Theme: WOW!
17A: Wow!: Sakes Alive!
39A: Wow!: Holy Cow!
59A: Wow!: Great Scott!
11D: Wow! Lo and Behold!
25D: Wow!: What on Earth?!
Never read Superman or any comic book, never heard anyone gasp "Great Scott".
But WOW, what a proper and fitting theme for thousands of solvers this morning. I am just so stunned and stupefied by Governor Spitzer's "private matter". Down a hero (49D: EAT)!
I was so enamored of his Eliot Ness - style aggressive & relentless pursuits of those criminal dealings in Wall Street. I could not tell you in words how impressed I was of him when he forced Richard Grasso (NYSE) to pay back part of his scandalous compensation package. I learned the word "fiduciary duty" from him. The thing that bothers me is: Who leaked it to the press?
I had another tough uphill battle today. I put IRAN for 6A: Persian's contemporary (MEDE), and I ended up with ALTO for 8D: TOP vocalist (DIVA). I did not know Runner Zatopek's (EMIL), then I could not fill in anything sensible for 21A: NATO, for one (ACRONYM).
Here are the across entries.
1A: Kind of flu: ASIAN. I penned in AVIAN.
6A: Persian's contemporary: MEDE. They lived in ancient Media.
10A: Pig vittles: SLOP
15A: Runner Zatopek: EMIL. Never heard of him. If it's clued as Chef Lagasse, I would've got it. (Update: I blundered again. Lagasse's name is Emeril)
20A: Elmer or Jerry: RICE
21A: NATO, for one: ACRONYM. Of course! General Patraeus will be an awesome NATO Commander.
23A: Certain metal craftsman: PEWTERER. Never knew that a pewter maker is called a pewterer.
28A: Exist as a characteristic: INHERE
29A: Harrow's rival: ETON. Both Prince William and Harry attended ETON. James Bond too. Churchill and Nehru are Harrow graduates.
36A: Kind of trooper or line: STATE
37A: Skinny twins?: ENS. There are 2 letters "n" in the word "skinny". Last time many people were confounded by the clue: Minnesota twins?.
38A: Meow Mix eater: CAT
43A: Stand by: AWAIT
44A: Fleshy fruit: POME. I never heard of the word "Pome", so I was marshaling all the 4-letter fruits in my mind: Pear, Plum, Kiwi, Date.
47A: Camelot magician: MERLIN. No idea. But I read almost every book about JFK and his Camelot legacy.
51A: Explosives with pins: GRENADES
53A: Erupt: FLARE UP
57A: Lena of "The Ninth Gate": OLIN. She had a role in Chocolat (Juliette Binoche).
58A: Cooking fat: LARD. Stop larding the spending bill with your stupid pork-barrel earmarks, you bigwig in D. C. (SEN).
65A: "A Girl Like I" author: LOOS (Anita). She is back, 2 days in a row. I found out that besides Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, she also wrote But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.
66A: Temporary contract: LEASE
67A: Actress Madeline: KAHN. So sorry. I really did not know you.
69A: Ill-fated Ford: EDSEL
Down entries:
2D: Place for fish and ships: SEA. Misread it as Place for fish and chips.
3D: Sort: ILK
5D: More snoopy: NOSIER
6D: Free-for-all: MELEE. Donnybrook.
7D: Radio static, in brief: EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). Sometimes it's clued as British record company.
9D: Power, in brief.: ELEC
10D: Keep under wraps: SIT ON. To suppress the release of certain news I suppose.
12D: Like Woodsy?: OWLY. I made a guess. I had no idea that Woodsy Owl is the owl icon for the US Forest service. I only knew Smokey Bear.
22D: Give a face-lift to: RENEW. I groaned after the answer emerged.
23D: Zodiac sign: PISCES
24D: Coop up: ENCAGE
26D: Knotting again: RETYING. Very gnarly clue.
30D: Diplomatic asset: TACT. Bill Richardson seems to be very well respected outside US for his diplomatic tact.
33D: Personal instability: ANOMIE. Unknown to me. According to the dictionary.com, it's "a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people."
36D: Shredded side: SLAW. Add some raisins, it will be tastier.
39D: Undue speed: HASTE
40D: Be light chips: OWE. (Update later: According to drdad, "In poker, if you are "light chips" that means you "owe" the pot/kitty.")
44D: Strutted about: PRANCED
47D: Run in the heat: MELT. Good clue.
48D: Isolate: ENISLE. Saw it clued this way before, so no problem this time.
50D: Dale of "Flash Gordon": ARDEN. No idea.
52D: Prepare peanuts: ROAST.
53D: Excessive criticism: FLAK. Both the Clinton & Obama campaigns have brought FLAK into an elevated art form.
54D: Actress Turner: LANA
55D: Wrinkly fruit: UGLI. Never had it. I don't think our Rainbow Foods even carries it.
56D: Masters players: PROS. Those PGA golfers. Tiger Woods probably will win Masters again this year. But I am rooting for K. G. Choi (South Korean). He is such a workhorse, well, not as crazy as Vijay Singh.
60D: PAU's successor: OAS (Organization of American States, US is a member). Gimme for anyone who paid attention to the tense situation in Columbia last week. Oh, PAU stands for Pan American Union.
62D: Mao _ -Tung: TSE. Could also be clued as Literary monogram (T. S. Eliot).
I forgot to mention yesterday that NPR's On the Media Sunday had a very good segment on crossword and ACTP 2008. In case you missed, you can hear it here.
