: GALILEE. Is it a gimme for you?
37A: "Gentlemen prefer Blondes": LOOS (Anita). Never heard of her. The movie (Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, 1953) was OK.
38A: Francis and Dahl: ARLENES. Complete strangers to me.
42A: Greek: HELLENE. No idea.
45A: Proximal: NEAREST
46A: _fixe (obsession): IDEE. My current idee fixe: Hillary the fish slimer. Can you believe they will stoop that low to curry favor with the voters? Well, at least, I learned that there was a difference between gutting a fish and sliming a fish.
48A: Dawdled: TARRIED
52A: Unspoken: TACIT
55A: "Midnight Cowboy" role: RATSO. Never watched this movie. Had no knowledge of Ratso. It sounds like a stoolie to me.
57A: 1011: MXI. Yep. Our editor is having a Roman Numerals Fest lately. 2 in yesterday's puzzle also.
58A: Cracked open: AJAR
59A: Porky's girlfriend: PETUNIA PIG. Walt Disney cartoon characters. I simply did not know. (update: I was wrong. It's Warner Brother's Looney Tunes).
61A: "Communist Manifesto" author Marx: KARL. Marx, Engles, Lennin and Chairman Mao. That's the stuff I grew up with, not Porky Pig or Mickey Mouse.
62A: Michaels of "SNL": LORNE. It was clued as Actor Greene in yesterday's puzzle.
63A: Pastrami purveyor: DELI
64A: Former mates: EXES. God, I hated this word "Mates".
65A: Basketry willow: OSIER. What a weird looking word. I am sure I will forget it next time.
66A: Menu plan: DIET. Why? I was thinking of Steak & Potato, Fish & Rice, Clam noodles, you know, a real meal menu.
Down entries:
1D: Composer of "The Planets": HOLST. My brain simply refused to take in certain names. This guy was on Friday's puzzle.
2D: Novelist Brookner: ANITA. What's wrong with Anita Hill? Has anyone ever heard of Anita Brookner?
3D: Staff symbol: C CLEF
4D: E or G, e.g.: KEY. I like how 3D and 4 D are stacked together.
5D: Motorcycle's little brother: SCOOTER
6D: Guests: COMPANY. I filled in letter "S" all too eagerly.
9D: Certain ISP: MSN.
10D: Henry James title character: DAISY MILLER. The only James' book I read is The Portrait of a Lady, and I could not dislodge the main character's name from my dense brain at this moment.
11D: __ Spumante: ASTI. The wine.
13D: Salinger girl: ESMÉ. For Esmé with Love and Squalor. Never read it.
18D: "A League of __ own": THEIR. Tom Hanks, Madonna, Geena Davis were all in it. I don't know why I dislike this movie.
22D: Cash for Security: BAIL. I put Bond first.
24D: Puzzle theme: FLOWER GIRLS. The clue should be "This puzzle's theme", don't you think so?
25D: Black or White: SEA. Good clue. Here is the map for White Sea.
29D: Medicinal plant: ALOE. Sometimes it's SENNA.
31D: Mobutu _ Seko: SESE. Nope, never heard of him. The Zaire President. The only African evil men I knew were Idi Amin and Charles Taylor (the Liberia dictator).
32D: Reitman or Pavlov: IVAN. Ivan Pavlov, yes, Reitman No.
33D: Soggy ground: MIRE
34D: Actress Ward: SELA. Our crossword editor's favorite actress.
42D: Top-forty song: HIT TUNE. I suppose so.
43D: "Lou Grant" star: ED ASNER
44D: Writer Jones: LEROI. Completely, utterly, totally unknown to me. (Update: I got this information from a reader. Jones is also known as Amiri Baraka. Poet, Black activist, author of many excellent books like "Blues People" and "Black Music".)
49D: Mile High Center architect: I. M. PEI. He also designed the Louvre Pyramid and JFK Library.
50D: Napoleon's punishment: EXILE
52D: Make off with: TAKE. Steal.
53D: Trojan War hero: AJAX. Also a cleanser brand, "Stronger than dirt".
54D: Give a hoot: CARE
56D: Italian bell town: ATRI. The Bell of Atri. Did not know this tale, never read Longfellow's poem either.
59D: Middle East grp.: PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Abbas is their current leader. What a mess Arafat left behind! Or rather, what a mess Arafat created!
Have a good week.
C. C.