C. C.
17A: Wow!: Sakes Alive!
39A: Wow!: Holy Cow!
59A: Wow!: Great Scott!
11D: Wow! Lo and Behold!
25D: Wow!: What on Earth?!
Never read Superman or any comic book, never heard anyone gasp "Great Scott".
But WOW, what a proper and fitting theme for thousands of solvers this morning. I am just so stunned and stupefied by Governor Spitzer's "private matter". Down a hero (49D: EAT)!
I was so enamored of his Eliot Ness - style aggressive & relentless pursuits of those criminal dealings in Wall Street. I could not tell you in words how impressed I was of him when he forced Richard Grasso (NYSE) to pay back part of his scandalous compensation package. I learned the word "fiduciary duty" from him. The thing that bothers me is: Who leaked it to the press?
I had another tough uphill battle today. I put IRAN for 6A: Persian's contemporary (MEDE), and I ended up with ALTO for 8D: TOP vocalist (DIVA). I did not know Runner Zatopek's (EMIL), then I could not fill in anything sensible for 21A: NATO, for one (ACRONYM).
Here are the across entries.
1A: Kind of flu: ASIAN. I penned in AVIAN.
6A: Persian's contemporary: MEDE. They lived in ancient Media.
10A: Pig vittles: SLOP
15A: Runner Zatopek: EMIL. Never heard of him. If it's clued as Chef Lagasse, I would've got it. (Update: I blundered again. Lagasse's name is Emeril)
20A: Elmer or Jerry: RICE
21A: NATO, for one: ACRONYM. Of course! General Patraeus will be an awesome NATO Commander.
23A: Certain metal craftsman: PEWTERER. Never knew that a pewter maker is called a pewterer.
28A: Exist as a characteristic: INHERE
29A: Harrow's rival: ETON. Both Prince William and Harry attended ETON. James Bond too. Churchill and Nehru are Harrow graduates.
36A: Kind of trooper or line: STATE
37A: Skinny twins?: ENS. There are 2 letters "n" in the word "skinny". Last time many people were confounded by the clue: Minnesota twins?.
38A: Meow Mix eater: CAT
43A: Stand by: AWAIT
44A: Fleshy fruit: POME. I never heard of the word "Pome", so I was marshaling all the 4-letter fruits in my mind: Pear, Plum, Kiwi, Date.
47A: Camelot magician: MERLIN. No idea. But I read almost every book about JFK and his Camelot legacy.
51A: Explosives with pins: GRENADES
53A: Erupt: FLARE UP
57A: Lena of "The Ninth Gate": OLIN. She had a role in Chocolat (Juliette Binoche).
58A: Cooking fat: LARD. Stop larding the spending bill with your stupid pork-barrel earmarks, you bigwig in D. C. (SEN).
65A: "A Girl Like I" author: LOOS (Anita). She is back, 2 days in a row. I found out that besides Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, she also wrote But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.
66A: Temporary contract: LEASE
67A: Actress Madeline: KAHN. So sorry. I really did not know you.
69A: Ill-fated Ford: EDSEL
Down entries:
2D: Place for fish and ships: SEA. Misread it as Place for fish and chips.
3D: Sort: ILK
5D: More snoopy: NOSIER
6D: Free-for-all: MELEE. Donnybrook.
7D: Radio static, in brief: EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). Sometimes it's clued as British record company.
9D: Power, in brief.: ELEC
10D: Keep under wraps: SIT ON. To suppress the release of certain news I suppose.
12D: Like Woodsy?: OWLY. I made a guess. I had no idea that Woodsy Owl is the owl icon for the US Forest service. I only knew Smokey Bear.
22D: Give a face-lift to: RENEW. I groaned after the answer emerged.
23D: Zodiac sign: PISCES
24D: Coop up: ENCAGE
26D: Knotting again: RETYING. Very gnarly clue.
30D: Diplomatic asset: TACT. Bill Richardson seems to be very well respected outside US for his diplomatic tact.
33D: Personal instability: ANOMIE. Unknown to me. According to the dictionary.com, it's "a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people."
36D: Shredded side: SLAW. Add some raisins, it will be tastier.
39D: Undue speed: HASTE
40D: Be light chips: OWE. (Update later: According to drdad, "In poker, if you are "light chips" that means you "owe" the pot/kitty.")
44D: Strutted about: PRANCED
47D: Run in the heat: MELT. Good clue.
48D: Isolate: ENISLE. Saw it clued this way before, so no problem this time.
50D: Dale of "Flash Gordon": ARDEN. No idea.
52D: Prepare peanuts: ROAST.
53D: Excessive criticism: FLAK. Both the Clinton & Obama campaigns have brought FLAK into an elevated art form.
54D: Actress Turner: LANA
55D: Wrinkly fruit: UGLI. Never had it. I don't think our Rainbow Foods even carries it.
56D: Masters players: PROS. Those PGA golfers. Tiger Woods probably will win Masters again this year. But I am rooting for K. G. Choi (South Korean). He is such a workhorse, well, not as crazy as Vijay Singh.
60D: PAU's successor: OAS (Organization of American States, US is a member). Gimme for anyone who paid attention to the tense situation in Columbia last week. Oh, PAU stands for Pan American Union.
62D: Mao _ -Tung: TSE. Could also be clued as Literary monogram (T. S. Eliot).
I forgot to mention yesterday that NPR's On the Media Sunday had a very good segment on crossword and ACTP 2008. In case you missed, you can hear it here.
C. C.
